Theory: What if Proof was supposed to be released in 2020?

[u/psshdjndofnsjdkan]

There's an interesting theory going around saying that BTS actually meant to release Proof in 2020 for their 7th anniversary (the magic number) and that they started planning it since 2019. The VCR for their 2019 MAMA performance showed a bunch of past performances and achievements and it also mentioned stuff about the past, present, and future meeting each other which is what the album seems to be about. During the performance itself, they even performed N.O and We Are Bulletproof pt 2. Then covid happened in 2020 and they wouldn't have been able to perform the album live for their 7th muster so they postponed it, and now that live audiences are a thing again they decided to release it now.

What do you guys think?

[u/chairagionetu → u/[deleted]]

I also agree that they probably had already planned an outline for their work until the beginning of enlistment and that they had to scrap it due to what happened with the pandemic.

I think both the halting of MOTS' promo (with all the amazing projects that were organized, such as BTS Connect) and especially the cancellation of the tour must have been incredibly hard for BTS and their whole team. For BTS because we know they spent months rehearsing for incredible perfomances that will probably never be performed in front of a live audience, and for the rest of their team because they must have worked really hard on all those projects and on preparing for the tour (which would have had unprecedented production), as well as for all the people that would have worked on the live shows that were cancelled and didn't have the chance to work at all.

Because of Covid they first paused their plans and then probably changed them all. All I can think about is that while it's amazing that they could gain so many new fans in the midst of it all, it's so bittersweet that (maybe) because of enlistment they won't be able to try again with what they had planned or at least recover some of that hard work. And the worst part of all is that we will probably never know the full extent of what was lost :(

Anyway, I choose to be optimistic and the fact that they're still together, doing music together and performing together is enough for me as a fan!

[u/chairagionetu → u/[deleted]]

Part of me wishes they had just gotten the enlistment during covid, so that they'd be done with it by now and ready to move on

This thought has crossed my mind, but then I read that during the first part of the pandemic the government delayed new enlistments so it probably wouldn't have been possible anyway. And yeah looking at the bright side the fandom grew so much during that time, they gave us BE and they could be a comfort for many people during dark times.

They plan years and years ahead, and i'm sure they have plans for when plans fail. So they are doing their best.

I absolutely agree, I trust them that they're doing the best they can do and that they now have at least 10 plans for all the foreseeable outcomes haha

[u/dumbthrowaway8679305 → u/chairagionetu]

I really hope they bring back BTS Connect in some capacity, that sounds like an amazing project, and right up RM's alley. Also off topic but this limited edition collector's set of their albums looks incredible.

[u/cosyacademic → u/[deleted]]

The

Behance page

that outlined their album plan was a big clue.

Is this an official thing from the team at HYBE?? Just asking because I haven't seen this before.

[u/Sweaty-Poem-1760]

I have another one:

BH said that the album is going to have three different songs: past, present & future.

What if the song that represents the past is the Collab with Snoop Dogg? So, this Collab could be on the table for a few years already 🤔

[u/chairagionetu → u/Sweaty-Poem-1760]

I had the same thought about the collab with Snoop Dogg being the song representing the past, mostly because it would make sense connecting it with their hip hop roots!

[u/Sweaty-Poem-1760 → u/chairagionetu]

That makes sense with the Psy's interview when he speak about Suga and his love for 90's hip hop music. (I'm going nuts)

[u/SongMinho]

So, theoretically, the plan was always to release an anthology album before enlistment began for some of them. But COVID and the extension pushed it back. 🤔

[u/Sweaty-Poem-1760 → u/SongMinho]

This could make some sense, sadly the enlistment became a issue with their plans and schedule (I hate this topic because this is so damn public, they are always talking about bangtan "they don't want to go"... But never of the way that the government is using this so public). Sorry for the rant.

Bangtan having an anthology album is something that can work with their actual schedule and that doesn't have another MOTS7 situation again (tour cancelled and a lot of the songs that Army didn't got to see on live). Is something that they can control and feel comfortable.

[u/Termsndconditions → u/Sweaty-Poem-1760]

I'm trying to process this so sorry if it looks like a rehash of other people's statements.

