Why You Should Care About The Korean Boy Band BTS, Who Are More Popular Than Beyoncé
If you haven't heard of BTS, you've probably been living under a rock for the past couple of years. You might ask why you should even care about a South Korean boy band, and the answer is simple — they're taking over the world.
BTS, or as they're also known, Bangtan Boys, isn't just infiltrating the American music industry. They're crashing it. They've set almost every record imaginable for an Asian-based group, ranked #1 on the Social 50 charts, and have a fan base that the music industry hasn't seen since Justin Bieber.
And So It Began...
They first began their formation back in 2010 after music executives in South Korea met with RM (the leader of the band) and were impressed with his rapping. The seven-member boyband wasn't fully formed until 2012 and began to get some hype when they did YouTube covers and released some music on SoundCloud.
They released their first album in June 2013 called 2 Cool 4 Skool and the album peaked at number five on the Gaon Album Chart and sold 145,000 copies.
They Started Off Slow
That wasn't bad for a debut album, but it certainly wasn't anything too special. None of their singles were major hits. They decided that they needed to expand into other markets, so they re-recorded their album into other languages.
Later that year, they released another EP called O!RUL8,2? which had a few successful singles and sold 160,000 copies to date. TV executives saw the potential that the boys had and within a month of the EP dropping they had their own TV show on SBS MTV.
Their Fame Began To Take New "World Wide" Legs...
By the end of 2013 and into 2014, they were recognized with several New Artist of the Year awards. By the time they released their third album, Skool Luv Affair, they were starting to get worldwide recognition. It peaked at number three on Billboard's World Albums Chart.
By 2015, momentum was on their side. They began touring in Japan and holding soldout concerts in South Korea. They were the only Korean band to be featured on Fuse's 27 Best Albums of 2015. Their single "Dope" was the first music video released in October 2015 to hit 100,000,000 views on YouTube.
Jimin
Jimin is known as the most energetic member of BTS. He's one of the favorites and is a lead vocalist in the group. Oddly enough, he was the last member to join the band and says that his main role model is Chris Brown.
He went to school for dance, studying contemporary dance including popping and locking. He's known for his "kind eyes" that the BTS Army screams about at every concert.
RM
RM, or Rap Monster, is the leader of the group. He's the only one who can speak fluent English, so he's the only one who speaks during American interviews or award shows. He said that he entirely taught himself how to speak English with no schooling. Interestingly enough, the 24-year-old has an electronic engineering degree and even studied abroad in New Zealand.
He's one of the rappers in the band and cites Kanye West and A$AP Rocky as his inspirations.
Jin
Jin is the oldest member of the band. At 26 years old, he's the most educated as well. He has a master's degree in film which is impressive enough considering he's had to juggle fame and schooling.
In classic BTS style, he thinks that he looks the best when he's rocking pink hair. In an interview that ended up picking up a lot of press, he said if he was a girl he would date Jimin because he's shy. He's one of the best cooks in the group which is helpful for those long stressful days practicing their routine.
Jungkook
Before we take a deeper look into the band and their wild success, let's dive into the band members that drive this musical phenomenon to such high popularity. Jungkook is one of the youngest members of the band.
Incredibly enough, he holds a black belt in taekwondo. When he was little he wanted to become a professional badminton player. It's safe to say he made a good choice to go to the singer/dancer route.
The Rise Of Jungkookie
On March 7th, 2019, Jungkook Hyung introduced himself to the world as Jungkookie Hyung. While Jungkook is his official BTS stage name, Jugkookie is the name BTS super fans (also known as ARMYs) call him when they want to express how cute they think he is.
When Jungkook referred to himself as Jungkookie, BTS fans completely freaked out because Jungkook was acknowledging the impact that the fans have had on his life.
Suga
With a name like Suga, you know he has to be sweet. Suga is another one of the band members who raps. He, like RM, says that Kanye West is the biggest inspiration to him, but he also says rappers like Lil Wayne and Hit Boy had an impact.
Even though the guys aren't allowed to date in public, he says any girl that he would be interested in would have to share his love of hip-hop.
J-Hope
The 23-year-old rapper is one of the most enthusiastic members of the band. He chose his stage name because he wants to be a beacon of hope and light for his fans.
