What you should know about BTS - an overview

Pre-Debut

Before we talk about BTS's debut and first albums, let's first summarize for you how the boy band came to be in the first place.

The first future member of BTS to join Big Hit Entertainment (now Hybe Corporation) was leader RM. RM was a well-known underground rapper who participated in an audition for "Big Deal Records" in 2009, but was not taken. However, he caught the eye of rapper Sleepy there, who encouraged him to introduce himself to Bang Si Hyuk, the founder of Big Hit Entertainment, a year later. Bang Si Hyuk was immediately convinced and took RM on as a trainee.

At that time, Big Hit Entertainment was still very young. In fact, Bang Si Hyuk had only founded the label in 2005 and had only signed the vocal trio 8Eight (2007) and the ballad group 2AM (2008).

Bang Si Hyuk planned to debut RM in a hip-hop group, so it's no surprise that the next BTS members he recruited were rappers Suga and J-Hope.

Suga participated in a rap competition held by Big Hit, where he took second place. Big Hit signed him as a producer and trainee. Previously, Suga was active as an underground rapper under the name "Gloss" and had already gained experience in composing and arranging music. Actually, Suga thought he would work as a producer, but Bang Si Hyuk convinces him to join BTS and debut as an idol. That's why today the rapper likes to joke that he was tricked.

J-Hope participated in an audition of Big Hit and subsequently signed a contract with the label. At the time, he was part of a dance team called Neuron and had already won several dance competitions.

Thus, Big Hit Entertainment had already gathered three members of BTS in just one year. And the following year (2011), they added three more!

Jin was spotted by a casting director of Big Hit on the street and asked to come to an audition. Jin was actually planning to become an actor at the time, so he applied to Big Hit as an actor. However, as we know, he became a trainee and later debuted as an idol!

Jungkook wanted to compete in the talent show Superstar K in 2011, but unfortunately he was not taken. He certainly wasn't disappointed, though, because afterwards, seven different agencies contacted Jungkook, eager to recruit him! Why he chose Big Hit is probably one of the most well-known facts among fans. Namely, Jungkook was so impressed with RM after seeing a performance of his that he wanted to join the same agency as him.

V attended an audition, but only by chance. Actually, he was just accompanying a friend to support him. However, an employee of Big Hit convinced him to join as well. V was the only one to pass the audition that day and became a trainee shortly after.

The seventh member joined in 2012: Jimin. He studied modern dance and was the best student in his department. A teacher suggested he audition for an entertainment. Jimin followed that suggestion and ended up at Big Hit Entertainment.

Finally, all seven members of BTS were gathered. And just one year later, they made their debut together!

The members

Debut

On June 12, 2013, BTS released their debut single album "2 Cool 4 Skool" and laid the foundation for an incredible career. However, this one started rather slowly. "2 Cool 4 Skool" reached #5 on the Korean Gaon Album Charts (Today Circle Charts) and #12 on the American Billboard World Album Charts. While that's not bad, it obviously doesn't compare to the success of BTS albums today. By the end of the year, 24,441 copies had been sold. The album ranks 65th in Gaon's year-end chart.

With the mini album "O!RUL8,2?" in September, BTS continued to work their way up. The album ranked #4 on the album chart and landed at #55 on Gaon's year-end chart of the best-selling albums of 2013; 10 spots higher than 2 Cool 4 Skool!

BTS also won several New Artist Awards at the end of the year for their initial successes.

2014 - 2017

Even with these first two albums, the boy group showed what they were made of, as all members worked more or less on the lyrics. Especially RM, J-Hope and Suga wrote most of their own raps early on. In addition, BTS already addressed controversial topics with these first albums and songs, which is what they are known for today. Namely, the title songs "No More Dream" and "N.O." address youth who are pressured and frustrated by school and their surroundings. Especially N.O. criticizes the school system and rebels against it.

2014 promised to be a good year early on. On February 12, BTS released the second mini album "Skool Luv Affair", which is considered the third and final part of the "School Trilogy". Skool Luv Affair topped the Gaon album charts and reached number 20 on the list of best-selling albums in 2014! In addition, the title track "Boy In Luv" was nominated for first place in a music show. However, it would take another year before the boy group could take home the first Music Show trophy. But the album made it to number three in the Billboard World Album Charts.

In April, a music video for the song "Just One Day" from Skool Luv Affair was released. Incidentally, the song was released as a pre-release single before the album and is considered the lead single along with "Boy in Luv."

On March 29, BTS held their first fan meeting titled "BTS Global Official Fan Club A.R.M.Y 1ST Muster" with 3,000 fans. The fan club name "A.R.M.Y" was announced back in July 2013 and is an abbreviation for "Adorable Representative M.C. for Youth". Today, millions of fans worldwide proudly refer to themselves as A.R.M.Y. The official Youtube channel and Instagram account of BTS even have more than 70 million followers by now (January 2023)! Are you one of them?

Just four months later, in July 2014, the boy group gave their first concert in America and in August the boys performed in Los Angeles at KCON. KCON is a Korea convention. You can learn more about KCON and other K-Pop festivals here!

