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A timeline of BTS: how the K-pop superstars took over the world

From their humble beginnings to becoming household names, we take a look back at how the seven-piece built their empire.

BTS through the years: the K-pop band at the Korean Culture Convention (K-Con), held at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena on August 10, 2014. AFP

With news that K-pop superstars BTS will be taking an “extended break” from the music scene, we revisit how they became one of the world's most famous bands. The seven-piece – made up of Jimin, J-Hope, Jungkook, Jin, V, Suga and RM – have myriad albums, best-selling singles and feature films under their belt, built up over the last decade.

Here's an in-depth look at how they crafted an empire:

September 30, 2010:   For the first time, the name BTS (or Bulletproof Boy Scouts) is used, as the band collaborates on songs with artists such as rapper J-Lim, 2am and Lee Seung Gi.

July 2011: BTS create their Twitter account (at the time writing, it has 21.3 million followers).

December 17, 2012: The band introduces themselves to the world on Twitter.

워썹! 방탄소년단입니다.드디어 방탄소년단 트위터를 공식 오픈하네요~짝짝짝!데뷔 전까지 상상 그 이상의 이상하고 재미난 것들이 업로드됩니다. — 방탄소년단 (@BTS_twt) December 17, 2012

June 13, 2013: The band release their debut single album 2 Cool 4 Skool which features their first single No More Dream .

September 11, 2013: The band release their first EP titled O!RUL8,2? that consists of 10 tracks.

November 13, 2013: BTS wins their first major award when they're recognised as Best New Artist at South Korea's Melon Music Awards. They would go on to win many other similar awards throughout the 2013 to 14 awards season.

February 12, 2014: Their second EP Skool Luv Affair releases and peaks at number three on the World Album chart.

March 29, 2014: The group holds their first fan club concert in Seoul.

July 14, 2014: BTS makes their first trip to the US with their Show & Prove concert in Los Angeles.

July 27, 2014: They continue overseas with a fan meeting in Berlin.

August 19, 2014: The boy band release their debut studio album Dark & Wild that features 14 tracks with Danger as its lead single.

November 13, 2014: BTS performs their first Asian concert outside of Korea by heading to Kobe, Japan as part of their Live Trilogy Episode II: The Red Bullet tour.

December 24, 2014: The group releases their first Japanese album Wake Up .

April 29, 2015:   Their third EP The Most Beautiful Moment In Life, Part 1 debuts on the Heatseekers Albums chart at number six.

May 5, 2015: The group perform on The Show , one of South Korea's weekly music shows, and win with their song I Need U .

November 30, 2015: A new era is set for the band as their fourth EP The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 2 releases and becomes their first album to debuts on the Billboard 200 at number 171.

March 25, 2016: In their first Middle Eastern appearance, BTS comes to Abu Dhabi to perform as part of the sold out KCon 2016.

May 2, 2016: They release their first compilation album The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: Young Forever and it peaks on the Billboard 200 at number 107.

September 7, 2016: BTS release their their second Japanese album Youth and it debuts at number one on the Oricon chart (Japanese music chart).

October 10, 2016: Showing no signs of slowing down, the group also release their second album Wings which lands at number 26 on the Billboard 200.

October 29, 2016: The band tops the Social 50 Billboard chart for the first time.

November 20, 2016: They win the coveted album of the year at South Korea's Melon Music awards for The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: Young Forever. This would just kickstart the trend of the numerous awards won by the group throughout the year.

February 18, 2017: The group begin their The Wings Tour , which kicks off in Seoul and includes 40 shows in total. Much of it is featured in the YouTube series Burn the Stage.

March 11, 2017: The band head to South America for the first time with gigs in Chile and Brazil.

March 17, 2017: They perform in Mexico City as part of KCon Mexico.

May 21, 2017: BTS appears at their first Billboard Music Awards where they win the top social artist award, dethroning Justin Bieber who had previous won the award for the last six years.

May 26, 2017: They take The Wings Tour down under with a performance in Sydney.

September 18, 2017: The band releases their fifth EP Love Yourself: Her . At the time, it becomes the highest-charting Korean album as it hits number seven on the Billboard 200.

October 2, 2017: Their song DNA peaks at number 67 on the Hot 100 Billboard, also becoming the highest K-pop song at the time.

November 15, 2017:  They appear on The Late Late Show with James Corden , The Ellen DeGeneres Show , Jimmy Kimmel Live and make other US television show appearances for the month ahead of their performance at the American Music Awards (AMAs).

November 19, 2017: BTS performs DNA at the AMAs – marking their US TV performance debut.

November 24, 2017: A collaboration with Steve Aoki and Desiigner releases – Mic Drop (Remix) becomes the group's highest charting song at the time when it debuts at number 28 on the Hot 100 chart.

December 5, 2017: Twitter reveals that BTS is the most tweeted about celebrity for the year.

December 31, 2017: The group continues making history in the US as they become the first K-pop group to perform on the iconic Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve programme. They perform DNA and Mic Drop .

February 12, 2018: DNA and Mic Drop (Remix) are certified Gold (for selling 500,000 copies) by the RIAA

March 28, 2018: The Burn the Stage series comes out on YouTube. It follows the 300-day journey of the group's sold-out Wings Tour .

April 4, 2018: They release their third Japanese studio album Face Yourself . It breaks into the Billboard 200 and peaks at number 43. It gets certified platinum by the RIAJ.

April 26, 2018: The group announce the dates for their Love Yourself World Tour . It features the band heading to the US, Canada, the Netherlands, Germany, France, the UK, Japan and Taiwan.

May 15, 2018: Fake Love gets released as the first single from their new album Love Yourself: Tear . The song debuts at number 10 on the Hot 100, becoming the group's highest-charting song.

May 18, 2018: BTS releases their third studio album Love Yourself: Tear . It debuts at number one on the Billboard 200 and makes history, as it becomes the first Korean album to top the US charts.

May 20, 2018: The group performs at the Billboard Music Awards for the first time. They are nominated (and win) the top social artist category for the second year.

August 24, 2018: The group release their compilation album Love Yourself: Answer with the lead single Idol . The album becomes the band's second one to reach number one in the US market.

August 28, 2018: BTS begins their Love Yourself World tour in Seoul.

September 12, 2018: The band stops at America's Got Talent to perform Idol for American audiences.

September 24, 2018: BTS give a speech at the UN headquarters advising young people to join global efforts against discrimination and poverty. The speech goes viral as #BTSxUnitedNations trends worldwide on Twitter.

October 12, 2018: Their agency BigHit Entertainment announces Burn The Stage: The Movie . The film documents the group behind the scenes of their 2017 The Wings Tour . It features live performances, award show highlights and interviews with members.

October 17, 2018 : The group signs a contract renewal for seven more years with BigHit Entertainment.

February 10, 2019 : They present an award at the 61st Grammy Awards in Los Angeles.

March 11, 2019: BigHit announces the next BTS album called Map of the Soul: Persona .

March 26, 2019: Mattel unveil BTS dolls based on the seven members and inspired by their Idol music video.

April 12, 2019: The music video for BTS and Halsey's Boy With Luv releases on YouTube.

April 13, 2019: The group make history as the first K-pop act to perform as musical guests on Saturday Night Live .

April 17, 2019: BTS appear in Time 100's list of most influential people with a paragraph written by American artist Halsey.

May 2, 2019: They perform Boy With Luv with Halsey at the Billboard Music Awards. They also win the top social artist again for the third year.

May 21, 2019: The group lights up the Empire State building in New York City. The iconic building announced it would be sparking purple for five minutes every hour from sunset for the band their fans.

June 1, 2019: BTS sells out London's Wembley Stadium while also making history as the first Korean act to do so.

BTS have once again made history by becoming the first Asian Act to sell out Wembley Stadium! #BTSxWembley #BTSSoldOutWembley Congratulations @BTS_twt , we're so proud of you! 💜🎉 pic.twitter.com/Rb7YC6NQzz — BTS Mauritius⁷ (@BTSMauritius) March 1, 2019

July 14, 2019: It's announced that BTS will perform at King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh as part of their Love Yourself: Speak Yourself tour.

August 11, 2019: BigHit Entertainment releases a statement that BTS will be taking an "extended break" so that they can get a "chance to enjoy the ordinary lives of young people in their 20s".

[공지] 방탄소년단 공식 장기 휴가 알림 (+ENG) pic.twitter.com/fV4Aw5UNY4 — BIGHIT MUSIC (@BIGHIT_MUSIC) August 11, 2019

_________________

BTS are taking an 'extended break': Will they still appear in Saudi in October?

The records keep coming: BTS sets yet another landmark on YouTube

Watch: K-pop band BTS ask fans to spread kindness

What was BTS first concert?

Background. Following the release of their first studio album Dark & Wild August 2014, BTS released a video teaser on YouTube and a poster on September 4, 2014 announcing their first concert tour, titled 2014 BTS Live Trilogy Episode II: The Red Bullet, with October dates for two shows at AX-Korea in South Korea.

When did BTS start a solo tour?

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BTS’ debut solo concert tour in 2014, The Red Bullet Tour, began in Asia and then expanded to Australia, North America, and South America, attracting 80,000 spectators. In the midst of The Red Bullet Tour, BTS also held its first concert tour of Japan, Wake Up: Open Your Eyes Japan Tour.

BTS performing during the Love Yourself World Tour in 2019, the band’s biggest tour to date. South Korean boy band BTS has performed in five concert tours (three of which have been worldwide), six fan meeting tours, four joint tours, eight showcases, and 41 concerts since their debut in 2013.

During The Red Bullet Tour, BTS also held their first Japan Tour, Wake Up, to 25,000 fans. BTS commenced in 2015 their The Most Beautiful Moment in Life On Stage Tour, which visited various cities in Asia and sold over 182,500 tickets.

Unknown to many, global K-pop sensation BTS held one of their very first international concerts in Manila on Dec. 7, 2014 dubbed BTS Live Trilogy in Manila: Episode II The Red Bullet. Yes, the Philippines served as a “testing ground” of the seven-piece boy band that debuted in South Korea in 2013.

And with 92 out of 100, makes @BTS_twt one of the most influential accounts on Twitter, and certainly the most influential K-pop band on Twitter. They have more than 48 million followers at the time of writing.

The fans No band can have success without its fans and BTS has some of the most loyal, dedicated fans that the world has EVER seen with 19.4 million followers on Twitter and 23.7 million on Instagram. Known as the ARMY, it was the fans who cast an unbelievable 300 million online votes to ensure that the group won their Billboard award.

They presently have 60.6 million Instagram followers, which explains the number of fans the K-pop sensation has worldwide. According to a Korean media outlet, a sociological survey of over 400,000 BTS fans was conducted between July and September 2020.

BTS is a 7 member boy band that originates from South Korea, Seoul, and it is estimated as per CNBC that BTS adds $3.6 Billion to the Korean economy every year and more than $1 Billion dollars in consumer exports.

Over the past year, Japanese viewers made up the largest share of watchers with around 148 million views on the band’s videos, followed by more than 82.8 million views by Indonesians and 74.3 million views by Indians. Two years ago, in June 2019, BTS videos accounted for around 21 percent of all K-pop videos viewed around the world on YouTube.

house-small pencill-small clock-small ARMY or A.R.M.Y (Hangul: 아미) is BTS ‘s official fandom name. It was officially established on July 9, 2013 after the first recruitment closed.

South Korean boy band BTS have released 42 singles as lead artist—three of which are soundtrack appearances, nine singles as a featured artist, two promotional singles, and over 100 other non-single songs….

If you want to know the numbers – of the group as a whole and the singers’ individual worth, scroll below. As per btsbomb, BTS’ Net Worth in 2022 is about $3.6 billion, with an annual income of $60 Million.

Let’s take a look at the net worth of the individual BTS members. According to Celebrity Net Worth , J-Hope ranks first among the members with the highest net worth. He ranks at $12 million being a rapper, dancer, singer, and record producer. The group’s individual worth also comes from outside projects alongside BTS.

As one of the main vocalists and a songwriter, Jimin is one of the members with the most potential, often ranking at number 1 for idols who have the best brand reputations. BTS’s Maknae (aka youngest member), Jungkook (Jeon Jung Kook), has a similar estimated net worth as Jimin and is one of ARMY’s favorites.

The 24-year-old singer, dancer and main vocalist of the band BTS, Jungkook, fondly called the ‘Golden Maknae’ is well-known to be the most popular among the members of the band. Jungkook and Jimin, both have the same estimated net worth of USD $18 – 20 million.

Both members are worth between $23 and $26 million, given their individual projects. J-Hope bought an apartment in Seoul in 2018 that is now valued at over $2 million. Next on the list of BTS’s richest members is RM (Kim Nam Joon), who is suspected of having a net worth of over $20 million.

Bangtan Boys

BTS / Full name

BTS, in full Bangtan Sonyeondan (Korean: “Bulletproof Boy Scouts” or “Bangtan Boys”), also called Beyond the Scene, South Korean K-pop (Korean pop music) band that shot to international stardom in the late 2010s.

If you do follow BTS, you may have seen them referred to as the Bangtan Boys or other nicknames inspired by the letters B-T-S. But where did the letters BTS even come from in the first place? Here’s what the band’s name means. The name “BTS,” actually stands for the words, “BBangtan Sonyeondan,” which translates to mean “Bulletproof Boy Scouts.”

Name The group’s name, BTS, stands for the Korean expression Bangtan Sonyeondan (Korean : 방탄소년단; Hanja : 防彈 少年 團), literally meaning “Bulletproof Boy Scouts”. According to member J-Hope, the name signifies the group’s desire “to block out stereotypes, criticisms, and expectations that aim on adolescents like bullets”.

BTS, in full Bangtan Sonyeondan (Korean: “Bulletproof Boy Scouts” or “Bangtan Boys”), also called Beyond the Scene, 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.

They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. BTS, in full Bangtan Sonyeondan (Korean: “Bulletproof Boy Scouts” or “Bangtan Boys”), also called Beyond the Scene, South Korean K-pop (Korean pop music) band that shot to international stardom in the late 2010s.

Meeting them at concerts BTS has concerts and they give out VIP tickets to the concerts too. The VIPs sure do get special treatments. They get to see BTS doing the soundcheck a day before when there’s not that much of a crowd that enters during the actual concert performance.

While in-person fan meetings and concerts are on hold due to the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the members of BTS are finding another way to meet with ARMY. On Aug. 9, 200 BTS fans will be able to take part in a Zoom meeting with Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook.

BTS announced the Zoom meeting on social media On July 28, Big Hit Music’s official Twitter account for BTS shared a link to a Weverse post announcing the fan meeting. Based on the tweet, the Zoom meeting is only available to fans who have the BTS Global Official Fanclub ARMY Membership. In the Weverse post, Big Hit Music wrote:

But in all seriousness, whether you see/meet BTS or not in real life, it doesn’t make you any less of a fan. It shouldn’t make you love them less, and it doesn’t make them love ARMY’s less. The only option left is to meet them in your dreams. Think of them all day and just before you go to sleep.

BTS is one of the biggest bands on the planet, but you might be surprised to learn how this Korean pop music sensation formed. While many Western musicians first meet and then decide to join talents as a group, most K-pop bands are organized by record labels who match young singers with one another.

Rap Monster was the first to join BTS and the only one from the original line up. He said the famous quote, “Jimin, you got no jams.” “My name is Rap Monster, not Dance Monster.”

Bad Bunny grossed more than $3 million a night on his most recent tour, a figure that will jump when he starts touring stadiums later this year. BTS average more than $8 million a night during a Los Angeles swing late last year, selling about $33 million worth of tickets during just four nights.

The cumulative tally of BTS is up to 105.1 million equivalent album sales, an unbelievable figure figure in this day and age and in such a short amount of time. If a formula exists to crush the music industry, South Korea heroes definitely own the recipe.

The subsequent stadium tour by the band – made up of RM, Suga, Jimin, Jin, J-hope, V and Jungkook – in Sao Paulo, London and Paris added another US$35 million for a combined US$78.9 million, thanks to the 606,409 tickets sold. The band’s profits from the Los Angeles Rose Bowl concert alone hit US$16.6 million – a record for the venue.

The huge revenue from BTS ‘s two-day virtual concert is drawing attention. Big Hit Entertainment revealed that a total of 993,000 people logged in to BTS’s concert ‘ MAP OF THE SOUL ON:E ‘ during the two days of the concert.

Based on ticket pricing and capacity, concerts in the United States will earn about $2,500,000 each in ticket sales. Fukuoka Yahuoku! Dome *For consistency, show revenue is based off North American show prices. And best of all, there’s more to come!

RM was the first member to release a solo project and shared his self-titled mixtape, RM, on March 20, 2015.

BTS have released many albums as a group but when it comes to members’ solo projects, only RM, Suga and J-Hope have put out their own mixtapes. BTS have released many albums as a group but when it comes to members’ solo projects, only RM, Suga and J-Hope have put out their own mixtapes.

We might be getting four new BTS solo albums in 2023! In July 2022, J-Hope released his first solo album Jack in the Box. Recently, Jin released his solo single album The Astronaut. And leader RM will reportedly release his first official solo album later this month. RM is planning to release his solo album. He is currently working on it.

Here are all of BTS’ solo projects and songs — not including covers, solo tracks released through (or featuring members of) BTS, or features on other artists’ songs. RM was the first member to release a solo project and shared his self-titled mixtape, RM, on March 20, 2015.

One of the BTS artists with the most solo songs is J-Hope, who created the popular mixtape Hope World in 2018. Earlier this year, the K-pop artist collaborated with Becky G for their rendition of the song “Chicken Noodle Soup.” It became somewhat of a dance craze, earning over 18 million streams on Spotify.

In 2016, BTS were taken by surprise when their name was announced at the Melon Awards. In an often-shared video, the band looks on in disbelief, with BTS leader RM uncertainly standing up. It’s their first Daesang (Grand Prize), infusing hope in them again as they had come close to disbanding.

The entrance of the seven-member boy band from South Korea changed the game. BTS and their fans, the ARMY, became the first K-Pop group to reach top 10 of the Billboard 200 Chart. BTS and the ARMY also ended the reign of the ‘Beliebers’, winning the Top Social Artist at the Billboard Music Awards with more than 300 million votes worldwide.

Once BTS returned to Korea, Suga and V received additional medical care and spent some time away from the spotlight. As fans grew curious about how the members had recovered, Suga tweeted a long heartfelt message to ARMYs on January 10, 2016.

BTS had a huge year in 2018. Take a look back at some of their biggest moments. The year of 2018 was undeniably a major success for South Korean group BTS. Every other day or so it felt like new music was coming out or new records were being broken by the seven men, RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, V, Jimin and Jungkook.

The BTS members will work hard to finish this year healthily and greet 2017.� Thank you.” Akdong Musician to give fans a preview of the 2nd half of ‘AKMU Puberty’ with a musical short film! Seo In Guk drops another teaser image for his upcoming digital single album!