Before he was in BTS, he was part of an underground dance team called Neuron which won him many dancing awards. He's the main dancer for the group and raps on many tracks as well. He was the third member to join the boy band.
V
His real name is Kim Tae Hyung, but he chooses to go by "V" because it stands for victory. He's one of the only ones who has taken a liking to acting and made his onscreen debut in a historical drama called Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth, acting under his real name.
The other members of the band call him Blank Tae because of the blank expression that he always has on his face.
Not To Brag, But...
Now, let's get back to just how popular this group is, because honestly, as an American it can be hard to fathom their level of fame. As I mentioned, they're the first K-pop group to perform at the Billboard and American Music Awards.
They have the most Twitter engagements and most tweeted hashtags in 24 hours (ever, out of ANYONE in the history of Twitter). They have the highest charting K-pop albums on Billboard, and have sold the most album copies for any Asian group.
Social Media Kings
BTS became the first K-pop act to get its very own Twitter emoji in 2016 and the following year, they got a second one. Like I've said a million times, it's very hard to put into perspective how popular they are. In 2017, BTS was liked or retweeted 502 million times. Meanwhile, Justin Bieber was only liked or retweeted 22 million times.
The boys think that their success is driven by their sincerity and skills.
Move Over Taylor Swift
One of the most telling records that they've ever taken should paint the picture perfectly as to how popular they are. They have the record for most YouTube views in 24 hours with 56.2 million views on their song Idol, which beat Taylor Swift's previous record for her song Look What You Made Me Do, which had 43.2 million views.
Think about that number for a second and tell me you're not astonished.
K-Pop Never Explored Hip-Hop
Hip-hop has been in the Korean music scene for a while, but no one has been able to popularize it quite like BTS. It's a bit bizarre that it took a boyband to popularize a form of Korean hip-hop, but that's what happened.
With three rappers in the group, they've made the hip-hop genre more known to audiences that are more likely to listen to bubblegum-pop music. A few of the members, like RM and Suga, had been apart of the underground hip-hop scene before debuting with the band.
They've Changed K-Pop Forever
For the most part, K-pop has been an industry that allows their artist very little autonomy and say into their careers. That's changed over the past few years and a lot of credit can be given to BTS and specifically RM and Suga.
They've been allowed to show off their production skills. Not only are they helping to co-write many of their hit songs, but they've both also produced their own mixtapes.
The BTS Army Is Fierce
BTS has marketed themselves very effectively around the world. What makes them so special and unlike any other K-Pop act is that they've been able to connect to their fans on a personal level. Their social media presence is enormous and, not so surprisingly, their music is actually very good.
The fans are incredibly passionate. In fact, they've been compared to the early Justin Bieber days, and even The Beatles.
The Dedication Is Real
Their fans all fall into a community called The Army. That name couldn't be more fitting to who they are. Well, I mean, it's an army of teenage girls, but it's certainly the biggest army in the entire world. Fans have tattoos of their faces, and they pay thousands of dollars to see them live.
In one case famous case, a BTS fan drove across the U.S. with her mom to go to a concert. They could only afford one ticket, so her mom stayed outside and waited for three hours. The dedication is incredible.
Their Work Ethic Is Insane
While the life of a K-pop star can seem very glamorous, often times it's anything but. You have to be willing to work all day and night, and contact with friends and family can be very limited.
Dating is strictly prohibited because the element of being "single" helps drive sales. Their diets are monitored very closely and they're expected to stay in great shape. The boys of BTS say that they've practiced for 15 hours a day on many occasions.
The Dark Side Of Fame
Unfortunately, there is a dark side to having the level of fame that they do. Not only are their lives under a microscope around the world, but they've also received many death threats.
During a show in New York, they had to cancel it early when someone tweeted a picture of a gun and talked about wanting to kill RM. This also happened in Los Angeles when someone claimed they were going to kill Jimin. They didn't cancel the show, but heightened security instead.
The Future
The BTS boys will hold a very powerful legacy in the music industry even if they were to disappear tomorrow (which doesn't seem very likely). They're going to be known as the group that made America take K-pop seriously.
Their latest album went number one on the iTunes charts in 73 different countries across three different continents. There doesn't seem to be a ceiling for these guys who are quickly taking over the world.
