This Article Is About The Musical Group. For Other Uses, See
This Article Is About The Musical Group. For Other Uses, See
This Article Is About The Musical Group. For Other Uses, See
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This article is about the musical group. For other uses, see BTS
(disambiguation).
BTS
Background information
Also known as
Bangtan Boys
Bangtan Sonyeondan
Genres
K-pop
pop
hip hop
R&B
EDM
Labels
Big Hit
Pony Canyon
Columbia
Universal
Members
Jin
Suga
J-Hope
RM
Jimin
Jungkook
Website bts.ibighit.com
Korean name
Hangul 방탄소년단
Hanja 防彈少年團
showTranscriptions
Japanese name
Kanji 防弾少年団
Hiragana ぼうだんしょうねんだん
showTranscriptions
Name
History
BTS was formed in 2010, after Big Hit Entertainment CEO Bang Si-
hyuk wanted to form a hip hop group around RM (Kim Nam-joon), an
underground rapper who was well known on the music scene in Seoul. BTS
was originally supposed to be a hip hop group, but, seeing falling album sales,
he changed his plans, thinking a different path would be more marketable. He
chose to vary from the usual, highly regimented idol groups and create one
where the members would be individuals rather than an ensemble, and free to
express themselves.[7][8] Auditions were held in 2010 with plans to launch the
following year.[9][10] The band members lived together, practicing up to 15
hours a day, and first performed before a small crowd of industry insiders in
2013.[11]
We started to tell the stories that people wanted to hear and were
ready to hear, stories that other people could not or would not tell.
We said what other people were feeling—like pain, anxieties and
worries. That was our goal, to create this empathy that people can
relate to.
—Suga[12]
BTS' representation by Big Hit, rather than one of the three agencies that
dominated K-pop at the time, allowed the individual members leeway to
express their individuality and allowed them to have input into the music. [13] On
June 12, 2013, BTS released their debut single album 2 Cool 4 Skool, along
with the lead single "No More Dream", neither of which sold particularly well at
the time.[14] Nevertheless, according to Kathy Sprinkel in her book on BTS,
that single was "spotlighting young people's anxiety in the face of lofty
parental expectations, sent shock waves through the K-pop ranks. Here was a
musical act that wasn't pulling any punches. More specifically, they had a
point of view, and they weren't afraid to take on topics that are considered
taboo in South Korean society and elsewhere." [15] The album reached the top
five on South Korea's Gaon Music Chart. [16] In 2 Cool 4 Skool, BTS employed
an old-school hip-hop sound from the 1990s. [17][18] The album's release was
followed by appearances on Korean music shows, which caught the attention
of reviewers and viewers.[19][20]
In September 2013, BTS released the second entry in their "school trilogy":
the EP, O!RUL8,2?. The album was released alongside the single "N.O." [21]
[22] Similarly to 2 Cool 4 Skool, the new release had a theme of students
feeling under pressure and needing to sacrifice their dreams and aspirations.
[21] According to scholar Kyung Hyun Kim, many of BTS' earlier works such as
"N.O." and "No More Dreams" were "expressions of rebellion against the
establishment that tapped into Korean teenagers' frustrations with the
country's educational system" and, he stated, helped them build a fan base
among young people in North America and Europe. [23] That same month, BTS
starred in their own variety show, SBS MTV's Rookie King Channel Bangtan,
in which members parodied variety shows such as VJ Special
Forces and MasterChef Korea.[24] At the end of the year, BTS was recognized
with several New Artist of the Year awards in South Korea. [25][26][27]
2014–2017
The last entry in BTS "school trilogy", the Skool Luv Affair EP, was released in
February 2014.[28][29] The release topped the Gaon Album Chart,[30] and
appeared on Billboard's World Albums Chart for the first time, peaking at
number three.[28][31] The EP was supported by two singles: "Boy in Luv" and
"Just One Day".[32] Following Skool Luv Affair's release, BTS played at their
first fan meeting in Seoul, selecting the name A.R.M.Y. for the fan club.[33] In
July 2014, BTS hosted a concert in West Hollywood, their first show in the
United States,[34] and in August, they appeared at KCON in Los Angeles.[35]
In August 2014, BTS released the album Dark & Wild, which reached number
two in South Korea.[32][36] It was supported by two singles: "Danger" and "War
of Hormone".[32] The group embarked on their first concert tour, 2014 BTS Live
Trilogy Episode II: The Red Bullet, which lasted from October to December
2014.[37] The band launched their first Japanese studio album, Wake Up, in
December 2014; the release peaked at number three on the Oricon Albums
Chart.[38] After the album's release, BTS held their 1st Japan Tour 2015 Wake
Up: Open Your Eyes in February 2015.[39] The Red Bullet Tour that had begun
on October 17, 2014 in South Korea was resumed on June 6, 2015 in
Malaysia and toured Australia, North America and Latin America before
ending in Hong Kong that August. In all, the entire tour attracted 80,000
spectators at 18 cities in 13 countries.[37][40]