MONSTA X Returns With Unfold: Their First English Album Since 2021

MONSTA X is making their loudest play for the global market yet. The K-Pop veterans announced Unfold, their first full English-language album since 2021, set for release on April 3, 2026. The news arrives as the sextet celebrates their 10th anniversary and prepares for a world tour that will test just how far their reach extends.

The album is the group's most significant English-language project since The Dreaming dropped in late 2021. Lead single "Growing Pains," released in February, already signals the direction: it debuted at number 11 on Billboard's Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart, proving MONSTA X still commands attention from American listeners.

A Decade of Proving Themselves

MONSTA X has always been an outlier. Formed through Mnet's survival show No.Mercy in 2015, the group built their reputation on powerful performances and aggressive choreography that set them apart from the polished pop of their contemporaries. They were the hard-hitting alternative, the group your parents wouldn't understand.

That identity served them well. By 2019, they'd cracked the US market with appearances on talk shows and award ceremonies, building a Western fanbase before the K-Pop industry's recent global explosion made such crossovers routine. Their 2020 collaboration with French Montana and 2021's The Dreaming showed genuine ambition to compete in English-language markets on their own terms.

Then came military service. As Korean law requires, members began enlisting in 2022, and the group went quiet as an act. Their 10th anniversary concert, "2025 MONSTA X CONNECT X," held at KSPO Dome in Seoul last July, marked their first full-group performance in four years. Three nights sold out. Fans cried. The group announced a Korean comeback for September.

The Global Machine Behind Unfold

The timing of Unfold is strategic. MONSTA X is now represented by Maverick Management in the United States, with BMG handling distribution. This infrastructure gives them direct access to American radio programmers, playlist curators, and touring networks that most K-Pop acts still struggle to penetrate.

The album will be promoted alongside "THE X NEXUS," a world tour announced for 2026 that will take the group across Asia and into Western markets. Specific dates and cities haven't been confirmed, but the tour name suggests ambition: this isn't a victory lap. It's a statement of intent.

What We Know About the Album

Details remain scarce beyond the April 3 release date and "Growing Pains" lead single. The song's credits list members Joohoney and I.M among the writers, consistent with MONSTA X's long-standing practice of self-production. Both have released solo material during the group's hiatus and bring that experience back to the collective.

MONSTA X's Korean album THE X, released in September 2025 with title track "N the Front," sold strongly domestically and featured concepts playing on their 10th anniversary. Unfold likely represents the international counterpart: same era, different target market.

For a group entering their second decade, Unfold carries real stakes. K-Pop's competitive landscape has shifted dramatically since their debut. Fourth-generation groups dominate headlines and streaming charts. Yet MONSTA X's 10th anniversary sold out in seconds. Their fanbase, Monbebe, remains loyal and loud. Whether that translates to breakthrough English-language success is the question Unfold will answer.

MONSTA X's Unfold arrives April 3, 2026, via Starship Entertainment and BMG.