BTS

BTS

### Labels

Big Hit Entertainment(South Korea, 2013–present)Pony Canyon(Japan, 2014–2017)Def Jam Japan(Japan, 2017–present)Columbia Records(US, 2018–present)

### Members

RM,Jin,Suga,J-hope,Jimin,V,Jungkook

**BTS** (Hangul: 방탄소년단; RR: Bangtan Sonyeondan), also known as the **Bangtan Boys**, is a seven-member South Korean boy band formed in Seoul in 2013. The name became a backronym for **Beyond the Scene** in July 2017. The septet co-writes and produces much of their output. Initially rooted in hip hop, BTS' musical style has evolved to include a wide range of genres. Their lyrics, often focused on personal and social commentary, touch on the themes of mental health, troubles of school-age youth, loss, the journey towards loving oneself, and individualism. Their work features references to literature and psychological concepts and includes an alternative universe storyline. Popular for their live performances, the group has staged several world tours.

The group initially formed as teenagers under Big Hit Entertainment and released their debut single album, *2 Cool 4 Skool* (2013). Subsequent work such as their first U.S. *Billboard* 200 entries *The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 2* (2015), *The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: Young Forever* (2016), and *Wings*(2016) helped establish BTS' reputation as a socially conscious group. *Wings* became BTS' first album to sell one million copies in South Korea. By 2017, BTS crossed into the international music market, leading the Korean Wave into the United States and breaking numerous sales records, becoming the first Korean group to receive a certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) with their single "Mic Drop." The band is the first and only Korean act as of 2019 to top the U.S. *Billboard* 200 with their studio album *Love Yourself: Tear* (2018) and have since hit the top of the U.S. charts with their albums *Love Yourself: Answer* (2018) and *Map of the Soul: Persona* (2019), making BTS the first group since The Beatles to earn three number one albums in less than a year. *Love Yourself: Answer* also broke South Korea's Gaon Album Chart's all-time monthly record previously set by *Love Yourself: Tear* and became the first Korean album certified Gold in the United States.

In 2018, BTS had the second and third best-selling albums worldwide and were the second best-selling artists worldwide. In 2019, *Map of the Soul: Persona*became the best-selling album in Korean history, and BTS became the best-selling artist in South Korea of all time, having sold over fourteen million albums. The group won Top Social Artist three years in a row and Top Duo/Group at the 26th *Billboard* Music Awards. *Time* magazine has named the band one of the 25 most influential people on the internet, featured them on their international cover as "Next Generation Leaders," and named them one of *Time* 100's most influential people of 2019. *Forbes* Korea Power Celebrity has named BTS the most influential celebrities of Korea in 2018. BTS are worth more than $4.65 billion to South Korea's economy each year, attracting one in every 13 foreign tourists that visit the country, and are cited as one of the key acts boosting global music sales to $19 billion in 2018, a figure not seen since 2006 after digital purchases gained momentum.

Following their philanthropic efforts in their Love Myself anti-violence campaign in partnership with UNICEF, BTS addressed the United Nations 73rd General Assembly and became the youngest ever recipients of the Order of Cultural Merit from the President of South Korea due to their contributions in spreading Korean culture and language. And BTS, along with LINE Friends Corporation, founded BT21.

## Name

The group's name, BTS, is an acronym for the Korean expression Bangtan Sonyeondan (Hangul: 방탄소년단; Hanja: 防彈少年團), literally meaning "Bulletproof Boy Scouts". The name was conceptualized with the thought that BTS would block out stereotypes, criticisms, and expectations that aim on adolescents like bullets and protect the values and ideals of today’s adolescents In Japan, they are known as Bōdan Shōnendan (防弾少年団), which translates similarly.[6] In July 2017, BTS announced that in addition to being known as Bangtan Sonyeondan or Bulletproof Boy Scouts, the acronym would also stand for "Beyond The Scene" as part of their new brand identity. This extended their name to mean "growing youth BTS who is going beyond the realities they are facing, and going forward."

