BTS

BTS’s history

BTS (established on June 12th, 2013) is a musical group whose name in English means “Bulletproof Boy Scouts”. In Japan, they are known as “Bōdan Shōnendan”. Currently, the members of the group are Suga (rapper, dancer, producer, and composer), J-Hope (rapper, main dancer, occasional vocalist, and choreographer), RM (leader, main rapper, dancer, and producer), Jimin (vocalist, dancer, and visual), V (vocalist, dancer, and visual), Jungkook (main vocalist, dancer, and occasional rapper), and Jin (vocalist, dancer, and composer). The band is made up of young people and their main fan base belongs to the new generation. The band was formed through auditions held by Big Hit Entertainment in 2010 and 2011, and ultimately, the aforementioned artists were selected. They are also known as “Beyond The Scene”.

Career path

After their debut, BTS began to gain followers on social media. Their covers on YouTube and SoundCloud were very popular. Bang Sihyuk, CEO of Big Hit, knew that this group would have a great future. In 2011, they released their first song “Paldogangsan” to promote the Hit It auditions. In 2013, they included the song on their album “O!RUL8,2?” and promoted it on music programs. The following year, they performed on “M Countdown”. Their fame began to grow and some members of the group were called to participate in Jo Kwon’s 2AM’s music video “I’m Da One”.

First songs, concerts, awards.

When they created their YouTube channel, BANGTANTV, and their blog, they began to post some of their songs such as Rap Monster by RM and All I Do Is Win, School Of Tears, and Graduation. Gradually, they created other accounts on social networks that allowed them to be closer to their followers. They promoted their album 2 Cool 4 Skool, which included songs like No More Dream and We Are Bulletproof Pt.2. The song of the moment was N.O. At the end of the year, they would receive their first award as “Best New Artist of the Year” at the fifth edition of the Melon Music Awards. In the future, they began to win more awards such as the Golden Disk Awards, Seoul Music Awards and Gaon Chart K-Pop Awards. They gave a concert called 7 See Concert in Thailand. They participated in the First Japan Showcase in Tokyo, attended by 6,500 people.

2014 – Release of the album “Skool Luv Affair”

On February 12, 2014, Skool Luv Affair was released, which would complete the group’s trilogy about school. Their song “No More Dream” occupied the number 4 spot on Billboard Japan’s Top Single Sales. Over 32,000 units were sold in the first week. At the end of June 2014, they embarked on a trip to the United States to record their new studio album. Taking advantage of their stay, they filmed the reality show “American Hustle Life.” The show began airing in July on the Mnet channel. This further boosted their career and allowed them to give some concerts in countries such as Germany, Sweden, Brazil and Chile.

Nomination for Best Korean Artist

In November, they were nominated for the MTV Europe Music Awards as Best Korean Artist. They managed to release their first full Japanese album, Wake Up. They also won the World Rookie Award at the Gaon Chart K-Pop Awards and two awards at the Japan Gold Disc Awards. To share their musical work, they carried out their First Japanese Tour Wake Up: Open Your Eyes. It took place in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka. They began the second part of the BTS Live Episode II tour. During the summer, they also held a fan meeting tour in Japan, which 18,000 fans attended.

“The fame: Fire, Wings, and Love Yourself”

In October, they won the award for Best South Korean Artist at the MTV Europe Music Awards. Afterwards, the group promoted the single “Fire,” and the music video for the song received ten million views on YouTube in 75 hours. Additionally, Gaon Chart declared that the album had achieved a large amount in sales. As a result, the group became the first South Korean artist to enter the Billboard 200 with three albums. Their album “Wings” was the first South Korean album to enter the UK Album Chart. They received recognition from their government for their work as promoters of South Korean culture in the world.

2017 – 2018 – International tours.

At the beginning of 2017, BTS carried out their Live Trilogy Episode III: The Wings Tour. They were the first K-pop group to perform at the American Music Awards, which increased their international popularity. In the middle of the year 2017, they released their second compilation album Love Yourself: Answer. They also released the music video for their new single IDOL, and a version with Nicki Minaj’s

participation.

In August 2018, the group began the BTS World Tour: Love Yourself. Shortly after, their collaboration with Steve Aoki, Waste It on Me, was released. In November, Love Yourself: Answer and Mic Drop remix were certified gold and platinum respectively. On November 15th, Burn the Stage: The Movie was released, a documentary style film about the band that was supported and distributed by YouTube. At the end of the year, BTS would again win the Artist of the Year award at the Melon Music Awards, the MAMA and the AAA.

Current – Map of the Soul: Persona

At the beginning of 2019, it was announced that the group was ready to make their comeback with a new album and concept, which would continue in some degree what was shown in the Love Yourself era. After participating for the first time at the Grammys as presenters, the group announced the end of Love Yourself with their Speak Yourself tour. Finally, in April, the group made their comeback with Map of the Soul: Persona, an EP that would have as its intro the RM solo, Persona. Its main theme was Boy With Luv, a collaboration with Halsey.

This new work and new era is apparently inspired – like most of their albums – by various books and research. The influence of Carl Jung’s thought on this new project is noteworthy. Boy With Luv was a huge success in the USA and Europe. Shortly after, the group received the Top Social Artist award from the Billboard Music Awards for the third consecutive time, as well as the Top Duo/Group award, being the first Korean group to achieve it.

Thanks to these new achievements and the success of the album, the group’s popularity increased even more. They participated in The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and Good Morning America. In May, Gaon announced that Map of the Soul: Persona was the best-selling album in South Korea’s history.

#BTScomeback2020

Continuing with the Map of the Soul era, at the beginning of 2020, the first previews of their next album Map of the Soul: 7 appeared, which was scheduled for February 21, 2020. On January 9, the album’s intro, Suga’s solo Shadow, was released, followed later by the first single Black Swan. After its release, Black Swan became a worldwide trend

. Later, on February 2nd, they released the outro Ego, performed by J-Hope, and on February 12th, the concept photos of the album were revealed, revealing the sub-units.

Released on February 21, 2020, Map of the Soul: 7 contains 20 songs, including those already released, Black Swan, Ego and Shadow, and songs featured in Map of the Soul: Persona (Persona, Dionysus, Make It Right, Boy with Luv, etc.). The album also features solos My Tyme (Jungkook), Inner Child (V), Moon (Jin) and Filter (Jimin) and themes by sub-units Ugh! (RM, J-Hope and Suga), 00:00 (Zero O’Clock) (Jimin, Jk and V) and Jamais Vu (Jin, J-Hope and JK). The album also includes a collaboration with Sia and a theme co-written by Troye Sivan, Louder Than Bombs.

What charitable events has BTS participated in?

BTS has participated in various charity events. They were at Naver in the collaboration campaign of a charity organization that promotes organ donation, the registration of stem cell donation, support with medical expenses for patients and blood banks. They helped several families affected by the Sewol ferry disaster in 2014. In total, BTS officially launched their Love Myself campaign in partnership with UNICEF, to protect and support children and teenagers who are victims of domestic and school violence, as well as sexual crimes around the world. Along with other celebrities, they made a video Dream Still Lives, as a tribute to Stevie Wonder and Martin Luther King Jr. They gave a short speech at Generation without Limits. The purpose of this project is to provide quality education and training for young people.