BTS, also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a seven-member South Korean boy band that formed in 2010 and made its debut in 2013 under the Big Hit Entertainment label. Their musical style has grown to encompass a wide variety of styles since the beginning as a hip-hop collective. Their songs, which are often based on personal and social criticism. They address issues such as mental health and adolescent problems. Furthermore, they also address coming-of-age, loss, the path toward self-love, and individualism. Their work contains parallels to literature and philosophical ideas. Additionally, it contains a plot set in an alternate world. The band has recorded several albums and taken part in several international tours.
Name Origins
The acronym BTS stands for Bangtan Sonyeondan, which translates to “Bulletproof Boy Scouts” in Korean. The name, according to member J-Hope, represents the group’s willingness to “block out prejudices, critiques, and perceptions that strike like bullets at teenagers.” They are known in Japan as Bdan Shnendan, which translates to “Bdan Shnendan.” As part of their current brand identity, BTS revealed in July 2017 that their name will also stand for “Beyond the Scene.”
Early Years
Bang Si-hyuk agreed that the contemporary youth wanted “a savior who can lend them a shoulder to rely on, even without saying a single word” between their initial creation and debut. Before their debut was delayed and the group was reorganized into a more conventional idol group, the group was featured on many tracks by artists such as 2 AM and Lee Seung-gi. In 2012, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook were added to the roster. They started to attract recognition six months before their debut due to their appearance on numerous social media platforms, as well as album covers on YouTube and SoundCloud.
BTS released the second installment of their “school series,” the extended play in September 2013, along with the single “N.O,” which reached number 92 in Korea. In Korea, the EP reached number four and has since sold over 160,000 copies, including 34,000 in its first year. BTS did not significantly alter their sound from 2 Cool 4 Skool. They stuck to fiery rapping, trap drums, brass, and soulful melodies. The EP’s lyrics built on the theme of hopes and happiness. This revealed their dissatisfaction with the harsh Korean educational system. As well as their resolve to face the struggle of proving themselves.
Despite many appearances on Korean music programs, the song soon faded from view. BTS also appeared in their own variety program, SBS MTV’s Rookie King Channel Bangtan. It was based on a fictitious radio station called “Channel Bangtan,”. In the program, participants mocked shows like VJ Special Forces and MasterChef Korea.
Mainstream breakthrough and commercial success
BTS sought to convey the elegance and anxiety of “youth” and settled on the concept of vaguely understood to describe “youth” as “the most beautiful moment of existence,” shifting their sound and appearance from purely violent, masculine hip hop to more complex forms. The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 1 (March 2015) was their third EP. It looked at the development and emotional agony of youth as well as its playful and uplifting aspects.
It was the only Korean album included in Fuse’s list of the “27 Best Albums of 2015 So Far.” To date, the EP has sold over 415,000 copies. Its lead song, “I Need U,” became BTS’s first top-five hit in Korea. It earned the group their first-ever music show victory on SBS MTV’s The Show. About the fact that its second single, “Dope,” only reached number 44 in Korea. It reached number three on Billboard’s World Digital Songs Chart.
In June, the band embarked on a world tour expansion of their Red Bullet Tour, dubbed 2015 Live Trilogy Episode II: The Red Bullet, which took them to cities throughout Asia, Oceania, North America, and Latin America. To commemorate the first anniversary of their Japanese debut, their fourth Japanese single, “About You,” was released on June 17. It immediately topped Oricon’s daily list, selling over 42,000 copies on its first day. On the 15th and 16th of August, BTS played at Japan’s Summer Sonic Festival.
Further Success
During the Seoul dates of BTS’ third concert tour, 2015 BTS LIVE “The Most Beautiful Moment in Life. The EP’s themes became more critical and speculative, touching on the achievement of prosperity, depression, love for their roots, and the plight of the younger generation as a result of current society’s unfavorable circumstances.
It was hailed by critics as a strong fusion of The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 1’s style with BTS’s initial persona. The album topped the Gaon Album and Billboard World Albums charts last week, making BTS the first K-pop act to do so for multiple weeks. It was also their first appearance on the Billboard 200 chart, with over 5,000 copies sold reaching number 171. In appreciation of their foreign fan base, BTS gets Best World Performer at the 17th Mnet Asian Music Awards.
Asian Tour
It included three new singles: “Epilogue: Young Forever,” “Fire,” and “Save Me,” all of which charted in the top 40. The album topped the Gaon Weekly Chart in Korea for two weeks in a row and reached number 107 on the Billboard 200 in the United States. The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: Young Forever went on to win BTS’ first big Korean award, the 8th Melon Music Awards, for Album of the Year.
From May to August, BTS continued their Asia tour, 2016 BTS LIVE “The Most Beautiful Moment in Life On Stage: Epilogue,” visiting ten cities and playing in front of 144,000 fans. BTS hosted a historic two-day concert at the Olympic Gymnastics Arena in Seoul in May, as well as becoming the first-ever headliners at both U.S. KCON shows in Newark (June) and Los Angeles (July), both to sold-out crowds. In May 2016, they became the first K-pop group to get their own Twitter emoji, following in the footsteps of their other achievements.
