How BTS Attained World Domination

It's been a while since I updated my blog. Too much paid writing work taking priority is not a bad thing and I'm certainly not complaining though I have been wanting to reanimate my blog for a long time, I sometimes miss writing for myself. This is my first attempt. 

I'd planned to write about BTS for a while, I pitched to a few music publications - many of whom weren't interested in the growing phenomena of K-Pop for some reason?! In researching for one of these pitches, I decided to embark on a write-up piece of my own on these seven young Korean idols. This is that piece. 

Bangtan Songyeondan is an acronym in Korean which literally translates to ‘Bulletproof Boy Scouts’. Comprised of band members V, Jungkook, Jimin, Suga, Jin, J-Hope and lead by RM (formally known as Rap Monster), if you haven’t heard of BTS by now then you soon will. 

In 2018 they dominated 22 of the 25 top spots on the Billboard World Digital Song Sales Chart and their newest album Love Yourself: Answer held the top spot on the Billboard 200 and World Albums list. They have also been no. 1 on the Artist 100, Digital Song Sales and Social 50 lists with every single song on their album having featured on at least one of the Billboard charts. That's a pretty incredible achievement!

The bands recent single ‘IDOL’ features the current Queen of collaboration herself, Nicki Minaj. Unsurprisingly her Barbie aesthetic feels right at home alongside BTS in the music video, which is an assault of colour and clashing patterns. 

Nicki Minaj is not the only Western artist to collaborate with Korea’s favourite seven boy scouts, artists such as rappers Warren G, Wale and DJ and producer Steve Aoki have all been collaborators and band member RM has even appeared on a Fall Out Boy remix. 

Collaboration isn’t the sole reason for their success, that would be underselling BTS in a big way. With countless awards under their collective belts, Top 100 Billboard Album sales, television shows, their own characters on the Asian messenger app LINE and a talent for smashing their own YouTube view count record with every new video, BTS have more than earned their musical stripes.

It’s no wonder that these seven, also known as the Bangtan Boys, have collectively appeared in the Forbes 30 under 30 Asia List 2018. 

The bands perfectly synced choreography, unique sound, eye catching aesthetic and creative involvement with their work is relatively comparable to many other idol groups in South Korea such as Big Bang and BAP. So why is it that BTS has garnered more success in the West then their contemporaries? 

IN THE BEGINNING

It all began back in 2012 when a Twitter account was set up by the bands label, Big Hit Entertainment (then a little known South Korean label). Six months later the official member line-up was released to the public. 

K-pop bands are incredibly mass produced. Young aspiring band members are trained from their teens to sing, rap, dance, act and become all-round performers. Band members are referred to as idols in Korea and Japan and idols feature heavily in popular TV serials, movies and advertisements alongside maintaining their music careers. 

When BTS were presented to the public for the first time in June 2013, their first music video and single ‘No More Dream’ quickly followed and just a day after that their first mini-album 2 Cool 4 Skool dropped. From the very beginning, every part of their image was meticulously planned that even their fandom was given an official name; A.R.M.Y (Adorable Representative MC for Youth). 

These ‘Adorable Representatives’ have grown exponentially over the last five years and have been crucial in skyrocketing the bands success. In the early days of the band, the members would often respond to fans and to each other on social media. 

#IDOLCHALLENGE

Early summer last year, the group started a social game and accompanying hashtag #IDOLCHALLENGE on Twitter and TikTok asking their fans to film themselves mimicking their choreography. They picked their favourites to feature at the end of the ‘IDOL’ music video which was released in August 2018.  

This interaction is only one example of how they have fuelled their fandom and is part of the reason they now have over 12 million followers on their official BTS Big Hit Entertainment run Twitter account and another 16 million on their band account. That’s no small feat and for context, Beyoncé’s Twitter account only has 14 million followers and she’s Queen Bey! 

It wasn’t always an upward journey for BTS, early on in their career they hadn’t quite hit their stride and were working out their style. BTS favoured an overly hip-hop sound back in 2013 but have since evolved and refined into the genre-hopping ensemble so many fans love. 

WORLDWIDE APPEAL

With hard-hitting choreography, catchy melodies, rap breakdowns, multi-lingual tracks and beats synonymous with late nineties and early 2000s RnB classics, BTS are a force to be reckoned with. This seamless blending of genres is heightened by the bands use of English both in their song titles and within the songs themselves, this goes some way to explain their success overseas.