## History

### 2010–2012: Pre-debut

BTS' first members were recruited through Big Hit's "Hit it" auditions in 2010 and 2011. The original lineup went through several changes before the final group of members was established in 2012. Half a year prior to debut, the members began building their name and creating a relationship with fans through Twitter, video blogs, fancafe posts, and by releasing various song covers via YouTube and SoundCloud.

Before debuting in 2013, RM was already performing as an underground rapper and had released several tracks informally, including a collaboration with Zico. Jin had been a student at Konkuk University, majoring in acting, before being streetcast for auditions, while Suga was an underground rapper in Daegu. J-Hope, who was part of a street dance team named NEURON, was active in the underground dancing scene, participating in various battles and competitions. Before joining Big Hit, Jimin entered Busan High School of Arts as the top student in modern dance, but later transferred to Korea Arts High School with V, who auditioned in Daegu. Jungkook was cast by multiple agencies after leaving auditions for Superstar K, but eventually chose Big Hit after seeing Rap Monster's rap.

### **2013–2014: Debut and moderate success**

The group's debut single album 2 Cool 4 Skool, the first installment in their "school trilogy" series, was released simultaneously with its lead single "No More Dream" on June 12, 2013. While the album peaked at number five on the Gaon Album Chart and sold over 105,000 copies, "No More Dream" and the subsequent single "We Are Bulletproof Pt.2" were not major hits. Expanding their endeavors into Japan, "No More Dream" was later re-recorded in Japanese and released on June 4, 2014.

The second part to the "school trilogy" was the extended play O!RUL8,2?, released on September 11, 2013, which sold over 120,000 copies to date and peaked at number four. Its supporting singles "N.O" and "Attack on Bangtan" (Korean: 진격의 방탄; Revised Romanization: Jingyeogui Bangtan) failed to chart high. That same month, BTS starred in their own variety show, SBS-MTV's Rookie King Channel Bangtan, based on a fake broadcast station, "Channel Bangtan", through which members parodied variety shows such as VJ Special Forces and MasterChef Korea. At the end of the year, BTS was recognized with several New Artist of the Year awards, including the 2013 Melon Music Awards and Golden Disc Awards and the 2014 Seoul Music Awards.

The last act to their "school trilogy", Skool Luv Affair (2014) topped the Gaon Chart and sold over 200,000 copies. It also peaked at number three on Billboard's World Albums Chart. The album was supported by the singles "Boy in Luv" (Korean: 상남자; RR: Sang-namja) and "Just One Day" (Korean: 하루만; RR: Haruman). That June, BTS participated as judges for a K-pop cover dance competition in the Bridge to Korea festival in Russia, an event that aimed to promote tourism between the two countries, where they also performed on stage. In August, the group also attended KCON in Los Angeles. That same month, they released their first Korean studio album, Dark & Wild, which peaked at number two on the Gaon Chart and sold over 200,000 copies. It was supported by two singles: "Danger" and "War of Hormone" (Korean: 호르몬 전쟁, RR: Horeumon Jeonjaeng).

Their Japanese studio album, Wake Up (2014), released that December, peaking at number three on the weekly Oricon Albums Chart and selling 25,000 copies. Along with re-recorded Japanese versions of older songs, it also contained the original tracks "Wake Up" and "The Stars". Their first concert tour, 2014 BTS Live Trilogy Episode II: The Red Bullet, was held from October to December.

### 2015–2016: Mainstream breakthrough and commercial success

At the beginning of 2015, BTS toured Japan for the first time with their BTS's First Japan Tour-Wake Up: Open Your Eyes. They also held their second solo concert in Korea, BTS Live Trilogy – Episode 1: BTS Begins. Their third EP, The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 1 (2015), was released that March and was the only Korean album to be included in Fuse's list of the "27 Best Albums of 2015 So Far" that year. The lead single "I Need U" was a top five hit on the weekly Gaon Digital Chart in South Korea and garnered BTS their first ever music show win on SBS MTV's The Show. Although the second single, "Dope (Korean: 쩔어; RR: Jjeoreo)", peaked at number 44 on the weekly Gaon Digital Chart, its music video became BTS' first to accrue over 100 million views on YouTube in October. "Dope" later peaked at number three on Billboard's World Digital Songs Chart. The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 1 have sold over 300,000 copies to date.

