Bangtan Boys (BTS)

Concept: School (didn’t get popular from it), Cute, Hip Hop
Debut: June 12th, 2013
Debut Song(s): No More Dream
Status: Active
Agency: Big Hit Entertainment
Fandom Name: ARMY

Members
Group Biography
Main Tracks
Side Tracks
Latest Release(s)

Members:

Rap Monster RM (Real Name: Kim Nam Joon 김남준)

-Leader, Main Rapper
-One of the smartest idol out there. His IQ (honestly IQ doesn’t mean much in terms of intelligence, but people still often defer to it) is 148 and he ranked in the top 1% of the nation on his high school exam (in a country known for being obsessed with academics). Also self-taught himself English by watching Friends (what a classic!), which he speaks fluently
-Only member left from the original BTS’ lineup from 2010.
-Was nicknamed “Dance Prodigy” sarcastically by his dance teacher and Big Hit’s staff because he’s so bad.

J-Hope 제이홉 (Real Name: Jung Ho Seok 정호석)

-Main Dancer, Vocalist, Rapper
-Initially tried out for and rejected from JYP (let’s quickly run through the list of artists JYP has for some reasons rejected/put in trainee purgatory: IU, Yuju (Gfriend), Hani (EXID), Choa (AOA), Hyorin (Sistar), Xiumin (Exo), N (VIXX), J-Hope, etc. Imagine the star-studded groups JYP could have formed….)
-A secret Sistar member (like honestly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMOn1371INg)
-Hates exercising, but was somehow a good tennis player back in his elementary school days

Suga 슈가 (Min Yoon Ji 민윤기)

-Lead Rapper
-A baller who loves hoops so much he got his name Suga partially from the fact that he’s a shooting guard (in Hangul, shooting guard is “syuga”)
-Wants to be reincarnated as a rock (???)
-Alias: Agust D (for “Daegu Town”, his birthplace, + Suga, spelled backwards)

Jin 진 (Kim Seok Jin 김석진)

-Vocalist, visual
-If he were to have a servant, it’d be Suga so he can order him around LMAO.
-His first-ever owned CD was the iconic (and probably most famous song of kpop) “Gee”
-Part of the ’92-liner group chat with Moonbyul (Mamamoo), Hani (EXID), Ken (VIXX), Sanduel & Baro (B1A4)

Jimin 지민 (Park Ji Min 박지민)

-Main Dancer, Lead Vocalist
-Probably wanted to debut for a girl group (I mean just look at this video: PROOF, featuring Sistar, EXID, Girl’s Day, T-Ara, AOA, SNSD, and more)
-A nerd (jk), but he was valedictorian before he debuted and was class president for 9 straight years
-Once joked that he want to go on a date with Jungkook while holding his hands (or is he not joking??!!?)

V 뷔 (Real Name: Kim Tae Hyung 김태형)

-Lead Dancer, Vocalist, Visual
-Best friend with Park Bo Gum (what a power friendship)
-Wants to marry his first love (that’s right girls, you just need to become his first love and you’ll be his wife)
-Absolutely no alcohol tolerance (gets drunk after only one glass of beer)

Jungkook 정국 (Jeon Jungkook 전정국)

-Main Vocalist, Center, Lead Dancer, Rapper, Maknae
-Is in love with IU/Has a huge crush on IU. Seriously, look at this video of him being Jungshook near IU: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vBKZj0QnB80). But seriously, he is IU’s biggest fan, his first album ever was an IU album, his favorite artist is IU, his audition song was an IU’s song (“Lost Child”), his ringtone is an IU song, lol. Also really want to collaborate with IU.
-Is an expert dancer of girl group’s dances, especially “Something” by Girl’s Day (evidence: See Here , See Here)
-Almost didn’t debut with BTS because of how shy he was

The leader of the Hallyu, or Korean, Wave into the United States music markets, BTS has become one of the biggest boy group in the world. They have broke records left and right ever since they broke into the mainstream in 2015, owning the first platinum-certified single for a Korean group, the first gold-certified album in the US for a Korean group, the first 3-times consecutive winner of Artist of the Year at MAMA (Mnet Asian Music Awards), etc. It’s a level of success none could foresaw, especially considering they debuted under a non big-3 agency. Let’s review their remarkable journey.

BTS was initially formed in 2010, with the initial vision of them being a hip hop group with a debut date set for in 2011. However, that date was postponed so that the group could be reorganized into a more tradition idol group. BTS finally debuted on June 12,2013 with the single album “2 Cool 4 Skool”. However, the single was not a hit and their follow-up single, “We Are Bulletproof Pt. 2” was even more of a flop, failing to even chart. Their next project, the EP “O!RUL8,2?”, with the lead single “”N.O”, was similarly panned, peaking at only number 92 in Korea.
It took a thematic shift from dreams and happiness to love in their second EP, “Skool Luv Affair”, released in January 2014, before BTS could begin seeing some measure of success. The EP topped the Gaon Album Chart, and appeared on the Billboards’s World Album Chart, peaking at number 3. They followed this up with their first Korean studio album, “Dark and Wild”, further remodeling their sound from hip-hop to more and more R&B. The album peaked at number 2 in Korea with its lead single, “Danger”, peaking at number 58 in Korea.