A few years after their debut in 2015, BTS came in first place on a weekly music performance show on one of Korea’s three major television broadcast networks with their first single with “I NEED U” from their third mini-album, “The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Pt. 1.”

The latter meant they could extend their reach through social media, personally, and this would prove pivotal in their rise to fame. It was three years until they were officially introduced as BTS, in 2013, and they quickly proved to be a powerhouse for a new generation.

But this wasn’t the Beatles. It was BTS – a seven-man South Korean mega-group which is quite possibly the biggest boy band in the world right now. In April, BTS became only the third group in 50 years to have three number one albums on the Billboard 200 charts in less than 12 months, joining the ranks of The Beatles and The Monkees.

BTS play at KCON, a Korean pop music convention, in Los Angeles. BTS’s music video for “Blood Sweat and Tears” breaks the record for fastest YouTube video to 30 million views, and the most number of views for a K-pop video in a 24-hour period. During their Wings Tour, BTS become the first K-pop group to sell out arenas in the US.

BTS become the first K-pop group to win a Billboard Music Award after taking the trophy for Top Social Artist. BTS perform at the American Music Awards, their first performance on an American awards show. BTS appear on The Ellen Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live! BTS win the 2018 Time magazine reader poll.

BTS has won 442 awards, out of 636 nominations, from their debut in 2013 until the writing of this post in April 2022. This K-pop group has come a long way since their debut. Here is a complete collection of all BTS awards, ranging from music show wins to Melon Music Awards, Daesangs and more.

With 30 awards overall, including a record four consecutive wins for Artist of the Year (Asia), BTS are the most-awarded foreign artist in the history of the Japan Gold Disc Awards. They are the only foreign artist to achieve as many consecutive wins in the aforementioned category and to receive as many awards in a single ceremony (2022).

Among several Billboard music awards, Asian music awards and many others, BTS have collected a jaw-dropping 23 Guinness World Records titles across music and social media – an amazing result achieved also thanks to the enthusiasm of their fans, the ARMY.

[b] BTS’ first Korean compilation album The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: Young Forever (2016) earned BTS their first Daesang [c] award for Album of the Year at the 2016 Melon Music Awards and Artist of the Year at the 2016 Mnet Asian Music Awards.

This is a list of major awards and nominations received by BTS, a South Korean boy group that debuted in June 2013 under Big Hit Entertainment. On May 5, 2015, the band won their first number-one win on South Korean music program SBS The Show with their third mini album: The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 1 .

In 2017, BTS embarked on The Wings Tour, which visited 17 cities in 10 countries around the world and attracted 550,000 spectators. BTS performing during the Love Yourself World Tour in 2019, the band’s biggest tour to date.

BTS World Tour: Love Yourself, commonly known as the Love Yourself World Tour, was the third worldwide concert tour headlined by South Korean band BTS to promote their Love Yourself album series, including their Love Yourself: Her EP, Love Yourself: Tear studio album, and Love Yourself: Answer compilation album.

Per Big Hit Entertainment, BTS’s label and management group, over 750,000 concurrent viewers (located in more than 100 countries) tuned in for the pay-per-view event, with pre-order tickets costing $35 and ARMY fan-club tickets going for $26.

A BTS concert tour performance can last up to three hours. Expect up to 20 songs during the show at the BTS stadium tour, plus at least one encore. Encores can include up to five songs, so be sure you stay until the very end.

Entrance for the main show will start at 5.30 PM PST/ 8.30 ET on all dates. The concert starts at 7.30 PM PST/ 10.30 ET on all dates. READ MORE: What did the Korean government say about BTS’ Military Enlistment Exemption plea? For fans who will be watching BTS’ concert from the YouTube Live play theater, check the schedule below.

With over two million people in attendance, BTS’s 2019 Love Yourself tour is the band’s biggest tour by capacity to date. In Japan, they recorded a whopping total of 380,000 people in attendance for all five days of the tour. The concert tour was extended and was called the Speak Yourself Tour.

The last BTS concert was on February 06, 2023 in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. The bands that performed were: Bts. What songs does BTS play live? The songs that BTS performs live vary, but here’s the latest setlist that we have from the October 15, 2022 concert at Busan Asiad Main Stadium in Busan, South Korea:

BTS member with the most fans

According to Quora, V’s is the most search member. He has the maximum number of fan pages that any other member in the band. According to Google Trends, V is the most sought BTS member on Google’s search engine and the singer is quickly followed by the other Maknae Line vocalists, Junkook and Jimin.

And this may make you wonder, just where are they all at? Sure they’re all over the world, but where are the majority of them? To give a somewhat indirect answer, the country where the most BTS fans reside in is the Philippines. Although the visual data no longer exists on Twitter for some reason, it showed the following ranking below.

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The Picture Show

Bts returns to the stage reuniting their army of fans after a 2-year hiatus.

Hannah Yoon

Two separate groups of fans from the Philippines take a photo together before the BTS concert at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., on Nov. 27. Hannah Yoon for NPR hide caption

Two separate groups of fans from the Philippines take a photo together before the BTS concert at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., on Nov. 27.

It's been over two years since BTS and fans met face to face at a live concert. The group's very last show was in Seoul, South Korea during the Love Yourself: Speak Yourself world tour on Oct. 29, 2019.

BTS: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert

Announcing the dates with nearly a week's notice to fans back in September, BTS sold out their four day SoFi Stadium concert tour before tickets were released to the general public. BTS fans, also known as ARMY, flew to Los Angeles from all over the U.S. and even all over the world to finally reunite with their favorite idols. Tens of thousands of fans gathered each night on four different days at SoFi Stadium.

Tiffany Lui stands with a blanket of BTS member Jin before the concert. Lui spent her time handing out little BTS gift packs to other fans before the concert. Hannah Yoon for NPR hide caption

Tiffany Lui stands with a blanket of BTS member Jin before the concert. Lui spent her time handing out little BTS gift packs to other fans before the concert.

Not only was this a moment for ARMY to see their favorite artists, it was also a time to meet other fans they had connected with online. Julieta Salvo flew in from Seoul, South Korea. Originally from Argentina, Salvo has been living in South Korea for seven years and became part of ARMY last year during the pandemic.

"It's the first concert in two years. The first they held after I became ARMY and it was my first BTS concert," says Salvo, who attended all four concert nights. "I wanted to be here for their reunion with ARMY." She was able to meet fellow ARMY member Claudia Cornejo from Michigan in person after interacting with her online. Cornejo, originally from Mexico City, Mexico, has been to multiple BTS concerts in different U.S. cities and Canada.

Julieta Salvo (left) and Claudia Cornejo only knew each other online before meeting for the first time at the concert. Salvo, originally from Argentina, currently lives in South Korea while Cornejo, originally from Mexico, lives in Michigan. Hannah Yoon for NPR hide caption

Julieta Salvo (left) and Claudia Cornejo only knew each other online before meeting for the first time at the concert. Salvo, originally from Argentina, currently lives in South Korea while Cornejo, originally from Mexico, lives in Michigan.

"To me it is important to attend as many BTS concerts as I can afford," Cornejo says. "I invest a lot of my free time and money supporting them and their music. [It] might sound super cliché, but I found them at the worst moment in my life and they helped me overcome some mental issues and bring extreme joy to my life." Cornejo also enjoys finding clothes her favorite members wear and supporting different fashion brands.

Starter Kit

Start here: your guide to getting into k-pop.

Among the sea of people, you couldn't miss the fans that came dressed to the nines. Friends came matching with sparkly purple jackets, colorful wigs and BT21 headbands. Others custom designed their own outfits, while some wore specific, themed fits to showcase the different eras of BTS' musical journey. In addition to standing in line for merchandise, fans exchanged collectibles, gave away gift packs with candy, photo cards and jewelry, and watched dance groups perform.

Despite this being the first time in a long time that BTS and ARMY were together in a live setting full of singing, laughter and tears, BTS made it clear there is so much more to come.

Left: Jiselle Camacho came from the Bay Area to attend her first BTS concert. Right: Kianna Ballard, of St. Paul, Minn., is wearing a custom designed outfit for the show. Hannah Yoon for NPR hide caption

Left: Jiselle Camacho came from the Bay Area to attend her first BTS concert. Right: Kianna Ballard, of St. Paul, Minn., is wearing a custom designed outfit for the show.

Two fans from Japan carry bags with pins of their favorite BTS members as they wait for the concert. Hannah Yoon for NPR hide caption

Two fans from Japan carry bags with pins of their favorite BTS members as they wait for the concert.

Left: Kenya Monk stands with her children, Kam, 10, Mya, 15, and Kayla, 7, before their first BTS concert. Right: Friends Mal Rosero and Jee Soo Kim met for the first time after interacting on Twitter. Hannah Yoon for NPR hide caption

Left: Kenya Monk stands with her children, Kam, 10, Mya, 15, and Kayla, 7, before their first BTS concert. Right: Friends Mal Rosero and Jee Soo Kim met for the first time after interacting on Twitter.

Abi Castaneda, 25, stands with McDonald's cutouts of BTS members V, RM and J-Hope. Hannah Yoon for NPR hide caption

Abi Castaneda, 25, stands with McDonald's cutouts of BTS members V, RM and J-Hope.

Left: Pleasure Scott, of Los Angeles, and Shaniya Houston, of Alaska, stand together while waiting in line. Right: Cousins Maya Beydoun and Dalya Beydoun traveled from Dearborn, Mich. Hannah Yoon for NPR hide caption

Left: Pleasure Scott, of Los Angeles, and Shaniya Houston, of Alaska, stand together while waiting in line. Right: Cousins Maya Beydoun and Dalya Beydoun traveled from Dearborn, Mich.

Friends Ravy Sok, Stephanie Tea, Rosemary Millan and Lina Sok walk together outside the SoFi stadium. Hannah Yoon for NPR hide caption

Friends Ravy Sok, Stephanie Tea, Rosemary Millan and Lina Sok walk together outside the SoFi stadium.

Left: Siblings Josephine and Jonathan Gatus wait outside before the concert. Right: Talia Mirai traveled from from Houston, Texas, to see BTS perform. Hannah Yoon for NPR hide caption

Left: Siblings Josephine and Jonathan Gatus wait outside before the concert. Right: Talia Mirai traveled from from Houston, Texas, to see BTS perform.

Three fans show off their BTS hats as they wait for the first BTS in person concert in two years. Hannah Yoon for NPR hide caption

Three fans show off their BTS hats as they wait for the first BTS in person concert in two years.

Fans wait in line for the BTS concert at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. Hannah Yoon for NPR hide caption

Fans wait in line for the BTS concert at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.

Hannah Yoon is a documentary photographer based in Philadelphia. You can follow her on Instagram: @hanloveyoon . Emily Bogle produced this story.

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BTS member Suga announces his first solo world tour. Details inside

Bts member suga is the first to hold a solo world tour. he will tour the us, asia, among other places..

Listen to Story

• Suga of BTS to go on a world tour starting this April.
• He will be touring the US and Asia.
• Meanwhile, Jimin will be the next member to release a solo record.

SUGA ANNOUNCES WORLD TOUR

SUGA | Agust D TOUR 공연 개최 #SUGA #AgustD #슈가 #SUGA_AgustD_TOUR pic.twitter.com/wbbMd3Ezzl — BIGHIT MUSIC (@BIGHIT_MUSIC) February 14, 2023

READ | Suga of BTS announces a new talk show titled Suchwita. Read details

Suga is a South Korean rapper, music producer and songwriter, who also goes by Agust D. Ticket pre-sales for the solo concert will begin from March 1. For Army Membership holders with Ticketmaster's Verified Fan Registration open now through Feb. 23.

WHAT'S NEXT FOR BTS MEMBERS?

Jimin is working on his debut solo album that will release in March. V is involved in an upcoming reality television program, tvN's 'Seojin’s which premieres from Feb. 24. RM and J-hope released their solo albums, Indigo and Jack In the Box respectively. RM is also working on his another solo project, while J-hope said that he is working on something grand.

BTS is one of the biggest music sensations in history. Here's a look back on their meteoric rise to stardom.

• BTS is a seven-member K-pop group that has become a global sensation.
• They were originally discovered in 2010 and released their first album in 2013.
• BTS fans call themselves A.R.M.Y., which stands for "Adorable Representative M.C. for Youth."
• From their thoughtful lyrics to fans' digital activism, Insider chronicled BTS's meteoric rise with insight from K-pop and music industry experts.
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories .

BTS might be the most popular boy group the world has ever seen.

With record-setting views for their YouTube music videos and album purchases along with their money-making star power — the group brought in $130 million in 2019 sales from merchandising alone, according to The Hollywood Reporter — the seven-member K-pop group has become a worldwide sensation. 

Insider took a look at BTS's meteoric rise to stardom and how the members have transformed the music industry with insight from K-pop and music industry experts as well as a recently published Harvard Business School case study that analyzed the band's success.

The BTS members were first discovered in the fall of 2010.

BTS members were first discovered in 2010 by their current management company Big Hit Entertainment, a South Korean entertainment company.

Entertainment companies like Big Hit have a few different ways to recruit talent whether it's online or in real life, according to a recent Harvard Business School case study  that analyzed the global success of BTS.

For example, BTS member Suga was discovered through an online audition in the fall of 2010 while Jungkook told a Korean talk show that he was discovered by talent agencies after auditioning for "Superstar K," a Korean show similar to "American Idol." 

Before they became a band, they started as trainees for Big Hit Entertainment.

After being discovered, the new recruits become trainees who received coaching to prepare them to be superstars. This includes dancing and singing lessons as well as acting and media training.

"Think of it like college," Bang Si-Hyuk, the founder and Co-CEO of Big Hit, said in the HBS case study.

Many of these trainees are young teenagers between the ages of 13 to 15, according to the study. The boy group's youngest member, JungKook, now 22, was 14 when he first started as a trainee for Big Hit before debuting a few months before turning 16. He shared his journey dating back to his beginnings as a trainee in his single "My Time" that was released in BTS' album "Map of the Soul: 7" this past February.

Training to become a K-pop band can take up to three years, according to the case study.

Trainees prepare to debut as K-pop artists after about three years of training, according to the case study.

It's a pretty cut-throat process — according to the Harvard case study, there are around a dozen trainees for every person that makes it. That means upwards of 80 people may have auditioned for BTS, but RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook are the ones who made it.

As for this rigid process of talent development, Bang told scholars of the study that the concerns of "manufacturing" groups, at the cost of individuality, is valid. He says the company strives to "strike an ideal balance between the efficiency of the system and respect for each artist's individuality," according to the study.

BTS was originally envisioned as a hip-hop group, but the band pivoted to the "idol model."

Initially, BTS was going to be a hip-hop crew focused on rappers. In the HBS case study, Bang said that the company shifted away from this pure focus on hip-hop and eventually pivoted to the "idol model." 

Youngdae Kim, a Korean music critic best known for his book "BTS The Review: A Comprehensive Look at the Music of BTS," told Insider that idols usually refer to K-pop artists who combine singing and dancing in their performances.

BTS debuted the band's first album in 2013.

BTS officially debuted as a seven-member K-pop idol group in the summer of 2013.

Their first album "2 COOL 4 SKOOL" saw a fair amount of success, placing tenth on a monthly Korean music chart a month after release. The album's title song, "No more dream" can be interpreted as a commentary on the pressures of growing up as a teenager in Korea. 

Their music often carries messages around social issues, which has become part of the group's musical identity.

BTS music typically includes a message about social issues for fans.

"The whole company's philosophy is to make music that matters," Tamar Herman, a Billboard K-pop correspondent, told Insider. Herman said that she believed BTS's music delved into K-pop's "early roots" where idol groups like H.O.T. grappled with social issues in Korea.

Around the time BTS debuted, however, Herman said it was "pretty rare" that groups used their music for explicit social commentary. 

One fan told Insider that she was drawn to the group's music that consistently shares messages that collectively come together as an "overarching storyline" that follows the group's growth as well as her own. 

"A lot of their songs are interlinked with each other, so their lyrics aren't in a vacuum," Jiye Kim, a fan of BTS who is well known in the BTS fandom community for her English translations of BTS content , told Insider. "I'm able to grow alongside them."

BTS also strongly embraces their identity as Korean artists in their music.

Youngdae Kim told Insider that BTS's music is centered around their identity as Korean artists, which he says was rarely seen in the industry previously.

The group incorporates social commentary on issues local to Korea, includes Korean dialects in their music (their song "Paldogangsan" is literally a rap about Korean regional dialects, dubbed "Saturi"), and wears traditional Korean Hanbok clothing (Suga dressed in Hanbok for the music video of his latest single "Daechwita").

"In the beginning, BTS embraced their Korean identity, because they wanted to share narratives that were authentic to them, as Korean citizens," Youngdae Kim told Insider. "Now, I think they see it as a responsibility — they're the largest K-pop group right now, and they're not going to hide their Korean identity... because that's who they are." 

While Korean heritage is an important part of the group's musical identity, Jiye Kim told Insider that for fans, it's been an "uphill battle" to see coverage from people who understand Asian and Korean culture.

Around a year after their debut, fans formed an official fan club called "A.R.M.Y." to support BTS.

Around a year after BTS debuted in 2013, their official fan club came together. The fan club, called "A.R.M.Y.,"  is short for "Adorable M.C. for Youth."

Jiye Kim teaches at a high school in Sydney, Australia, during the day but volunteers her time  — sometimes up to 15 hours a day around an album release — to translate BTS content in English for fans around the world. She says she's forged many friendships from interacting with other fans through social media and feels that volunteering her time to translate content is a way of giving back to the community. 

"I translate not for BTS, but my fellow fans who through BTS find a sense of comfort or joy," Kim told Insider. 

"A strong alliance between the artists and the fans is a fundamental part of K-pop fandom culture," Ju Oak Kim, an Assistant Professor of Communication at Texas A&M International University, told Insider. Many other K-pop groups such as BLACKPINK also have official fan clubs that support them. 

BTS fans have grown their presence in the age of social media.

BTS and other K-pop fans have become a movement unto themselves online.

Most recently, BTS fans have received national attention for their viral digital activism such as matching the K-pop group's $1 million donation to the Black Lives Matter movement . K-pop fans also said they reserved thousands of tickets for President Donald Trump's rally in Oklahoma before not showing up ( rows of seats remained empty at the rally though it's unclear if the viral campaign by K-pop fans was the reason why).

Ju Oak Kim told Insider that fans are no longer passive consumers of their artists' work. Kim says that today, fans are able to see the tangible impact they can make as consumers and are "empowered" to be proactive about using their social capital as a collective fandom.

For example, Jiye Kim said that she had already made several contributions to organizations supporting the Black Lives Matter movement after seeing many of her fellow BTS fans share messages of solidarity and support. She told Insider she also commissioned some BTS fan artists who used proceeds for their art to donate to the movement. 

"The moment that we heard (where BTS stood), we were able to use BTS's name explicitly to muster the forces," Kim said. 

BTS has set numerous records since 2013.

