BTS (Bangtan Sonyeondan in Korean) is a South Korean boy band made up of 7 members: RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook. The name of the band translates to ‘Bulletproof Boy Scouts’ and according to the members, this name symbolizes their desires to block out stereotypes, hate and overall negativity that aims at them like bullets. In 2017, ‘BTS’ evolved to also stand for ‘Beyond The Scene,’ to signify how much they have matured and grown since their debut.
The band began with RM, who caught the attention of producers for his underground rapping skills. Some time later, Suga joined after auditioning for the South Korean entertainment company Big Hit, and eventually the other members followed suit, allowing for BTS to be formed in 2010. After their 2013 debut, they started as a strictly a hip-hop group, but have since then branched to many other genres including pop, R&B and EDM.
Today, BTS is the number one boy band in the world. They’re breaking records left and right and taking the world by storm. If you’re not a fan already, allow me to change that with some reasons why you should become a stan:
THEIR MUSIC AND MESSAGE
While their music is often upbeat and pop-like, their messages are highly revered and praised for being relatable as they tackle a widespread of topics from positive to more serious. Their lyrics, which they write based on personal experiences and issues in the world, touch on a wide variety of themes like mental health, self-love, the struggles of youth, injustice in society and many others. The lyricism in these songs incorporates different forms of wordplay, literature references and psychological concepts, and many of these songs even follow different creative storylines throughout the albums, some of which fans have theorized allude to alternate universes.
BTS’ discography is made up of countless incredible songs with admiring messages, and my personal top 3 favourites in terms of lyrical significance are ‘21st Century Girl,’ ‘Baepsae‘ and ‘Spring Day.’ ’21st Century Girl’ is often regarded as a feminist anthem among fans due to its message of empowering and praising women. RM, who wrote the song, explained how he consulted professors of women’s studies to analyze his lyrics and ensure they were not sexist or harmful towards women. ‘Baepsae,’ which translated into English is ‘Silver Spoon,’ is one of BTS’ most controversial songs as it discusses the unfair generational gap in the economy and living conditions experienced by baby boomers versus millennials and Gen X. The lyrics call out the unjust and extremely hard conditions that the younger generations are currently studying and working, and how drastically it differs from past generations who lived in a much easier environment. Finally, ‘Spring Day’ commemorates the horrific 2014 tragedy in South Korea where a ferry sank and resulted in over 100 deaths, many of which were high school students. Since its release in 2017, ‘Spring Day’ has not left South Korean charts and continues to keep the memories of the victims alive and bring comfort to those who suffered losses.
Besides their catchy beats and amazing choreography, the lyricism and messages behind their songs are one of the many reasons why BTS is so popular and deserves all the hype.
THEIR LOVE FOR THEIR FANS
BTS’ fanbase are called ARMY, which stands for Adorable Representative MC for Youth. There is a much deeper meaning behind the name as ARMY is referencing the military, due to the band’s name translation of ‘Bulletproof Boy Scouts.’ Essentially, ARMY are the military while the members of BTS are the bulletproof armour. Since these two things are always associated together, it symbolizes the close bond between the band and their fans.
BTS is known for the amount of love and attention they provide their fans through daily online engagement, regular photos and updates from members to share about their lives, and even inside jokes and anecdotes between them and fans. A noteworthy representation of BTS’ love for their fanbase is actually through the phrase ‘I purple you.’ This is because of V, who created the term ‘Borahae’ which combines the Korean word for Violet, ‘bora,’ and Korean for I love you, ‘Saranghae.’ V explained how this phrase means ‘I will love and trust you for a very long time’ and since then the fandom’s colour has been purple, and the phrase has been widely used between the band and fans all across the world.
With such a genuine relationship, it is no surprise that ARMY are notorious for being extremely loyal and hard workers when it comes to making sure BTS’ talents are acknowledged.
CHARITY AND ACTIVIST WORK
BTS’ talent and popularity are not limited to the entertainment sphere. An example of this would be the immense presence of the group in charity and activist work. In 2017, BTS partnered with UNICEF, to sponsor the global campaign #ENDViolence which was aimed at ensuring kids around the world could lead safe lives. This led to the creation of BTS’ ‘Love Myself’ era, where they used their music and social media to campaign and gain attention for UNICEF’s efforts. Consequently, over $3 million was raised and massive online engagement and support was generated.
Besides this, in 2020, BTS donated $1 million to the Black Lives Matter (BLM) campaign. Their ARMY ended up matching BTS’ contribution by raising their own $1 million to donate to BLM. The members are also individually active in charity work, like J-Hope as he is a member of the Green Noble Club, a group of high value donors for ChildFund Korea. Since 2018, he has donated nearly 800 million South Korean won, over $800 million in Canadian dollars.
Their most recent activist effort was in September 2021, when BTS was invited to the 76th UN General Assembly and appointed the title of ‘Presidential Special Envoy for Future Generations and Culture’ by South Korean President, Moon Jae-In. During this assembly, BTS gave speeches to help promote the UN’s goals for the next decade regarding ending extreme poverty, preserving the planet, and addressing social justice issues like gender inequality. This assembly gained lots of attention online, and it worked to spread awareness of not only the UN’s goals, but overall messages of love and hope.
tHEY PAVED THE WAY FOR K-POP
Their international takeover all began with their U.S television debut at the 2017 AMAs with their single ‘DNA.’ This song and performance paved the way for them and K-pop in general globally, but especially in the West. Following this, their song ‘Fake Love‘ furthered the influence of K-pop by becoming the first K-pop song in history to reach the Top 10 of the U.S Top 100. Fast forward to today, and one of their most recent singles, ‘Dynamite,’ is their first Number 1 single in the U.S, making BTS the first K-pop artist to top the Hot 100. The single also charted in the top ten of 25 different countries – another first for K-pop.
These records are among the many they have broken all over the world from music award records to even Guinness World Records, and it has gotten to a point where they have become the first group since the Beatles to cause this much uproar.
BTS are incredibly talented singers, rappers, dancers, producers, songwriters, performers and people in general. They have taken over the world and it’s time for you to join the excitement! Make sure to check out their music!