BTS - the biggest music in the group in the world right now.
The seven superstars who make up the boy band have been smashing long-standing records time after time.
Catchy music, slick moves, and a passionate fanbase (the ARMY) have catapulted BTS to the top of the charts across the globe.
Here, we explain how it’s all happened, what’s ahead, how they plan to be Butter.
BEGINNING OF BTS
BTS is a South Korean boyband that debuted in 2013.
Their name is an acronym for the Korean phrase “Bangtan Sonyeondan” which translates to “Bulletproof Boy Scouts”.
BUT… for their English fans, they adapted BTS to stand for “Beyond The Scene”.
WHO ARE THE MEMBERS
There are 7 members:
RM
Once short for Rap Monster, now just RM.
He’s the leader of BTS and is fluent in English, after watching a LOT of the sitcom Friends, and studying for a few months in New Zealand when he was young.
Jin
At 28, he’s the oldest member of the group, and one of their singers.
Suga
Suga is a rapper but initially wanted to be a producer.
J-Hope
J-Hope is also a rapper one of the creative forces of the group, writing a number of their hits, and takes charge during dance rehearsals.
V
Singer V is also an actor and was once voted Sexiest Existing Musician through a poll via Naver, a leading Korean website.
Jungkook
Jungkook is the baby of the band, at just 23 years old, and is an all-rounder. He was just 15 when he joined the group.
Jimin
Jimin was the last member to join the group.. and is their lead singer and strongest, dancer.
THE MUSIC
K-Pop has grown in popularity over the last few years. But no acts have reached the popularity of BTS.
They’re the best-selling artists in South Korea’s history.
They became the fastest group since The Beatles to earn four US number one albums. They did it in less than two years.
They broke the record of the most YouTube views in 24 hours in August 2020, with their first English-language song “Dynamite” video reaching 101.1 million views in just a day.
They then broke their own record AGAIN on May 21 of this year.. when their second English song - BUTTER - racked up 108.2 million views. Huge! But beyond the statistics.. their music connects on many levels.
Their songs aren’t just about relationships and love. They tackle issues like bullying, elitism, and mental health. Surpassing 500M VIEWS already
THE PERFORMANCE
Like any good boy bad, BTS has a live show that is on fire.
Their moves are slick and their music videos are slicker. But they put in the hard yards.
For each performance, the band practice for 12 to 15 hours a day to get it right.
THE FANS
Finally, and probably most importantly, BTS owe their success to their fans.
And the internet.
Obvious, I know. But worth pointing out. At the time of publishing they have:
43 million Insta followers
30 mil on Twitter, 18 on Facebook
And 51 million on YouTube, and their channel has had more than 10 BILLION views.
Their fans are a formidable presence.
They are known as ARMY, which stands for “Adorable Representative M.C. for Youth”.
Fans are part of an annual ‘recruitment’, where they join the official club.
It is estimated that there are 50 million recruited members of the BTS army (significantly more than any other army on earth. You’ve been warned!)
Look, the numbers are extraordinary, but so is the appetite for their music
Since Butter was released, it smashed ALL records.
But they want Butter to do one better.. in the form of the one award they’re yet to win
RM made no secret of their hunger for music’s most coveted prize
“We are thinking of the Grammys and we will do whatever we can to set (winning a Grammy) as a goal.”
HERE TO BE REMEMBERED
No doubt the statistics noted here will age, and pretty quickly.
More music will come, more tours announced more recruits for the ARMY.
But, if the band can keep sharing positive messages through their music and lyrics, that can only be a good thing.
We’ll leave the closing words to the BTS frontman himself, who said this when addressing the United Nations (and yes, they made history there too, as the first K-pop group to be invited).
RM spoke about overcoming insecurities and urged other young people to do the same.
“I’ve made many and plenty of mistakes in my life,” he said.
“I have many faults and I have many more fears, but I’m going to embrace myself as hard as I can. And I’m starting to love myself gradually just little by little.”
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