Cara J. Stevens - BTS: Rise of Bangtan

RM

J-HOPE

V

JIN

JIMIN

SUGA

JUNGKOOK

A K-pop boy band with a hip-hop influence, BTSs catchy songs, smooth moves, and adorable personalities have skyrocketed the seven members to worldwide idol status, earning them a top spot on charts around the globe. They even landed a place in Guinness World Records for having more Twitter engagement than any other musical group in the world in 2018.

Rebellious and edgy, romantic and sensitive, 90 percent of BTSs songs are written by the seven members of the group. Their hopes, dreams, fears, struggles, excitement, and passions are reflected in their songs, prompting an entire generation across the globe to join the BTS ARMY.

BTS debuted in 2013 with their breakout single No More Dream. Their music is a mash-up of Western and Korean styles and includes star-studded collaborations with rappers and EDM stars such as Steve Aoki, the Chainsmokers, and Supreme Boi.

BTS GOES BY MANY DIFFERENT NAMES:

Bangtan Boys

Beyond the Scene

Bulletproof Boy Scouts

Bangtan Sonyeondan () in Korean

Bdan Shnendan () in Japanese

Who is BTS?

• Jin: vocalist, visual, hyung
• RM: rapper, producer, leader
• Suga: rapper, producer, group dad
• J-Hope: rapper, dancer, aegyo
• Jimin: dancer, vocalist, chocolate abs
• V: vocalist, visual, 4D
• Jungkook: dancer, vocalist, maknae

The boys playful, casual energy offstage can seem surprising to fans whose first exposure to the group is their emotional, hard-edged lyrics and tight dancing style.

BULLETPROOF BOY SCOUTS: THE STORY BEHIND THE NAME

The group went through a few possible names before coming up with BTS, like Big Kids (because their management company is Big Hit) and Young Nation. The name Bangtan translates to bulletproof, a symbol of their goal to block out the worlds bullets, standing tall and fighting for their beliefs no matter what kind of shade anyone throws at them. Sonyeondan translates to a group of boys or boy scouts.

The meaning of bangtan is to guard against something. So [our name] means that we will boldly defend our music and our value/worth.

J-Hope

The acronym BTS has evolved since the groups debut, and the boys have expanded the meaning to Beyond the Scene in a nod to their connection with their fan base, ARMY.

THE LOGO

The bands open-door logo represents young people who arent content with settling for their current reality, and are willing to open doors and go forward to achieve growth.

ARMY

An acronym for Adorable Representative MC for Youth, describing the army of fans devoted to spreading BTSs music and message of love, acceptance, and fun.

201011 Big Hit Entertainment holds auditions for the group that becomes BTS

December 17, 2012 BTS Twitter account launches

June 9, 2013 Member lineup officially announced

June 11, 2013No More Dream music video released

June 12, 2013 First album, 2 Cool 4 Skool, released

September 2, 2013 BTSs Rookie King variety show debuts

January 1, 2014 Rookie of the Year Golden Disc Award

February 12, 2014Boy In Luv releases. The album Skool Luv Affair later reaches number 3 on the Billboard World Albums chart

March 29, 2014 BTS performs in front of three thousand fans at Global Official Fanclub ARMY First Muster concert in Seoul, South Korea

April 24, 2014 Makes Japanese debut with Wake Up

July 114, 2014 Stars in their first TV show, set in Los Angeles: American Hustle Life

September 9, 2014 Launches Hip Hop Monster webtoon series

January 23, 2015 Wins New Artist of the Year at Seoul Music Awards

February 1019, 2015 First Japanese tour, Wake Up: Open Your Eyes

October 26, 2015 Becomes brand ambassadors for Puma

December 2, 2015 Wins Mnet Asian Music Award for Best World Performer

February 17, 2016 Wins Gaon Chart K-Pop Awards World K-Pop Star Award

FAST FACT:

By September 2018, the DNA music video had more than 485 million views on YouTube and more than 1.5 million comments.

2016 Wings hits number twenty-six on the Billboard 200the highest K-pop album debut until 2018

October 9, 2016 Blood Sweat & Tears achieves all-kill, at number one on all eight Korean music charts: Melon, Mnet, Bugs, Olleh, Soribada, Genie, Naver, and Monkey3

November 19, 2016Wins Melon Music Awards Daesang, Best Album of the Year

May 21, 2017 Wins Billboard Music Awards Top Social Artist Award, dethroning Justin Bieber, who had previously held the spot for six years running

November 1, 2017 Partners with Unicef to sponsor #ENDviolence and launches Love Myself

July 31, 2017 Wins Artist Award at the forty-fourth Korean Broadcasting Awards

September 5, 2017 Reaches eight million Twitter followers

September 16, 2017 Hits six million followers on their V Live channel

September 18, 2017 DNA becomes the first K-pop group single to hit the US iTunes top ten at number four

September 18, 2017 In its first twenty-four hours online, the DNA music video becomes eleventh most viewed video of all time

September 22, 2017 Hits the European charts in Sweden, Ireland, Italy, and Germany as well as the UK