For the past four years, BTS has been something international fans watched from a distance, as the members completed their mandatory military service in South Korea. In the meantime, they pursued solo projects and toured globally as individuals, while the group itself lived on through archived livestreams and social media posts.

On Monday night in New York City, they were back on stage as seven.

By late afternoon, fans had already lined up along the downtown Seaport, bundled in layers and rain ponchos, waiting for BTS to take the stage at Pier 17. The group’s return to the U.S. wasn’t a surprise. It was a moment fans had been tracking, anticipating, and counting down to. Still, the energy felt surreal once it was actually happening.

Just days after their massive live comeback concert drew tens of thousands of fans to central Seoul, BTS arrived in New York for Spotify x BTS: Swimside, an invitation-only event that marked their first public appearance in the U.S. as a full group since 2022. It also doubled as the first time they performed songs from their new album, Arirang, stateside.

The setting did a lot of the work. Pier 17 overlooks the East River, with the Brooklyn Bridge stretching out on one side and lower Manhattan lighting up the other. Even in the cold, with wind cutting across the rooftop and temperatures dropping into the 30s, hundreds of fans packed the space, many selected as top Spotify streamers in the area. Even producer Diplo was spotted in the crowd.

Mashable’s social manager on the ground captured the scene as it unfolded. Fans traded freebies, compared signs, and documented everything in real-time across social media. The night already looked like something built for the timeline. The difference was that everyone was actually there in person.

The event opened with a Q&A moderated by Suki Waterhouse, pulling the group into a more relaxed, conversational mode. BTS spoke about making Arirang together, including the experience of living in the same house again while recording in Los Angeles for two months.

“‘Swim’ is a really special song for us,” Jin said through a translator, describing the lead single as a reminder to keep going through uncertainty. “It’s about not stopping, even when you’re facing tough times and emotional waves, to just keep moving forward like you’re swimming through it all… It reminds us to love our lives and accept whatever comes next, so that’s the message: We want to keep moving forward and not give up.”

Credit: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Spotify

The conversation quickly loosened. RM joked about Jung Kook’s suitcase never leaving the floor during their time living together. “Whenever we entered his room, we always had to step [around] the luggage,” the leader explained. Suga admitted he doesn’t like swimming. (But importantly, he does like “Swim.”) Jimin, answering a question about habits at home, casually told the crowd he’s usually naked when he walks in the door, sending the audience into a frenzy.

The group also shared details from the making of the album, including a standout lyric from “Hooligan” — “ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha, hooligan” — which RM and Suga admitted they hate performing because of its tricky cadence. They broke it down as a rapid-fire “three-three-three” rhythm, then put Jung Kook on the spot to try it himself. He mostly succeeded, as expected from the group’s golden maknea.

The overall Q&A had the tone of a livestream, but louder. Immediate. Unfiltered in a way that only works when thousands of people are reacting at once.

During a short intermission, fans proved just how locked in they were. Arirang had only been out for three days, but the crowd sang along to every track playing over the speakers, lightsticks moving in sync.

When BTS returned to the stage, the focus snapped into place.

The group performed “Swim,” “2.0,” and “Normal,” marking their first live U.S. performances of the new album. The staging was simple, but the response wasn’t. Fans jumped, screamed, ha-ha-ha-ha’d, and waved their Army Bombs with every beat drop. RM, seated with a sprained ankle, delivered his verses from the side as the rest of the group moved through the choreography.

Credit: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Spotify

“It’s really an honor for us to do our first stage in America here,” RM told the crowd. “It’s been four years, but now we’re here.”

In the audience, fans held up red signs that read “We Stayed!” A small gesture, but one that carried weight after the group’s hiatus. V spotted them right away, calling out to the crowd in recognition.

By the end of the night, the mood felt less like a one-off event and more like a reset point. BTS are back in the U.S., performing new music, standing in front of fans who never left.

For years, that connection lived mostly online. In streams, clips, and constant updates that filled the gap while the group was apart. At Pier 17, it felt different. Still documented, still destined for the feed, but grounded in something more immediate.

Not just something to watch. Something you had to be there for.

By Joshua Tyler
| Updated 1 hour ago

New Zealand filmmaker Peter Jackson is working on a new Lord of the Rings movie, and to make it, he’s teaming up with talk show host Stephen Colbert. This is not a joke or a drill; it’s happening, and they’re already writing the script. 

Stephen Colbert, long known as one of Hollywood’s most obsessive Tolkien fans, is co-writing the film alongside his son, Peter McGee, and returning franchise writer Philippa Boyens. They’re using the working title The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past to refer to the project. It’s not clear yet if that will be the movie’s final title.

Here’s the announcement recorded by Peter Jackson…

The story they’re developing is based on six specific chapters from J.R.R. Tolkien’s Fellowship of the Ring. Those chapters are numbers three through eight, often referred to as “Three Is Company through Fog on the Barrow Downs.” They involve Frodo first leaving the Shire, encountering his first Black Rider, and, most notably of all, encountering Tom Bombadil. 

Tolkien fans will no doubt remember that Tom Bombadil was the biggest omission from the original Lord of the Rings movies. Jackson will now remedy that by making an entire, dedicated Tom Bombadil story. 

Tom Bombadil is one of the strangest and most mysterious figures in The Lord of the Rings. Living in the Old Forest with his wife Goldberry, in Tolkien’s book, he appears cheerful and harmless, yet possesses immense, unexplained power. He’s so powerful that he’s totally unaffected by the One Ring. 

Bombadil rescues the hobbits from multiple dangers, including the Barrow-downs, but exists completely outside the main conflict of Middle-earth, seemingly untouched by its wars, politics, or even its rules.

Peter Jackson is mostly involved in The Lord of the Rings: Shadow of the Past on the production side, reuniting with key members of the original creative team, signaling that this isn’t a reboot but another attempt to mine unused Tolkien material with the same people who built the franchise the first time. This new project is slated for release after Lord of the Rings: Hunt For Gollum, a feature film in production under the direction of Lord of the Rings alum Andy Serkis.

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The NYT Connections puzzle today is not too difficult if you keep up with the news.

Connections is the one of the most popular New York Times word games that’s captured the public’s attention. The game is all about finding the “common threads between words.” And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we’ve served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.

If you just want to be told today’s puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for today’s Connections solution. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

What is Connections?

The NYT‘s latest daily word game has become a social media hit. The Times credits associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu with helping to create the new word game and bringing it to the publications’ Games section. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.

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Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there’s only one correct answer.

If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake—players get up to four mistakes until the game ends.

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Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.

Here’s a hint for today’s Connections categories

Want a hint about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:

Here are today’s Connections categories

Need a little extra help? Today’s connections fall into the following categories:

Looking for Wordle today? Here’s the answer to today’s Wordle.

Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today’s puzzle before we reveal the solutions.

Drumroll, please!

The solution to today’s Connections #1018 is…

What is the answer to Connections today

• Obfuscate: BLUR, CLOUD, MUDDY, OBSCURE

• Magazines: FORTUNE, PEOPLE, SPIN, TIME

• Payment methods: CASH, CHARGE, CHECK, WIRE

• Units of volume with last letter changed: CUR, GALLOP, PING, QUARK

Don’t feel down if you didn’t manage to guess it this time. There will be new Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we’ll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? Get all the Strands hints you need for today’s puzzle.

If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to yesterday’s Connections.