The iconic South-Korean group who brought Korean music and culture into the world
Get to know them!
"Hello! We are BTS!"
Bangtan Sonyeondan (방탄소년단 - Bulletproof Boys), or BTS, are a
South-Korean group that was formed in the early 2010s and debuted
on June 13th, 2013. With nine studio albums, seven complilation
albums and six extended plays, the record-breaking group is
arguably the biggest boy idol group in the world, with many
chart-topping hits.
BTS has strongly influenced the world with its heartfelt messages
of consolation and hope for youth, and spoke about major subjects
such as self-harm, academic stress, inferiority complex, bullying,
depression, elitism, and mental health. They are the first Asian
group to win Best Artist at the American Music Awards and first
all Korean band to perform at the Grammy Awards and to receive a
nomination. They were the first Korean group to win a Billboard
Music Award, and in 2021 they collaborated with Coldplay for the
song "My Universe".
Data suggests that the band brings over $3.9 billion to the South
Korean economy. The Hyundai Research institute found that about
800,000 visitors visit South Korea because of BTS every year.
ARMY, you are our wings.
Because of you all, we can fly.” BTS
From being underdogs in the music industry (their production
house, Big Hit Entertainment, had initially very little money) to
becoming a record-breaking group with billions of streams, BTS
also humbly credits their success to their fandom, the ARMY.
The ARMY members are young, liberal, international, influential,
and masters of social media. They stand apart from other fandoms
through the ways they have mobilized with an unrivaled level of
organization and dedication, driven by a desire to see the seven
members of BTS leave their mark in territories previously
uncharted by any other pop act from South Korea. BTS fans are also
known to have contributed to hundreds of charitable causes (saving
more than 5000 lives, raising 1.5M for BTS UNICEF campaign,
planting 50.000 trees etc.). BTS and Big Hit Entertainment donated
US$1 million to Black Lives Matter, announcing they stand together
against racial discrimination. The ARMY matched the donation in 24
hours.
Based on the 2022 ARMY Census, there are currently more than
500,000 ARMY in the world.
You can read all the results of the census here.
A view of a stadium, during a BTS concert, full of ARMY with
ARMYbombs, the official BTS' lightsticks.
The members
Born September 12th, 1994, he is the leader and first
member of BTS. He's the one in the group who speaks
English most fluently (and he says he learned it by
watching Friends) and acts as the spokesperson of BTS.
He's a skilled rapper (RM stands for Rap Monster) and part
of the group's rapline made up by the three rappers: him,
Suga, and
J-Hope. Together with them, he's the writer of many of the
group's songs. He recently produced his first studio
album, "Indigo", with 'Wild Flower' as title track.
Born December 4th, 1992, he's the oldest member of the group and part of the vocal line, made up by the four vocals: him, Jimin, V, and Jungkook. Jin's laughter is contagious and he's the funniest member of the group: he usually makes dad jokes and he's self-proclaimed "World Wide Handsome", a recurrent joke he says to make the members and ARMY smile. He also loves to cook for the other members. Jin recently released his single, "The Astronaut", a song that was created for him by none other than... Coldplay!
Born March 9th, 1993, Yoongi was the second member who entered in the group after RM. He's an amazing rapper, song-writer and composer, and also part of the group's rapline. Like Jin, he likes to cook for the other members. He's serious-looking and may also seem reserved and shy, but when he's with his group he's very laidback and loves to have fun with them. He's also a soloist: with the pseudonym of Agust D, he's published two mixtapes and an album. In 2023, he did a tour of 28 shows across 10 cities with an overall attendance of 330.000 people.
Born February 18th, 1994, he's the group main dancer and a rapper: he was the third member to enter the group after RM and Suga. He introduces himself by saying: "I'm your hope, you're my hope, I'm J-Hope!". Faithfully to his name, he acts as the positive energy glue for the team with his cheerful personality; he loves goofing around and making weird sounds; but he's also the best dancer and he can be very strict when it comes to choreographies: the other members are always nervous to make mistakes in front of him! In 2022 he published his first solo album: "Jack in The Box", with 'More' as title track.
Born October 13th, 1995, Jimin was the last member to enter the group in 2012, one year before their debut. He's the most skilled dancer alongside J-Hope, and his classic dance moves are outstanding - he also does the solo dance breaks. He loves receiving attention from fans and he's very affectionate to them. He's in the vocal line and has a clear, smooth, falsetto voice that often sounds feminine but can also turn masculine when he growls. in 2023 he released his first solo album, FACE, with "Set Me Free pt.2" and "Like Crazy" as title tracks.
Born December 30th, 1995, Taehyung entered the group at the end of 2011 and he's one of the members of the vocal line. BTS' and ARMY's official color is purple and it's thanks to him: at the end of a concert, he said "I purple you. Do you know what purple means? Purple is the last color of the rainbow so it means I will trust and love you for a long time." He's kind, generous, playful with the members and very affectionate to them - he's prone to skinship and hugs them a lot. He loves jazz music, likes to dress elegantly or in a vintage style and has a deep, soothing, soulful baritone voice. In 2023 he released his solo album "LayoVer", with "Slow Dancing" as title track.
