Who is BTS? BTS is a seven-member South Korean band that debuted in 2013 under the entertainment company Big Hit Entertainment. The band is composed of RM (Kim Nam-joon), Jin (Kim Seok-jin), Suga (Min Yoon-gi), J-Hope (Jung Ho-seok), Jimin (Park Ji-min), V (Kim Tae-hyung), and Jungkook (Jeon Jung-kook). A common misconception is that their content is manufactured by producers behind the scenes while they act as figureheads – in truth, the members write and produce much of their own material. Their lyrics often explore topics such as personal turmoil, social commentary, mental health, family and societal pressure, loss, self-love, and individuality. If you are interested in learning more about BTS, here are 10 BTS facts to get you started:
12 BTS Facts:
- BTS stands for Bangtan Sonyeondan, or Bangtan Boys. Bangtan Sonyeondan is a Korean expression that translates to “Bulletproof Boy Scouts”. Member J-Hope has stated that the name signifies the group’s goal to “to block out stereotypes, criticisms, and expectations that aim on adolescents like bullets”.
- BTS became the fastest group since the Beatles to earn four U.S. number-one albums, doing so in under two years.
- The group’s leader or “president”, RM or Kim Nam-joon, acts as the primary communicator due to his understanding of English. He has credited watching Friends for helping him learn English at an early age.
- Each of BTS’ members plays an important and unique role, although all of them perform the intricate and captivating choreography. Jungkook, V, Jin, and Jimin are all vocalists. RM, J-Hope, and Suga are all rappers. Each one has a distinct voice that allows BTS to explore many genres and styles successfully.
- It is estimated that BTS provides around $4.65 billion in gross domestic product to South Korea. This means that the band is in the same economic league as Samsung and other major conglomerates.
- BTS’ “Dynamite” is the 5th most liked Youtube video of all time.
- BTS’ “Dynamite” is the 2nd most-viewed online video within the first 24 hours. It achieved 101.1 million views within 24 hours when it was released on August 21st, 2020. Their songs “Boy with Luv” and “Life Goes On” are also within the top 10 most-viewed videos within 24 hours, ranking 5th and 6th place respectively.
- BTS’ “Dynamite” is also the most commented on video of all time with nearly 14 million comments! The previous record holder was their hit song “DNA”, which has over 6 million comments.
- In October 2018, BTS was awarded with South Korea’s “Order of Cultural Merit”. This prestigious award and one of South Korea’s orders of merit is awarded by the President for “outstanding meritorious services in the fields of culture and art in the interest of promoting the national culture and national development.”.
- BTS was TIME’s 2020 Entertainer of the Year.
- BTS donated $1 million to the Black Lives Matter movement.
We hope you enjoyed reading these facts about BTS! If you have more lesser known or fascinating facts, we would love to hear them in the comments.
Featured image photo credit: Copyright LG Electronics, 2018. Originally found on Wikimedia Commons. Image was resized and cropped. Creative Commons 2.0.
