Originating from South Korea, BTS was the biggest boy band in the world as of 2018. The seven-member group debuted in 2013 and has been taking the world by storm ever since. Their devoted followers keep them trending on social media platforms and they have broken records on YouTube, international, and domestic charts. They’re basically the N’SYNC and Backstreet Boys of Korea.
Read on to find out more information about this K-pop group and they’re over the top performances.
Who are BTS?
BTS originally stood for “Bangtan Sonyeondan”. This roughly translates to “Bulletproof Boy Scouts” in English. The group decided to rebrand themselves in 2017 and BTS now means, “Beyond the Scene.” 1
The group is made up of seven young men who are all from South Korea. Their music and albums are centered around self-acceptance. This alone has been a major reason they have garnered such a large global audience.
Their union happened in a very unconventional way that can only be described as fate. Let’s get to know a little bit about each band member and discover how they all came together to become one of the biggest names on the K-pop circuit.
RM (Kim Nam Joon), 26
RM, Rap Monster, was an underground battle rapper at the time he was discovered and scouted by Bang Si-hyuk, the founder of BTS. RM adds several unique qualities to the group. He has collaborated with artists like Wale, he was the first in the group to release his own rap mixtape and he is the only member of the group who can speak English. He taught himself English by watching episodes of “Friends”.
In September 2018, RM delivered a speech in English to the U.N. General Assembly in New York City to support youth empowerment initiatives.
“No matter who you are or where you’re from, your skin color, your gender identity, speak {for} yourself.”
RM is a huge advocate for gay / lesbian rights and his role models are Kanye West and A$AP Rocky.
Many of the group members have released solo albums apart from the group. RM released a self-titled album in 2015. The tracklist is as follows:
Voice
Do You
Awakening
Monster
Throw Away
Joke
God Rap
Rush
Life
Adrift
I Believe
RM is rumored to be the only remaining original member of the group, but it is unclear who the other members were.
Suga (Min Yoon Gi), 27
Suga also started as an underground rapper by the name of Gloss. Suga’s current nickname came from his early years of playing basketball. He is known for rapid-fire rhymes. He is definitely not afraid to speak out against matters and issues that interest him such as mental health and politics. He is a producer who has produced many of BTS’s tracks as well as worked on projects with other artists.
Like RM, Suga released a solo mixtape in 2016 titled “Agust D”. The tracklist features:
DT Suga
Agust D
Give It To Me
Skit
724148
At Dawn
The Last
Tony Montana feat. Yankie
Interlude: Dream, Reality
So Far Away
Suga also likes Kanye West as well as Lupe Fiasco, Lil Wayne and Hit Boy.
J-Hope (Jung Ho Seok), 26
J-Hope was first known for his dance skills on an underground dance crew in Gwangju. Since becoming part of BTS, he has broadened his musical talents to include singing and songwriting. He released his own mixtape in 2018 titled “Hope World”. J-Hope made the Billboard 200 chart and the album shared his signature message of optimism and peace. J-Hope is also very into fashion.
The tracklist for Hope World features:
Hope World
P.O.P (Piece of Peace)
Daydream
Base Line
Hangsang
Airplane
Blue Side
J-Hope was the rapper 2 AM JoKwon’s “Animal”. His role models are A$AP Rocky, J. Cole and Beenzino.
Jimin (Park Ji Min), 24
The last member of BTS, Jimin was discovered while he was in high school for his dance moves, particularly modern dance. During shows, he performs the solo “Serendipity” and gets his energy from the crowd singing along to the music he and his fellow bandmates create.
Jimin is also a theatre and film major with a bachelor’s degree from Global Cyber University.
Jin (Kim Seok Jin), 27
Jin had a following before becoming part of BTS. As an amateur foodie, Jin was well known for his food vlog “Eat Jin”. On his vlog, he has posted videos of himself and bandmates eating home-cooked meals and voicing their opinions. It’s rumored that all seven band members live together and Jin does all the cooking for the house. Aside from cooking, he also contributes to singing to the band.
V, 24
Every group needs at least one R&B vibe. BTS has that in V. He really shines through on some of the lower-tempo songs from the band. His fifteen seconds of fame (which happens every show!) is when he sings and dances with a life-sized puppet of sorts in a duet to his solo song “Singularity”. Other than songwriting and producing, he also enjoys acting and has recently become interested in photography.
Jung Kook, 23
The youngest member of the group, he fills the groups “Maknae”, a special role in K-pop groups reserved for the youngest members. He appeared on “King of Masked Singer”, the South Korean version of “The Masked Singer”. Aside from performing, he loves to share his pen and paper illustrations on social media.
K-Pop Fame
After Big Hit Entertainment’s Bang Si-hyuk brought the boys together, he introduced BTS to the world with their first album entitled “2 Cool 4 Skool” in 2013.
The tracklist is:
2 Cool 4 Skool
We Are Bulletproof
Skit: Circle Room Talk
No More Dream
Interlude
I Like It
Outro: Circle Room Cypher
The lead single “No More Dream” gave them slight success. The group decided to enter the Japanese market with a Japanese version of the single. The group has continued to release albums in Korean and Japanese and tour Asia over the following years. They’ve even made a few stops in the U.S. for KCON.