On March 17, 2015, the group's leader RM (then known as Rap Monster) released his first solo mixtape, the eponymous RM, for free on the streaming service SoundCloud. The mixtape was ranked 48th on the "50 Best Hip Hop Albums of 2015" list published by Spin Magazine.

BTS' fourth Japanese single, "For You", was released that June to celebrate the first anniversary of their Japanese debut. The single topped Oricon's daily chart, selling over 42,000 copies within its first day. They also commenced their 2015 Live Trilogy Episode: The Red Bullet world tour, and participated in the Summer Sonic Festival tour in Japan.

On August 16, 2016, Suga released his first solo mixtape titled Agust D for free on SoundCloud. The mixtape was listed among the "Top 20 Mixtapes of the Year" by Fuse TV.

During their three-day The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: On Stage tour, the group performed the new song "Run", the lead single for the EP The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 2 later released on November 30, 2015. The album topped the weekly Gaon Album and Billboard World Albums charts and remained atop the latter for multiple weeks, making BTS the first K-pop act to achieve that feat. It also peaked at number 171 on the Billboard 200 Chart with over 5,000 copies. At the 2015 Mnet Asian Music Awards, they received the Best World Performer in recognition of their international fanbase.

The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 1 and Part 2 were later combined into the The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: Young Forever (2016) edition, and was supported by three singles: the top 40 hit "Epilogue: Young Forever", the top 10 hit "Fire" (Korean: 불타오르네; RR: Bultaoreune), and the top 20 hit "Save Me". A two-day concert at the Olympic Gymnastics Arena in Seoul was held in May to support the album, followed by their Asia tour. The group also headlined both US KCON shows held that year in New Jersey (June) and Los Angeles (July), to sold out audiences. Young Forever later won Album of the Year at the year-end Melon Music Awards, becoming the group's first major grand prize (daesang).

On September 7, 2016, BTS released their second Japanese studio album Youth, selling over 44,000 copies on its first day of release and ranking number one in Japan. Japanese editions of "I Need U" and "Run" were released as singles.[11] Meanwhile, back in their home country, pre-orders for the group's second Korean studio album, Wings, released that October, accumulated over 500,000 copies within the first week. The lead single "Blood Sweat & Tears" achieved an "all-kill" in South Korea, becoming their first number one hit on the weekly Gaon Digital Chart.[12] Its music video gained over 6 million views within 24 hours, breaking the previous record held on YouTube for the highest number of views of a K-pop group music video within 24 hours. They later won Artist of the Year at the 2016 Mnet Asian Music Awards, becoming the first artist not from a "Big Three" entertainment company (SM, YG and JYP) to do so.

### 2017: You Never Walk Alone, Love Yourself: Her, and international recognition

In early 2017, BTS embarked on their BTS Live Trilogy Episode III: The Wings Tour. That February, pre-orders for the repackaged edition of Wings, entitled You Never Walk Alone, reached over 700,000 copies.[14] The lead single "Spring Day" (Korean: 봄날; RR: Bomnal) topped eight of the major South Korean online music charts, as well as Gaon, and crashed Melon's digital chart due to the high influx of user traffic. It also entered the US Billboard's Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart at number 15 with "zero promotions".

On July 5, 2017, Big Hit Entertainment and BTS revealed a new logo for the band in a video released on the official YouTube channel. This video was accompanied by the announcement that in addition to being known as Bangtan Sonyeondan or Bulletproof Boy Scouts, their acronym would also stand for "Beyond The Scene" as part of their new brand identity.[15] Also they gave A.R.M.Y (their fandom) a logo, which looks opposite to theirs.