A few years after their debut in 2015, BTS came in first place on a weekly music performance show on one of Korea's three major television broadcast networks with their first single with "I NEED U" from their third mini-album, "The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Pt. 1."

Since then, the group has continued to shatter records. This past March, BTS' "Map of the Soul: 7" album marked the group's fourth No.1 album on the Billboard 200 chart. The album recorded 347,000 album sales and over 74 million on-demand streams, making it the "largest week for any album in 2020," Billboard reported at the time .

For the music video for "ON," the album's lead single, the Head of Culture and Trends at YouTube confirmed that they " set a new record for peak viewers for a premiere ."  

Most recently, BTS topped a Guinness World Record for most viewed concert livestream in a virtual concert that was viewed by over 700,000 fans globally. 

BTS became the first K-pop artist to present at the Grammy Awards in 2019. The year after, the group became the first K-pop artist to perform at the award show.

In 2019, BTS became the first K-pop artist to present at the Grammy Awards. The following year, they became the first K-pop artist to perform at the award show. 

However, fans on social media criticized the music show for not including the group's music in any of their nominations. Halsey, who collaborated with the group for their single "Boy with Luv," supported the group by saying that the " US is so far behind ."

—h (@halsey) November 20, 2019

The sky's the limit for BTS.

BTS will likely continue to dominate the music industry into the 2020s.

Their latest album "Map of the Soul: Journey" was released in Japanese in July . The new album includes Japanese versions of a number of their latest songs like "Boy with Luv" and "IDOL," in addition to four new Japanese songs. Upon release, it dominated Japan's Oricon chart, opening up yet another region in the world for BTS to shine. 

Meanwhile, "Map of the Soul: 7" became the only album released this year that sold over half-million copies, according to Nielsen Music and MRC Data's midyear report . The report also places BTS as the second most consumed genre artist, following Billie Eilish and ahead of Taylor Swift. 

• Main content

BTS member Suga announces first solo world tour, scripts history

South Korean boy band BTS's Suga has caught the attention of fans after announcing his first solo tour across the globe on the fandom platform Weverse. Suga will become the first BTS member to embark on this journey, with a slate of dates scheduled around the world. Here, we have outlined all the details that you need to know about his upcoming world tour.

Why does this story matter?

It is important to note that in June 2022, all seven members of BTS announced solo careers alongside being a group, and completing their mandatory military service. A rapper, producer, and songwriter, Suga has been ahead of the curve for a few years now. Back in 2016, he came up with a self-titled mixtape as Agust D , followed by another mixtape in 2020, D-2 .

All the details of Suga's upcoming solo tour

The tour will kick off with two shows in Belmont Park, New York on April 26, and will make stops in Newark, New Jersey, and Los Angeles. His US leg will be wrapped with Oakland on May 17. After this, the K-pop sensation will head to Indonesia , Thailand, and Singapore, before returning to South Korea , for two shows on June 24 and 25.

Check out the Instagram post here

Instagram post A post shared by agustd on February 15, 2023 at 12:59 pm IST

Suga's recent solo activities include the talk show 'Suchwita' 

Billed under Suga's name, as well as his stage moniker Agust D, at this time, there's not much information available about the tour outside of its dates. Suga's recent solo activities include launching the much-hyped talk show on YouTube titled Suchwita , featuring conversations with various artists, including SEVENTEEN 's Hoshi, and more. In January, Suga was also announced as a brand ambassador for Valentino.

Here's what each BTS member plans to do

All BTS members (except Jin) are exploring solo projects right now. Singer and dancer Jimin is currently busy with his debut solo album, scheduled to be released in March. Meanwhile, V is involved in an upcoming reality television program Seojin . RM, who released his solo album Indigo , is working on another solo project, whereas J-hope has stated that he is working on something "grand."

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BTS  (Hangul: 방탄소년단; RR: Bangtan Sonyeondan), also known as the  Bangtan Boys , is a seven-member South Korean boy band formed in Seoul in 2013. The name became a backronym for  Beyond the Scene  in July 2017. Their official color is Purple and their official light-stick color is grey. [1] The septet co-writes and produces much of their output. Initially rooted in hip hop, BTS' musical style has evolved to include a wide range of genres. Their lyrics, often focused on personal and social commentary, touch on the themes of mental health, troubles of school-age youth, loss, the journey towards loving oneself, and individualism. Their work features references to literature and psychological concepts and includes an alternative universe storyline. Popular for their live performances, the group has staged several world tours.

The group initially formed as teenagers under  Big Hit Entertainment  and released their debut single album,  2 Cool 4 Skool  (2013). Subsequent work such as their first U.S.  Billboard  200 entries  The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 2  (2015),  The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: Young Forever  (2016), and  Wings (2016) helped establish BTS' reputation as a socially conscious group.  Wings  became BTS' first album to sell one million copies in South Korea. By 2017, BTS crossed into the international music market, leading the Korean Wave into the United States and breaking numerous sales records, becoming the first Korean group to receive a certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) with their single " Mic Drop ." The band is the first and only Korean act as of 2019 to top the U.S.  Billboard  200 with their studio album  Love Yourself: Tear  (2018) and have since hit the top of the U.S. charts with their albums  Love Yourself: Answer  (2018) and  Map of the Soul: Persona  (2019), making BTS the first group since The Beatles to earn three number one albums in less than a year.  Love Yourself: Answer  also broke South Korea's Gaon Album Chart's all-time monthly record previously set by  Love Yourself: Tear  and became the first Korean album certified Gold in the United States.

In 2018, BTS had the second and third best-selling albums worldwide and were the second best-selling artists worldwide. In 2019,  Map of the Soul: Persona became the best-selling album in Korean history, and BTS became the best-selling artist in South Korea of all time, having sold over fourteen million albums. The group won Top Social Artist three years in a row and Top Duo/Group at the 26th  Billboard  Music Awards.  Time  magazine has named the band one of the 25 most influential people on the internet, featured them on their international cover as "Next Generation Leaders," and named them one of  Time  100's most influential people of 2019.  Forbes  Korea Power Celebrity has named BTS the most influential celebrities of Korea in 2018. BTS are worth more than $4.65 billion to South Korea's economy each year, attracting one in every 13 foreign tourists that visit the country, and are cited as one of the key acts boosting global music sales to $19 billion in 2018, a figure not seen since 2006 after digital purchases gained momentum.

Following their philanthropic efforts in their Love Myself anti-violence campaign in partnership with UNICEF, BTS addressed the United Nations 73rd General Assembly and became the youngest ever recipients of the Order of Cultural Merit from the President of South Korea due to their contributions in spreading Korean culture and language.

• 4.1 2010–2012: Pre-debut
• 4.2 2013–2014: Debut and moderate success
• 4.3 2015–2016: Mainstream breakthrough and commercial success
• 4.4 2017: You Never Walk Alone, Love Yourself: Her, and international recognition
• 4.5 2018: Hope World, album certification, and international accolades
• 4.6 2019: Map of the Soul: Persona, stadium world tour, BTS World, and Period of Rest
• 4.7 2020: Map of the Soul: 7, Map of the Soul : ~ The Journey ~, "Dynamite", Be, Suga's hiatus
• 4.8 2021: BTS, The Best, "Butter" and "Permission To Dance"
• 4.9 2022: Proof and military service
• 6 Impact and influence
• 7 Awards and nominations
• 9.1 Philanthropy
• 9.2 Endorsements
• 10.1.1 Studio albums
• 10.1.2 Mini albums
• 10.1.3 Compilation albums
• 10.1.4 Single albums
• 10.1.5 Soundtrack albums
• 10.1.6 Digital singles
• 10.1.7 Collaborations
• 10.2.1 Digital singles
• 10.3.1 Studio albums
• 10.3.2 Best albums
• 10.3.3 Singles
• 10.3.4 Digital singles
• 10.4.1 Single albums
• 10.4.2 Digital EPs
• 10.4.3 Digital singles
• 10.4.4 Collaborations
• 11 Tours and Concerts
• 12.2 Dramas
• 12.3 Reality shows
• 12.4 Variety shows
• 15.1 Korean
• 15.2 Japanese
• 15.3 Chinese
• 17 References

The group's name, BTS, is an acronym for the Korean expression Bangtan Sonyeondan (Hangul: 방탄소년단; Hanja: 防彈少年團), literally meaning "Bulletproof Boy Scouts". The name was conceptualized with the thought that BTS would block out stereotypes, criticisms, and expectations that aim on adolescents like bullets and protect the values and ideals of today’s adolescents. [2] [3] In Japan, they are known as Bōdan Shōnendan (防弾少年団), which translates similarly. [4] In July 2017, BTS announced that in addition to being known as Bangtan Sonyeondan or Bulletproof Boy Scouts, the acronym would also stand for "Beyond The Scene" as part of their new brand identity. [5] This extended their name to mean "growing youth BTS who is going beyond the realities they are facing, and going forward." [6]

2010–2012: Pre-debut

BTS' first members were recruited through Big Hit's "Hit it" auditions in 2010 and 2011. The original lineup went through several changes before the final group of members was established in 2012. Half a year prior to debut, the members began building their name and creating a relationship with fans through Twitter, video blogs, fancafe posts, and by releasing various song covers via YouTube and SoundCloud.

Before debuting in 2013, RM was already performing as an underground rapper and had released several tracks informally, including a collaboration with Zico. Jin had been a student at Konkuk University, majoring in acting, before being streetcast for auditions, while Suga was an underground rapper in Daegu. J-Hope , who was part of a street dance team named NEURON, was active in the underground dancing scene, participating in various battles and competitions. Before joining Big Hit, Jimin entered Busan High School of Arts as the top student in modern dance, but later transferred to Korea Arts High School with V , who auditioned in Daegu. Jungkook was cast by multiple agencies after leaving auditions for Superstar K, but eventually chose Big Hit after seeing Rap Monster's rap.

2013–2014: Debut and moderate success

The group's debut single album 2 Cool 4 Skool , the first installment in their "school trilogy" series, was released simultaneously with its lead single " No More Dream " on June 12, 2013. While the album peaked at number five on the Gaon Album Chart and sold over 105,000 copies, "No More Dream" and the subsequent single " We Are Bulletproof Pt.2 " were not major hits. Expanding their endeavors into Japan, " No More Dream " was later re-recorded in Japanese and released on June 4, 2014.

The second part to the "school trilogy" was the extended play O!RUL8,2? , released on September 11, 2013, which sold over 120,000 copies to date and peaked at number four. Its supporting singles " N.O " and " Attack on Bangtan " (Korean: 진격의 방탄; Revised Romanization: Jingyeogui Bangtan) failed to chart high. That same month, BTS starred in their own variety show, SBS-MTV's Rookie King Channel Bangtan, based on a fake broadcast station, "Channel Bangtan", through which members parodied variety shows such as VJ Special Forces and MasterChef Korea. At the end of the year, BTS was recognized with several New Artist of the Year awards, including the 2013 Melon Music Awards and Golden Disc Awards and the 2014 Seoul Music Awards.

The last act to their "school trilogy", Skool Luv Affair (2014) topped the Gaon Chart and sold over 200,000 copies. It also peaked at number three on Billboard's World Albums Chart. The album was supported by the singles "Boy in Luv" (Korean: 상남자; RR: Sang-namja) and " Just One Day " (Korean: 하루만; RR: Haruman). That June, BTS participated as judges for a K-pop cover dance competition in the Bridge to Korea festival in Russia, an event that aimed to promote tourism between the two countries, where they also performed on stage. In August, the group also attended KCON in Los Angeles. That same month, they released their first Korean studio album, Dark & Wild , which peaked at number two on the Gaon Chart and sold over 200,000 copies. It was supported by two singles: " Danger " and " War of Hormone " (Korean: 호르몬 전쟁, RR: Horeumon Jeonjaeng).

Their Japanese studio album, Wake Up (2014), released that December, peaking at number three on the weekly Oricon Albums Chart and selling 25,000 copies. Along with re-recorded Japanese versions of older songs, it also contained the original tracks " Wake Up " and " The Stars ". Their first concert tour, 2014 BTS Live Trilogy Episode II: The Red Bullet , was held from October to December.

2015–2016: Mainstream breakthrough and commercial success

At the beginning of 2015, BTS toured Japan for the first time with their BTS's First Japan Tour-Wake Up: Open Your Eyes . They also held their second solo concert in Korea, BTS Live Trilogy – Episode 1: BTS Begins. Their third EP, The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 1 (2015), was released that March and was the only Korean album to be included in Fuse's list of the "27 Best Albums of 2015 So Far" that year. The lead single " I Need U " was a top five hit on the weekly Gaon Digital Chart in South Korea and garnered BTS their first ever music show win on SBS MTV's The Show. Although the second single, " Dope (Korean: 쩔어; RR: Jjeoreo)", peaked at number 44 on the weekly Gaon Digital Chart, its music video became BTS' first to accrue over 100 million views on YouTube in October. "Dope" later peaked at number three on Billboard's World Digital Songs Chart. The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 1 have sold over 300,000 copies to date.

On March 17, 2015, the group's leader RM (then known as Rap Monster) released his first solo mixtape, the eponymous RM , for free on the streaming service SoundCloud. The mixtape was ranked 48th on the "50 Best Hip Hop Albums of 2015" list published by Spin Magazine. [7]

BTS' fourth Japanese single, " For You ", was released that June to celebrate the first anniversary of their Japanese debut. The single topped Oricon's daily chart, selling over 42,000 copies within its first day. They also commenced their 2015 Live Trilogy Episode: The Red Bullet world tour, and participated in the Summer Sonic Festival tour in Japan.

On August 16, 2016, Suga released his first solo mixtape titled Agust D for free on SoundCloud. The mixtape was listed among the "Top 20 Mixtapes of the Year" by Fuse TV. [8]

During their three-day The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: On Stage tour, the group performed the new song " Run ", the lead single for the EP The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 2 later released on November 30, 2015. The album topped the weekly Gaon Album and Billboard World Albums charts and remained atop the latter for multiple weeks, making BTS the first K-pop act to achieve that feat. It also peaked at number 171 on the Billboard 200 Chart with over 5,000 copies. At the 2015 Mnet Asian Music Awards, they received the Best World Performer in recognition of their international fanbase.

The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 1 and Part 2 were later combined into the The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: Young Forever (2016) edition, and was supported by three singles: the top 40 hit " Epilogue: Young Forever ", the top 10 hit " Fire " (Korean: 불타오르네; RR: Bultaoreune), and the top 20 hit " Save Me ". A two-day concert at the Olympic Gymnastics Arena in Seoul was held in May to support the album, followed by their Asia tour. The group also headlined both US KCON shows held that year in New Jersey (June) and Los Angeles (July), to sold out audiences. Young Forever later won Album of the Year at the year-end Melon Music Awards, becoming the group's first major grand prize (daesang).

On September 7, 2016, BTS released their second Japanese studio album Youth , selling over 44,000 copies on its first day of release and ranking number one in Japan. Japanese editions of " I Need U " and " Run " were released as singles. [9] Meanwhile, back in their home country, pre-orders for the group's second Korean studio album, Wings , released that October, accumulated over 500,000 copies within the first week. The lead single " Blood Sweat & Tears " achieved an "all-kill" in South Korea, becoming their first number one hit on the weekly Gaon Digital Chart. [10] Its music video gained over 6 million views within 24 hours, breaking the previous record held on YouTube for the highest number of views of a K-pop group music video within 24 hours. They later won Artist of the Year at the 2016 Mnet Asian Music Awards, becoming the first artist not from a "Big Three" entertainment company (SM, YG and JYP) to do so. [11]

2017: You Never Walk Alone, Love Yourself: Her, and international recognition

In early 2017, BTS embarked on their BTS Live Trilogy Episode III: The Wings Tour . That February, pre-orders for the repackaged edition of Wings , entitled You Never Walk Alone , reached over 700,000 copies. [12] The lead single " Spring Day " (Korean: 봄날; RR: Bomnal) topped eight of the major South Korean online music charts, as well as Gaon, and crashed Melon's digital chart due to the high influx of user traffic. It also entered the US Billboard's Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart at number 15 with "zero promotions".

On July 5, 2017, Big Hit Entertainment and BTS revealed a new logo for the band in a video released on the official YouTube channel. This video was accompanied by the announcement that in addition to being known as Bangtan Sonyeondan or Bulletproof Boy Scouts, their acronym would also stand for "Beyond The Scene" as part of their new brand identity. [13] Also they gave A.R.M.Y (their fandom) a logo, which looks opposite to theirs.

Their fifth EP, Love Yourself: Her (2017), was released that September and featured music from The Chainsmokers' Andrew Taggart for the track " Best of Me ". The lead single " DNA " peaked at number two on the weekly Gaon Chart, [14] while its music video reached over 20 million views on YouTube, breaking the record for most viewed K-pop group music video within the first 24 hours. "DNA" also became the group's first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 85, making BTS the first K-pop boy band to do so and the second Korean act with a Korean-language song. When "DNA" rose to number 67, it became the highest-charting song on the Billboard Hot 100 for a K-pop group, beating Wonder Girls' previous record at number 76. A remix for their song, " MIC Drop ", by Steve Aoki and Desiigner was released as the second single, peaking at number 23 in South Korea and number 28 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the first top 40 entry for a K-pop group on the chart. [15] " DNA " and " MIC Drop " were later released as a triple-A side single in Japan with the new song " Crystal Snow ” which topped the Oricon Chart, becoming the highest-selling single from a K-pop artist within a week, and making BTS the first foreign artist to achieve this. [16]

In November 2017, the group became the first K-pop group to perform at the American Music Awards. [17] Following the performance, Guinness World Records announced that BTS will be included their 2018 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records for having the world's most Twitter engagements and specifically for most Twitter engagements by a music group. [18] BTS was also named by Twitter to be the most tweeted-about artist of 2017, and ranked 1st worldwide in yearly social media engagements with 502 million likes and retweets. [19] [20]

They won their second Artist of the Year at the 2017 Mnet Asian Music Awards, becoming the first act to win the award two years in a row. " Spring Day " later won Best Song of the Year at the Melon Music Awards. That December, they performed on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve to welcome the new year, making them the first K-pop group to be part of the show's lineup. [21] They also made their Japanese TV music show debut on TV Asahi's Japan Music Station Super Live on December 22. [22]

On December 12, BTS was represented on six of the Billboard "Year End" Charts. The group ranked No. 1 on the "World Albums Artists" chart, No. 2 on the "World Albums" chart, No. 1 on the "Social 50 Artists" chart, No. 2 on the "Top Artists – Duo/Group" chart, and No. 32 on the "Independent Albums" chart. They also ranked as No. 10 on the "Top Artists" chart and are the only K-pop artists to have made the list. [23]

2018: Hope World, album certification, and international accolades

In January 2018, the Recording Industry Association of Japan announced BTS' first ever Double Platinum certification for their " MIC Drop/DNA/Crystal Snow " single, the only single album by a foreign artist in 2017 to sell over 500,000 copies and receive certification on the Oricon chart for that year. Later that month, BTS became the first artist outside of the "Big Three" to win both Grand Prize Daesang awards at the Golden Disc Awards and the Seoul Music Awards respectively. In February, both the " MIC Drop " and " DNA " singles were certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America, making BTS the first Korean act, and the only K-pop artist ever, to receive this. [24]

On February 8, Big Hit won the award for its new Brand Identity (BI) with BTS' logo under the Corporate Identity/Branding category within Communication Design at this year's award presentation, illustrating BTS' worldwide influence. [25]

On February 11, sales for Love Yourself: Her surpassed 1.58 million, the highest sales recorded for an album in Gaon Chart history.