Going International
In 2016, the group began to gain international success with their “Wings” EP.
The tracklist for Wings is as follows:
Intro: Boy Meets Evil
Blood, Sweat and Tears
Begin
Lie
Stigma
First Love
Reflection
MAMA
Awake
Lost
BTS Cypher 4
Am I Wrong
21 Century Girls
2! 3!
Interlude: Wings
The group hit a major milestone when they hit the Billboard Top Social Artist chart, They beat out Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez and stayed at the top for 95 weeks. Their 2017 Billboard Music Awards appearance helped them gain traction in the United States.
In 2018, BTS sold out a month-long North American tour, appeared on “Good Morning America” and “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon”.
Becoming a BTS fan
If you’re looking to become a BTS fan, they recommend you start with their hits. If you’re looking for more of their fast-paced, high energy music, start with:
DNA
Blood, Sweat and Tears
Mic Drop
If you’re looking for something more soulful, you need to listen to their slower jams like:
Magic Shop
The Truth Untold
Don’t forget about RM, Suga and J-hope! Their rap mixtapes are also good ways to discover the group’s distinct “flavors” in music.
If you decide to become a die-hard BTS fan, be prepared to be part of the A.R.M.Y, Adorable Representative M.C. for Youth. The ARMY really helps keep this group propelled in success. They support the group during album, song or video releases and promotional appearances. They keep Twitter hot with informational posts about the band’s whereabouts or upcoming activities. In 2017, the ARMY helped BTS become one of the most tweeted about celebrity groups on Twitter.
The ARMY even goes as far as camping out overnight to be first for shows, appearances, albums, and other merchandise. Things sell out quickly even in North America. That’s how popular this band has become in such a little time.
BTS is very loyal to its fans. They keep their twitter and other social media pages updated frequently. They’ve also taken advantage of live streaming so that their fans can get an inside look at their personal lives. The members go live multiple times a week and interact with fans. They’ve even added English subtitles for their international fans. They also have a web series called “Bangtan Bomb” where they interact with their audience by showing clips of their daily lives and tours.
The BTS ARMY thanks the group by making sure they have a huge presence on YouTube as well. In 2016, the ARMY stepped up and helped the group get over 450,000 votes on the “Billboard Fan Army Face-off”.
In 2015, BTS was the first K-pop group to receive their very own, personalized Twitter emoji.
Pandemic Performances
In an attempt to keep 2020 from being a total bust concert-wise, NPR came up with Tiny Desk concerts. These concerts are a very stripped down version of a life, yet intimate performance in your home. Billie Eilish and John Legend have taken the stage and as of Monday, September 21, BTS has been added to that list. 5
The group performed from a vinyl and plastic store in their hometown of Seoul, South Korea. They opened with “Dynamite”, the disco-pop song that put BTS as number one on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart. They also sang their 2017 hit, “Spring Day” in an attempt to brighten the mood of the pandemic and the rough summer we’ve all suffered because of it.
Even though it was an intimate performance in a record store, the group still sang and danced as if they were performing for a packed, sold-out concert. Again, going above and beyond for the BTS Army.
Fun Facts
The ARMY definitely knows everything there is to know about the boys, but here are some things us “commoners” might find interesting: 4
During their first live performance, Jin’s pants fell down because the microphone pack was too heavy and weighed them down.
Suga is an exceptional songwriter and he wrote the song “I Like It” in under forty minutes.
If you’re serious about becoming part of the ARMY, but struggle with the Korean language, the group has launched a web series on WeVerse to help fans learn the Korean language.
Suga admitted that even if he wasn’t a member of BTS, he would still compose and produce music because that’s what he really enjoys doing.
Jungkook is afraid of microwaves.
J-hope is the only member of the group whose ears aren’t pierced.
Jimin is one of the only band members to use his real name. The nickname “Baby G” was thrown around but he respectfully declined.
V is a saxophonist.
BTS was almost called Big Kidz or Young Nation.
BTS used to live together all in one room.
Suga is obsessed with writing and writes music daily.
RM and Halsey are actually really good friends and have a secret handshake.
V made his first acting debut in 2017 in a drama called “Hwarang”.
Jin can cry on cue.
The entire BTS group has been placed on TC Candler “The 100 Most Handsome Faces” lists between 2016 and 2018.
BTS has been performing and living together for so long, they can communicate with each other without words.
Although the group dabbles in many different genres, they were supposed to be an exclusive hip-hop group.
Sources:
https://time.com/collection-post/5418827/bts-members
https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround
https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/how-did-bts-get-discovered.html/
https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/k-town/7549984/bts-kpop-must-know-facts
https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2020/09/21/bts-dynamite-save-me-performance-tiny-desk-concert-wows-fans/5851461002/
https://www.cosmopolitan.com/entertainment/celebs/g28236497/bts-members-trivia/?slide=50
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