BTS might be the most popular boy group the world has ever seen.
With record-setting views for their YouTube music videos and album sales along with their money-making star power — the group brought in $130 million in 2019 sales from merchandising alone, according to The Hollywood Reporter — the seven-member K-pop group are a worldwide sensation.
We took a look at BTS’s rise from humble beginnings to the top and how the members have transformed the music industry.
The Beginnings
BTS members were first recruited in 2010 by their current management company HYBE LABELS at the time known as Big Hit Entertainment, a South Korean music label.
Entertainment companies like Big Hit had a few different ways to recruit talent whether it’s online or in real life.
For example, BTS member Suga was discovered through an online audition in 2010 while Jungkook told that he was discovered by talent agencies after auditioning for “Superstar K,” a Korean show similar to “American Idol.”
trainee Days
After being recruited, the boys become trainees who received coaching to prepare them to be superstars. This includes dancing and singing lessons as well as acting and media training.
“Think of it like college,” Bang Si-Hyuk, the founder and Co-CEO of Big Hit, said in the HBS case study.
Many of these trainees are young teenagers between the ages of 13 to 15, according to the study. The boy group’s youngest member, JungKook, now 24, was 14 when he first started as a trainee for Big Hit before debuting a few months before turning 16. He shared his journey dating back to his beginnings as a trainee in his single “My Time” that was released in BTS’ album “Map of the Soul: 7” in February 2020.
The training process to become a K-pop band
Trainees prepare to debut as K-pop artists after ya n average of 3/4 years
It’s a pretty cut-throat process, there are around a dozen trainees for every person that makes it. That means upwards of 80 people may have auditioned for BTS, but RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook are the ones who made it.
As for this rigid process of talent development, Bang told scholars of the study that the concerns of “manufacturing” groups, at the cost of individuality, are valid. He says the company strives to “strike an ideal balance between the efficiency of the system and respect for each artist’s individuality,”
BTS was originally was set to debut as a hip-hop group, but the band pivoted to the “idol model.”
Initially, BTS was going to be a hip-hop crew focused on rappers. Bang said that the company shifted away from this pure focus on hip-hop and eventually pivoted to the “idol model.”
The term Idols is usually used to refer to K-pop artists who combine singing and dancing in their performances.
BTS debuted the band’s first album in 2013.
BTS officially debuted as a seven-member K-pop idol group in the summer of 2013.
Their first album “2 COOL 4 SKOOL” saw a fair amount of success, placing tenth on a monthly Korean music chart a month after release. The album’s title song, “No more dream” can be interpreted as a commentary on the pressures of growing up as a teenager in Korea.
Music with messages around social issues and positive lyrics has become the group’s musical identity.
BTS music typically includes a message about social issues and positive thoughts for their fandom ARMY.
“The whole company’s philosophy is to make music that matters. BTS’s music brought back K-pop’s “early roots” where idol groups like H.O.T. grappled with social issues in Korea.
But around the time BTS debuted, however, it was unusual that groups used their music for explicit social commentary.
people became fans because they were captivated by the group’s music that consistently shares messages about loving yourself and coming together.
“A lot of their songs are interlinked with each other, so their lyrics aren’t in a vacuum.
BTS promotes Korean Identity in their music.
BTS’s music is centered around their identity as Korean artists, which was rarely seen in the industry previously.
The group incorporates social commentary on issues local to Korea, includes Korean dialects in their music (their song “Paldogangsan” is literally rap about Korean regional dialects, dubbed “Satori”), and wears traditional Korean Hanbok clothing (Suga dressed in Hanbok for the music video of his 2020 single “Daechwita”).
“In the beginning, BTS embraced their Korean identity, because they wanted to share narratives that were authentic to them, as Korean citizens, they’re the largest K-pop group right now, and they’re not going to hide their Korean identity… because that’s who they are.”
While Korean heritage is an important part of the group’s musical identity, it’s been an “uphill battle” to see coverage from people who understand Asian and Korean culture.
The beginning of the official fan club called “A.R.M.Y.”