Suga 's mixtape, Agust D , was released unannounced on Spotify and iTunes worldwide for the first time on February 22, over 2 years since its original release. Within 24 hours, the album reached No. 1 on the worldwide iTunes charts and the iTunes Pop Charts. [26] The following week, the album debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard World Albums chart dated March 3, 2018. [27]

On March 2, 2018, J-Hope released his first solo mixtape titled Hope World for free download on Google Drive, streaming on Spotify and SoundCloud, and for purchase on iTunes. The accompanying music video for the title track, " Daydream ", reached 1 million likes in 1 hour 43 minutes, making it the fastest Korean video to reach the benchmark. With 73 No. 1 spots on the iTunes chart worldwide by the end of its first day, Hope World tied with the previous BTS release, Love Yourself: Her , for the most No. 1 spots held by a Korean album on iTunes within the first 24 hours. As of March 5, the album remained at No. 1 on the iTunes Worldwide Charts, marking 5 days at No. 1 and breaking the record for the longest-charting Korean album at No. 1 on the chart previously held by Love Yourself: Her. The album debuted at No. 63 on the Billboard 200 Chart, making J-Hope the highest-charting solo K-pop act in Billboard 200 history. J-Hope also debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard Emerging Artists chart, where fellow band mates RM and Suga (as Agust D) both previously peaked at No. 46.

The music video for " DNA " reached 300 million views on March 6, 2018, making it only one of 3 K-pop videos to reach the benchmark and the fastest video to do so to date. The video reached 300 million views in 5 months and 16 days, breaking the previous record of 13 months and 28 days by "TT" by TWICE. [28]

On March 11, BTS won both the "Best Fan Army" and "Best Boy Band" awards at the 2018 iHeartRadio Awards held in California, although the group declined to attend the event due to a busy schedule as they prepare for their upcoming album release later this year. [29]

An original documentary series, entitled  Burn the Stage , that offers a behind-the-scenes look at the group's 2017 Wings Tour was officially announced on March 13. Consisting of eight episodes, it will premiere exclusively on YouTube Red and run from March 28 to May 9.

On April 4, 2018, their third Japanese studio album Face Yourself was released. Face Yourself topped the Japanese Oricon Weekly Album Chart for the week of April 2, with 282,000 copies. According to Japan's Oricon Chart on April 12, BTS' 3rd Japanese album sold 282,000 copies in the first week (April 2-April 8). This breaks the record by KARA, who sold 275,000 copies of their Japanese album 'Super Girl' in the first week of November 2011. [30]

On April 5, 2018 at midnight KST, Big Hit released a video titled “Euphoria: Theme of LOVE YOURSELF 起 Wonder”, on their official YouTube channel. The clip appears to dub the band’s upcoming album, for the ' Love Yourself ' series, a follow-up to last year’s record-breaking EP Love Yourself: Her , it is believed to mark the beginning of a new era for the group, following the trend of previous BTS comebacks, though Big Hit Entertainment denies such claims. [31]

The group later announced their third Korean-language LP, Love Yourself: Tear , on April 14, along with its May 18 release date. [32]

On April 17, BTS was nominated again for Top Social Artist at the 2018 Billboard Music Awards, making them the first and only Korean artist to be nominated two years in a row. [33] The following week, they were announced as performers at the show where they will premiere their new comeback single. [34] [35]

BTS has set a new record for stock pre-orders for their upcoming album “ Love Yourself: Tear .” According to iriver, the company handling the distribution of BTS’s new album, “ Love Yourself: Tear ” has reached a total of 1,449,287 stock pre-orders as of April 24. This is the total number of stock pre-orders made by wholesale dealers and retailers in Korea, and does not include stock pre-orders made by international retailers. [36]

Their 2018 world tour, titled " BTS World Tour: Love Yourself ", was officially announced on April 26 and is set to begin on August 25 in Seoul. [37] [38]

On May 1, 2018, Variety reported that BTS would be returning to The Ellen DeGeneres Show, performing a new song from Love Yourself: Tear titled " FAKE LOVE ". [39]

BTS released a video titled "LOVE YOURSELF Tear 'Singularity' Comeback Trailer" on May 6 at midnight KST in advance of the release Love Yourself: Tear on May 18. The video features V as the solo vocalist for the track, his second solo track for the group and first as an album intro track singer. Within one hour and 29 minutes of its release, the music video reached 1 million likes on YouTube, making it the fastest BTS video to reach this milestone. Having surpassed the record of 8 hours set by "DNA", this also made "Singularity" the fastest music video ever to reach 1 million likes. Following the release of the "Singularity" video, BTS' choreographer Son Sung Deuk declared V to be a member of the "Dance Line" on his Instagram account, placing V alongside Jungkook and Jimin as the groups' Main Dancers under J-Hope as the Lead Dancer.

Love Yourself: Tear was released worldwide on Friday, May 18 on all streaming and download services.The music video for the title track, FAKE LOVE , was released simultaneously and broke the world record for the fastest music video to reach 1 million likes by reaching the milestone in just 39 minutes. This broke the previous record of 1 hour and 29 minutes previously set by their song Intro: Singularity.

On May 21 at 12:30 a.m. KST, “Fake Love” achieved a perfect all-kill on iChart, the group’s first. A perfect all-kill (PAK) means that the song is in first place on the six major realtime and daily charts (Melon, Genie, Bugs, Mnet, Naver, and Soribada), as well as first place on the realtime and weekly charts for Instiz’s iChart. [40]

On May 20, BTS was awarded the Top Social Artist Award at the 2018 Billboard Awards in Las Vegas, having captured 94% of the overall fan vote. [41]

On May 27, BTS became the first K-pop act in charts history to top the Billboard 200 as the group's Love Yourself: Tear opened at Number One. The album sold 135,000 album-equivalent units (including 100,000 pure album sales), becoming BTS' highest-charting and first number one album in the US, the first K-pop album to top the US albums chart, and the highest-charting album by an Asian act. " FAKE LOVE " peaked at number ten on the Billboard Hot 100 that same week, becoming the band's highest reaching song on the chart as well as their first in the top ten. Overall, "Fake Love" is the seventeenth non-English song to reach the top ten and the first for a K-Pop group. The single also debuted at number seven on Billboard’s Streaming Songs chart with 27.4 million streams earned in the week ending May 24, giving BTS its first top ten on the chart and making “Fake Love” the first K-pop song to land on top ten since Psy’s “Hangover” feat. Snoop Dogg in 2014. Love Yourself: Tear also reached number eight on the UK Albums Chart, marking the group's first top ten album in the country. [42]

On July 17, the group announced the release of their second compilation album Love Yourself: Answer for August 24, 2018, with seven new tracks added to the release. [43] Their 2018 world tour, titled BTS World Tour: Love Yourself , began the following day in Seoul. For the final stop of the North American leg, the band will perform at Citi Field, marking the first time a Korean act has performed at a U.S. stadium. All 40,000 tickets for the stadium date were later confirmed by Big Hit Entertainment to have sold out in under 20 minutes. [44] On August 24, 2018, the album was released, along with the music video for " IDOL " and an alternative version of the track featuring Nicki Minaj. [45] Debuting at number one on the US Billboard 200, the album became BTS' second number-one album—their second of 2018—and their highest sales week in the country to date. It earned 185,000 album-equivalent units, which comprises 141,000 in pure album sales, 25,000 SEA units (39.01 million on-demand audio streams of the album's songs) and 19,000 TEA units. [46] Making BTS the only K-pop act with two Billboard 200 toppers and the first pop act with two number one albums in less than a year since One Direction topped the chart with Four in 2014, which followed their 2013 album Midnight Memories. In Canada, " Love Yourself: Answer " became the band's first number-one album on the Canadian Albums Chart, earning over 10,000 consumption units. The single from the album, "IDOL", reached number five on the Canadian Singles Chart, marking BTS' first top-ten hit in Canada. [47]

On September 19, BTS was invited to attend the 73rd Session of the United Nations General Assembly. According to UN sources, BTS will be attending the launch of UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund)’s “Generation Unlimited” partnership that will take place on September 24 at 12 p.m. local time at the UN Headquarters in New York, a day before the general debate will begin. “Generation Unlimited” is a new global partnership that is “dedicated to increasing opportunities and investments for children and young people aged 10 to 24.” BTS is said to have been noted by the United Nations for their UNICEF campaign called “Love Myself,” which launched in October 2017 and has raised over 1 million dollars as of June 2018. A UN diplomat expressed how exceptional it is for a K-pop artist to be invited to attend one of UN General Assembly’s regular sessions. Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres, UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta H. Fore, South Korean First Lady Kim Jung Sook, and several others are expected to attend. [48]

On October 14, 2018 they performed at the Korea-France Friendship Concert in Paris, a summit meant to show the friendly relations between France and South Korea. Around 400 officials attended the meeting, including South Korean pPesident Moon Jae-in.

On October 18, Big Hit Entertainment sent an email to its company employees and stakeholders announcing that BTS had renewed their contract with the agency. According to the email, the renewed contract is 7 years in length. [49]

On October 20, RM announced via BTS' twitter to announce the release date for his second mixtape titled mono with the tracklist and a message "RM's playlist 'mono.' 10/23". RM describes mono as a playlist, though some publications have referred to it as a "mixtape". On October 21, 2018, rapper RM released mono on digital and streaming platforms for free alongside a music video for its final track "Forever Rain". The playlist includes lyric videos for its second and third track, "Seoul" and "Moonchild", respectively. Mono debuted at number 1 on the global iTunes Top Albums chart, and later peaked at number 1 in 88 countries.

Crossing over to film, Burn The Stage: The Movie was released in theaters worldwide on November 15, 2018. In the United States it accumulated $1.2 million on opening day for a total of $3.54 million over the three day weekend, breaking the record for fighest grossing event cinema musical production which was previously set in 2014 by the band One Direction. It ranked at number ten in the box office despite selling at only 620 locations compared to the 2,000-4,000 locations for the other top ten sellers.

On November 9, 2018 " Love Yourself: Answer " became the first Korean album to be certified Gold (500,000+ units), and BTS became the first Korean group to get a Platinum (1,000,000+ units) certification with the single " MIC Drop " in the United States.

On November 6, 2018, BTS won eleven awards at the MBC Plus X Genie Music Awards, including Album of the Year and Artist of the Year. On November 29, 2018, BTS won the grand prize ("daesang") at the 3rd Asia Artist Awards. On December 1st, 2018, BTS won a total of seven awards at the 2018 Melon Music Awards, including Album of the Year with Love Yourself: Tear , and Artist of the Year. On December 14, 2018, BTS won ten awards at the Mnet Asian Music Awards, including Album of the Year and Artist of the Year. This marked their third year in a row winning the Artist of the Year award.

According to StubHub BTS was one of 2018's best selling concerts in the world, second to only Ed Sheeran.

In December 2018, Billboard reported that BTS ranked #8 in their year-end Top Artist Chart, alongside the likes of Drake and Taylor Swift. They were also the No. 2 act of the year in the Duo/Group ranking, only behind Imagine Dragons. In the same month they made the Bloomberg 50, citing their willingness to address social issues, mental health, and politics despite being in a genre that can be painted as bubble gum pop.

In December 2018, it was announced that Love Yourself: Tear had been nominated for a Grammy Award for 'Best Recording Package'. [50]

2019: Map of the Soul: Persona, stadium world tour, BTS World, and Period of Rest

In February 2019, BTS attended the 61st Grammy Awards as award presenters. It was their first time attending the event following an appearance by the group at the LA Grammy Museum in 2018. In April, BTS became the first Asian act to surpass 5 billion streams on Spotify, and Time named BTS as one of Time 100's most influential people of 2019.

Their sixth EP, Map of the Soul: Persona , was released on April 12 with the lead single " Boy With Luv " (Korean: 작은 것들을 위한 시; RR: Jageun geotdeureul wihan si), featuring American singer Halsey. The EP's release was followed by a performance on Saturday Night Live, as the first Korean act to do so. The group's appearance was anticipated as one of the biggest in the show's history. Commercially, BTS reached new career heights. Map of the Soul: Persona became the first Korean-language album to reach the number one position in both the UK and Australia and the group's third consecutive album to top the Billboard 200 and the third within eleven months, joining the likes of The Beatles, who achieved the same in 1995–96. The EP became the best selling physical album in the USA for the year of 2019, with 312,000 physical sales. Map of the Soul: Persona later became the best-selling album ever in South Korea, with more than 3.2 million sales in less than a month. Prior to BTS, the best-selling were dominated by late 90's albums, making BTS the only act formed after 2000 to be featured in the top 10 best-selling list.

" Boy With Luv " debuted at number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100, the highest in history for a Korean group, and its music video became the most-viewed online video within the first 24 hours as of 2019, accumulating more than 74.6 million views. " Boy With Luv " was certified in multiple countries, including in Australia where " Boy With Luv " was certified Gold, selling 35,000 units, and certified Platinum in the US by the Recording Industry Association of America, selling over one million units. Map of the Soul: Persona also attained Silver in the UK, selling over 60,000 units.

In May 2019, following their two wins at the 26th Billboard Music Awards, including a win for Top Duo/Group, BTS embarked on their stadium world tour extension, Love Yourself: Speak Yourself, with dates in multiple stadium venues including Wembley Stadium, Stade de France, MetLife Stadium, Rose Bowl, and Soldier Field. All dates sold out within two hours with second dates for all venues added due to the high demand. During the tour, BTS performed on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and kicked off Good Morning America's 'Summer Concert Series' as headliners at Central Park in Manhattan. They also performed on the finale episode of The Voice and one of the semi-finals of Britain's Got Talent.

In the lead up to the release of their new mobile game BTS World set for June 2019, BTS released three collaboration singles, " Dream Glow " featuring English singer Charli XCX, " A Brand New Day " with Swedish singer Zara Larsson, and " All Night " featuring American rapper Juice Wrld. The band also released the song " Heartbeat " with a music video from the game's official soundtrack, titled BTS World: Original Soundtrack . Developed by South Korean company Netmarble, the game was released on June 26 to iOS and Android systems in over 175 countries. BTS tenth Japanese single, and fourth original Japanese song overall, " Lights ", was released on July 3. Pre-orders for the double A-side single surpassed 1 million copies, breaking a 24 year old record for foreign artists previously held only by Celine Dion with her 1995 single "To Love You More". This marked the first time a Korean artist achieved a million shipment for a single in Japan.

In August 2019, Love Yourself: Her and Love Yourself: Tear reached 2 million copies in South Korea, making all three albums of the Love Yourself series to sold more than 2 million copies in South Korea. Not just the sales records, Love Yourself: Tear is awarded the "Double Million" certification by Korea Music Content Association after Love Yourself: Answer awarded in October 2018, Love Yourself: Her surpassing its successor Love Yourself: Tear in just nearly 16,000 copies difference. BTS World: Original Soundtrack has reached 500,000 copies and awarded the "Double Platinum' certification, making their first soundtrack album to have the certification since Gaon launched the certification last year.

On August 11, Big Hit Entertainment formally announced that for the first time since their debut in 2013, BTS will be having an official period of rest. According to the agency, this will be an opportunity for the group to recharge and “present themselves anew as musicians and creators.” [51]

In October, BTS performed at King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh, becoming the first foreign act to perform a solo concert in Saudi Arabia. For the final stop of their record-breaking Love Yourself: Speak Yourself World Tour, the band held a run of three sold-out nights at Seoul's Olympic Stadium to close this chapter of their story. According to Billboard's year-end Boxscore charts, the group grossed over $196 million and played to more than 1.6 million people across 42 shows in the chart period ranging from Nov. 1, 2018 to Oct. 31, 2019 and ranked third overall on the year-end Top 40 Tours chart behind Ed Sheeran and Pink. The group outgrossed legacy rock acts like the Rolling Stones, Metallica and KISS, as well as fellow boy band the Backstreet Boys, making them the top-grossing touring group of 2019. That same month, the group released a remix version of the song "Make It Right" featuring American singer Lauv as the second single from their album Map of the Soul: Persona.

In November, BTS became the first K-pop group to win the Favorite Duo or Group – Pop/Rock at the 2019 American Music Awards and the Favourite Social Artist award consecutively in 2018 and 2019. In December, they attended both the 2019 Melon Music Awards and 2019 Mnet Asian Music Awards. The group became the first artist in the history of K-pop to receive all grand prizes from both ceremonies; getting four from each award show. At the end of the year, BTS ranked number fifteen on Billboard's year-end Top Artist Chart and were also the number two act of the year in the Duo/Group ranking, only behind Jonas Brothers. They were named as 2019 Hitmakers Group of the Year by  Variety . They were also the most tweeted-about musicians of 2019. On December 31, 2019, BTS performed in New York City's Times Square for ABC's  Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve . At the 34th Golden Disc Awards, BTS became the first artists in history to win grand prizes in both the physical and digital categories in a single year. BTS wrapped 2019 as the fourth most successful group on  Billboard 's Top Billboard 200 Artists - Duo/Group ranking, only behind Queen, Imagine Dragons and The Beatles.

2020: Map of the Soul: 7, Map of the Soul : ~ The Journey ~, "Dynamite", Be, Suga's hiatus

On January 7, 2020, Big Hit Entertainment announced that BTS will release their fourth Korean-language studio album,  Map of the Soul: 7 , on February 21 with two singles. On January 10, BTS released a trailer for the album featuring Suga's solo track " Interlude: Shadow ". On January 17, BTS released the single " Black Swan ", along with a choreography art film performed by Slovenian based MN Dance Company. The official music video for the lead single will be released on February 28. On January 15, Big Hit announced that according to distributor Dreamus, the album surpassed 3.42 million stock pre-orders in its first seven days from January 9 through January 15. These pre-release numbers surpassed pre-orders of  Map of the Soul: Persona  which sold 2.685 million preorders in its first five days. On January 21, BigHit announced the  Map of the Soul Tour,  BTS' fourth worldwide concert tour and second stadium tour. The tour would promote their  Map of the Soul  series, including their  Map of the Soul: Persona  EP, and  Map of the Soul: 7  studio album. On January 23, the Recording Academy announced that BTS would be performing with Lil Nas X, Billy Ray Cyrus, Diplo, and more in a special segment at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards, thus making BTS the first Korean act to perform on the Grammy's stage. "Idol" and  Love Yourself: Answer  received platinum certifications, both selling more than one million certified units in the United States. "Idol" became the group's third Platinum single while  Answer  became the group's first Platinum album, making BTS the first Korean artist to attain this certification in the US.