International Success
With the Love Yourself: Her EP, BTS reached new commercial heights, debuting at number seven on the Billboard 200 with 31,000 album-equivalent units. In Korea, the EP sold over 1.2 million copies in its first month on the Gaon Album Chart, making it the highest monthly album sales on any Korean chart in 16 years, second only to g.o.d’s Chapter 4 album in 2001.
The song “DNA,” released at the same time as the EP, gets up at number two in Korea. With more than 20 million views on YouTube in the first 24 hours, the music video shattered the previous record for most-viewed K-pop group music video.
The next week, “DNA” climbed to number 67 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the highest-charting single for a K-pop artist, surpassing Wonder Girls’ previous record of number 76. The subsequent song, “Mic Drop (Remix),” reached number 28 on the Billboard Hot 100. This makes it the first K-pop group to reach the top 40.
The cultural impact of BTS
BTS has been dubbed “Princes of Pop” by Time for being “easily the biggest and most famous name of K-pop in the world” who can “do things no other name in their genre can.” Helena Kosinski, vice president of Nielsen Music, said that “BTS wasn’t the first to introduce K-Pop to the world. But they were the first to make it mainstream. They cater not only to young people but also people in their 50s and 60s.”
BTS was the first non-English speaking artist to chart on the Global Artist Chart in 2018, with the second and third best-selling albums and the second and third best-selling acts in terms of physical, digital, and streaming formats, behind only Drake. For the second year in a row, BTS got one of the top 10 Global Recording Artists of the Year by IFPI, ranked #7. BTS was the first non-English singer to win the IFPI’s #1 Global Recording Artist of the Year award in 2020.
They are technically the only non-English-speaking act to cut. BTS accounted for 72.7 percent of album consumption units produced by K-pop acts in the United States in 2018. This was out of a total of 17 acts. In the first half of 2019, BTS accounted for 41.9 percent of album sales in South Korea. This means their sales went up from 25.3 percent the previous year. BTS got #4 on Billboard’s Top Social Artists of the 2010s chart. This was in November 2019, making them the highest-ranking group on the list. On Billboard’s Top Touring Artists of the 2010s chart, BTS got #45. They are also the highest-ranked Asian act and the only non-English-speaking act on the list.
BTS Legacy
The group’s clout has led them to speak at the United Nations’ 73rd General Assembly. They appeared in front of 400 dignitaries, including South Korean President Moon Jae-in. This was at the 2018 Korea-France Friendship Concert in Paris, a summit aimed at demonstrating the two countries’ good ties. Speaker of the National Assembly Moon Hee-sang said, “BTS is doing much of our job,”. He credited the success of his overseas travel to the global community on a trip to support “sales diplomacy.”
President Moon Jae-in included BTS in his ‘3 big breakthrough tactics for the contents industry’ announcement in September 2019. Additionally, BTS has pioneered creative business models that engage directly with fans.
BTS got a “Letter of Appreciation” by the Ministry of Arts, Sports, and Tourism in October 2019. BTS got the most famous artist in Korea for the second year in a row. This was in December 2019, according to Gallup Korea’s annual survey.
BTS came in second place with 5.5 percent of the vote in the “2019 South Korean National Image” according to a survey conducted. About the fact that cultural awards are typically awarded to recipients of more than 15 years of notable accomplishments. BTS became the youngest ever recipient of the Order of Cultural Merit by the President of South Korea in 2018. Only five years after their debut, they received the award for their significant contributions to the dissemination of Korean culture and language.
Awards and achievements of BTS
BTS has won 33 Mnet Asian Music Awards, 29 Melon Music Awards. They also have 24 Golden Disc Awards, 20 Seoul Music Awards, 6 Korean Music Awards, and 19 Gaon Chart Music Awards. Also, BTS is the best-selling artist in South Korean history. They have over 20.3 million albums sold on the Gaon Music Chart. This means they surpass Shin Seung-previous hun’s record of 17 million albums.
They have five Multi-Million albums and four Platinum streaming songs in South Korea. BTS has one Double Platinum single, two Platinum albums, three Platinum songs. Additionally, they also have two Gold singles and one Gold album in the United States. This makes them the first Korean artist to earn an RIAA certification. BTS is the first male international artist to earn a million certifications for a song in Japan. Also, they have two Multi-Platinum singles, two Multi-Platinum albums, two Platinum albums, and four Gold albums to their credit. With two Silver single certifications, BTS is the first Korean group to gain certifications in the United Kingdom.
BTS became the first K-Pop artist to spend a year on the Billboard 200 on November 7, 2019. “Love Yourself: Response” has stayed on Billboard’s key albums list for 98 weeks in a row as of February 2021. This makes it the first and only K-pop album to do so.
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