Around a year after BTS debuted in 2013, their official fan club came together. The fan club, called “A.R.M.Y.,” is short for “Adorable Representative M.C. For Youth
“A strong alliance between the artists and the fans is a fundamental part of K-pop fandom culture. Many other K-pop groups such as BLACKPINK also have official fan clubs that support them.
BTS fans' presence in the age of social media.
BTS and other K-pop fans have become a movement unto themselves online.
Last year, BTS fans have received national attention for their viral digital activism such as matching the K-pop group’s $1 million donations to the Black Lives Matter movement. K-pop fans also said they reserved thousands of tickets for President Donald Trump’s rally in Oklahoma before not showing up (rows of seats remained empty at the rally though it’s unclear if the viral campaign by K-pop fans was the reason why).
Fans are able to see the tangible impact they can make as consumers and are “empowered” to be proactive about using their social capital as a collective fandom.
BTS since 2013.
A few years after their debut in 2015, BTS came in first place on a weekly music performance show on one of Korea’s three major television broadcast networks with their first single with “I Need U” from their third mini-album, “The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Pt. 1.”
Since then, the group has continued to shatter records. In March 2020, BTS’ “Map of the Soul: 7” album marked the group’s fourth №1 album on the Billboard 200 chart. The album recorded 347,000 album sales and over 74 million on-demand streams, making it the “largest week for any album in 2020,” Billboard reported at the time.
For the music video for “ON,” the album’s lead single, the Head of Culture and Trends at YouTube confirmed that they “set a new record for peak viewers for a premiere.”
Most recently, BTS topped a Guinness World Record for most viewed concert Livestream in a virtual concert that was viewed by over 700,000 fans globally.
BTS’ new single “Butter” has broken the record for the most viewers for the premiere of a video on YouTube with 3.9 million concurrent viewers for its premiere on 21 May 2021.
In turn, it has also broken the record for the most viewers for the premiere of a music video on YouTube. The record was confirmed by YouTube on 24 May.
BTS previously held this record with their single “Dynamite”, which had 3 million concurrent peak viewers.
24 hours after its release, “Butter” also broke the record for the most-viewed YouTube music video in 24 hours with 108,200,000 views, also breaking the record for the most-viewed YouTube music video in 24 hours by a K-pop group.
However, these aren’t the only records “Butter” has achieved in such a short space of time.
After the single dropped on Spotify it garnered 11,042,335 global streams in just one day, breaking the record for the most streamed track on Spotify in the first 24 hours.
The track beat Ed Sheeran (UK) and Justin Bieber’s (USA) track “I Don’t Care” by 64,946 streams.
BTS’ success on Spotify was confirmed by yet another record, marking their unrivaled number of streams on the platform.
As of 11 August 2021, the music of BTS had been streamed 16.4 billion times on Spotify, breaking the record for the most-streamed act on Spotify (group).
Their singles “Dynamite” (829.7 m) and “Boy with Luv” (642.6 m) are their most-streamed tracks.
British band Coldplay previously held this record with 16.1 billion streams as of August 2021 but are now the second most-streamed group after BTS. Imagine Dragons are the third most-streamed group with 15.7 billion streams. Meanwhile, Drake’s 38 billion streams lead the way overall.
These latest accolades bring BTS’ number of records up to an incredible 23 making them one of the most successful music groups in Guinness World Records history, alongside other chart-toppers like Ariana Grande, Mariah Carey, Madonna, and The Beatles.
These five records are not the first the group has achieved in 2021.
After the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards in March, BTS now tie the record of the most Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards won by a music group with Fifth Harmony, with five wins each.
As of 11 August 2021, “Butter” also broke the record for the most weeks at №1 on Billboard’s Top 100, for 8 weeks
BTS is the first K-pop artist to present at the grammy awards.
In 2019, BTS became the first K-pop artist to present at the Grammy Awards. The following year 2020, they became the first K-pop artist to perform at the award show. In 2021 BTS get 2 nominations but with no win, sparking controversy within BTS fans that promised to boycott next year Grammys
No limit for BTS.
It is certain that BTS is a great story of success from the humble beginnings of a basement where they used to practice to becoming arguably the Biggest Band in History, making everybody love them for their Music, looks, positive and thoughtful lyrics.
BTS still has a lot of time ahead to shine.
Khood News
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