BTS

BTS rapper SUGA's confession about his stage name has made it all the way to the guy who inspired it -- Sugar Ray Leonard says it's awesome to see the K-pop superstar taking the moniker and "carrying that forward."

Yoongi made the shocking reveal in a WIRED interview this week ... claiming his name doesn't come from "shooting guard" over his love for basketball ... it's actually a reference to the boxing legend.

SUGA said HYBE chairman, Bang Si-Hyuk, came up with it since his rap skills are "technical" like a fighter working his craft in the ring ... and the rest is history.

BTS hasn't missed a beat -- literally -- dropping the choreo-heavy music video for their song "Hooligan" on Tuesday. RM, Jin, SUGA, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook edgy, all-black fits in the new visual.

It opens in a parking garage -- a nod to their 2017 video for "Not Today" -- and features masked dancers and a girl with a sword as the beat's "goin' hooligan."

BTS has really been hitting the ground running since last month's release of their comeback album "ARIRANG" -- their first since their 2022 hiatus.

BTS rapper SUGA is clarifying the origin of his stage name ... revealing it's not short for "shooting guard" after all -- it takes inspiration from a completely different sport!!

The Bangtan Boys did an interview with WIRED amid their "ARIRANG" album press tour ... where they answered the internet's biggest questions about the massive K-pop group.

When it came to Yoongi around the 13-minute mark, a prompt asked "SUGA name meaning" ... and V and Jung Kook both responded "shooting guard," but the 33-year-old actually corrected them.

BTS is lighting up the charts like dynamite ... their new album "ARIRANG" went number 1 on the Billboard 200 chart and the lead single, "SWIM," topped the Hot 100.

The new album -- the first since the boy band went on hiatus in 2022 -- debuted with 641,000 equivalent album units earned, according to Billboard. The mag says this is the biggest album sales week for a group in over a decade.

In fact, this is the biggest week for an album since Taylor Swift dropped "The Life of a Showgirl" in October, according to the outlet.

"The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" is in the crosshairs of BTS fans for a joke made by the MC during Wednesday's taping ... and he's since apologized to the international superstar group.

Here's the deal ... Seth Herzog, the show's warm-up comic, and Jimmy Fallon have been getting flamed on social media after audience members said they felt a joke made at the taping was racist toward the globally popular band ... and fans demanded an apology.

A source with direct knowledge tells TMZ ... Herzog apologized to BTS for the situation ... and network brass spoke to Herzog about the incident.

BTS just performed as a group for the first time since 2022 -- and all seven members proved there's no such thing as stage rust when it comes to them.

Fresh off the release of their fifth studio album, "ARIRANG," the massive K-pop act had its ARMY fandom packed in the streets of Seoul for a special show at Gwanghwamun Square -- an event that was also streamed on Netflix.

The group's leader, RM, was first to address the fans in attendance and the millions around the world watching from home -- simply saying, "Annyeonghaseyo -- we're back."

BTS' highly anticipated comeback concert just hit a snag -- the massive K-pop group's leader, RM, injured himself during rehearsals ... but as the saying goes, the show must go on.

While every ARMY across the globe was streaming the new "ARIRANG" Thursday night, BigHit Music dropped the news that the 31-year-old was taken to a nearby hospital after suffering an ankle ailment.

The timing couldn't be worse -- the group is slated to take the stage at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul on Saturday ... an extravaganza that will be streamed on Netflix.