Their fifth EP, Love Yourself: Her (2017), was released that September and featured music from The Chainsmokers' Andrew Taggart for the track "Best of Me". The lead single "DNA" peaked at number two on the weekly Gaon Chart,[16] while its music video reached over 20 million views on YouTube, breaking the record for most viewed K-pop group music video within the first 24 hours. "DNA" also became the group's first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 85, making BTS the first K-pop boy band to do so and the second Korean act with a Korean-language song. When "DNA" rose to number 67, it became the highest-charting song on the Billboard Hot 100 for a K-pop group, beating Wonder Girls' previous record at number 76. A remix for their song, "MIC Drop", by Steve Aoki and Desiigner was released as the second single, peaking at number 23 in South Korea and number 28 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the first top 40 entry for a K-pop group on the chart.[17] "DNA" and "MIC Drop" were later released as a triple-A side single in Japan with the new song "Crystal Snow” which topped the Oricon Chart, becoming the highest-selling single from a K-pop artist within a week, and making BTS the first foreign artist to achieve this.

In November 2017, the group became the first K-pop group to perform at the American Music Awards.[19] Following the performance, Guinness World Records announced that BTS will be included their 2018 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records for having the world's most Twitter engagements and specifically for most Twitter engagements by a music group.[20] BTS was also named by Twitter to be the most tweeted-about artist of 2017, and ranked 1st worldwide in yearly social media engagements with 502 million likes and retweets.

They won their second Artist of the Year at the 2017 Mnet Asian Music Awards, becoming the first act to win the award two years in a row. "Spring Day" later won Best Song of the Year at the Melon Music Awards. That December, they performed on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve to welcome the new year, making them the first K-pop group to be part of the show's lineup. They also made their Japanese TV music show debut on TV Asahi's Japan Music Station Super Live on December 22.

On December 12, BTS was represented on six of the Billboard "Year End" Charts. The group ranked No. 1 on the "World Albums Artists" chart, No. 2 on the "World Albums" chart, No. 1 on the "Social 50 Artists" chart, No. 2 on the "Top Artists – Duo/Group" chart, and No. 32 on the "Independent Albums" chart. They also ranked as No. 10 on the "Top Artists" chart and are the only K-pop artists to have made the list.

### 2018: Hope World, album certification, and international accolades

In January 2018, the Recording Industry Association of Japan announced BTS' first ever Double Platinum certification for their "MIC Drop/DNA/Crystal Snow" single, the only single album by a foreign artist in 2017 to sell over 500,000 copies and receive certification on the Oricon chart for that year. Later that month, BTS became the first artist outside of the "Big Three" to win both Grand Prize Daesang awards at the Golden Disc Awards and the Seoul Music Awards respectively. In February, both the "MIC Drop" and "DNA" singles were certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America, making BTS the first Korean act, and the only K-pop artist ever, to receive this.

On February 8, Big Hit won the award for its new Brand Identity (BI) with BTS' logo under the Corporate Identity/Branding category within Communication Design at this year's award presentation, illustrating BTS' worldwide influence.

On February 11, sales for Love Yourself: Her surpassed 1.58 million, the highest sales recorded for an album in Gaon Chart history.

Suga's mixtape, Agust D, was released unannounced on Spotify and iTunes worldwide for the first time on February 22, over 2 years since its original release. Within 24 hours, the album reached No. 1 on the worldwide iTunes charts and the iTunes Pop Charts. The following week, the album debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard World Albums chart dated March 3, 2018.

