When BTS performed its first show on U.S. soil in 2014, nobody would have believed this
K-pop boy band would someday generate more tweets than Donald Trump, but by the beginning
of 2018, they were everywhere.
The seven members; RM, Jimin, Suga, J-Hope, Jin, V, and Jungkook; might not be household
names in the States just yet, but they will be soon.
An abbreviation for "Bulletproof Boy Scouts" in Korean, the band adopted a new English
name in 2017, declaring that BTS would also stand for "Beyond the Scene."
As of mid 2018, BTS has sold an estimated 5 million albums since its debut in 2013,
and the group expects to sell a lot more.
But how did these guys get so big?
This is the untold truth of BTS.
"Hi, we are BTS.”
No false idols
BTS was formed by Big Hit Entertainment CEO Bang Shi Hyuk back when Big Hit was just a
small fish in the K-pop pond.
After he auditioned for the TV talent show Superstar K, Jungkook reportedly received
calls from seven different K-pop agencies, and chose Big Hit.
According to RM, the dream back then was to create a hip-hip idol band.
He told Elle,
"Suga joined the team after me and J-hope was the third member.…With the rest of the
four members joining the band, BTS was born in 2013."
The following year, BTS flew to L.A. to shoot a series called American Hustle Life, where
they worked with industry legends.
While filming, the group put on its first American concert, a last-minute gig at L.A.'s
Troubadour.
While going global was always the ultimate goal, Hyuk had a much humbler target in mind
at the time, telling Soompi,
"I didn't want them to be false idols.
I wanted to create a BTS that could become a close friend."
"Sometimes BTS is the only reason I wake up in the morning.”
Coming to America — again
After BTS won top social artist at the 2017 Billboard Music Awards, beating out Justin
Bieber, Selena Gomez, and Ariana Grande, America suddenly wanted to know more about BTS.
When the guys landed at LAX ahead of the BBMAs, the press was waiting.
They became involved in a heated exchange with paparazzi, but Big Hit execs were reportedly
thrilled that they'd caused such a ruckus.
"It's always wonderful, you know, to get attacked by love, like we love you that's nice."
The boys did the rounds on the late shows and sat down with various magazines, but winning
at the BBMAs was a historic moment for them.
"Top Social Artist Billboard Music Award BTS.”
RM told Time,
"We were so honored and got to meet so many artists that we love and admire that we can't
wait to return to the States."
Kings of social media
BTS became the first K-pop act to get its very own Twitter emoji in 2016, and the following
year, a second one was released to coincide with the band's new English name, Beyond the
Scene.
In 2017 alone, BTS was liked or retweeted a staggering 502 million times.
To put that into perspective, Justin Bieber was only liked or retweeted 22 million times,
while Donald Trump managed 213 million retweets.
BTS won top social artist for the second year in a row at the 2018 Billboard Music Awards.
While fan engagement has been a key part of their strategy, a few of the boys from BTS
resent the fact that some people believe their success is due strictly to social media.
Suga told Soompi,
"What I find most unfortunate is that some people, after analyzing us, say that we succeeded
only because of our use of social media."
RM agreed, saying,
"People focus only on the fact that we communicated a lot with our fans through social media.
Since we're singers, I think what's more important is that the quality of our music and performances
has to be good above all else."
The condom scandal
Jin is the resident BTS food guru, and he maintains a web series called Eat Jin, in
which he cooks, eats, and gives food tutorials.
But back in 2014, one of his foodie posts sent shockwaves throughout the BTS community,
when one eagle-eyed fan spotted a condom on the floor behind Jin.
In South Korea, celebrities are discouraged from dating, and some are reportedly contractually
obligated to stay single, so they don't upset fans of the opposite sex.
The love lives of the BTS boys have been the subject of much debate over the years, but
they always avoid discussing the topic.
"You guys are all together, but you didn't bring your girlfriends.”
“We got armies.
We got, like, thousands of girlfriends today.”
AllKPop reported that Big Hit Entertainment offered a simple explanation about the photo,
saying,
"Those were presents they received from fans."
The fact that the condom was a brand not available in Korea corroborated the story, but that
didn't stop fans from speculating about a possible relationship between Jin and comedian
Lee Gook-joo.
Future goals
The BTS boys will go down in history as the act that made America take K-pop seriously,
but it isn't just the U.S. that's getting into the group in a big way.
As of May 2018, BTS' latest album, Love Yourself: Her, had topped the iTunes best selling album
chart in 73 countries.
The BTS boys all have their own individual goals for the future, as they explained in
a group interview at the beginning of 2018.
J-Hope wants to stay fit and healthy amid his hectic schedule, telling Soompi,
"We have a lot of plans scheduled for this year, and if we want to accomplish those things,
health needs to be a top priority."
Jungkook revealed that he's given up gaming so he can dedicate more time to becoming a
well-rounded musician, saying,
"I want to learn to play classical music on the piano, and I want to be good at foreign
languages and singing.…Eventually, I'd like to form a BTS band."
Looks like these guys are on the fast track toward global domination.