BTS: All about the world's biggest boyband
Oh my, my, my! 🧈
Meet BTS’ all-boys line-up: Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V and Jungkook.
BTS at the virtual live concert Big Bang Con: The Live in 2020
💜 The Beginning 💜
- 2010: The band was first noticed by Big Hit Entertainment CEO Bang Si-hyuk. He gave the band a more contemporary pop sound.
- 12 June 2013: BTS’ first single album 2 Cool 4 Skool was released. This album started the “School Trilogy” series, with O!RUL8,2? (September 2013) and the EP Skool Luv Affair (January 2014) following it.
- 2014: Their first Korean studio album Dark & Wild was released as well as their first Japanese album.
- Feb 2015: They held their very first tour outside South Korea, the Japan Tour 2015 Wake Up: Open Your Eyes. Japan was just the first step of an international journey that would take BTS’ music beyond the South Korean border.
"A hero who can lend teenagers a shoulder to lean on, even without speaking a single word of the language".
–Big Hit Entertainment CEO, Bang Si-hyuk
The group 🕺 🕺 🕺 🕺 🕺 🕺 🕺
- RM, short for Real Me and stage name of Kim Nam-joon, is a rapper, singer and songwriter, as well as the first recruited member of BTS.
- JM, stage name of Kim Seok-jin, is a singer, guitarist and visual for the band.
- V: dancer, vocalist and visual for BTS, he’s also a record producer and an actor for Big Hit media.
- Min Yoon-g, better known under his pseuds SUGA and August D: he’s the rapper and plays a fundamental part in writing and producing BTS’ hits.
- J-hope chose his stage name to be a source of light and hope for his fans and bandmates. He’s a singer, dancer and producer for the band.
- Jimin, vocalist and dancer – according to BTS fan wiki, he was given the pet name “Cute Mochi” by his colleagues and fans.
- Jung Kook is a singer, songwriter, centre (that’s why he’s always at the centre of the choreographies!) and dancer in the group. He was also the most-searched male K-pop idol on Google in 2019 and 2020 according to Kpop Idol Charts!
🐰 The Success 🐰
BTS’ music explores growing up, social issues and pressures (as well as how fun it is to dance!).
Soon, there wasn’t a single TV show, podcast, social media account, newspaper or magazine that wasn’t talking about BTS.
In 2016, BTS album Wings presented single tracks to showcase each band member’s strength and in 2017, the band performed on their first world tour, which took in 12 countries.
Arguably, it was 2017 that truly marked the beginning of BTS’ international breakthrough, with collaborations with artists such as Steve Aoki, The Chainsmokers, Halsey, and recently a remix of TikTok sensation “Savage Love” with Jawsh 685 and Jason Derulo.
"Outwardly, they are polished and professional, but hours of laughter, secret handshakes and gifts exchanged show those around them that underneath this showstopping, neatly groomed movement are just some guys who love music, one another and their fans."
– Hasley, singer and songwriter, for Times 100
BTS' music records | |||
| Record | Achievement | Date | |
| First K-pop act to reach No.1 on the US albums chart
| First Place | 02 June 2018 | |
| First K-pop act to reach No.1 on the US Artist 100
| First Place | 02 June 2018 | |
| First K-pop group to reach the Top 10 on the US singles chart
| First Place | 02 June 2018 | |
| Highest annual earnings for a K-pop band (current year)
| $50 million (£35.4 million)
| 01 June 2020 | |
| Most viewers for a music concert live stream on a bespoke platform
| 756,000 total number | 14 June 2020 | |
| Most tickets sold for a livestreamed concert (current year)
| 756,000 tickets | 14 June 2020 | |
| Most weeks at No.1 on Billboard’s Social 50 chart
| 189 weeks | 01 August 2020 | |
| Most "daesang" ("grand prize") awards won at the Mnet Asian Music Awards
| 13 total number | 06 December 2020 | |
| Best-selling album in South Korea
| 4,440,818 units sold | 01 March 2021 | |
Most Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards won by a music group
| 5 total number | 13 March April 2021 | |
| Most weeks on the US Hot 100 by a K-pop track
| 32 weeks | 10 April 2021 | |
| Most weeks at No.1 on Billboard’s Digital Song Sales chart
| 18 weeks | 10 April 2021 | |
| Most streamed act on Spotify (group) | 16,300,000,000 total number | 27 April 2021 | |
However, BTS haven’t just stuck to music.
The record-breaking band have also released four films, the most recent being 2020’s Break the Silence: The Movie, which bagged the MTV Award for Best Music Documentary in May 2021.
The record-breaking band have also starred in several TV series (including their own BTS Run!), as well as a 15-episode web show. They even had a series that helped people learn Korean, which unsurprisingly was named Learn Korean with BTS.
Their popularity grew hand in hand with awareness and passion for "K-culture", which spread across the web like wildfire.
The country is, now more than ever, one of the global trendsetters with other aspects of South Korean culture such as K-beauty and K-dramas also rising in popularity.
Ever since their debut in 2013, these seven artists have been rewriting the rules of the music world – all while largely singing in a langue many of their fans don’t understand.
Whatever the future has in store for Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V and Jungkook – and it’s a safe bet that will include a whole lot more records – the Bangtan Boys’ legacy in the pop culture annals is assured.
🐨 A summary of the ARMY’s emojis 🐨
We’re sure most of you already know what 🧈 means, but what does it mean in the BTS fandom?
Here’s a little run-through of all the must-known emoji used by the ARMY!
- 🧈 = “Butter”, BTS most recent success.
- 💜 = ARMY
- 🔎 = Bangtan Bomb - the short, fun behind-the-scenes videos BTS released on their YouTube channel
- The ⁷ = added to the fan’s usernames online, it’s a way to show love and support to BTS
- 🐨 = Namjoon
- 🐹 = Seokjin
- 🐱= Yoongi
- 🐿️ = Hoseok
- 🐥 = Jimin
- 🐯 = Taehyung
- 🐰 = Jungkook
BTS appear in Guinness World Records 2022 as part of our Hall of Fame celebrities.
You can find them on pp.212-13.