On March 2, 2018, J-Hope released his first solo mixtape titled Hope World for free download on Google Drive, streaming on Spotify and SoundCloud, and for purchase on iTunes. The accompanying music video for the title track, "Daydream", reached 1 million likes in 1 hour 43 minutes, making it the fastest Korean video to reach the benchmark. With 73 No. 1 spots on the iTunes chart worldwide by the end of its first day, Hope World tied with the previous BTS release, Love Yourself: Her, for the most No. 1 spots held by a Korean album on iTunes within the first 24 hours. As of March 5, the album remained at No. 1 on the iTunes Worldwide Charts, marking 5 days at No. 1 and breaking the record for the longest-charting Korean album at No. 1 on the chart previously held by Love Yourself: Her. The album debuted at No. 63 on the Billboard 200 Chart, making J-Hope the highest-charting solo K-pop act in Billboard 200 history. J-Hope also debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard Emerging Artists chart, where fellow band mates RM and Suga (as Agust D) both previously peaked at No. 46.

The music video for "DNA" reached 300 million views on March 6, 2018, making it only one of 3 K-pop videos to reach the benchmark and the fastest video to do so to date. The video reached 300 million views in 5 months and 16 days, breaking the previous record of 13 months and 28 days by "TT" by TWICE.

On March 11, BTS won both the "Best Fan Army" and "Best Boy Band" awards at the 2018 iHeartRadio Awards held in California, although the group declined to attend the event due to a busy schedule as they prepare for their upcoming album release later this year.[31]

An original documentary series, entitled *Burn the Stage*, that offers a behind-the-scenes look at the group's 2017 Wings Tour was officially announced on March 13. Consisting of eight episodes, it will premiere exclusively on YouTube Red and run from March 28 to May 9.

On April 4, 2018, their third Japanese studio album Face Yourself was released. Face Yourself topped the Japanese Oricon Weekly Album Chart for the week of April 2, with 282,000 copies. According to Japan's Oricon Chart on April 12, BTS' 3rd Japanese album sold 282,000 copies in the first week (April 2-April 8). This breaks the record by KARA, who sold 275,000 copies of their Japanese album 'Super Girl' in the first week of November 2011.[32]

On April 5, 2018 at midnight KST, Big Hit released a video titled “Euphoria: Theme of LOVE YOURSELF 起 Wonder”, on their official YouTube channel. The clip appears to dub the band’s upcoming album, for the 'Love Yourself' series, a follow-up to last year’s record-breaking EP Love Yourself: Her, it is believed to mark the beginning of a new era for the group, following the trend of previous BTS comebacks, though Big Hit Entertainment denies such claims.

The group later announced their third Korean-language LP, Love Yourself: Tear, on April 14, along with its May 18 release date.

On April 17, BTS was nominated again for Top Social Artist at the 2018 Billboard Music Awards, making them the first and only Korean artist to be nominated two years in a row.[35] The following week, they were announced as performers at the show where they will premiere their new comeback single.

BTS has set a new record for stock pre-orders for their upcoming album “Love Yourself: Tear.” According to iriver, the company handling the distribution of BTS’s new album, “Love Yourself: Tear” has reached a total of 1,449,287 stock pre-orders as of April 24. This is the total number of stock pre-orders made by wholesale dealers and retailers in Korea, and does not include stock pre-orders made by international retailers.

Their 2018 world tour, titled "BTS World Tour: Love Yourself", was officially announced on April 26 and is set to begin on August 25 in Seoul.

On May 1, 2018, Variety reported that BTS would be returning to The Ellen DeGeneres Show, performing a new song from Love Yourself: Tear titled "FAKE LOVE".[41]

BTS released a video titled "LOVE YOURSELF Tear 'Singularity' Comeback Trailer" on May 6 at midnight KST in advance of the release Love Yourself: Tear on May 18. The video features V as the solo vocalist for the track, his second solo track for the group and first as an album intro track singer. Within one hour and 29 minutes of its release, the music video reached 1 million likes on YouTube, making it the fastest BTS video to reach this milestone. Having surpassed the record of 8 hours set by "DNA", this also made "Singularity" the fastest music video ever to reach 1 million likes. Following the release of the "Singularity" video, BTS' choreographer Son Sung Deuk declared V to be a member of the "Dance Line" on his Instagram account, placing V alongside Jungkook and Jimin as the groups' Main Dancers under J-Hope as the Lead Dancer.