Of course, Skool Luv Affair wasn't the only album BTS released in 2014. It was followed by their first studio album "Dark & Wild"in August, which also has two lead singles, "Danger" and "War of Hormone." First, BTS performed "Danger," and later a music video of "War of Hormone" was also released.

Dark & Wild did not top the Gaon album chart, but was very close behind the top at No. 2. It surpassed Skool Luv Affair on the year-end chart. In fact, with 100,906 copies sold, Dark & Wild was the 14th best-selling album of the year. In January 2015, BTS even won the Bonsang, one of the biggest awards at the 29th Golden Disc Awards, for the album!

But even apart from the albums, BTS achieved several more milestones in 2014: From October to December, the first tour "2014 BTS Live Trilogy Episode II: The Red Bullet" took place in Asia and the first Japanese album "Wake Up" was released in December.

We are approaching the big global breakthrough, but before that BTS have consolidated their position in Korea. After attracting attention in 2014 and topping the charts for the first time, the guys showed in 2015 that it was no coincidence. They stormed the charts with every single album and set new personal records!

In 2015, they released two albums, "The Most Beautiful Moments in Life, Pt. 1" (April 29, 2015) and "The Most Beautiful Moments in Life, Pt. 2" (November 30, 2015).

Pt.1 not only topped the Korean Gaon Charts, but was awarded two Bonsang Awards in January 2016! (25th Seoul Music Awards & 30th Golden Disc Awards.) The title song "I Need U" also finally earned BTS their first win in a music show! The first win wasn't the only one, though, as I Need You won four more Music Show trophies! On June 24, a music video for the second single "Dope" was also uploaded, which has been viewed over 100 million times!

Pt. 1 ranked sixth best-selling album on the Gaon year-end chart with 274,135 copies sold. Pt. 2 was right before it at #5 with 275,000 copies sold.

All nine songs from Pt. 2 entered the Gaon Weekly Digital Chart, and likewise all nine made it into Billboard World Digital Songs Chart. The album itself stayed at the top of the Billboard World Albums Chart for a full 22 weeks, and also earned BTS a spot on the Billboard 200 chart for the first time!

BTS not only released successful albums in 2015, but also gave concerts all over the world. Already in February 2015, BTS set out for their first Japanese tour. In addition, fans outside of Asia also had the opportunity to cheer on BTS live for the first time. In June, the boy group continued their Red Bullet Tour from 2014 and visited Australia, America, Mexico and Brazil, among others. The tour ended in August and already in November a new one started with the title 2015 BTS Live "The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: On Stage". Until March 2016, BTS gave concerts in Japan and South Korea as part of this tour.

In 2016, the Korean compilation album "The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: Young Forever" (May 2016) and the second Japanese album "Youth" followed. By now, it's no surprise that these albums also topped several charts. What particularly stood out about Young Forever's achievements was that BTS won the Daesang (top prize) for it for the first time at the 8th Melon Music Awards. In addition, the songs "Fire," "Save Me," and "Epilogue: Young Forever" took the top three spots on Billboard's World Digital Songs Chart, something no K-pop artist had ever done before.

The third and final album BTS released in 2016 was an even bigger success than its predecessors. "Wings" was released on October 10 and received 500,000 pre-orders, a personal record for BTS. However, BTS set more than just personal records with the album. Among other things, the music video of the title track "Blood Sweet & Tears" reached 10 million views faster than any other K-pop music video. "Wings" also ranked #26 on the Billboard 200 chart, making it the best-selling K-pop album ever in America. At the end of the year, the album won several Korean award shows and Billboard declared it the best K-pop album of 2016!

"Wings" is undoubtedly a particularly big milestone of BTS's career to this day, but the boy group's big breakthrough came with the subsequent repackage album "You Never Walk Alone" (February 13, 2017). It hit like a bomb and opened a whole new era of BTS!

The global breakthrough

The album sold 1.49 million copies by the end of February, topped charts in Korea, China, and America, and thrust BTS into the spotlight. With over 300 million votes from fans around the world, BTS won the Top Social Award at the 24th Billboard Music Awards, beating superstar Justin Bieber, who had won the award for the previous six years. Suddenly, the whole world was looking at the boy group from South Korea, the first K-pop group to win a Billboard Award.

BTS had proven very impressively that they were not just a particularly successful Korean boy band, but a phenomenon with the potential to reach the top of the music world.

Now would be a good time to say, "The rest is history." Most people know what's next, as BTS has continued to make headlines with new groundbreaking successes in the years that have followed. Even those who aren't fans of BTS or K-Pop are familiar with the boy group and some of their achievements.

But we don't want to leave the developments of the next years entirely to your memory. Below, we have summarized the most interesting milestones for you.

2017 to date: The biggest records and milestones

September 18, 2017: the Korean album "Love Yourself: Her" was released.
It is the first album since "Chapter" by 1st Gen boy group "g.o.d" to sell more than 1.2 million copies. It is also the first K-pop album to place on the Billboard Hot 100 chart (#85). The music video for the title track "DNA" was viewed more than 21 million times in the first 24 hours.

