No one is doing it â or has done it â quite like BTS. In seven years, the South Korean boyband has become the biggest musical act on the planet, dominating the charts in their home country since 2016 and breaking through into the international market in 2017. BTS (or Bangtan Sonyeondan, meaning bulletproof boy scouts in English) were the first K-pop group to be nominated for, and win, a Billboard Music Award; the first to perform on an American award show; the first to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 chart with Love Yourself èœ Tear, which was quickly followed by Love Yourself ç” Answer and Map of the Soul: Persona, making them the first band to have three Number 1 albums in a year since The Beatles.
Advertisement
BTS have set new records, only to then break them themselves. This year the group obliterated YouTube and Spotify records with âDynamite,â their first song to also reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart (more on that later). The septet â comprising Jin, SUGA, j-hope, Jimin, V, Jungkook and their leader RM â have already cemented their place in music history, all before the age of 30. But BTS were not supposed to be a record-breaking, history-making success. When the group debuted in 2013, they were the underdogs of the K-pop industry, having been signed, assembled and trained by the then relatively small label, Big Hit, that had narrowly escaped bankruptcy in the late 2000s. RM was recruited first after Big Hit founder, Bang Si-Hyuk (better known by his nickname Hitman Bang) listened to the then 15-year-oldâs hip-hop demo tape, having been told by producer Pdogg that âthis is what the young kids are into.â BTSâ two other rappers, SUGA and j-hope, were also signed and the three members became the groupâs âmusical pillars,â as described by Bang. Jin, Jimin, V and Jungkook were then recruited to give BTS more of a K-pop idol group structure, becoming the main vocalists. BTSâ origins as a hybrid hip-hop/K-pop group from a small label might have made them industry underdogs, but itâs now considered one of the reasons for their success. K-pop has a reputation of an intense studio culture, with thousands of teenagers auditioning to be selected as trainees who undergo years of rigorous music, dance and personality sculpting. Most wonât make it and the few who do debut as idols, are expected to be nothing less than perfect. Big Hit wanted to form a different kind of idol group, one that was more relatable to young people, that put the music first. Given relatively more freedom than their peers, BTS write and produce their own music. From the get go theyâve addressed subjects considered taboo for idols, singing and rapping about their mental health, societal issues and peer pressures. Listeners related to BTSâ candour and an early loyal fan base, combined with Big Hitâs guerrilla social media marketing, soon exploded into a global fan network called ARMY (an acronym for Adorable Representative M.C. for Youth).
Advertisement
The group never had a âGangnam Styleâ viral hit, instead focusing on whole albums â something rare in western contemporary pop, but much more common in K-pop. âEver since BTSâ debut, theyâve never suddenly switched gears or changed pace. They were consistent,â explains Bang. This consistency â in prioritising albums, live performances and candid lyrics â has allowed BTS to gradually play with their sound, and new listeners to the group might be surprised at how diverse their discography is. While hip-hop has remained at the heart of the groupâs musical sensibilities, youâll also find EDM, moombahton, sentimental ballads, Latin-influenced tracks, effervescent pop and heavy trap beats, while their collaborators have ranged from Nicki Minaj and Steve Aoki to Ed Sheeran and Sia. Knowing where to start with BTS can be daunting as it requires some knowledge of how K-pop works. EPs and mini-albums are often repackaged into a final record with omissions and additions, also recorded in Japanese and, rather than album releases, K-pop discographies are broken into âeras,â often spanning across several records, defined by a specific theme, visual style and choreography.This guide is just the tip of the BTS iceberg; weâre not even going to touch the alternative universe BTS has created with storylines connecting across music videos, short films, books, games, variety shows and a webtoon. But with their new album BE to be released on the 20th of November, thereâs no better time than the present to get acquainted with the biggest band on the planet. In the words of the Bangtan Boys themselves, letâs get itâŠ
Advertisement
So you want to get into⊠emo hip-hop BTS?
Advertisement
These early energetic, youthful bangers still hold up â and, while the group has matured and expanded their musical sensibilities, youâll always find an old-school hip-hop track on a BTS record. The 2017 single âMIC Dropâ is an aggro diss track and on the freestyling âRespectâ, RM and SUGA conversationally mull over the meaning of the word, while the angsty âDionysusâ and âBlack Swanâ are winks to the emo hip-hop that remains at the heart of BTS.Playlist: âNo More Dreamâ / âWe Are Bulletproof Pt.2â / âN.Oâ / âSpine Breakerâ / âWar of Hormoneâ / âBoy In Luvâ / âSilver Spoon (Baepsae)â / âMIC Dropâ / âDionysusâ / âBlack Swanâ / âRespectâBTS wiped off their eyeliner in 2015 as they started incorporating more pop and electronic sounds into their music. The Youth Trilogy era â composed of EPs, The Most Beautiful Moment in Life parts one and two, and a final repacked album, Young Forever â cemented a new maximalist sound for BTS, right as they were really starting to blow up in Korea and overseas. The sentimental, heavy synths of âI Need Uâ and squealing horns of âDopeâ marked a more sonically mature direction for the group. Graduating from rebellious school kids, The Youth Trilogy dives into themes of doubt, loss and nostalgia as the seven members teeter on the precipice of adulthood. âSave Me,â which uses a tick-tock motif to imbue drama, is one of the bandâs most satisfying songs, while listening to âBurning Up (Fire)â is a lot like sticking your head out a speeding carâs window.