Love Yourself: Tear was released worldwide on Friday, May 18 on all streaming and download services.The music video for the title track, FAKE LOVE, was released simultaneously and broke the world record for the fastest music video to reach 1 million likes by reaching the milestone in just 39 minutes. This broke the previous record of 1 hour and 29 minutes previously set by their song Intro: Singularity.

On May 21 at 12:30 a.m. KST, “Fake Love” achieved a perfect all-kill on iChart, the group’s first. A perfect all-kill (PAK) means that the song is in first place on the six major realtime and daily charts (Melon, Genie, Bugs, Mnet, Naver, and Soribada), as well as first place on the realtime and weekly charts for Instiz’s iChart.[42]

On May 20, BTS was awarded the Top Social Artist Award at the 2018 Billboard Awards in Las Vegas, having captured 94% of the overall fan vote.

On May 27, BTS became the first K-pop act in charts history to top the Billboard 200 as the group's Love Yourself: Tear opened at Number One. The album sold 135,000 album-equivalent units (including 100,000 pure album sales), becoming BTS' highest-charting and first number one album in the US, the first K-pop album to top the US albums chart, and the highest-charting album by an Asian act. "FAKE LOVE" peaked at number ten on the Billboard Hot 100 that same week, becoming the band's highest reaching song on the chart as well as their first in the top ten. Overall, "Fake Love" is the seventeenth non-English song to reach the top ten and the first for a K-Pop group. The single also debuted at number seven on Billboard’s Streaming Songs chart with 27.4 million streams earned in the week ending May 24, giving BTS its first top ten on the chart and making “Fake Love” the first K-pop song to land on top ten since Psy’s “Hangover” feat. Snoop Dogg in 2014. Love Yourself: Tear also reached number eight on the UK Albums Chart, marking the group's first top ten album in the country.

On July 17, the group announced the release of their second compilation album Love Yourself: Answer for August 24, 2018, with seven new tracks added to the release.[45] Their 2018 world tour, titled BTS World Tour: Love Yourself, began the following day in Seoul. For the final stop of the North American leg, the band will perform at Citi Field, marking the first time a Korean act has performed at a U.S. stadium. All 40,000 tickets for the stadium date were later confirmed by Big Hit Entertainment to have sold out in under 20 minutes.[46] On August 24, 2018, the album was released, along with the music video for "IDOL" and an alternative version of the track featuring Nicki Minaj.[47] Debuting at number one on the US Billboard 200, the album became BTS' second number-one album—their second of 2018—and their highest sales week in the country to date. It earned 185,000 album-equivalent units, which comprises 141,000 in pure album sales, 25,000 SEA units (39.01 million on-demand audio streams of the album's songs) and 19,000 TEA units.[48] Making BTS the only K-pop act with two Billboard 200 toppers and the first pop act with two number one albums in less than a year since One Direction topped the chart with Four in 2014, which followed their 2013 album Midnight Memories. In Canada, "Love Yourself: Answer" became the band's first number-one album on the Canadian Albums Chart, earning over 10,000 consumption units. The single from the album, "IDOL", reached number five on the Canadian Singles Chart, marking BTS' first top-ten hit in Canada.[49]

On September 19, BTS was invited to attend the 73rd Session of the United Nations General Assembly. According to UN sources, BTS will be attending the launch of UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund)’s “Generation Unlimited” partnership that will take place on September 24 at 12 p.m. local time at the UN Headquarters in New York, a day before the general debate will begin. “Generation Unlimited” is a new global partnership that is “dedicated to increasing opportunities and investments for children and young people aged 10 to 24.” BTS is said to have been noted by the United Nations for their UNICEF campaign called “Love Myself,” which launched in October 2017 and has raised over 1 million dollars as of June 2018. A UN diplomat expressed how exceptional it is for a K-pop artist to be invited to attend one of UN General Assembly’s regular sessions. Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres, UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta H. Fore, South Korean First Lady Kim Jung Sook, and several others are expected to attend. [50]

On October 14, 2018 they performed at the Korea-France Friendship Concert in Paris, a summit meant to show the friendly relations between France and South Korea. Around 400 officials attended the meeting, including South Korean pPesident Moon Jae-in.

