Fans hoping to catch a glimpse of the BTS members at the 2023 Grammys on Feb. 5 might have been left searching for crumbs considering the boys didn’t grace the red carpet, but there was one hilarious place they were checking: Chris Martin’s beanie. Yes, that’s right. The Coldplay frontman rocked a, um, very large hat at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards, and it raised some suspicions. While fans knew that Jin, oldest member and a collaborator with Martin and Coldplay on tracks like “The Astronaut” in addition to the Grammy-nominated “My Universe,” was too busy in the army to make it to the Grammys, some fans joked that he was going to make a surprise appearance — by popping out of Martin’s beanie.
No, like, really. Martin’s beanie caught my eye when I first saw it, because it was giant and kind of made him look Scrooge-esque. But hey, if it was so large because it’s full of secrets (secrets being Jin), I’m willing to let it slide. And it seems like the ARMY was, too.
This wasn’t actually the first time that Martin’s clothing signaled a connection to Jin among the BTS ARMY, however — it wasn’t even the first time this week. On Feb. 4, Coldplay appeared on Saturday Night Live as the musical guests and performed “The Astronaut” in addition to a few of their own songs. But eagle-eyed fans spotted something peculiar in their promotional video for the episode: Martin was spotted with a Wootteo pin on his jacket. The pin also appeared on all the performers’ clothes, including the choir, during the band’s rendition of “The Astronaut,” which Martin wrote for Jin.
If you’re a little lost on who Wootteo even is, this little cartoon astronaut was created to serve as a companion to Jin’s fans while he’s away in the military. By repping Wootteo, Martin was subtly giving Jin a shoutout and keeping him included in his own musical endeavors — so, like, why wouldn’t he hide Jin under his beanie at the Grammys too, right? He even wore the same beanie (or a very, very similar one) while rehearsing with Jin to perform “The Astronaut” in Argentina — an experience fans got to see behind-the-scenes footage of in a recent video posted to BTS’ YouTube channel.
Of course, the beanie theory is just an inside joke for those fans who miss Jin. It’s all love between the BTS ARMY and Coldplay, thanks to “My Universe.” But if someone wants to check under Martin’s beanie for us just to make sure, I won’t complain.