BTS: The Most Revolutionary Band Ever Created

When I write non-STEM articles (because despite only seriously venturing in one art form, even I can agree everyone needs a right brain stimulation), I try to examine the topic at hand through an objective opinion. Going into this piece, I’m going to make one thing clear (that you could conclude by reading the article of this title): this is entirely an opinion piece.

Now that that’s out of the way.

There is no deficiency of musical artists. Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Billie Eilish, Ed Sheeran, Kendrick Lamar (one of my personal favorites), Beyonce, Shakira, The Weeknd, and recently Chapel Roan and Sabrina Carpenter have risen to global popularity and dominated charts and playlists worldwide. Their show-stopping lyrics, groundbreaking performance skills, and entertaining personalities combine into a package sure to take the media and listeners by storm. I would add another name to this list of musical hits, a name that deserves to be here despite going through a decade of opposition: BTS.

Bangtan Sonyeondan, a nameful to even try to pronounce. Composed of seven South Korean boys (whom at first I could barely distinguish; not because they look the same but because their styling is deliberately made to be cohesive and uniform), BTS was formed in 2010 and debuted in 2013, but really only reached global stardom in 2020.

You might know them from their funky-pop English hits like Dynamite and Butter. These songs, along with their 230 other songs (which all the members co-write and co-produce) has earned them a stellar discography that’s been recognized globally.

The best-selling musical act in their country’s history, the first Asian act to sell out concerts at Wembley Stadium, a group with numerous American Music Awards, Billboard Music Awards, Golden Disc Awards, and even a Grammy nomination. Dubbed “princes of pop” by Times and appearing on Time’s list of most influential people on the Internet, it might seem like this Korean band got lucky; releasing a few English hits and immediately propelling to the top of American music charts. But, these seven boys didn’t always have it easy. Now, everyone knows them as the seven Korean singers. But when they began their musical journey, they paid people to attend their concerts.

Imagine paying individuals in a foreign country (for BTS, this was the U.S.) -- not knowing around a decade later you would sell out multiple football-sized stadiums -- to attend a single concert. Imagine going through this less than flattering experience, not letting your morale get crushed, and continue to climb your way to the top. This is BTS’ story, and how it all started.

For starters, BTS was so different from their Korean peers. (Now, once I started joining the BTS fandom, I tried experimenting with other Korean media. I watched a couple Korean shows and listened to some more K-Pop songs -- and honestly? I wasn’t a fan. At all. The shows I watched felt scripted and bland, somehow I saw a trend where the quality declined immensely after the first couple episodes, and the music - my goodness the music - as much of a pop fanatic as I am, other K-pop bands had too much pop; it felt like a superficial industry with very few songs I enjoyed. And now, I’m not trying to generalize against the whole Korean entertainment industry, but what I’m trying to say is BTS really stands out against their peers). From the research I’ve done, K-Pop was a brutal industry that one could only stand out in with a decent amount of money, good looks, and a whole lot of luck.

BTS belonged to a small company called BigHit. BigHit was on the brink of bankruptcy. 99% of big artists in the entertainment industry are extremely wealthy, so Bangtan’s journey was rough from the get go. The members had to live in a cramped dorm and perform on small stages. Industry biases and fan biases go hand in hand -- no one wanted anything to do with seven rookies from a no-name agency. (To be honest, the things they’ve gone through because their company wasn’t financially stable can’t even be summarized in a blog post. For those who are interested, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITs1mBph_uM&t=67s is a great summarization of some of the specific hurdles they went through - such as them not getting proper screen time or camera time despite putting hundreds of hours into perfecting their performances because the awards show was biased against them).

But Bangtan’s music was revolutionary from day one. I mentioned the rest of the Korean pop industry felt so fabricated and shallow. It’s probably because a lot of the groups I had listened to sang songs about wealth, popularity, and other shallow emotions (now, I’m a sucker for a good assertive ballad, but the attempted “self-confidence booster” K-pop songs I heard sounded like they fell short of being selected to be background music for H&M).

But BTS not only rocked the assertive bad boy theme, but their songs had a rawness and realness I’ve seen in very few artists globally. BTS’s music resonated with youth by addressing themes like mental health, societal pressures, self-love, and dreams. My favorite album (ever), The Most Beautiful Moment in Life marked a turning point for this band -- the songs nostalgic and raw and composed of a heartbreaking coming-of-youth that I know anyone who has gone through the shift from teenage-hood to adulthood would tear up watching.

2016 however, was truly their year. Bangtan dropped Wings, and of course they were always talented, but this was the year their talent was finally recognized globally. Songs like Blood Sweat and Tears reached one billion views on Youtube, and at this point, BTS had become more than just a Korean band. They had become an emotion, and a symbol of comfort for millions. The following years, they released globally-nominated hit on top of globally-nominated hit. DNA (2017), then Fake Love (2018), then Boy With Love (2019), then Dynamite (2020), and Butter (2021). 

I could rave about BTS' discography and dance practices and rapping and singing talents for hours on end, but what I wanted to draw attention too as I wrap up today’s post is the members.

These seven boys who speak in a language I can’t understand, who have cultures and custom that differ from mine, who were limited to the label of foreign Asian artists for almost a decade, have taught me the practice of hard work. I’ve seen many success stories, but the one that always resonates with me is somehow BTS’, because they’ve managed to remain so humble, kind, down-to-earth, patient, and generous after reaching these formidable heights. I also think it helps that they not only are real on camera (they show their insecurities and shortcomings), and they’re incredibly funny (maybe it’s just me but BTS’ sense of humor is truly unbeatable), but also they work very well together. I mean, I’d be a bit concerned if you still had serious beef with a bandmate you’ve known for almost 15 years now, but the BTS members transcend the labels of co-workers with each other; it feels like watching a friend group or maybe even a family interact when they’re all together.

This is definitely one of my longest blog posts, which is a testament to how much admiration and respect I have for these guys. Of course, I spend more time researching and studying about bioengineering topics, but that is the topic of my blog as a whole and I break down the things I research into bite-sized articles, because I know whatever I don’t fit in today, and I can include in the next blog post. Although I could make a whole other blog about BTS, I wanted to succinctly fit in my admiration for them in just one. Thank you so much for tuning in today - and I hope you enjoyed this opinion piece! It was super fun to write - and was probably the least amount of research I’ve ever had to and every will have to do for a blog post. I’ll catch you guys in the next one!