Having only seen a moderate success with their hip-hop sounds and image so far, BTS decided to undergo a drastic sound and image shift in their next project, moving away from hip-hop to feature more traditional vocal pop in their music, and their image corresponding shifted away from the tough, aggressive image. This shift paid immediate dividends in their third EP, “The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 1”, released in March 2015. The lead single, “I Need U” became BTS’s first top 5 hit in Korea and also giving their first music show win. The second single on the album, “Dope” has its music video becoming BTS’ first to rack up over 100 million views on YouTube. Their two follow-up projects, the EP “The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 2” and the compilation album “The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: Young Forever”, released in November 2015 and May 2016 respectively, were similarly hits, both well-received critically and commercially. The album “The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: Young Forever” went on to win BTS’ first major Korean music award for Album of the Year at the 2016 Melon Music Award. BTS has finally found that vital balance in their music between popular appeal while still maintaining their own signature sounds and energy.

BTS only further took off from theirs. Their second studio album, “Wings”, was released to much fanfare and hype in October 2016. It became the highest-selling album ever in the Gaon Album chart history in Korea (at the time) and was the highest entry ever for a Korean group in the US Billboard 200 at number 26. The lead single, “Blood Sweats, and Tears” achieved the rare “all-kill” feat (simultaneously taking the top spot on all nine of South Korea music charts), with its music video breaking the then-YouTube records for most views for a Kpop music video in 24 hours. All this led to BTS winning the 2016 Artist of the Year at that year Mnet Music Awards (MAMA), becoming the first-ever non big-3 artist to do so.
In February 2017, the repackaged edition of “Wings” (2016), titled “You Never Walk Alone”, broke the record for most albums sold in a month. Its lead single, “Spring Day”, became the longest-charting song on Melon by an idol group, and won Best Song of The Year at the 2017 Melon Music Awards. While on their second world tour to promote this album, BTS attended the 25th Billboard Music Awards and won Top Social Artist, becoming the first Korean group to receive a Billboard Music Award. Their fifth EP, “Love Yourself: Her”, released in September 2017, was supported by the lead single “DNA”, the Steve Aoki remix of “Mic Drop”, and featured music from the Chainsmokers’ Andrew Taggart. The EP debuted at number 7 on the Billboards 200, sold over 1.2 million copies on the Gaon Album Chart in its first month, achieving the highest monthly album sales in the chart’s history and the second highest ever in any Korean chart’s history. “DNA” debuted at 2nd in Korea and the music video again broke YouTube records for most viewed K-pop group music video within the first 24 hours. Finally, “DNA” and “Mic Drop” remix entered and peaked at number 67 and 28 respectively on the Billboards Hot 100, giving BTS the distinction of the first Korean group to enter the chart. Both singles were later certified gold by the RIAA, with “Mic Drop” remix later certified platinum. November 2017 saw BTS reached a new level on the mainstream consciousness when they made they debut performance on American television at the American Music Awards. BTS then rounded off their wildly successful 2017 by winning their second consecutive Artist of The Year at the 19th Mnet Asian Music Awards.

BTS continued reaching new heights in 2018. Their third Korean studio album, “Love Yourself: Tear”, released in conjunction with their appearance and performance at the 2018 Billboard Music Awards in May 2018, became the first Kpop album ever to top the US Billboard 200. The lead single, “Fake Love” became the first by a Korean group to crack Billboard Hot 100. Their followup compilation album, “Love Yourself: Answer”, became their second album to top the US Billboard 200 and was the first Korean album to be certified gold in the US. The album also sold 1.9 million copies on Gaon Album Chart in the month of August 2018, breaking the chart’s all-time monthly record again. The lead single, “Idol”, became BTS’ first Canadian top 10 hit, with its music video breaking YouTube’s record for most views in the first 24 hours with over 45 million. To promote this album, BTS went on their third world tour, BTS World Tour: Love Yourself. The tour featured concerts at the Seoul Olympic Stadium, South Korea’s largest stadium, and at Citi Field, giving BTS the distinction of being the first Korean act to perform at a US stadium. Stubhub data indicated tat outside of the US, BTS had the second-best selling concerts in 2018. Riding on the this wave, BTS released “Burn the Stage: The Movie” in theaters worldwide in November 2018, which accumulated $3.54 million in box office earnings in its first weekend, setting the record for highest grossing cinema musical production. BTS capped off another spectacular year by winning their third straight at the 20 Mnet Asian Music Awards. They were also ranked eighth on Billboard’s end-of-year Top Artist Chart and second on the Duo/Group Chart.

The accolades just kept on coming for BTS in 2019 so far. In February, they attended the Grammy Awards as award presenters. In April, they became the first Asian act to surpass 5 billion Spotify streams and were named among Time 100’s most influential people of 2019. In the same month, they released their sixth EP, “Map of the Soul: Persona”, with the lead single “Boy With Luv”, featuring Halsey. To promote the album’s release, they became the first Korean act to perform on Saturday Night Live. The EP became the first Korean album to top both the UK and Australia’s charts, and became their third consecutive album to top Billboard 200, a feat not accomplished since the days of The Beatles. The “Boy With Luv” music video again broke YouTube records for most views in the first 24 hours for a video. They have truly cemented themselves as the biggest boy group in the world, with no signs of slowing down any time soon.
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