On October 18, Big Hit Entertainment sent an email to its company employees and stakeholders announcing that BTS had renewed their contract with the agency. According to the email, the renewed contract is 7 years in length.[51]

On October 20, RM announced via BTS' twitter to announce the release date for his second mixtape titled mono with the tracklist and a message "RM's playlist 'mono.' 10/23". RM describes mono as a playlist, though some publications have referred to it as a "mixtape". On October 21, 2018, rapper RM released mono on digital and streaming platforms for free alongside a music video for its final track "Forever Rain". The playlist includes lyric videos for its second and third track, "Seoul" and "Moonchild", respectively. Mono debuted at number 1 on the global iTunes Top Albums chart, and later peaked at number 1 in 88 countries.

Crossing over to film, Burn The Stage: The Movie was released in theaters worldwide on November 15, 2018. In the United States it accumulated $1.2 million on opening day for a total of $3.54 million over the three day weekend, breaking the record for fighest grossing event cinema musical production which was previously set in 2014 by the band One Direction. It ranked at number ten in the box office despite selling at only 620 locations compared to the 2,000-4,000 locations for the other top ten sellers.

On November 9, 2018 "Love Yourself: Answer" became the first Korean album to be certified Gold (500,000+ units), and BTS became the first Korean group to get a Platinum (1,000,000+ units) certification with the single "MIC Drop" in the United States.

On November 6, 2018, BTS won eleven awards at the MBC Plus X Genie Music Awards, including Album of the Year and Artist of the Year. On November 29, 2018, BTS won the grand prize ("daesang") at the 3rd Asia Artist Awards. On December 1st, 2018, BTS won a total of seven awards at the 2018 Melon Music Awards, including Album of the Year with Love Yourself: Tear, and Artist of the Year. On December 14, 2018, BTS won ten awards at the Mnet Asian Music Awards, including Album of the Year and Artist of the Year. This marked their third year in a row winning the Artist of the Year award.

According to StubHub BTS was one of 2018's best selling concerts in the world, second to only Ed Sheeran.

In December 2018, Billboard reported that BTS ranked #8 in their year-end Top Artist Chart, alongside the likes of Drake and Taylor Swift. They were also the No. 2 act of the year in the Duo/Group ranking, only behind Imagine Dragons. In the same month they made the Bloomberg 50, citing their willingness to address social issues, mental health, and politics despite being in a genre that can be painted as bubble gum pop.

In December 2018, it was announced that Love Yourself: Tear had been nominated for a Grammy Award for 'Best Recording Package'.[52]

### 2019: Map of the Soul: Persona, stadium world tour, BTS World, and Period of Rest

In February 2019, BTS attended the 61st Grammy Awards as award presenters. It was their first time attending the event following an appearance by the group at the LA Grammy Museum in 2018. In April, BTS became the first Asian act to surpass 5 billion streams on Spotify, and Time named BTS as one of Time 100's most influential people of 2019.

Their sixth EP, Map of the Soul: Persona, was released on April 12 with the lead single "Boy With Luv" (Korean: 작은 것들을 위한 시; RR: Jageun geotdeureul wihan si), featuring American singer Halsey. The EP's release was followed by a performance on Saturday Night Live, as the first Korean act to do so. The group's appearance was anticipated as one of the biggest in the show's history. Commercially, BTS reached new career heights. Map of the Soul: Persona became the first Korean-language album to reach the number one position in both the UK and Australia and the group's third consecutive album to top the Billboard 200 and the third within eleven months, joining the likes of The Beatles, who achieved the same in 1995–96. The EP became the best selling physical album in the USA for the year of 2019, with 312,000 physical sales. Map of the Soul: Persona later became the best-selling album ever in South Korea, with more than 3.2 million sales in less than a month. Prior to BTS, the best-selling were dominated by late 90's albums, making BTS the only act formed after 2000 to be featured in the top 10 best-selling list.

