Go Inside BTS ‘Tonight Show’ Taping, From Fan Jump-Scares to Jimmy Fallon Angling to Be ‘The 8th Member’

On Wednesday (March 25), BTS kicked off their two-night stint on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, with all seven members sitting down for an interview after recording a performance of “SWIM” earlier in the day at The Guggenheim — and Billboard was in the building for both.

Ahead of the episode premiering at 11:35 p.m. ET/PT on NBC tonight, RM, Jin, Suga, j-hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook joined Fallon for a taping of The Tonight Show — see a Billboard exclusive preview photo above — and judging by the volume in Studio 8H, the crowd was all ARMY. Instead of emerging from behind the blue velvet curtain like most guests, BTS made their way to the stage from behind the audience, touching fans’ hands on the way down.

In addition to the interview, the crowd also got to watch a pre-recorded bit that showed fans entering a recording booth to sing “SWIM” — the lead single from BTS’ just-released sixth album ARIRANG — but when they exited, Fallon and the members of BTS were all on the other side to surprise (or sometimes terrify) them. The crowd also got to watch BTS’ performance of “SWIM,” taped earlier in the day at NYC art museum The Guggenheim.

Below, find a highlight from each of the seven members before watching the full episode tonight:

RM

When Fallon asked if anyone had driven in a car with RM yet, since he just got his license, V could be heard saying, “Scary,” over his bandmates’ chatter.

Jin

Calling back to his last visit to The Tonight Show, Jin answered whether we have “one or two butts” — arguing that we have two because we have a left leg and a right leg, and therefore a left butt and a right butt, sending the crowd into a fit of laughter.

SUGA

The crowd kept screaming SUGA’s Korean name Yoongi seemingly in reference to “Yoongi, marry me!” joke among ARMY.

j-hope

When Fallon asked what mission he would need to complete if he were the eighth member of BTS, j-hope answered with a laugh: “practice.”

Jimin

During his monologue, Fallon joked about how his name sounds like Jimin’s, then he did a little song about it that the audience ate up.

V

V explained that the ARIRANG track “2.0” is like a “chapter 2” for them, referring to BTS’ comeback.

Jung Kook

When the seven guys were roomies again in Los Angeles while recording ARIRANG, they said Jung Kook was the messiest and that he had two suitcases always open in his room.

Tune in to catch BTS on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon at 11:35 p.m. ET/PT tonight — and Thursday night too — on NBC and streaming next day on Peacock. Thursday’s show also includes Ariana DeBose, Chris Pratt, Charlie Day and Roman Reigns.