BTS's Struggle to Be South Korea's Biggest Boy Band
BTS, also known as the Bangtan Boys, is one of the biggest boy bands in South Korea. They gained international fame in 2017 after they dropped their third studio album, Love Yourself. Their popularity has skyrocketed since then, earning them the nickname the Beatles of the 21st century in their home country and by American media outlets like Rolling Stone and Billboard. While their fame may look effortless, they've had to overcome many obstacles on their way to success and struggled through plenty of hardships along the way.
How they were formed
In 2013, BTS members RM and Suga were introduced through Bang PD nim (BTS Manager). The seven-member group has struggled for popularity in the music industry of South Korea because the company they are signed under, a label called Big Hit Entertainment, is not as well known as competitors like YG Entertainment or JYP Entertainment. To increase their popularity and visibility, Bets began releasing songs in both Korean and English including Nothing Like You and No More Dream. In 2017, they reached their peak ranking at 26th place on Billboard Magazine's Top Social Artist list. They now have tons of millions of followers on social media. One of the reasons for their success can be attributed to the international exposure given by companies such as Youtube Red and Spotify.
The struggles they faced
Ever since BTS came on the scene in 2013, they have struggled with obscurity. They had difficulty selling albums because people couldn't understand their music, and the language barrier limited their reach. One of their past albums sold just 500 copies domestically after being released. But today, they are undeniably one of the most popular boy bands in all of Asia and have performed at one of America's largest venues- The Staples Center- while earning more than 1 billion streams on Spotify. How did they get there?
The answer is social media. In a recent YouTube video titled Into the depths, BTS confessed that for years all seven members were obsessed with Instagram before Twitter or Facebook ever entered their lives. We weren’t doing this thinking we’d be famous, J-Hope says. It was like we had no choice but to share our lives. That obsession eventually paid off when Western audiences found them through posts about choreography videos. From then on, BTS has always embraced their fans as if they were another member of the group- even going so far as setting up scholarships for those who need financial help to attend music school.
Their meteoric rise
Seven years ago, when the South Korean government was considering shutting down its music school system due to financial difficulties, a group of 20 students faced the decision of whether or not to give up on their education. Of those 20, 13 remained in the program and went on to form the group BTS. Today, the seven-member boy band is one of K-pop’s hottest acts. In 2016 alone, they released two full-length albums and four EPs—which were all chart-toppers—and were nominated for two Billboard Music Awards (Best New Artist and Top Social Media Artist). The youngest member Jungkook is still too young even by Korean standards to drink alcohol legally. At 20, Jin is the oldest member. All three main vocalists are under 22: Jin (20), Jimin (21), and V (22). However, these idols also enjoy other forms of art beyond music like painting and cooking. Their fandom is no joke crossing over 5 Billion fans and breaking all the records over Spotify, Youtube, and other social media accounts. Their fans are named or known as ARMY.
Awards and achievements
Since its debut on the K-pop scene in 2013, BTS has received awards and achievements from various Korean music and entertainment award shows. For example, they became the first Korean act in history to be awarded at America’s prestigious Billboard Music Awards in 2018. In 2016 they also were named International Artist of the Year at the Seoul Music Awards. Bighit Entertainment, which manages BTS, has certainly been successful as well—last year (2017) Forbes Korea ranked them as one of the most powerful entertainment companies in South Korea.