On July 27, BTS announced that they would be releasing an English digital single on August 21, ahead of their upcoming album which will be released in the second half of the year.

On August 21, BTS released their first English single, " Dynamite ". It debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed for a continuous two weeks, becoming the 2nd group ever to do so.

On November 6, it was announced that Suga would be going on a hiatus, halting any promotions with the group to recover from a recent shoulder surgery. Big Hit Entertainment released a statement saying, "Suga underwent surgery to repair his torn shoulder labrum on November 3. The surgery, to address a problem that had constantly been a health and wellness issue for Suga, was completed successfully, and he is currently resting and recovering following his physician’s advice that Suga must undergo a strict and unhindered period of recovery." On November 20, the group released their seventh Korean mini album, Be . The music video for its title track, "Life Goes On" became their 27th music video to reach 100 million views. Four days later, the group was announced as nominees for the "Best Pop Duo/Group Performance" category at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards for their song "Dynamite", making them the first ever K-pop group to be nominated.

On December 1, South Korea passed the new 'BTS Law' affecting all big kpop stars and delaying their mandatory service. This came right before Jin's 28th birthday, when he would've left the group for enlistment around the next month, in January 2021. With the new law, he won't need to serve until he's 30.

2021: BTS, The Best, "Butter" and "Permission To Dance"

On March 25, BTS announced through their official Japanese fan club that their newest Japanese best album, BTS, The Best , would be released on June 16. A single titled "Film Out" was released on April 2, two months before the album's official release date.

On the midnight of April 27, it was announced that BTS would be releasing their second English-language digital single, " Butter ", on May 21.

On July 9, BTS released their first English CD single "Butter". On July 23, they released the English remix single "Permission to Dance (R&B Remix)".

2022: Proof and military service

On April 17, 2022, BigHit Music released a statement through Weverse which announced that BTS would be releasing an album on June 10, 2022 with more information will be shared at a later date. A logo trailer was posted on May 5 which announced the name of the album to be, Proof . BigHit later explained that Proof is an anthology album that looks back at the group's nine-year history and contains three new tracks.

On June 3, it was announced that BTS would be returning to perform on music shows for the first time after over two years. On June 14, the members revealed during their 2022 BTS Festa dinner that the group would be going on indefinite hiatus to focus on solo activities.

In October 2022, it was announced that the group will be on hiatus for their military service, with Jin being the first to enlist. The group is expected to reunite by 2025. On December 12, BigHit revealed that Jin would be enlisting as an active duty soldier on December 13.

On November 1, in a interview with Rolling Stone magazine between RM and Pharrell Williams, Pharrell announced that BTS will be featured in a song on his upcoming album Phfriends .

BTS co-writes, produces, and composes much of their output, to which some media outlets have attributed their success. Since their inception, BTS has developed and maintained a style of "fusion music" with an emphasis on hip hop as their musical base largely due to the influence of RM and Suga's background as underground rappers and their main producer Pdogg. Rather than wanting to stick to a specific genre, BTS has introduced brand new elements into their musical repertoire with each new album. BTS' sound began with old-school hip hop influences heard on  2 Cool 4 Skool  and  O!RUL8,2? , but evolved to include R&B and rock with  Skool Luv Affair  and  Dark and Wild , orchestral strings and electronic dance music with their  The Most Beautiful Moment in Life  album series, moombahton, neo soul, and gospel in  Wings  and  You Never Walk Alone , and future bass, Latin pop, and jazz hip hop in their  Love Yourself  album series

BTS' lyrics are known for their social commentary, often incorporating criticism of South Korean society. Songs such as " No More Dream " and " N.O " from their " school trilogy " were deeply motivated by their experiences with South Korea's emphasis on education and called for change to the education system and societal expectations. Their experiences with youth culture in South Korea inspired songs like " Dope " and " Silver Spoon " (Korean: 뱁새; RR: Baepsae) from their " youth series ," referencing generational disparity and the millennial's giving up of romantic relationships, marriage, children, proper employment, homes, and social life in the face of economic difficulties and societal ills while facing condemnation from the media and older generations. The song " Am I Wrong " from  Wings  (2016) questioned societal apathy towards the state of current events—the lyric "We're all dogs and pigs / we become dogs because we're angry" referenced the South Korean Ministry of Education official Na Hyang-wook who was a proponent of the caste system and described the average person as "dogs and pigs," and BTS performed the song on television during the 2016 South Korean political scandal that led to the impeachment of ex-President Park Geun-hye. RM and Suga's personal struggles with mental health inspired songs like " Tomorrow ", " Intro: The Most Beautiful Moment in Life ", " So Far Away ", " The Last ", and " Forever Rain ." " Not Today " from  You Never Walk Alone (2017) is an anti-establishment anthem, with messages advocating for minority groups, while " Spring Day " was created to memorialize the victims of the Sewol Ferry tragedy.

Grace Jeong, editor-in-chief of Soompi, praised the group by stating that, “BTS has something to say, and has a great marketing strategy that doesn’t alienate non-Korean-speaking fans.” While they have received praise for their lyrics, in 2016 the group faced criticisms of misogyny regarding the lyrics of " War of Hormone ", " Converse High ", and RM 's solo song " Joke ", as well as a Twitter comment made by Suga. The group's label later issued an apology.

BTS' has cited Nas, Eminem, Kanye West, Drake, Post Malone, and Charlie Puth as musical inspirations. BTS has also cited Queen as an influence, saying they "grew up watching videos of Live Aid.” During their concert at Wembley Stadium in London, Jin paid tribute to Queen by leading the crowd in a version of Freddie Mercury’s "ay-oh" chant from the band’s Live Aid concert.

In addition to musical inspirations, BTS also takes many inspirations from literary, psychological, artistic, and philosophical mediums. Their album  Wings  is inspired by Hermann Hesse's coming of age novel, Demian. Their song " Blood Sweat & Tears " references Friedrich Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zurathustra, Herbert James Draper's The Lament for Icarus, Pieter Bruegel's Landscape with the Fall of Icarus, and Pieter Bruegel's The Fall of the Rebel Angels by quoting Nietzsche and featuring the three aforementioned paintings in the music video. Their " Spring Day " music video contains lyrical and visual references to Ursula Le Guin's short story The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas. J-Hope's solo mixtape,  Hope World , and its lead single  Daydream  were inspired by Jules Verne's novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, as well as containing a reference to Douglas Adams's science fiction series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The  Love Yourself  series was primarily influenced by Erich Fromm's The Art of Loving, while their song " Magic Shop " of  Love Yourself: Tear  was inspired by James R. Doty's memoir Into the Magic Shop. Their 2019 album  Map of the Soul: Persona  gains its name from Murray Stein's Jung's Map of the Soul: An Introduction.

South Korean president Moon Jae-in, in a congratulatory letter he wrote to BTS, recognized their sincerity and inclusion of diversity as the group's key to success. Moon stated that "Each of the seven members sings in a way that is true to himself and the life he wants to live. Their melody and lyrics transcend regional borders, language, culture, and institutions." [52] The Wire mentioned in their article that "BTS are big because they are “different” because they put creative input to the band’s sound".

Since the beginning of their career they have been delivering social messages through their lyrics. Their lyrics would be open about the cultural pressure placed on Korean teens to excel and do well and to repress their anxieties.“We came together with a common dream to write, dance and produce music that reflects our musical backgrounds as well as our life values of acceptance, vulnerability and being successful,” said BTS’s leader, RM, in a 2017 interview with Time.T heir debut single, “No More Dream,” was an ode to teen apathy. BTS’s success was due to mixing their openness on social media with blunt and honest lyrics — and owning their status as an underdog group battling to succeed against other bands who came from established studios with larger budgets. “Dope” openly celebrated the endless grind of their lives: “Over half of the day, we drown in work / Even if our youth rots in the studio / Thanks to that, we’re closer to success.” [53]

Impact and influence

BTS has been described as "easily the biggest and most successful name in K-pop in the world" that can "do things no other name in their genre can." As the first Korean musician to make the Global Artist Chart in 2018, BTS had the second and third best-selling albums worldwide and were the second best-selling artists worldwide in terms of physical, digital, and streaming platforms, coming second only to Drake. In the United States, BTS accounted for 72.7 percent of the album consumption units generated by K-pop acts in 2018 out of a total of 17 acts. The most tweeted-about celebrities in the world in 2017 and 2018,  Time magazine has named the band one of the 25 most influential people on the internet, featured them on the cover of their October 2018 global edition as "Next Generation Leaders," and named them one of  Time  100's most influential people of 2019. BTS also made it to the Bloomberg 50 in 2018, and  Forbes  Korea Power Celebrity has named them the fifth most influential celebrities of Korea in 2017 and the most influential celebrities of Korea in 2018. CNN has likened the intensity of the fans of BTS to that of "Beatlemania." Their influence led them to address the United Nations at their 73rd General Assembly and to perform to 400 officials including South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the  Korea-France Friendship Concert in Paris , a summit meant to show the friendly relations between France and South Korea. Due to their contributions in spreading Korean culture and language, BTS became the youngest ever recipients to be awarded the Order of Cultural Merit by the President of South Korea.

BTS has measurably revitalized the Korean economy and the global music industry. Credited for the surge in popularity of online purchases of K-pop items and the growth of the Korean Wave between 2016 and 2018 by the Korea Customs Service and Korea Foundation, BTS was cited as one of the main driving forces for the recovery of South Korea’s music-related sector to levels seen before China’s 2016 ban on domestic cultural contents over soured diplomatic relations. Yung Duk Kim, vice president and chief operating officer of the Korea Creative Content Agency, stated K-pop has “skyrocketed” since BTS' popularity surged, creating jobs not only for BTS and their team but other K-pop idols as well. Various news outlets coined the term the "BTS effect" to refer to the commercial effects of BTS' influence, such as when KB Kookmin Bank savings accounts increased six-fold compared to the prior year following BTS' endorsement and when stock prices of entertainment companies in South Korea shot up for five days after BTS topped the U.S.  Billboard  200 .  The effect was also observed when companies tied to BTS, such as Netmarble, NetMark, Soribada, Key Shares, GMP, Diffie, and Mattelh ad their stocks rise. Data firm SM2 Networks estimated Hyundai Motor received ₩600 billion ($502 million) in promotional results after commissioning BTS as their promotional models in 2018. Signed on as tourism ambassadors in 2017, the Seoul Metropolitan Government credits BTS for the recovery of Seoul's shrinking tourism industry following the 2016 THAAD controversy, bringing in an average of 790,000 tourists to Korea annually. In December 2018, the Hyundai Research Institute estimated BTS was worth more than $3.67 billion to the Korean economy each year, attracting one in every thirteen foreigners who visit Korea. As of June 2019, BTS' economic effect on South Korea is estimated to be over ₩5.5 trillion ($4.65 billion) per year. Along with Ariana Grande and Drake, BTS was credited as a key act boosting global music sales to $19 billion in 2018. Such profit had not been seen since 2006 after digital purchases gained momentum.

BTS' work has influenced numerous artists, including (G)I-dle, D-Crunch's Hyunho, The Boyz' Younghoon, SF9's Zuho, Euna Kim, Golden Child's Jaehyun, Wanna One, IN2IT, Park Ji-hoon, Kim Dong-han, Seven O'Clock, Hyeongseop X Euiwoong, Noir,  Victon's Sejun, and Loona. After BTS released their single " Idol ," the National Gugak Center had to expand the amount of Korean instrument sounds available due to increased demand from Korean and foreign producers alike. K-pop idol groups also began changing the themes of their lyrics from love stories to words such as "looking for myself" following BTS' " Love Yourself " era and RM's speech at the United Nations.

Awards and nominations

See also: List of Awards and Nominations

BTS have received many awards and honors, including 15 Melon Music Awards, 15 Mnet Asian Music Awards, 14 Golden Disc Awards 12 Seoul Music Awards, 10 Gaon Chart Music Awards, 4 Billboard Music Awards (first Korean group), 4 Korean Music Awards, and one American Music Award (first Korean group). In Korea, BTS have one Multi-Million album and one Million album. As the first Korean group to receive RIAA certification, BTS hse 2 Platinum single, 3 Gold singles, and 1 Gold album in the United States. In Japan, BTS hse 2 Multi-Platinum singles, one Multi-Platinum album, and 3 Gold albums.

BTS also have a large social influence and currently hold 7 Guinness World Records, including the world record for Most Twitter engagements. To dat,e they have spent 131 weeks at #1 on the Billboard Social 50 chart. In October 2018, BTS was awarded a fifth-class Hwagwan Order of Cultural Merit from the President of South Korea for their contributions in spreading Korean culture and language. The members of BTS became members of the Recording Academy in 2019 in honor of their contributions to music and as part of a push to help diversify Grammy Award voters.

On November 7, 2019, it was reported that BTS has become the first K-Pop act to remain on Billboard 200 for a whole year. " Love Yourself: Answer " re-entered Billboard's main albums chart on Monday ,November 4 (No. 165). The album has remained on the charts for 52, non-consecutive weeks, making the album the first, and currently, only K-pop album to do so.

Main Article: List of Records Set and Broken

Other ventures

Philanthropy.

BTS have involved themselves in a variety of charitable events. In 2015, they donated seven tons (7,187 kg) of rice to charity at the K-Star Road opening ceremony held in Apgujeong-dong. The following year they participated in ALLETS's "Let's Share the Heart" collaboration charity campaign with Naver to raise donations for LISA, a charity "which carries forward a preparation business to fight blindess including research on degenrative retina disease treatment and an ivity to improve social awareness on the visually impaired. In April 2018, BTS participated in Stevie Wonder's "Dream Still Lives" tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. with other celebrities, sharing their dreams and hopes for the world. It was revealed that Stevie Wonder himself had asked BTS to participate in the campaign. [54]

In January 2017, news media reported that BTS and Big Hit Entertainment had donated KR₩100,000,000 (US$85,000) to the 4/16 Sewol Families for Truth and A Safer Society, an organization connected to the families of the 2014 Sewol Ferry Disaster. Each member donated KR₩10,000,000 and Big Hit Entertainment donated an additional KR₩30,000,000. The donation was intended to have been made in secret. Later that year, BTS officially launched their Love Myself campaign, an initiative dedicated to helping "protect and support child and teen victims of domestic and school violence as well as sexual assault around the world...", in partnership with the Korean Committee for UNICEF. BTS donated 500 million won (US$448,000) from the members, and 100% of all sales of official goods for the Love Myself campaign over the next two years, as well as include donation desks installed by UNICEF, towards several social programs benefiting violence prevention against children and teens and support programs for victims of violence. In addition, 3% of the sales from each album in the Love Yourself series ( Love Yourself: Her , Love Yourself: Tear , and Love Yourself: Answer ) will be donated to the cause. Within two months of its launch the campaign raised an additional KR₩106,000,000, taking the worldwide funds total to KR₩606,000,000.

In April 2018, BTS participated in Stevie Wonder's "Dream Still Lives" tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. alongside other celebrities, sharing their dreams and hopes for the world. It was revealed that Stevie Wonder himself had asked BTS to participate in the campaign.

Members of the group have also engaged in individual philanthropic endeavours. Since 2016, Jimin has supported graduates of Busan Hoedong Elementary School, his alma mater, by covering uniform expenses. After news of the school's closing was released, he donated summer and winter middle school uniforms to the final graduates and gifted autographed albums to the entire student body. [55]  For his 25th birthday,  Suga  donated ten kilograms of prime Korean beef to 39 orphanages in Korea under the name of BTS' ARMY fan club. [56] On February 18, 2019, J-Hope donated ₩100,000,000 (US $89,000) to support low-income students attending his alma mater through ChildFund Korea. Earlier, on December 20, 2018, J-Hope donated ₩150,000,000 (US $133,000) to ChildFund Korea in order to support "students in the arts, music, and physical education who need financial support in order to pursue their dreams, and students who need assistance with paying for health care". In addition, fans of J-Hope donated 128 sacks of rice to Gwangju, J-Hope's hometown, along with partnering with the organization "Korea Food for the Hungry International" to organize the "Hope on the Stop Hunger" project, an effort that "sponsors starving children in 53 countries with emergency relief and food". In total, around 35 different fan philanthropical projects were carried out in honor of J-Hope's 25th birthday.  On March 9, 2019, Suga donated ₩100,000,000 (US $89,000) to the Korea Pediatric Cancer Foundation and 329 plush toys to the children patients, alongside placing his gifts underneath the fanbase name. On December 4, 2018, Jin personally donated bags of food, bowls, and blankets to animals under the protection of the Korean Animal Welfare Association. In addition, fans donated 344 sets of female hygiene products worth ₩6,000,000 (US $5390) to Gwacheon, Jin's hometown.

On September 24, 2018, BTS attended the United Nations 73rd General Assembly for the launch of the youth initiative called "Youth 2030: The UN Youth Strategy" and its corresponding UNICEF campaign titled "Generation Unlimited". On behalf of the group, BTS' leader RM delivered a six-minute speech in English about self-acceptance, as well as their Love Myself campaign. According to UNICEF, the goal of the initiative is "to provide quality education and training for young people". BTS were selected to attend due to their impact on youth culture through their music and social messages, previous philanthropic endeavors, and popularity among the 15-to-25-year-old age demographic.

In January 2020, Starbucks Korea announced that they would be partnering together with BTS to launch the “Be the Brightest Stars” campaign including limited-edition beverages, food and merchandise exclusively in South Korea. A portion of the profit from the campaign will go towards career and educational development programs for disadvantaged youth as part of The Beautiful Foundation’s Opportunity Youth Independence Project.

Endorsements

BTS have maintained numerous global endorsement deals in various industries throughout their career. Partnered with Puma since 2015, BTS initially promoted their sportswear as Puma Korea's brand ambassadors before expanding to become global ambassadors in 2018 and promoting the remix of Puma's "Turin" and "Sportstyle" line worldwide. In 2019, BTS became the first male pop group ever to collaborate with Dior, as the group sported Kim Jones' Pre-Fall 2019 collection at their concert at Stade de France. Business of Fashion called it "the K-Pop industry's most high profile sponsorship ever". In September 2019, Fila announced that BTS hse signed an exclusive contract with them to be their new models worldwide.

BTS served as global brand ambassadors for LG Electronics to promote their LG G7 ThinQ telephone, and for Hyundai Motors as part of the company's promotions at the 2018 LA Auto Show for its 2019 flagship SUV the "Palisade". Due to BTS' endorsement, Hyundai received almost double their anticipated domestic order volume for the car. In the tourism sector, BTS has worked as brand models for Lotte Duty Free Shop since 2017 and as honorary tourism ambassadors for Seoul as part of the 'I Seoul U' program. Promotional advertisements produced by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, featuring the group, aired in over 100 countries. BTS also partnered with popular Korean communication app Line, to create new Line 'characters' called  BT21 . The collaboration initially produced emojis and electronic stickers, but later expanded to include fashion apparel, footwear, accessories, and other merchandise. Line flagship stores opened throughout Seoul before spreading across the global market into Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and the United States.

