BTS Land On The Cover Of ‘Billboard,’ Talk Careers & Making History

Mike Nied | February 15, 2018 11:35 am

K-pop royalty BTS are dominating the latest edition of Billboard. The group posed for a shoot with the publication and are the stars of an impressive eight individual covers! Shot in Seoul around the historic Korea House, the septet posed for individual shots as well as a handful of adorable group pics. In an accompanying interview they discussed their roots and hinted at elusive plans for the future.

Last year the group made history as one of the first Korean acts to make an impact in America. They became the K-pop act with the highest placement on the Billboard Hot 100 with their single “DNA” and replicated the feat with a Steve Aoki-assisted remix of their follow-up “Mic Drop.” Their album Love Yourself: Her landed in the top 10 of Billboard’s album chart, and the group dominated awards shows and late night TV with appearances across the US on a grueling press tour.

In their interview, they reflected on what has made them so universally appealing. RM proposed that it was that their music appealed to millennials who were hungry for social change. “Adults need to create policies that can facilitate that overall social change. Right now, the privileged class, the upper class needs to change the way they think.” Although his answer was focused on Korean politics, fellow member Suga expanded on their point of view. “And this isn’t just Korea, but the rest of the world. The reason why our music resonates with people around the world who are in their teens, 20s and 30s is because of these issues.”

After dominating American markets with an LP’s worth of Korean-language music, fans are hungry for more music from the group. Although nothing is set in stone just yet, the conversation of course turned toward the possibility of a new album. However, they are remaining coy about what to expect in the future. “In Korean, the word ‘future’ is made up of two parts,” RM explained. “The first part means ‘not,’ and the second means ‘to come.’ In that sense, ‘future’ means something that will not come. This is to say: The future is now, and our now is us living our future.” Guess that means we will have to wait and see.

The supergroup touched on politics and provided a more in-depth look at how the group came together under representation at their label, BigHit Entertainment. They also opened up about Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ 2013 hit “Same Love” and paid tribute to Jonghyun, a member of K-pop group SHINee who battled with depression before dying from a suicide attempt last year. Check out a gallery of BTS’ pics up top and read the rest of their interview here!

Do you love the shoot? Let us know below, or by hitting us up on Facebook and Twitter!

Tags: