BTS

BTS, South Korean K-pop (Korean pop music) band that shot to international stardom in the late 2010s. Its seven members were Jin (byname of Kim Seok-Jin; b. December 4, 1992, Anyang, South Korea), Suga (original name Min Yoon-Gi; b. March 9, 1993, Buk-gu), J-Hope (byname of Jung Ho-Seok; b. February 18, 1994, Kwangju), RM (also called Rap Monster; original name Kim Nam-Joon; b. September 12, 1994, Ilsan), Jimin (byname of Park Ji-Min; b. October 13, 1995, Pusan), V (original name Kim Tae-Hyung; b. December 30, 1995, Taegu), and Jungkook (byname of Jeon Jeong-Guk; b. September 1, 1997, Pusan). BTS had a devoted following (fans called themselves ARMY [“Adorable Representative MC for Youth”]) and was popular on social media. The band broke numerous records on YouTube—namely, for the most views of a music video within 24 hours of its release, for such singles as “Boy with Luv” (2019), “Dynamite” (2020), and “Butter” (2021).

BTS was formed by Bang Si-Hyuk, a successful songwriter and music producer who established his own studio, Big Hit Entertainment, in 2005. In 2010 he began to assemble talent for a group he was calling the Bangtan Sonyeondan (“Bulletproof Boy Scouts”), which would later become better known as BTS. The members—the first of whom was RM, an underground rapper in Seoul—were selected for their singing, rapping, and dancing skills. The band’s first releases were three EP (extended play) records in the School series, including 2 Cool 4 Skool (2013), O!RUL8,2? (2013), and Skool Luv Affair (2014). BTS’s first full-length album, Dark & Wild, appeared in 2014. The group wrote its own lyrics, commenting on social issues and concentrating on such themes as self-love, individuality, and empowerment. The band’s popularity grew with each recording, and, after releasing The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 1 and Part 2 (both 2015), BTS began its first world tour. With momentum from the tour, Life, Part 2 rose to number one on six international music charts. The album Wings (2016) continued that success, becoming the first of the group’s albums to debut on both the Canadian Hot 100 and the Billboard 200 charts. BTS later rereleased the songs from Wings with four additional singles under the title You Never Walk Alone (2017).

At the Billboard Music Awards presentation in 2017, BTS won the Top Social Artist Award, which had been voted on by fans. The band then won the award each year through 2021, beating such performers as Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber. Meanwhile, the group released another EP, Love Yourself: Her, in 2017. The recording debuted on the Billboard 200 chart at number seven, becoming the first K-pop album to appear on the chart’s top 10. BTS’s third full-length album debuted in 2018. Titled Love Yourself: Tear, it reached the top of the Billboard 200. Love Yourself: Answer (2018) included material from both previous Love Yourself recordings along with a few new songs.

The group delivered the EP Map of the Soul: Persona in 2019. The music video for the lead single, “Boy with Luv,” drew 74.6 million views on YouTube within 24 hours of its release, breaking records on the platform. BTS followed that success with the full-length album Map of the Soul: 7 (2020). The recording won wide acclaim and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart. Later in 2020 the group released the disco-pop single “Dynamite,” its first English-language song. The single debuted at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and the music video amassed an unprecedented 101.1 million views on YouTube in 24 hours. BTS was nominated for a Grammy Award for best pop duo or group performance for the song and performed it at the 2021 awards show. The single was included on the album Be (2020). Meanwhile, BTS also made several Japanese studio albums, including Wake Up (2014), Face Yourself (2018), and Map of the Soul: 7—The Journey (2020). In 2021 BTS released their second English-language single, “Butter,” which debuted on the Billboard Hot 100. Its accompanying video once again beat the band’s previous record, reaching approximately 113 million views on YouTube in one day. BTS performed “Butter” at the 2022 Grammy Awards, where the song was nominated for best pop duo or group performance.

In 2018 BTS released a YouTube documentary series, Burn the Stage, about its 2017 world tour. An extended movie version (2018) later appeared in various countries. Other documentaries of BTS tours included Bring the Soul: The Movie (2019) and Break the Silence: The Movie (2020). In 2019 BTS became the first South Korean musical group to perform on the American comedy and variety television show Saturday Night Live. Later that year a BTS-themed game, BTS World, was released for mobile devices, along with an album of the game’s soundtrack.

The members of BTS were involved with several philanthropic organizations. In 2017 they teamed with UNICEF to launch the Love Myself campaign, which raised funds to support social programs fighting violence against children and teens. In 2021 South Korean Pres. Moon Jae-In appointed the members of BTS as special presidential envoys for future generations and culture. As such, the band members took turns giving a speech ahead of the annual United Nations General Assembly meeting of world leaders in New York, New York, and showed a video of themselves performing their latest single, “Permission to Dance,” which had been shot in the UN General Assembly Building’s iconic Assembly Hall and on the grounds nearby. BTS encouraged the world’s youth to become a beacon of change amid the COVID-19 pandemic and urged people to get vaccinated. In 2022 the band met with U.S. Pres. Joe Biden to discuss the recent rise of violence against Asian Americans in the United States.

Also in 2022 BTS released Proof, an anthology album that included the new single “Yet to Come (The Most Beautiful Moment).” Shortly afterward the band announced a hiatus, suggesting that they planned to pursue solo projects. A couple of months later, their label stated that members of the group were enlisting in South Korea’s military, which by law requires all able-bodied men to enroll by the time they reach age 28 to serve for about two years (a bill passed in 2020 allowed pop stars and other cultural icons to delay conscription until the age of 30). The announcement said members planned to reconvene in 2025 after completing their service.