In the entertainment sector, BTS published the webtoons  Hip Hop Monster  and  We On  through the Nate Webtoon portal, and the webtoon  Save Me  in collaboration with LICO and Line Webtoon. In the toy industry, Mattel created dolls modeled off BTS' outfits from the music video " Idol ", Medicom Toy created the "BE@RBRICK", a block-like toy featuring the BTS logo and accents modeled after BTS' stage clothes, and Funko released BTS versions of Funko Pops. In the gaming industry, Nexon released character avatars based on BTS for their RPG game Elsword, and BTS worked with DalcomSoft to release the rhythm game  Superstar BTS  in January 2018, as well as with Netmarble Games for the story-based, mobile simulation game  BTS World  released in June 2019. In November 2019, BTS announced they are teaming with Casetify to globally launch a new tech accessory collection, which contains accessories compatible with iPhone, Samsung devices, AirPods, Apple Watch, MacBooks, iPads and more.

In Asia, BTS have worked as brand spokespersons for KB Kookmin Bank, one of the four largest banks in South Korea. Their collaboration generated the opening of over 180,000 accounts, and BTS extended their contract with KB Kookmin Bank through 2019. Coca-Cola Korea signed BTS on as their new campaign models for promotions during the 2018 World Cup in Russia. In the beauty and apparel industry, BTS hse maintained a relationship with uniform brand SMART since 2016, having renewed their contract with them through 2019. BTS hse also promoted the face mask brand Mediheal, the cosmetics brand VT Cosmetics, and the contact lens brand Play/Up. In October 2019, Kyungnam Pharmaceutical announced that BTSise going to be the new brand ambassadors for Lemona, a vitamin supplement company. The company announced they are planning to expand to the global market with BTS and release new vitamin drinks.

In October 2019, ceramics company Kwangjuyo stated that they will collaborate with BTS in releasing plates, mugs, and other pieces. The colors of the ceramics were inspired by  Map of the Soul: Persona , and the Plum Blossom pattern is used to represent the message of hope and positivity that BTS brings. Also in October 2019, Tokopedia, an Indonesian e-commerce company, announced that BTS will be their new brand ambassadors.

In December 2019, BTS were announced as the new global ambassadors of ABB FIA Formula E Championship, the electric street racing series, Formula E. Through the partnership, the South Korean septet and Formula E will team up to promote how electric vehicles can help combat climate change.

Discography

See also: Sales and certifications , See also: Discography , See also: Unofficial songs

Tours and Concerts

See also: List of Live Performances

• BTS Live Trilogy Episode II: The Red Bullet (2014)
• BTS's First Japan Tour-Wake Up: Open Your Eyes (2015)
• BTS Live The Most Beautiful Moment in Life On Stage (2015)
• BTS Live Trilogy Episode III: The Wings Tour (2017)
• BTS World Tour: Love Yourself (2018-2019)
• BTS Map of the Soul Tour (2020)

Videography

See also: Videography

• Burn The Stage: The Movie (2018)
• BTS World Tour: Love Yourself in Seoul (2019)
• Bring The Soul: The Movie (2019)
• Break The Silence: The Movie (2020)
• BTS Permission to Dance on Stage - Seoul (2022)
• BTS Permission to Dance on Stage - LA (2022)
• BTS: Yet To Come in Cinemas (2023)
• Youth ( TBA , 2023)

Reality shows

• BTS: Burn The Stage (YouTube Premium, 2018)
• Bring The Soul: Docu-Series (Weverse, 2019)
• Break The Silence: Docu-Series (Weverse, 2020)
• BTS Monuments: Beyond The Star (Disney+, 2023)

Variety shows

• Rookie King: Channel Bangtan (SBS MTV, 2013)
• BTS American Hustle Life (Mnet, 2014)
• BTS China Job (YinYueTai, 2014)
• BTS: Lucky Draw (V Live, YouTube, 2015)
• Season 1 (V Live, 2015–2016)
• Season 2 (V Live, 2017–2018)
• Season 1 (V Live, Weverse, 2019–2021)
• Specials (V Live, Weverse, YouTube, 2023)
• Season 1 (V Live, 2015)
• Season 2 (V Live, 2017)
• Season 1 (V Live, 2016)
• Season 3 (V Live, 2018)
• Season 4 (Weverse, 2019–2020)
• Season 1 (YouTube, 2017)
• Season 2 (YouTube, 2019)
• Season 3 (YouTube, 2020)
• Season 1 (JTBC, Weverse, 2020)
• Season 2 (JTBC, Weverse, 2021)
• MapleStory X BTS (YouTube, 2020)
• Free Fire X BTS Show Series (YouTube, 2022)
• BTS Become Game Developers (YouTube, 2022)
• MBTI Lab (YouTube, 2022)
• The Tales of Bangtan Kingdom (YouTube, 2022)
• SuperStar BTS (2018)
• PUZZLE STAR BT21 (2018)
• BTS World (2019)

A.R.M.Y Logo

• Their fan club name is A.R.M.Y , which means A dorable R epresentative M .C for Y outh .
• Their label for the Japanese albums used to be Pony Canyon. The current one is Def Jam Records, where there are Western singers signed.
• They have 3 sets of emoticons on the app KakaoTalk, 2 sets with emoticons on the V App, and 13 Snow 'lens', 9 of them being with the boys during Blood Sweat & Tears promotions.
• They released a Taiwan special edition, of the album Dark & Wild , with a bonus song, Boy in Luv (Chinese version)
• Supreme Boi and Iron are two of the former members who wanted to join BTS.
• They went to a baseball match, on June 2, 2017 , representing the team Tigers .
• Every year, in the month June, (the month BTS debuted) there is a festival called the " BTS Festa " when they release hidden images, covers of songs and loads more.
• 4 members have their own Studios , RM 'RKive' (formerly called Mon Studio), Suga 'Genius Lab', J-Hope 'Hope World' and Jungkook 'Golden Closet'.

Official Links

• V Live (shut down)
• Blog (deleted)
• Youku (deleted)
• ↑ https://kpopsingers.com/bts-members-group-profile/
• ↑ 방탄소년단 “팀명 후보, 빅키즈 영네이션 있었다”(야만TV)
• ↑ BTS Is Tackling Problems That Are Taboo
• ↑ 방탄소년단, 팬클럽 아미와 연결된 새 BI 공개 "문을 열고 나아가는 청춘"
• ↑ BTS Brand eXperience Design Renewal
• ↑ The 50 Best Hip-Hop Albums of 2015
• ↑ THE 20 BEST MIXTAPES OF 2016
• ↑ Oricon Album Ranking Dayly (2016年09月06日付) – see #01
• ↑ BTS' 'Wings' Sets New U.S. Record for Highest-Charting, Best-Selling K-Pop Album
• ↑ The big 3 of Korean pop music and entertainment
• BTS Breaks the Record for Most Albums Sold in a Month
• ↑ BTS Extends Identity to Mean Beyond the Scene
• ↑ BTS’s “Love Yourself: Her” Sets New Gaon Chart Record In 16 Years With 1.2 Million Albums Sold
• ↑ BTS Earns Highest-Charting & First Top 40 Hot 100 Hit for a K-Pop Group With 'MIC Drop'
• ↑ BTS break record as first K-pop band to top US iTunes chart
• ↑ K-Pop Superstars BTS to Perform for First Time on an American Awards Show at 2017 AMAs
• ↑ K-Pop Group BTS Broke A World Record Because Of Course They Did
• ↑ BTS Is the Most Tweeted-About Artist of 2017, Plus More Twitter Year-End Data
• ↑ BTS Liked Or Retweeted Half-Billion Times on Twitter, Ranks First
• ↑ BTS performing in Dick Clark New Years Rockin Eve 2018
• ↑ BTS confirm to perform at Music Station Super Live
• ↑ RIAA: Gold & Platinum
• ↑ Big Hit Awarded For BTS’s Logo And Brand Identity
• ↑ BTS Suga’s ‘Agust D’ Mixtape Claims #1 Spot on Worldwide iTunes Album Chart
• ↑ BTS, Suga (Agust D), SEVENTEEN, BoA, And CLC Earn Spots On Billboard’s World Albums Chart
• ↑ BTS’s “DNA” Hits 300 Million Views In Fastest Time Ever For A K-Pop Group MV
• ↑ 2018 iHeartRadio Music Awards: Complete Winners List
• ↑ BTS Becomes 1st Overseas Artist In 6 Years To Sell Over 250K Albums In Japan In 1st Week
• ↑ BTS Tease Next Album In 'Love Yourself' Series With 'Euphoria' Theme Video
• ↑ BTS Announce New Full-Length Album 'Love Yourself: Tear' To Be Released in May
• ↑ 2018 Nominees: Top Social Artist
• ↑ [NEWS] BTS, going to ‘Billboard Music Awards’ for 2 consecutive years “Going as performers, thank you” (Official)
• ↑ Global Sensation BTS to Perform World Television Premiere of New Single at the “2018 Billboard Music Awards” on NBC
• ↑ BTS Breaks Own Record For Highest Number Of Stock Pre-Orders With Their Upcoming Album
• ↑ BTS Announces World Tour With Stops In Six North American Cities
• ↑ BTS Announces First Dates And Locations For World Tour
• ↑ BTS Confirms Return To “The Ellen DeGeneres Show”
• ↑ BTS Achieves First Ever Perfect All-Kill With “Fake Love”
• ↑ BTS Wins Top Social Artist Award at the 2018 Billboard Music Awards
• ↑ On the Charts: BTS Become First K-Pop Act to Reach Number One
• ↑ BTS Announce New Album 'Love Yourself: Answer' For August Release
• ↑ BTS' Citi Field Show Sells Out Within Minutes
• ↑ BTS release new version of Idol featuring Nicki Minaj
• ↑ BTS Scores Second No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart With 'Love Yourself: Answer'
• ↑ BTS SCORE THEIR FIRST CANADIAN NO.1 ALBUM: CHART CONFIDENTIAL
• ↑ BTS To Speak At UNICEF Launch Event At 73rd Session of the UN General Assembly
• ↑ BTS Renews Contract With Big Hit Entertainment
• ↑ BTS Album Earns 2019 Grammy Nomination: Here's Why It's Important
• ↑ BTS Taking 'Extended Period of Rest and Relaxation' For First Time Since 2013 Debut
• ↑ South Korean President Moon Jae-in Congratulates BTS on First No. 1 Album
• ↑ BTS, the band that changed K-pop, explained
• ↑ BigHit Says Stevie Wonder Personally Asked BTS To Join Memorial Project For Martin Luther King Jr.
• ↑ BTS’s Jimin Makes Personal Donation To His Juniors At His Old Elementary School
• ↑ BTS’ Suga Makes Generous And Meaningful Donation To Orphanages On His Birthday
• SuperStar BTS
• Puzzle Star BT21
• LINE Hello BT21
• BTS Universe Story
• Rhythm Hive
• BTS Island: In the SEOM
• Hip Hop Monster
• 1 SUGA Agust D TOUR

• LOVE YOURSELF TOUR

BTS, NewJeans To Embark On World Tour In 2025 - HYBE Groups Set For Comebacks

G et ready, ARMY! Starting from June this year, BTS members will gradually return home one by one after completing their military service, with the eldest member, Jin, leading the way. But that's not all- by 2025, there's a chance that group will embark on a massive world tour! And it's not just BTS; other HYBE label artists and groups like NewJeans, TXT, SEVENTEEN, and many more are also preparing for major comebacks. It's an exciting time for fans everywhere!

BTS, NewJeans To Embark On World Tour

A report by Kim Young Moon/Daily Hankook states, "With NewJeans and BTS’s world tours to be expected next year, performance is confirmed to take a quantum jump."

ALSO READ: TWICE's Chaeoyoung, Zion.T Are Dating. All About Their Love Story

The news of K-pop fans' favourite bands and idols embarking on a world tour has spread like wildfire and has made fans go into a frenzy on social media.

See the post below

HYBE Groups Set For Comeback

Is BTS going on a mega world tour next year – Everything to know

BTS ARMY assemble! The boys are reportedly making a mega comeback next year.

Read also : ‘Dunki’: Shah Rukh Khan's underwater hair and desert train revealed as fake in new VFX video; Watch

Amidst the excitement of their return from their respective South Korean military service, a recent report has sparked a frenzy among BTS fans, hinting at the possibility of a mega world tour in the near future.

BTS, the biggest K-pop boy band is reportedly making a comeback next year. According to a researcher at Hyundai Motor Securities, the septet may go on a world tour next year.

[meil business] 240404. In the 2nd quarter, TXT, Seventeen, New Jeans, and Enhypen will make a large comeback, and a BTS solo album is also a possibility. If Cat's Eye, which is scheduled to debut as early as 2nd quarter following TWS and Eyelet, makes a soft landing in the U.S.… pic.twitter.com/KFJXFAZToe — star_jin (@nightstar1201) April 4, 2024

The news report which has been widely circulated online predicts that the stocks of HYBE, which has seen a considerable decline lately, will soar after the mega comebacks of groups including BTS, TXT, NewJeans, SEVENTEEN, and others in the coming year.

“With NewJeans and BTS’s world tours to be expected next year, performance is confirmed to take a quantum jump,” another news report quotes. The report also predicts that the upcoming world tour will have at least 50 performances, and is expected to attract a maximum of 3 million fans.

analysts expect significant growth w a NewJeans world tour, AND a complete BTS World Tour next yr—bigger than the cancelled 2020 MoTS Tour, which had been for 40 dates, to a live audience of 2.2 million ppl. The new BTS tour is expected to be at least 50 shows to ~3 million ppl + pic.twitter.com/V0Yduaa6Lo — Ren⁷⟭⟬⟬⟭(busy) (@renkiger_) April 4, 2024

This comes as the seven-member boy band had to cancel their 2020 tour due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Fans online are already buzzing with excitement. Take a look:

bts world tour next year — kohl⁷ (@txxggxk) April 5, 2024

JUST MADE A PROMISE WITH MY ARMY COLLEAGUE THAT I BEFRIENDED YESTERDAY TO HELP EACH OTHER FOR BTS WORLD TOUR WHEN THEYRE BACK LOL — nini 🪽 (@UARMYH0PE) April 5, 2024

OMFGGAGAGAHHAHAHAA BTS WORLD TOUR IS SO HAPPENING😭😭 https://t.co/h5D7ofhUEN — Mia⁷ (@smokesprite7) April 4, 2024

BTS next world tour is gonna be a whopping 50 shows, bigger than what was planned for mots7, guys I need moots in EVERY single city cuz imagine every show a different solo song gets featured? Imagine the set list? Imagine all the concert venues have already been secured?2025😭 — 🪞Grlwluv𝟽 𝘫.𝘮.𝘭𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘺𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘮🐥🐻 (@shookys7) April 5, 2024

Starting in June 2024, BTS members will start returning home after completing their mandatory military service. The oldest member of the band, Kim Seok-jin aka Jin will be the first to return. Jung Ho-seok aka J-Hope will be the second to return in October 2024.

Meanwhile, RM, V, Jimin, and Jungkook are expected to be back in June 2025, with Suga being the last in the same month.

By 2025, all seven members will be back to reunite as a group.

Read also : Denis Villeneuve to direct ‘Dune 3’ and ‘Nuclear War: A Scenario’ film adaptation – Everything to know

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BTS mega world tour could be coming next year: Big HYBE groups to make comebacks: Report

Bts may go on a world tour in 2025, potentially tripling hybe's revenue..

ARMY, are you ready? Starting in June this year, BTS members will start returning home one by one after completing their military service, beginning with the oldest member, Jin. And guess what? By 2025, the group might just go on a mega world tour! Not just BTS, but NewJeans, TXT, SEVENTEEN , and many more HYBE label artists and groups are also gearing up for some big comebacks.

Read: BTS military discharge dates revealed: Countdown to Jin, Jungkook, Jimin, V, Suga, J-Hope, and RM's return

BTS 2025 world tour on the horizon?

According to a Hyundai Motor Securities researcher, BTS may go on a world tour soon. A screenshot of the report about this possible tour is widely circulating on social media. As per the media outlet, BTS's upcoming world tour in 2025 could significantly boost HYBE's revenue, potentially tripling it compared to 2023. This prediction comes as BTS had to cancel their 2020 tour due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A report by Kim Young Moon/Daily Hankook (via Koreaboo) claims, “With NewJeans and BTS’s world tours to be expected next year, performance is confirmed to take a quantum jump.”

Also read: Twice's Chaeyoung confirms dating R&B singer Zion T for about six months now

Fans who saw the viral reports are already thrilled over the possibility, and Twitter is already buzzing with excitement about it.

“I suddenly feel like crying. The large-scale tour that both fans and the boys have been waiting for! They are doing it even though five years has passed? Oppa-deu.” Wrote a fan followed by many similar excited tweets. “I wasn’t coming on Twitter because of all the crazy news happening in 2024, but am seeing such good news as soon as I opened Twitter.” Chimes another.

BTS, TXT, SEVENTEEN others gear up for comebacks

According to a researcher at Hyundai Motor Securities, HYBE is predicted to witness a decline in operational profit in 2024. However, the same researcher also predicts that the stocks of HYBE will soar after the mega comebacks of groups like BTS, TXT, NewJeans, Seventeen, and others. The research also anticipates that NewJeans and BTS will embark on two world tours. Kim Hyun Yong, the researcher, emphasized that while 2.2 million people attended BTS's last tour, the upcoming tour, which will include at least 50 performances, is expected to attract a maximum of 3 million people.

Also read: aespa’s Karina and Lee Jae Wook have broken up because of ‘mental strain’: Agency confirms

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Photo: Courtesy of BigHit Entertainment

BTS Become First K-Pop Band To Debut At No. 1 On Billboard 200

The superstar band continues to prove the vitality of K-pop worldwide with their latest North American chart accomplishment

K-pop septet BTS can add " Billboard top seller" to their list of achievements thanks to their May 18 release Love Yourself: Tear , which entered the Billboard 200 album chart for May 24 at No. 1 . This makes BTS the first K-pop band ever and the first foreign-language album in more than 12 years to accomplish this feat.

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Driven in part by their enthusiastic BTS Army super fans, traditional album sales reached 100,000, augmented by streaming equivalents for 135,000 adjusted sales units. The previous top K-pop album in the U.S. was BTS' too, when Love Yourself: Her reached No. 7 in October 2017.

For years now, the young men of BTS have crafted personal stories and individual fantasies into alternate storylines that connect through their videos. While dancing, singing and bringing happiness will be enough for some new enthusiasts, inside BTS' music are seeds that can grow U.S. social support on a deeper level.