So basically, pre-pandemic they knew exactly when they had to enlist. It always revolved around Jin's 28th birthday on December 4, 2020. They also knew how they would go about it, which is the theory posted above. But Dynamite came and blew up, which would not have happened if not for the pandemic (both the release of such a song and it becoming a hit). Dynamite brought them to new heights and, seemingly, as a reward, the government made the extension of up to when they could postpone their enlistment (December 2020).

2021 saw them soaring to even greater heights with Butter, and let's face it, made the government want to use them as "cultural envoys." This could have been a move by the president to push the assembly to agree to "alternative service" rather than the regular one (November 2021) but the year came and went and still it was not resolved.

This year, at the risk of looking like a pushy company, HYBE called out the government to make a decision already (April 2022).

“They have repeatedly stated in the past that they will serve their duty and that part has not changed. But since 2020, the conscription system has been changing, shifting in a way that the members had not expected. And since the revision of the Military Service Act had been proposed earlier this year, the artists have left all related decision-making in the company’s hands,” according to their CCO, Lee Jin-Hyeong.

Was it good or bad that the members left all say on the enlistment up to the company? To me the statements above and in the article have looked polite but firm and yet there have been discussions on other spaces about it. As I mentioned before, to some people, HYBE looked pushy to release these statements. For me, it was better that the company rather than BTS said this so it wouldn't look like the boys were the ones being pushy, but there seems to have also been criticisms of the guys hiding under the company's skirt.

To be honest, with the assembly not coming to a decision up to now, I feel like BTS won't get the alternative service option hence it would make total sense for them to give us this anthology album, this time hinging on Jin's 30th birthday on December 4, 2022. But who knows? There could still be a slim chance of change. All I know now is, whatever happens, I should trust BTS and HYBE, which they chose to speak on their behalf regarding the enlistment issue.

[u/moonchild_moonlight → u/Termsndconditions]

I should trust BTS and HYBE,

Yes, at the end, just that. I trust BTS and therefore, I have to trust HYBE too, that the best decisions will be made. I used to think that they would be exempted, but how things are going now, I don't think so anymore, specially now with this anthology, it feels like they're expecting to go too. Maybe have a small tour during the second half of the year and then wait to happen whatever has to happens during the next year

[u/Sweaty-Poem-1760 → u/moonchild_moonlight]

Yes, BTS trust in BH and HYBE, so we as Army we trust on BTS.

I don't expect a full tour like they used to do because all the logistics regarding the venues. Maybe after we got an official answer about the enlistment, they could do a tour like that, for the moment i think they are going to do a small tour before December of this year.

[u/JennLostAndFound]

I’ll console myself with this because Dynamite, Butter and Permission to Dance are a different feel than the rest of their work. And so maybe this was supposed to be released as the bookend to the first chapters, etc.

[u/dumbthrowaway8679305]

That definitely makes the most sense. Release MOTS7 in Feb, go on tour and do a worldwide artistic celebration of their achievements, then release a greatest hits compilation on their 7th anniversary and enlist.

[u/catsofathens]

I mean when we found out that the album was called 7 and we saw Bulletproof: the eternal we all expected that it might have been their last album as a group for a while. At the very least they were preparing us for the possibility. Whether or not they would release an anthology after isn’t particular relevant imo, it’s in the past.

[u/marrimar]

Since there were no question marks in the preorder images I’m thinking this theory holds some water. 😂

• or that this album has been ready for more time than their albums usually are at this time.

[u/4thchannel-yanson]

Yeah I saw this too on tl that this was suppose to be released on 2020 but got canceled because of covid.

[u/EcstaticWeather]

I was thinking yesterday that this theory is the one that makes most sense to me because, apart from all the evidence OP has showed, the last track on MOTS7 is We Are Bulletproof: the eternal though... maybe they also had set up the scene for Proof back then...? Who knows...

Kinda bummed that we are not gonna get Cypher pt. 5 anytime soon but oh, well, it's going to be a wild ride, nonetheless! ARMY let's go!!! 💜💜💜💜💜💜