Founder of Big Hit Entertainment Bang Si-hyuk deserves much of the credit regarding the bands success in the West. Bang studied aesthetics at Seoul National University, Korea’s most prestigious institution and made himself a name in the nineties through his songwriting. 

The bands success in Japan was incredibly lucrative so Big Hit Entertainment spent time and money within that market creating Japanese language variants of BTS’ top hits. However, what Bang seemingly noticed during late 2014 was that the American fanbase and their enthusiasm was also showing potential and was well worth marketing to. 

If you were on Tumblr during 2015, there was no avoiding BTS and A.R.M.Y reblogs from fans worldwide.

BTS released The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 1, perhaps the first contemporary sounding of their EPs in 2015. Full of synth sounds and smooth reverbs this album blended popular genres and the intro track is a breathy, heartfelt rap solo from band member Suga. When they released Part. 2 it became their first album to rank in the Billboard 200 Albums Chart. 

This albums roaring success led to BTS getting noticed around the world and subsequently 2015 became the year that they embarked on their first worldwide tour visiting Kuala Lumpur, Sydney, Melbourne, New York, Dallas, Chicago, LA, Mexico, São Paulo, Chile, Bangkok and Hong Kong. It was a continuation of their Asian Tour of 2014 and grew their popularity overseas. 

MUSIC VIDEOS TO DIE FOR

BTS music videos have also become a bit of a phenomenon, with many directed by creative group Lumpens. These music videos ooze style and eye-catching backdrops, like a Wes Anderson film if you replaced the pastel tones with a bright, luminescent palette. 

In these videos but also out of them, the Bangtan Boys match this bold aesthetic perfectly in the way they dress and they have long been at the forefront of popular fashion in South Korea. They even became ambassadors for sports brand Puma in 2015.

The video for their single, Fake Love featured below encompasses both BTS and Lumpens distinctive style. The choreography, direction and art choices fit together perfectly:

2015 ONWARDS 

By 2015, BTS had set the standard of what a K-pop band could be and other bands took notice and began to follow suit. Before the interest of US fans, BTS would perform songs that dealt with the woes of teenage love. However in wanting to appeal to a wider audience, the themes in their work have since sought to deal with wider, worldwide issues and anxieties and are prone to darker, grittier themes. 

Releasing their ninth music video and single ‘Dope’ in June that year, it took third position on Billboard’s World Digital Chart and they continued to win even more awards at the Melon Music Awards, the MNET Asian Music Awards and the Seoul Music Awards.

Not content to dominate 2015, their second full album broke records in 2016 as Wings became the highest ever debut of a K-pop album in the US and just under a year later, they smashed that record when Love Yourself: Her reached No. 7 on the Billboard Top 200 Chart. BTS were also the first ever Korean band to perform at the American Music Awards in 2016. 

In 2017, they finally cracked the American Top 40 with a Steve Aoki remix of their single, ‘MIC Drop’. This was perhaps their breakthrough hit elevating them to stardom in the US and permeating into playlists outside of Asia and a niche group of overseas fans.

In December of 2017, The Social 50 chart, which is powered by data compiled from music analytics company Next Big Sound featured BTS for the 52nd non-consecutive week and the 22nd consecutive week in a row. Since debuting the list in October 2016, they’ve never been ranked below No. 2. 

It’s unsurprisingly that they have been so influential when the BTS A.R.M.Y’s rush out to support them during every US appearance. This has included The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Late Late Show With James Corden and Jimmy Kimmel Live! The group’s support for social causes may also play a part in their fans’ undying adoration, but in truth, being progressive has long been a feature of K-pop. 

The band spoke at the United Nations for UNICEF in September last year encouraging young people to believe in themselves and their voices. To speak with conviction and to love themselves unconditionally, it's this part of BTS that I hope will resonate with young people today.  

Their fanbase is an oxymoron in itself, equal parts niche and large in number. However, its strength landed BTS in the spotlight of the entire world and no doubt all eyes will be on these seven young men for the foreseeable future. I’m excited to see where they go from here, especially as an Asian act at the forefront of popular culture.