K-pop's recent success in the U.S. continues to expand. Some of BTS' uniqueness has been their directness addressing depression and hardship, topics that were themselves foreign to Korean idol groups' repertoire, except through metaphor.

"At the very heart of BTS's outstanding dancing and singing is sincerity," President of the Republic of Korea Moon Jae-in said in a statement . "This magical power turns grief into hope and differences into similarity. Each of the seven members sings in a way that is true to himself and the life he wants to live. ... The names of each member — Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook — are going to be remembered for a long time. Thank you to BTS for spreading joy across Korea and the world with your great performances."

Looking ahead, Korean pop culture news Soompi.com has reported that BTS' single "Fake Love" entered the about-to-be-announced Billboard Hot 100 at No. 10, an additional goal of the group that has now been achieved.

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As fans look forward to the group's June 13 BTS Festa anniversary celebration, there will be so much to celebrate — as well as a new awareness that the world is watching.

Catching Up On Music News Powered By The Recording Academy Just Got Easier. Have A Google Home Device? "Talk To GRAMMYs"

Photo: Roy Rochlin/Getty Images

J-Hope's Road To 'Hope On The Street Vol.1,' From Falling Back In Love With Dance To Tying Together His Global Influences

After 11 years in BTS, j-hope revisits the passion that started it all: dancing. Ahead of his new docuseries and special album, 'Hope on the Street Vol.1,' discover the full-circle journey that brought him back to his roots.

"Just dance," j-hope commands on his 2018 BTS solo track.

For the international sensation, that's what it's always been about: expressing himself through movement. Now, 11 years after the launch of the seven-piece group, j-hope takes a U-turn to where it all began, before his K-pop idol days, street dancing between his hometown, Gwangju, and Seoul, South Korea.

Out March 29, j-hope's new special album, Hope on the Street Vol.1 , is a musical ode to dancing that boasts a "vibrant collection of six tracks spanning a diverse array of sounds and moods that showcase j-hope's musical prowess and depth." Like j-hope's global perspective of dance, the EP expands borders and sounds, featuring appearances from HYBE labelmate HUH YUNJIN of LE SSERAFIM as well as American stars Nile Rodgers and Benny Blanco .

The mini-album will also be accompanied by a docuseries of the same name, premiering on Amazon Prime Video on March 28. According to a press statement, the six-part project will "highlight j-hope's story and love for dancing as he begins a new journey."

Ahead of Hope on the Street Vol.1 's arrival, take a look at how j-hope's origins inspired the project — from his enrollment in a local dance academy to songwriting with J. Cole on their 2023 single, "on the street."

Finding Purpose In Dance

Long before becoming a global superstar, j-hope (born Jung Ho-seok) first discovered his love for dancing on the playground.

"The school I went to had a dance lesson for 30 minutes in the morning. They would play a dance video, and we would copy it as exercise," j-hope recalled in a 2013 interview for the BTS Japan Fanclub magazine. "My friends around me would praise me, saying, 'You're really good!'"

Eventually, those recess workouts turned into a passion. J-hope began practicing moves at home and freestyling at local talent shows. By the sixth grade, he told his parents he was serious about it, enrolling him in Gwangju's Joy Dance Academy.

While at the Academy, j-hope also joined the underground dance crew, NEURON, building a reputation under the name "Smile Hoya." Though he hasn't participated in the troupe since his pre-BTS days, he still recognizes it as one of the most influential parts of his career.

He'll even honor the crew with Hope on the Street , which includes a track called "NEURON," featuring Gaeko and yoonmirae . He will also return to Gwangju in the closing chapter of the docuseries.

It's not the first time j-hope shouted out Gwangju, either. His 2019 collab with Becky G, "Chicken Noodle Soup," paid tribute to his beloved upbringing: "From Gwangju, one gang of you-know-what/ Geumnam Chungjang Street, that's my Harlem." (The same track also foreshadowed his latest release: "Hope on the street, now it's my own way.")

Forging A New Life In Music With BTS

J-hope continued to have a diligent mindset as a trainee at Big Hit Entertainment. But as revealed in BTS' 2018 docuseries, Burn the Stage , training and dieting became emotionally and physically tolling. At one point, j-hope even considered leaving the group.

"I couldn't do things I wanted to do," he revealed during a 2021 You Quiz on the Block segment . "To be honest, I wanted to play games. I want to go out and hang out. I wanted to stay with my family. I had to give up a lot of things from that perspective."

The stress became so intense that he bought a one-way ticket to Gwangju. But ultimately, the brotherhood and love of music he formed with BTS gave him the courage to return: "I came back because I trusted you," j-hope recounted.

And they trusted him, too: "I told [Big Hit] that we needed Jung Ho-seok. We couldn't debut without him," RM responded. Meanwhile, Jung Kook delivered a tearful speech to encourage him to stay with the band.

The longer he stayed, the more j-hope began to love other sides of music, like producing and songwriting. Now, he has become one of the main writers for the group's tracks, alongside RM and Suga , and has co-penned all of his solo projects, including Hope on the Street .

Spreading His Wings With Two Full-Length Solo Projects

After nearly 10 projects with BTS, j-hope delivered his debut mixtape, Hope World , in March 2018.

"My fantasy had always been making a music video and performing with the music I had created. I wanted to put my own story to music and share it with the world," he told Time magazine upon Hope World ’s release.

It's an introduction to j-hope the artist, inviting listeners to step into Hope World , a colorful kaleidoscope of different cultures and styles — something that has also been a key part of his dance journey.

Though, j-hope still wanted to dig deeper into his artistry. He developed his sound, becoming more vulnerable in his lyricism on tracks like 2020's "Outro: Ego." By 2022, he was ready to drop his first studio album, Jack in the Box .

Where Hope World showcases j-hope's dance performance, Jack in the Box highlights "my artistry in music ." But Hope on the Street paints the full image of the phenom — part musician, part dancer.

Laying The Groundwork With "On The Street," Featuring J. Cole

One of j-hope's earliest musical influences was J. Cole. The rapper inspired j-hope's stage name and the title of his mixtape, which pays homage to 2011's Cole World . In 2022, j-hope honored Cole with "Born Singer," the BTS re-write of Cole's "Born Sinner." So, a celebratory meeting was in order when they were both scheduled to perform at Lollapalooza (where j-hope made history as the first Korean soloist to headline).

"[He's] my idol," j-hope said to Variety in 2023. Since they met, he "couldn't stop thinking about how great it would be if we could make music together." He reached out to J. Cole, and "on the street" was born.

As j-hope told Variety , the "street" concept became a metaphor for life: "The street is a place where people can actually encounter and feel real lives of people: a child's innocent mind; first encounter with someone and falling in love; someone in an urgent moment;" and so much more. It's the place where he learned to love dance — and where he grew a love for music and artists like J. Cole, who called their collab "a blessing" in the behind-the-scenes footage .

And thus, "on the street" became the springboard for his forthcoming project, Hope on the Street .

Unveiling A Docuseries And A Multi-Part Project

By the tail end of 2023, each member of BTS had enlisted in mandatory military service. But even during the septet's hiatus, j-hope managed to serve up a surprise announcement of Hope on the Street on Feb. 17 with a fitting montage of dance videos.

The joint docuseries and album follows j-hope's journey of self-discovery, accompanying his former instructor, Boogaloo Kin, as they dance their way through the streets of Osaka, Seoul, Paris, New York, and his hometown while meeting other dancers.

" Hope on the Street , my roots, the most important part of my life. This is how j-hope danced. I wanted to share this story with you," he said in an interview for the documentary .

After years of breaking records and making history as a member of BTS, it was "a chance to look back on my life," he explained in another trailer . "I realized the answer was in song and dance."

Culminating j-hope's skills in both art forms, Hope on the Street is a love letter to everything that's made him who he is today — and proof he'll never forget it.

6 Takeaways From 'BTS Monuments: Beyond The Star'

Photo: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

9 Essential K-Pop/Western Collabs: From BTS And Megan Thee Stallion, To IVE And Saweetie

From Jungkook and Usher's tribute to their shared musical idol, to BLACKPINK and Selena Gomez' sugary sweet collab, K-pop and Western artists of all genres are joining forces to create killer hits.

It’s impossible to ignore the growing global popularity of K-pop. Although Korean pop has been around for decades, the genre's meteoric worldwide success over the past 10 years is reminiscent of Beatlemania and the early 2000s American boy band craze. With a steady increase year-over-year in album sales and K-pop groups touring the U.S. and Europe, interest in K-pop shows no signs of slowing down .

Initially launched in South Korea as a music subgenre with Western pop, R&B and hip-hop influences in the '90s, the K-pop industry is valued at around $10 billion .

Given the worldwide appetite for K-pop, several Western musicians are keen to partner with K-pop acts crossing over into more international markets, often with songs sung partially or entirely in English. While K-pop artists do not need Western artists to be successful — BTS sold out London’s Wembley stadium in under 90 minutes back in 2019, and BLACKPINK made Coachella history twice with performances in 2019 and 2023 — K-pop's massive fanbase and multi-genre influence make it an ideal collaboration for everyone from rappers and singers to electronic DJs.

But don’t take our word for it. Here are nine of the most iconic K-Pop/Western collaborations (not in any order; they are all great songs!).

Usher and Jungkook - "Standing Next to You (Usher Remix)" (2024)

The maknae (the youngest member of the group) of global K-pop superstars BTS and the King of R&B are both having banner years: Jungkook released his debut solo album, and Usher just performed at the Super Bowl . 

The Bangtan Boys have cited Usher as a significant influence (even singing a callback to his 2001 hit "U Got It Bad" in their No. 1 song, "Butter"), so BTS fans were delighted when the Jungkook tapped Usher for a remix of "Standing Next to You." The song marks the fourth single from his Billboard 200 chart-topping debut album, Golden . 

Both singers count Michael Jackson as a major influence. In their collaboration video, Usher and Jungkook pay tribute to the King of Pop as they slide, pop, and lock across the slick floor of an abandoned warehouse. 

John Legend and Wendy of Red Velvet - "Written in the Stars" (2018)

R&B singer/pianist John Legend was the perfect choice for an R&B ballad with Wendy, the main vocalist of K-pop quintet Red Velvet. The final song on the five-track SM Station x 0 , a digital music project, "Written in the Stars," is a beautiful, mid-tempo love song. A bit of a departure from K-pop’s typical upbeat sound, Wendy and Legend are in perfect harmony over a warm yet melancholic rhythm.

As Red Velvet’s main vocalist, Wendy was the ideal voice for this collaboration. Additionally, she split her childhood between Canada and the U.S., and has been comfortable singing in English since Red Velvet debuted in 2014. This wasn't her first collab with a Western artist: In 2017, she released an English-language version of the pop ballad " Vente Pa’Ca " with Ricky Martin . 

BLACKPINK and Selena Gomez - "Ice Cream" (2020)

A powerhouse debut single, BLACKPINK collaborated with pop royalty Selena Gomez on the massive 2020 hit "Ice Cream."

An electropop-bubblegum fusion filled with dairy double entendres, "Ice Cream" was an enormous success for both Gomez and the BLACKPINK girls. The track peaked at No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and has racked up nearly 900 million YouTube views to date. 

Written by a consortium of hitmakers, including Ariana Grande and BLACKPINK’s longtime songwriter and producer Teddy Park (a former K-pop idol himself), "Ice Cream" shows that YG Entertainment’s golden foursome and Gomez were the correct partnership for this track. The pop-trap bop marked the first time a K-pop girl group broke the Top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and immediately solidified BLACKPINK as global superstars. 

Snoop Dogg and Monsta X - "How We Do" (2022)

West Coast rap godfather Snoop Dogg has quietly become one of the go-to Western acts for K-pop collabs, working with Psy, BTS, Girls’ Generation and 2NE1. K-pop is the Dogg Father's "guilty pleasure, " and he performed at the Mnet Asian Music Awards with Dr. Dre in 2011. Without Snoop's love of K-pop, the world might not have gotten this fun and energetic collaboration with Snoop and Monsta X, a five-member boy group under Starship Entertainment.

The song appears in The Spongebob Movie: Sponge On The Run in a dance segment where Snoop, decked out in a pink and purple Western suit, is accompanied by zombie dancers. Though we do not see the members of Monsta X, their harmonious crooning is the perfect accent to Snoop Dogg’s trademark casual West Coast flow.

BTS and Steven Aoki - "MIC Drop (Steve Aoki remix)" (2017)

No K-pop list is complete with a nod to the magnificent seven, and "MIC Drop" is one of their catchiest Western collabs to date. 

"Mic Drop" is quintessential BTS: a nod to hip-hop with a heavy bass line and fun choreography. While the original version of "MIC Drop" is excellent, the remix with EDM superstar DJ Steve Aoki and rapper Desiigner cracked the Top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 — the first of many hits for the Bulletproof Boy Scouts. 

Released at a time when BTS were just starting their ascent to chart-topping Western dominance, the track's boastful lyrics and tension-building electro-trap production offered an excellent introduction to the group that would soon become international superstars. 

JYJ, Kanye West and Malik Yusef - "Ayyy Girl" (2010)

A truly deep K-pop cut, you’d be hard-pressed to find many people who know that Kanye West collaborated with a first-generation K-pop group over 13 years ago. Released as the lead single on JYJ’s English-language album The Beginning , West’s signature bravado and wordplay are on full display over a track that sounds like the Neptunes produced it.

The song garnered attention in the U.S., but after a string of bad luck (including a severely delayed U.S. visa process and issues with their management company, SM Entertainment), JYJ could not capitalize on their American success. The group continued to see success in Korea and Japan in the early 2010s but never made a splash in the Western market again.

IVE and Saweetie - "All Night" (2024)

A reimagining of Icona Pop’s 2013 song of the same name, "All Night," sees fourth-generation K-pop girl group IVE partner with rap’s resident glamor girl Saweetie for a funky, electronic-infused pop song that’s perfect for dancing from dusk till dawn. 

"All Night" is the first English song for the Starship Entertainment-backed group. Interestingly, none of the members of IVE have individual lines in the song, choosing instead to sing the lyrics in a six-part harmony. This choice is exciting but fun, giving listeners the feeling that they are more than welcome to sing along. 

The girl group embarked on their first 24-date world tour in January 2024, with stops in the U.S., Asia, Europe and South America. Given their quest for global dominance, there’s a good chance "All Night" won’t be IVE's last English-language release.

BTS and Megan Thee Stallion - "Butter (Remix)" (2021)

BTS’ "Butter" had already spent three weeks atop the Billboard charts and was declared the "song of the summer" when the group’s label announced Houston rapper Megan Thee Stallion as the guest star for the song’s remix in late August 2021. The GRAMMY-nominated septet is no stranger to collaborating with Western musicians, having worked with Halsey , Jason Derulo, and Coldplay . 

Though only slightly altered from the original (Megan’s verse was added in place of the song’s second original verse, along with several ad-libs), the remix was praised by both fans and critics alike, catapulting the song’s return back to the No. 1. Although the collaborators did not release a new music video featuring the group and the self-proclaimed "Hot Girl Coach," three members of BTS’ "dance line" (members J-Hope , Jungkook and Jimin ) released a specially choreographed dance video . Additionally, Megan was a surprise guest during BTS’ record-breaking Permission to Dance LA concert in November of the same year.

LE SSERAFIM and Niles Rodgers - "Unforgiven" (2023)

GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Nile Rodgers ' first foray into K-pop was a partnership with LE SSERAFIM , a fourth-gen girl group from the same parent company behind BTS. "Unforgiven" was released earlier this year as the lead single from the group’s debut album of the same name. 

A darker take on the familiar K-pop formula with A Western feel and look (the young quintuplet dons cowboy hats, boots and bolo ties in the song’s accompanying music video), "Unforgiven" is about rebellion and being a fierce, strong and independent risk taker. That riskiness drew Rodgers' ear. 

"It seems like a lot of the K-pop that I'm hearing lately, the…chord changes are a lot more interesting than what's been happening [in other music fields] over the last few years," he told GRAMMY.com in 2023. "I come from a jazz background, so to hear chord changes like that is really cool. They’re not afraid, which is great to me."

15 K-Pop Songs That Took 2023 By Storm: From Seventeen’s "Super (손오공)" to NewJeans' "Super Shy"

PHOTO: AXELLE/BAUER-GRIFFIN/FILMMAGIC

6 Takeaways From 'BTS Monuments: Beyond The Star'

In honor of BTS' 10th anniversary, Disney+ released 'BTS Monuments: Beyond the Star.' Two of the eight episode docuseries are available to stream; read on for a deeper look at the septet's history, accomplishments, and behind-the-scenes moments.

Today, it’s hard to avoid BTS . You might have heard their GRAMMY-nominated singles "Dynamite" and "Butter" playing at a random store. Maybe you learned about another record they broke in the news. Or, you probably know at least one person in their passionate, loyal fanbase, also known as Army.

But before there was BTS, the international sensation, there was Kim Seok-jin ( Jin ), Min Yoon-gi ( Suga ), Jung Ho-seok ( J-Hope ), Kim Nam-joon ( RM ), Park Ji-min ( Jimin ), Kim Tae-hyung ( V ), and Jeon Jung-kook ( Jung Kook ), seven hopefuls from across South Korea with one dream and thousands of hours of dedication to their craft.

A decade ago, it might have seemed impossible for a group like BTS to be at the top in their home country — let alone one of the biggest groups on the planet. In Korea, it was only likely to become successful if you had one of the legacy names, such as SM Entertainment, backing you, and they came from the virtually unknown Big Hit Entertainment (now Big Hit Music under conglomerate HYBE).

Year after year, the septet defied odds, from winning Best New Artist at the esteemed Melon Music Awards in 2013 to earning Top Social Artist across the globe at the Billboard Music Awards consecutively between 2017 and 2021. They have amassed 26 Guinness World Records and became the first Korean act to receive multiple nods from the GRAMMYs.

In honor of their 10th anniversary as BTS, Disney+ released BTS Monuments: Beyond the Star . The docuseries offers a deeper look at the septet's massive accomplishments, tracing back to their initial auditions in 2010. The first two of eight episodes are available to stream now.

Below, discover everything we learned thus far about the icons in their latest docuseries, BTS Monuments: Beyond the Star .

The BTS Grind Never Stops

You see their flawless choreography, calculated facial expressions and glamorous outfits, but you never know the amount of preparation it takes to get there.

For example, BTS rehearsed the lead single, "Danger," from their debut studio album, Dark & Wild , until the wee hours of the morning for weeks. They then traveled to Los Angeles to promote the single and, despite Big Hit’s unstable financial state, implemented a huge budget to produce the music video. The goal was to win the television competition "SBS Inkigayo."

"As expected, we didn’t place first and left the charts in a day," RM remarks in the episode.

The intense training and dieting caused them to question if their slow traction was worth the battle. "To be honest, I didn’t think this was fun in the past," Jin tearfully mentioned in a 2013 fan meeting. "There were a lot of things they couldn’t get started because they weren’t sure what path we were on."