So you want to get into⊠EDM BTS?
Advertisement
BTSâ next era Wings is a continuation of their EDM-infused hip-hop, as the group begin leaning more heavily on catchy pop hooks, like on the brooding âBlood Sweat and Tearsâ. But itâs in the Love Yourself era, beginning in 2018, where youâll find the group really embracing EDM. âSo Whatâ and âIâm Fineâ are big fuck it Ibiza party anthems, while âDNA,â âIDOLâ and the aforementioned âMIC Dropâ remix are so energetic, they should come with a whiplash warning. It was at this time that BTS started appearing on every award and talk show in America and itâs most likely these frenzied electro-pop bangers that come to mind when you think of K-pop. Playlist: âI Need Uâ / âDopeâ / âSave Meâ / âBurning Up (Fire)â / âBlood Sweat Tearsâ / âIâm Fineâ / âSo Whatâ / âDNAâ / âIDOLâ / âMIC Drop (Steve Aoki Remix)âBTS is divided into two units: the vocal line (Jin, Jimin, V and Jungkook), and the rap line (RM, SUGA and j-hope). As BTS expanded beyond hip-hop, the vocalists were given space to come into their own, often the emotional powerhouse behind tracks. On the breathy ballad, âButterfly,â the singers fear a love will flutter away, while the yearning, textured âSpring Dayâ â often interpreted by fans as a dedication to the Sewol ferry disasterâs victims â has already become a boyband classic. BTS have always put an emphasis on teamwork, and their song structures â as perfectly choreographed as their dance moves â testify to this. On the emo rock ballad âFAKE LOVEâ the vocalists jump off each otherâs lines, building to a crescendo released by Jinâs vocals on the despairing chorus. Also on Love Yourself èœ Tear is the âThe Truth Untold,â a second, more subdued collaboration with Steve Aoki that sees the four singers nimbly weaving in and out of each otherâs verses, while the sensual, jazzy opening number âIntro: Singularityâ is one of Vâs best vocal performances. On the repackaged Love Yourself ç” Answer, Jungkookâs falsetto tone gives âEuphoriaâ its romantic edge, while Jiminâs voice swoons over synths on his solo track âSerendipityâ.
So you want to get into⊠ballad-belting vocal line BTS?
Advertisement
More recently, MOS: 7, sees the vocal line stretching themselves to perform chameleonic shifts in style. On the moody âLouder than bombs,â co-written by Troye Sivan, the vocal lineâs high-pitched, straining choruses compliment the rappersâ distorted, deep tones, while the dreamy â00:00 (Zero OâClock)â offers an antidote to âdays when youâre sad for no reasonâ as the vocal lines remind each other âyouâre going to be happy.â The albumâs climax comes with the cinematic âWe Are Bulletproof: the Eternal,â a reference to âWe Are Bulletproof Pt.2â from their debut record. Starting as seven bulletproof boys with ânothing but dreams,â they embrace that BTS no longer belongs to just them as Jungkook whisper sings, âWe are not just seven with you.â Playlist: âSpring Dayâ / âButterflyâ / âFAKE LOVEâ / âThe Truth Untoldâ / âIntro: Singularityâ / âEuphoriaâ / âSerendipityâ / âLouder Than Bombsâ / â00:00 (Zero OâClock)â / âWe Are Bulletproof: the EternalâBTS caught a lot of shit when they debuted as a hip-hop K-pop group. In a now-infamous public encounter with the South Korean rapper B-Free in 2013, RM and SUGA were dismissed as idols playing dress up with hip-hop. âI hoped underground and [mainstream] could link,â rebuted SUGA. Through their work in BTS, as well as solo mixtapes, RM, SUGA and j-hope have proved themselves to be part of a new generation of K-pop idols to be taken seriously as rappers. Their Cypher series, spanning several early albums, are diss tracks to their critics, as well as showcases for the rappersâ technical prowess. âWhether you call me wack or fake. Whatever it is. Iâm a new standard to K-pop,â is spat out over a trap beat on âCypher Pt.3: Killer.â Letâs also take a moment to pour one out for âDdaeng,â which features some of the rappersâ most creative wordplay over melodic East Asian instruments, and didnât get an official release beyond Soundcloud.The rap lineâs tracks are also where youâll find BTS at their most emotionally raw. Rapping over a swelling orchestra, SUGA delves into his past on âFirst Loveâ, while a foreboding piano opens âOutro: Tearâ, written when the group were considering breaking up in 2018. The rappers take turns tearing through the grandiose beat, leaving each other bruised: âWe used to talk about forever / Now we break each other without mercy.â
So you want to get into⊠fiery rap line BTS?