November 19, 2017: BTS became the first K-pop group ever to perform at the American Music Awards.

2018

May 2018: the studio album "Love Yourself: Tear" was released. It debuted at the top of the Billboard 200 and is the first K-pop album to top the US album chart. BTS won "Top Social Artist" for the second time at the 25th Billboard Music Awards.

August 24, 2018: the compilation album "Love Yourself: Answer" was released. There is an additional digital version feat Nicki Minaj of the title track "Idol". The album sold more than 1.9 million copies.

October 2018: all members of BTS signed a new contract with Big Hit Entertainment, which runs until 2026!

November 15, 2018: the documentary "Burn the Stage: The Movie," which follows BTS behind the scenes of the 2017 Wings Tour, hit theaters. More than two million fans from 19 countries watched the film in theaters.

Late 2018: BTS won "Artist of the Year" at the 20th Mnet Asian Music Awards and ranked No. 8 on Billboard's Top Artists Chart.

Bloomberg Media included the boy band in its list of the 50 most influential people who have the potential to shape politics and the economy. Bloomberg praised BTS for addressing social issues, mental health and politics. This is not something the K-pop genre is necessarily known for, which is why BTS stands out.

2019

April 2019: The mini album "Map of the Soul: Persona" was released. The title track "Boy with Luv" is sung by BTS together with American singer Halsey. The boy group became the first K-pop artist ever to appear on "Saturday Night Live" with the song.

May 2019: BTS won "Top Social Artist" and "Top Duo/ Group" at the 26th Billboard Music Awards.

June 2019: BTS released their own mobile game called "BTS World".

November 24, 2019: BTS won three awards at the 2019 American Music Awards - "Best Tour," "Favourite Duo or Group - Pop/ Rock," and "Favourite Social Artist".

December 2019: BTS became the first group to win the four top awards at both the Melon Music Awards and the Mnet Asian Music Awards. At the 34th Golden Disc Awards, the boy group took the top prizes in the physical and digital categories. Before that, no artist has ever won both awards in one year!

2020

January 26, 2020: BTS became the first Korean artists ever to perform at the Grammy Awards!

February 21, 2020: the studio album "Map of the Soul: 7" was released. It sold over 4.1 million copies in just nine days and is still (January 2023) the best-selling album ever in South Korea! Currently, BTS occupies no less than eight of the top 10 spots in the list of best-selling albums in South Korea.

April 2020: as of April, BTS has become the first K-pop artist ever to sell more than 20 million albums in total. 2020 is already a highlight in the history of BTS and the Korean music industry at this point.

August 2020: BTS topped the US Billboard Hot 100 chart with their English single "Dynamite." Before them, no Korean artist has ever reached the top of the US charts with a single! At the MTV Video Music Awards, the boy group won four awards: "Best Group," "Best Choreography," "Best Pop Video" and "Best K-Pop".

2021

May 21, 2021: The English single "Butter" was released. It was the 7th most searched song on Google in 2021.

July 9, 2021: The English single "Permission to Dance" was released and topped Billboard's Digital Songs Chart. It was the eighth No. 1 hit on BTS's chart. With this, the boy group extended their record of the most number 1 songs in the chart!

September 24, 2021: BTS released the single "My Universe" together with Coldplay. It topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart. No collaboration of two groups has done that before!

2022

January 15, 2022: BTS released their own webtoon titled "7 Fates: Chakho." In the first few days, it was viewed more than 15 million times. Thus, it beat all other projects ever published on "Webtoon"!

April 8, 2022: BTS was nominated for seven different awards at the Billboard Music Awards. The boy band took home three of them. This makes BTS the group that has been nominated and awarded the most times by the award show.

June 2022: On June 10, BTS released the compilation album "Proof" and caused a stir four days later with a livestream celebrating their 9th anniversary! The members stated that they want to focus more on solo projects and will take time to find out who they really are. Many sources incorrectly reported that BTS would disband, causing great dismay among fans. However, HYBE Corporation quickly cleared up the misunderstanding and clarified that while the members will be moving forward with their solo careers for the time being, they will still be active as a group.

Since then, several members such as J-Hope, Jin and RM have made their official solo debuts. In addition, all seven released a photo book together in November. So we can look forward to both solo projects and joint activities from BTS in the future!

Military Service

For months, citizens and politicians debated whether members of BTS would have to serve in the military for 18 months like all other men in South Korea. Thanks to the contribution BTS makes to the Korean economy, many called for an exception to be made for the stars. This was not so far-fetched; after all, exceptions are also made for athletes who win medals.

However, on October 22, Big Hit Music announced that all members of BTS would serve in the military, starting with the eldest Jin. The latter began his service in mid-December. The members have often stressed in advance that they do not want an exception and are happy to serve. The other members all plan to start their service in the next few years and finish in 2025.

So fans will have to wait until 2025 to see the seven members reunited. But in the meantime, they will surely release some solo albums, so we don't have to miss the guys completely!

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