Through their frustrations, BTS never gave up, and eventually, the perseverance led to their first mega-hits, "I Need U" and "Fire" in 2017. They obtained their desired results and still never decreased their work ethic, which skyrocketed their career to an even higher level. "We’ve always worked hard, whether there was a crisis or not," Jin explains.

Everyone Had Their Unique Strengths

What makes BTS a powerhouse is that each member had a clear-cut reason they joined, and as Suga notes, it took "countless" changes to perfect it into the current lineup.

According to HYBE chairman and the group’s creator, Bang Si-hyuk, he was impressed by RM’s "depth of character and base of knowledge"; Suga had a unique sarcastic, dark side; J-Hope was "the personification of diligence" and a strong dancer; Jin’s handsome features would easily attract a fandom; Jung Kook had "a lot" of potential; V was effortlessly charming; and Jimin was instantly talented and intrigued the team.

They’re More Than Colleagues — They’re Family

It’s common for manufactured groups not to bond beyond the stage. However, BTS see themselves more like family than co-workers.

Showing up for one another’s personal affairs was second nature. Without question, they watched Jung Kook enter high school, taking photos and teasing their younger brother, or maknae . The docuseries also flashes back to J-Hope’s surprise birthday party, where the six created a sentimental video of his family.

"I had found my place," J-Hope shares. "I believe that [joining BTS] was the most fateful moment of my life."

Being A K-Pop Idol Wasn’t Always Respected

For many aspiring musicians, especially those of Asian heritage, becoming an idol is the ultimate goal. You completely surrender to your art, spending nearly every waking hour doing what you love. If you’re lucky enough to debut at a company like HYBE, you will undoubtedly join the ranks of K-pop’s most influential. Better than anyone else, BTS knows that wasn’t always the case.

"There was a strong negative view of idols," Suga recounts of their breakthrough EP The Most Beautiful Moment in Life . "Nowadays, we are acknowledged for our achievements and performances overseas, but it was a really agonizing time for us back then. We had a lot of unreasonable controversies."

They became "desperate and spiteful," but because of the support from the Army, they overcame the rough patch and switched the narrative. As a thank you to their fans, they wrote "2! 3!" to say, "Let’s forget it all."

The United States Was A Turning Point In Their Career

By 2016, BTS knew they were stars in Korea. They performed in the biggest venue at the time, the Olympic Gymnastics Arena, with a capacity of 25,000 people. They won the Mnet Asian Music Awards' most coveted honor: Artist Of The Year.

"In a movie, the credits would start rolling. At that point, we’d done everything we could as Korean artists," Suga says with a laugh. So, what’s next? Conquer the rest of the world.

The following year, BTS performed at the Billboard Music Awards, certain that nothing would come of it. To their surprise, they won Top Social Artist, which had previously only been awarded to Justin Bieber .

"It was the start of raising people’s awareness of us as the group BTS," RM reveals. Things continued to snowball: they performed at the American Music Awards and dropped a remix with Steve Aoki.

By early 2022, BTS were making history. The group performed their smash hit "Butter" onstage at the 64th GRAMMY Awards.

They Believe In The Power Of Art

When the pandemic began in 2020, entertainment was the first sacrifice. "‘Concerts may never be held again. People are unable to gather,’" Suga recalls hearing on broadcasts. They began to wonder if there was a point in releasing music.

After two years of self-reflection and improvement, they knew COVID-19 could not be the end. Music gave them purpose. "That was the driving force," J-Hope says. "I wasn’t completely aware of how important music and dancing was to me. I realized that I shouldn’t take it all for granted."

The lockdown also showed them the impact Army had on their lives. They motivated them to keep going because they knew how much the band meant to their fans. They witnessed it constantly when they saw the fervent cheers and tears on tour. BTS has brought together millions of people. As Namjoon promises, "Art can change the world," and "Music transcends languages, nationalities and races."

Photo: Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images for BAM

11 Iconic Concert Films To Watch After 'Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour'

The concert film seems to be having a moment. From the Talking Heads to Queen, read on for 11 concert film experiences that will help keep the party going.

A lavender haze has descended upon movie theaters across America. 

Taylor Swift ’s filmed version of her historic Eras tour is the movie-music event of the year, dominating the box office becoming highest grossing dometic concert film in Hollywood history after a single weekend. Byt the time the Eras credits roll, you know all too well that you’re going to want to keep the party going.

Luckily, there are a breadth of artists whose musical singularity is reflected on the silver screen. Swift's major influence notwithstanding, the concert film seems to be having a moment in recent years: Pop stars such as Lizzo ( Live in Concert ), Selena Gomez ( My Mind and Me ) and Lewis Capaldi have released popular concert films.

From Beyoncé ’s stunning Homecoming , to acclaimed concert films from Queen to Talking Heads and new entries like from the boys in BTS , read on for 11 excellent concert film experiences.

Homecoming: A Film by Beyonce (2019)

When Beyoncé headlined the Coachella Music and Arts Festival — the first Black woman to do so — in 2018, she didn’t just perform; she delivered a tour de force extravaganza that spurred a whole new moniker: Beychella. 

Shot over two nights, the Netflix film Homecoming includes a discography-spanning retrospective and memorable performances of "Run the World," "Single Ladies" and "Formation." Layered in ware nods to the Historically Black College and University experience, legends like Nina Simone and dazzling array of choreography, wardrobe and vocal chops .  

The New Yorker later hailed it a "triumphant self portrait" and " a spectacle of soul." Directed by Queen Bey herself, Homecoming took home the golden gramophone for Best Music Film at hte 62nd GRAMMYs. 

Stop Making Sense (1984)

The filmmaker Jonathan Demme is known for classics like Silence of the Lambs and Philadelphia , but he was also a major force in concert films. Among his achievements in this field is Stop Making Sense , his 1984 portrait of David Byrne and his Talking Heads.

Filmed at the peak of the band's popularity and following the release of Speaking in Tongues (which featured "This Must Be The Place" and "Burning Down the House,"), Stop Making Sense   is a cult classic, from its array of hits to the band’s massive suits which became their calling card. 

The film was re-released in theaters last month. "I'm kind of looking at it and thinking, who is that guy?," said David Byrne in a recent interview with NPR about watching his younger self. "I'm impressed with the film and impressed with our performance. But I'm also having this really jarring experience of thinking, ‘He's so serious .’" 

BTS: Yet to Come in Cinemas (2023)

While the GRAMMY-nominated South Korean superstars BTS may be on a break — Jung Kook recently announced that he will release his debut solo full-length - bask in the glow of the K-pop and their rollicking concert film earlier this year. In the film, Jung Kook alongside Jin, RM, Jimin, V, J-Hope as they smoothly perform their calvadace of hits, including "Butter" and"Dynamite" in a 2022 performance for Busan, South Korea’s rally to host the 2030 World Expo. 

The boys are actually no stranger to the genre, with Yet To Come marking their fifth concert film in addition to BTS Permission to Dance on Stage — Seoul: Live Viewing and 2020’s Break the Silence: The Movie among others. 

Madonna: Truth or Dare (1991)

With off-stage footage shot in black and white and performances in vivid color, this early '90s classic depicts Queen Madge at the height of her power. Taken from an actual game Madonna and friends play towards the end of the film (to scandalous results), Truth or Dare showcases the breadth of Madonna’s superstardom up until that point with performances of classics like "Holiday" and "Like a Virgin" with its artfully-shot juxtaposition of performance and documentary footage a trailblazer in the concert film genre. 

" The surprise of Truth or Dare is just what a blast Madonna is," wrote the Guardian on the occasion of the film’s 30th anniversary. "Nastily funny, openly horny, undisguised in her contempt for anyone she deems less fabulous than herself and her blessed collaborators." 

Justin Bieber: Never Say Never (2011)

Way before Swiftmania, there was Bieber Fever. In the wake of Justin Bieber ’s explosive rise, Never Say Never interspersed performances with snapshots of his journey from humble Canadian roots to global pop force to be reckoned with. 

Helmed by Jon M. Chu (who’d go onto direct blockbusters like Crazy Rich Asians and In the Heights ), Never Say Never is a time capsule of a younger, more innocent Bieber and his early earworm bubblegum hits. Until Swift's Eras is tallied it’s the top-grossing concert movie ever released in the USA. 

Prince: Sign o’ the Times (1987)

This iconic concert film was once hard to come by; after its theatrical run, Sign o’ the Times was only issued on VHS and eventually went out of print. But thanks to the magic of streaming, one can now easily transport oneself back to the '80s and enjoy the magic that is Prince . 

Directed by the artist and using his acclaimed 1987 album Sign o’ the Times as a jumping off point (the album itself was a 2017 inductee into the GRAMMY Hall of Fame), the film reminds viewers of the Purple One's magnetism. Under an array of colorful lights and performing to a raucous crowd, the icon may have died in 2016, but S ign o’ the Times serves as a deft time capsule of his royal talent. 

Katy Perry: Part of Me (2012)

As Katy Perry was in the midst of releasing her acclaimed album Teenage Dream , the pop singer had the foresight to chronicle the ensuing pandemonium.

 " I feel like it was, like, a big wave coming," she told ABC upon the release of Katy Perry: Part of Me , the 2012 concert film that documented her blockbuster California Dreams tour. "I thought to myself, 'Well, I think this is going to be a moment. Maybe I should catch it on tape. I'm either going to go completely mental, completely bankrupt, or have the best success of my life." 

Fortunately the later wound up occurring, with the subsequent film a celebrity-packed (featuring everyone from Lady Gaga to Adele ) hit-filled ("Teenage Dream" and "California Girls") look into the life, times and music of the star. 

Queen: Live at Wembley ‘86 (1986)

Freddie Mercury and Queen were staples of London's Wembley Stadium, performing many memorable shows, including an iconic turn at Live Aid in the early '80s and a Mercury tribute show in the '90s. 

Songs like "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions" fit right in on Wembley's massive stage, with the concert film depicting the thundering live versions of those classics. Relive those heady days with this film which showcases just what made Mercury and his band rock icons, and huge ones at that. 

"Mercury was indeed a born ringmaster," wrote CNN in a piece about their status as stadium savants. "There was no alienating affectation, no wallowing in sentiment... Queen consciously wrote their songs as vehicles for theatrics."

Summer of Soul (2021)

Back in 1969, Stevie Wonder , Gladys Knight , Nina Simone and B.B. King joined forces for the Harlem Cultural Festival, a mostly forgotten multi-week legendary summit. That all changed when Roots frontman Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson obtained a treasure trove worth of footage and directed this stunning film, aptly dubbed Summer of Soul , which brought the event back to vivid life and subsequent acclaim including a GRAMMY Award for Best Music Film. 

"It was gold," Thompson told Pitchfork of his process of sifting through the footage to create what would become a passion project. "If anything, it was an embarrassment of riches. It was too much. I kept this on a 24-hour loop for about six months straight. Slept to it. Traveled to it. It was the only thing I consumed."

Justin Timberlake + The Tennessee Kids (2016)

Also directed by Jonathan Demme and released before his 2017 death, J ustin Timberlake + The Tennessee Kids showcases Timberlake 's  popular 20/20 Experience World Tour and litany of solo hits including "Sexyback" and "Suit & Tie."  

"I don’t think anything can compete with live performance," admitted Demme to Rolling Stone before his death in 2017. "You can’t beat it. But we strive to provide the most exciting interpretation of that feeling, as filmmakers. We can provide a roving best seat in the house. We can linger on closeups. We can follow the dynamics of the music. I love shooting music." 

The Last Waltz (1978)

One of the earliest projects of director Martin Scorsese ’s career was helping edit the monumental film version of Woodstock in 1970. But as that decade progressed and the auteur became known for narrative features including Mean Streets, he revisited his roots by directing The Last Waltz. A trailblazer in the genre, the film captures the last performance of The Band featuring frontman Robbie Robertson alongside a range of guests including Bob Dylan , Ringo Starr and Eric Clapton . Filmed on Thanksgiving Day in 1976, it’s a time capsule of the day’s biggest acts at the height of their artistry. 

"It's a picture that kind of saved my life at the time," Scorsese told an audience at the Toronto International Film Festival during a 2019 screening. "It's very special to me. Forty years on, it's very special to a great number of us."

6 Must-Watch Hip-Hop Documentaries: 'Hip-Hop x Siempre,' 'My Mic Sounds Nice' & More

• 1 BTS Become First K-Pop Band To Debut At No. 1 On Billboard 200
• 2 J-Hope's Road To 'Hope On The Street Vol.1,' From Falling Back In Love With Dance To Tying Together His Global Influences
• 3 9 Essential K-Pop/Western Collabs: From BTS And Megan Thee Stallion, To IVE And Saweetie
• 4 6 Takeaways From 'BTS Monuments: Beyond The Star'
• 5 11 Iconic Concert Films To Watch After 'Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour'

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Trending Now

BTS and HYBE groups spark excitement with reported 2025 world tour plans, sending ARMY into a frenzy!

Updated on: 06 April,2024 08:27 AM IST  |  Mumbai mid-day online correspondent |

• Text  

Reports have claimed that BTS, along with NewJeans, TXT, SEVENTEEN, and many more HYBE label artists and groups are gearing up for their grand comeback in 2025

BTS is also known as the Bangtan Boys

Dear ARMY, tighten your seat belts as 2025 is going to be a roller coaster ride for all of you. As the days pass, the time for the BTS members to start returning is coming closer. Starting in June this year, the BTS members will resume their activities after completing their military service, with Jin being the first to come out. But that's not all - we have even bigger news in store for all of you. We might just see the group embark on a mega world tour by 2025. Yes, you heard it right, and do you know what the cherry on the cake is? Reports have claimed that not just BTS, but also NewJeans, TXT, SEVENTEEN, and many more HYBE label artists and groups are gearing up for their grand comeback.

BTS World Tour in 2025?

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Although there has been no official announcement, a report has been circulating on the internet that is already driving the ARMY crazy, hinting at the possibility of a grand BTS world tour in 2025. According to a Hyundai Motor Securities researcher, BTS might go on tour soon. As per the outlet, if this tour happens, it has the potential to boost HYBE's revenue by almost three times. This prediction was made after considering BTS's canceled 2020 tour owing to Covid-19.

A report by Kim Young Moon/Daily Hankook (via Koreaboo) claims, “With NewJeans and BTS’s world tours to be expected next year, performance is confirmed to take a quantum jump.”

After seeing several such claims about their favorites making a comeback, fans are unable to stay calm as they have flooded social media with their tweets showing excitement.

“I suddenly feel like crying. The large-scale tour that both fans and the boys have been waiting for! They are doing it even though five years have passed? Oppa-deu,” wrote a fan. While another one commented, “I wasn’t coming on Twitter because of all the crazy news happening in 2024, but I am seeing such good news as soon as I opened Twitter.”

Now, although we don't have any confirmation yet, it will be a pleasure to see our favourites perform again after so long.

BTS, which is also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a septet. It consists of Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook . The band was formed in 2010. Their ever-burgeoning fanbase is called ‘ARMY’.

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Is BTS Planning A World Tour Next Year? Here's What We Know

Published By : Shreyanka Mazumdar

Trending Desk

Last Updated: April 06, 2024, 12:10 IST

Mumbai, India

BTS may go on a world tour in 2025. (Photo Credits: X)

This special event is said to commence with BTS members fulfilling their military service obligations.

The entertainment industry is currently buzzing with rumours surrounding the highly anticipated BTS mega world tour in 2025. This potential tour, coupled with comebacks from other artists under the HYBE label, has sparked immense excitement among fans worldwide. This special event is said to commence with BTS members fulfilling their military service obligations, starting with the eldest member, Jin, slated to return home in June of this year. This sets the stage for a series of returns, with all BTS members expected to complete their service by 2025, paving the way for a monumental world tour.

A recent report from Hyundai Motor Securities has fueled these speculations, suggesting that BTS could triple HYBE’s revenue with their upcoming world tour. The report indicates that the tour’s impact could be substantial, especially considering that BTS had to cancel their 2020 tour due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fans have swiftly responded to these reports, expressing their excitement and anticipation across various social media platforms. Many fans are overjoyed at the prospect of a world tour, a momentous event that has been eagerly awaited by both fans and the BTS members themselves.

“Just made a promise with my army colleague that I befriended yesterday to help each other for BTS World Tour when they’re back lol,” wrote a fan.

JUST MADE A PROMISE WITH MY ARMY COLLEAGUE THAT I BEFRIENDED YESTERDAY TO HELP EACH OTHER FOR BTS WORLD TOUR WHEN THEYRE BACK LOL— nini 🪽 (@UARMYH0PE) April 5, 2024

“BTS World tour is finally happening,” wrote another one.

OMFGGAGAGAHHAHAHAA BTS WORLD TOUR IS SO HAPPENING😭😭 https://t.co/h5D7ofhUEN — Mia⁷ (@smokesprite7) April 4, 2024

Highlighting the schedule of the tour, a user wrote, “BTS next world tour is gonna be a whopping 50 shows, bigger than what was planned for mots7, guys I need moots in EVERY single city cuz imagine every show a different solo song gets featured? Imagine the set list? Imagine all the concert venues have already been secured.”

BTS next world tour is gonna be a whopping 50 shows, bigger than what was planned for mots7, guys I need moots in EVERY single city cuz imagine every show a different solo song gets featured? Imagine the set list? Imagine all the concert venues have already been secured?2025😭— 🪞Grlwluv𝟽 𝘫.𝘮.𝘭𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘺𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘮🐥🐻 (@shookys7) April 5, 2024

In addition to BTS, several other artists under the HYBE label, including NewJeans, TXT, SEVENTEEN, and others, are gearing up for their comebacks. A researcher at Hyundai Motor Securities has predicted that despite an expected decline in operational profit in 2024, HYBE’s stocks are poised to soar following the highly anticipated comebacks of these groups.

analysts expect significant growth w a NewJeans world tour, AND a complete BTS World Tour next yr—bigger than the cancelled 2020 MoTS Tour, which had been for 40 dates, to a live audience of 2.2 million ppl. The new BTS tour is expected to be at least 50 shows to ~3 million ppl + pic.twitter.com/V0Yduaa6Lo — Ren⁷⟭⟬⟬⟭(busy) (@renkiger_) April 4, 2024

[meil business] 240404.In the 2nd quarter, TXT, Seventeen, New Jeans, and Enhypen will make a large comeback, and a BTS solo album is also a possibility. If Cat's Eye, which is scheduled to debut as early as 2nd quarter following TWS and Eyelet, makes a soft landing in the U.S.… pic.twitter.com/KFJXFAZToe — star_jin (@nightstar1201) April 4, 2024

The researcher further emphasises the potential magnitude of BTS’s upcoming tour, suggesting that it could draw up to 3 million attendees across a minimum of 50 performances. This projection is rooted in the remarkable success of BTS’s previous tour, which saw an impressive 2.2 million people in attendance.

Overall, the entertainment world is eagerly anticipating these events, with both fans and industry experts alike foreseeing a substantial boost for HYBE and its artists in the coming year.

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