Advertisement
The rap line have always anchored BTSâ records, but on MOS: 7 they are, in the words of Hitman Bang, âits pillarsâ. Drawing on Carl Jungâs theories of the self, each rapper samples their own work, looking back to BTSâ beginnings with seven years of hindsight. âOne day, we woke up and we were like, âWhere are we?â RM explained about why they sampled old songs. âWhen you donât know where to go, I think the best way is to walk down the road you have been walking on.â Opening MOS: 7, RMâs âIntro : Personaâ is an analysis of his public mask as he asks himself, âHave you already forgotten why you started this?,â while j-hopeâs funky, 80s-inspired âOutro : Egoâ closes the record with catharsis: âThe seven years of anguish are finally being confessed / The pressures, all being eased.âSUGAâs emo-rap track âInterlude : Shadowâ is one of the darkest moments on the record as he weighs up whether the successes have been worth the losses. Floating high, buoyed by fame, he raps between gasps: âNobody told me how lonely it is up here.â The three rappers come back together on âUGH!â â a barnstormer that recalls the fire of their Cyphers, but also takes aim at a âworld taken over by rageâ as a barrage of gunshots go off. Playlist: âBTS Cypher Pt.3: Killerâ / âBTS Cypher 4â / âFirst Loveâ / âOutro: Tearâ / âIntro : Personaâ / âUGH!â / âInterlude: Shadowâ / âOutro: EgoâIn 2017, BTS released Love Yourself æż Her â a dreamy record about young men falling in love. Soft pastel styling and Skittle hair colours shepherded in the Love Yourself era, in which BTS embrace pop, often through a shimmering R&B lens. The disco-inspired âTrivia èœ: Seesawâ is a surprising pop turn from SUGA, while âPied Piperâ is a playful roast of fans who are ignoring real life for BTS. âNow stop watching and study for your test,â RM chides over gorgeous synths. Self-acceptance and self-love were adopted as a mantra for BTS, with âlove yourselfâ becoming the name of their UNICEF campaign and the crux of their UN speech.
So you want to get into⊠shot of serotonin, pure pop BTS?
Advertisement
The majority of BTSâ pop songs are dedications to their fans. On Love Yourself èœ Tear, the tropical beat driven âParadiseâ and falsetto steered âMagic Shop,â are about creating a home for ARMY, while Map of the Soul: Personaâs sugary, sensitive âBoy With Luvâ is a winking reference to the much angstier âBoy In Luvâ from the School Trilogy era. Similarly charismatic is âHOMEâ, a catchy R&B track about how fans have become a refuge for the group.On MOS: 7, Jimin moves into sultry Latin-pop with âFilter,â while Jinâs solo track is the bouncy, foot-tapping âMoonâ. Both are sophisticated odes to fans with a sharp introspective edge: Jin is a lonely satellite orbiting ARMY with a âsea all blackâ, while Jimin asks, âWhich me do you want? / To change your world, Iâm your filter.â Then thereâs their latest single âDynamiteâ, an English-language summer bop that finally got BTS their much coveted top spot on the Billboard Hot 100. Ironically, the track is perhaps the least BTS-esque song the band has ever released. Unlike their discography, neither BTS or Big Hit had much of a hand in the making of âDynamiteâ, and its nonsensical, vaguely Americana lyrics â âShoes on, get up in the morn, cup of milk, letâs rock and rollâ â make that clear. âDynamiteâ is joyous retro pop but, most importantly for the US radio stations that have previously refused to play BTSâ Korean-language music, itâs âradio-friendly.â Itâs bittersweet that âDynamiteâ is the groupâs biggest break into mainstream radio play (hey, thatâs xenophobia for you) but the song acts as a Trojan horse for new listeners who, if theyâre willing to dig a little deeper, will find a sprawling smorgasbord of hits.Playlist: âPied Piperâ / âParadiseâ / âTrivia èœ: Seesawâ / âMagic Shopâ / âHOMEâ / âBoy With Luv (feat. Halsey)â / âFilterâ / âMoonâ / âDynamiteâ@johnnys_panicBE will be released on the 20th November by Big Hit Entertainment. Song lyric translations come from Genius English Translations and doyoubangtan.