Born September 1st, 1997, he's the youngest member ('maknae') of the group, and he joined them (choosing Big Hit over 7 other agencies) after listening to RM's rap and falling in love with it. He's in the vocal line. He has a kind heart, deeply loves his fans, and everyone calls him 'Golden Maknae' because he's multi-talented: he has an incredible voice but he's also a great dancer, has strong physical abilities and he's also good at painting. He gets the majorities of the solos and is the front lead dancer. In 2023 he released his solo album "Golden", with "Seven" as the first released track.
Discography
Slide to discover all of their albums!
2 Cool 4 Skool
June 12th, 2013
Their debut single album after almost 3 years of training. The title track is 'No More Dream', a song that invites today's youth to break out of society’s restrictions and to find their own dream.
O!RUL8,2?
September 11th, 2013
Their first mini-album. The title track is 'N.O', a message to kids who leave a life aimed to only satisfy adults' needs and wishes, inviting them to find their true happiness before it's too late.
Skool Luv Affair
February 12th, 2014
Their second mini-album. It has a thematic shift from dream and happiness to school age and youthful love.
Dark&Wild
August 20th, 2014
Their first studio album. It explores the hip hop direction BTS is taking, and it's a continuation of the theme of the previous album.
The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Pt. 1
April 29th, 2015
Their third mini-album. It explores the hardships of young adults, and the themes of pain, depression, and anger. Starting from the title track, 'I Need U', they share stories where each person needs someone to be with.
The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Pt. 2
November 30th, 2015
Their fourth mini-album. The title track, 'RUN', has a more adventurous and daring feel. It explores the concept of rebelling against the adult world, challenging it to tame them.
The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: Young Forever
May 2nd, 2016
Their first compilation album, including tracks from the previous two albums and three new songs. The title track, 'Fire', is one of their most famous songs and topped the Billboard World Digital Songs chart.
Wings
October 10th, 2016
Their second studio album, with 'Blood, Sweat and Tears' as title track. Influenced by Hermann Hesse's coming of age novel, Demian, this album deals with temptation and growth. It sold more than 1 million copies.
You Never Walk Alone
February 17th, 2017
A repackaging of Wings, with three additional songs. The title track, 'Spring Day', was named by Rolling Stone one of the greatest boy band songs of all time. It was an instant success on YouTube, garnering over 10 million views in 24 hours, becoming the fastest K-pop video to do so at the time.
Love Yourself: Her
September 18th, 2017
Their fifth mini-album, which debuted at #7 on Billboard 200. The lead single, DNA, became the first K-pop group music video to reach over 20 million views in 24 hours.
Love Yourself: Tear
May 18th, 2018
Their third studio album. It debuted at #1 on Billboard 200 and it explores themes relating to the pains and sorrows of separation. The title track is 'Fake Love'. The clip achieved 35.9 million views on the platform on its first day. It also became the third most watched music video within the first 24 hours in 2018.
Love Yourself: Answer
August 24th, 2018
Their second compilation album and second best-selling album of 2018 in the world. The title track is 'IDOL', and it became the most watched music video within the first 24 hours on the platform.
Map of the Soul: Persona
April 12th, 2019
Their sixth mini album and third best-selling album of 2019 in the world, with 'Boy with Luv' as title track, describing how true strength and love come from finding joy in the smallest things in life. It was also the fastest video to reach 100 million views on YouTube, doing so in approximately one day and 10 hours.
Map of the Soul: 7
February 21st, 2020
Their fourth studio album and best-selling album of 2020 in the world. The title track is 'ON': the seventh most-watched online video in the first 24 hours, and the fifth most-watched YouTube video at the time.
Be
November 20th, 2020
Their first self-directed and seventh mini album. Created in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it was inspired by BTS' perspective of life during the pandemic. The title track, 'Dynamite', their first song fully recorded in English, intended to soothe listeners during the pandemic.
Proof
June 10th, 2022
Their first anthology album. It comprises several of the band's singles; a selection of discography "favorites" chosen by the band members; and various demos and previously unreleased tracks. The title track is 'Yet to Come': lyrically, the group reflects on their career of the previous nine years and looks forward to the future.
Some of their (many) records
BTS has set and broken a huge number of world records. Some of them are listed below, but you can find a complete list here.
Longest-charting K-pop album on Billboard World Albums Chart
With their album "Wings" and its repackaging "You Never Walk Alone", 37 weeks.
Highest-charting K-pop group album of all time
No.1 with their album
"Love Yourself: Tear".
First Korean song on the No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 chart
With their song "Life Goes On", on December 5th 2020.
Most liked song in 24 hours
2 million of likes on "MIC Drop (Steve Aoki Remix), on November 25th, 2017.
Fastest K-pop group music video to reach 100 million views
"Boy With Luv (feat. Halsey)", on April 14th 2019. It set this record in 1 day, 13 hours, and 38 minutes.
Most viewers for a music concert live stream
756,000 people watching
BANG BANG CON, their first
online concert on June 14th 2020, during the COVID-19
pandemic.
Fastest music video to reach 10 million views
Their music video "ON", in just
1 hour and 5 minutes, on February 28th, 2020.
Most viewed YouTube music video in 24 hours
With their song "Butter", 108.2 million views. They broke their own record previously set with "Dynamite" (101.1 million views).