"Boy With Luv" debuted at number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100, the highest in history for a Korean group, and its music video became the most-viewed online video within the first 24 hours as of 2019, accumulating more than 74.6 million views. "Boy With Luv" was certified in multiple countries, including in Australia where "Boy With Luv" was certified Gold, selling 35,000 units, and certified Platinum in the US by the Recording Industry Association of America, selling over one million units. Map of the Soul: Persona also attained Silver in the UK, selling over 60,000 units.

In May 2019, following their two wins at the 26th Billboard Music Awards, including a win for Top Duo/Group, BTS embarked on their stadium world tour extension, Love Yourself: Speak Yourself, with dates in multiple stadium venues including Wembley Stadium, Stade de France, MetLife Stadium, Rose Bowl, and Soldier Field. All dates sold out within two hours with second dates for all venues added due to the high demand. During the tour, BTS performed on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and kicked off Good Morning America's 'Summer Concert Series' as headliners at Central Park in Manhattan. They also performed on the finale episode of The Voice and one of the semi-finals of Britain's Got Talent.

In the lead up to the release of their new mobile game BTS World set for June 2019, BTS released three collaboration singles, "Dream Glow" featuring English singer Charli XCX, "A Brand New Day" with Swedish singer Zara Larsson, and "All Night" featuring American rapper Juice Wrld. The band also released the song "Heartbeat" with a music video from the game's official soundtrack, titled BTS World: Original Soundtrack. Developed by South Korean company Netmarble, the game was released on June 26 to iOS and Android systems in over 175 countries. BTS tenth Japanese single, and fourth original Japanese song overall, "Lights", was released on July 3. Pre-orders for the double A-side single surpassed 1 million copies, breaking a 24 year old record for foreign artists previously held only by Celine Dion with her 1995 single "To Love You More". This marked the first time a Korean artist achieved a million shipment for a single in Japan.

In August 2019, Love Yourself: Her and Love Yourself: Tear reached 2 million copies in South Korea, making all three albums of the Love Yourself series to sold more than 2 million copies in South Korea. Not just the sales records, Love Yourself: Tear is awarded the "Double Million" certification by Korea Music Content Association after Love Yourself: Answer awarded in October 2018, Love Yourself: Her surpassing its successor Love Yourself: Tear in just nearly 16,000 copies difference. BTS World: Original Soundtrack has reached 500,000 copies and awarded the "Double Platinum' certification, making their first soundtrack album to have the certification since Gaon launched the certification last year.

On August 11, Big Hit Entertainment formally announced that for the first time since their debut in 2013, BTS will be having an official period of rest. According to the agency, this will be an opportunity for the group to recharge and “present themselves anew as musicians and creators.”[53]

In October, BTS performed at King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh, becoming the first foreign act to perform a solo concert in Saudi Arabia. For the final stop of their record-breaking Love Yourself: Speak Yourself World Tour, the band held a run of three sold-out nights at Seoul's Olympic Stadium to close this chapter of their story. According to Billboard's year-end Boxscore charts, the group grossed over $196 million and played to more than 1.6 million people across 42 shows in the chart period ranging from Nov. 1, 2018 to Oct. 31, 2019 and ranked third overall on the year-end Top 40 Tours chart behind Ed Sheeran and Pink. The group outgrossed legacy rock acts like the Rolling Stones, Metallica and KISS, as well as fellow boy band the Backstreet Boys, making them the top-grossing touring group of 2019. That same month, the group released a remix version of the song "Make It Right" featuring American singer Lauv as the second single from their album Map of the Soul: Persona.

In November, BTS became the first K-pop group to win the Favorite Duo or Group – Pop/Rock at the 2019 American Music Awards and the Favourite Social Artist award consecutively in 2018 and 2019. In December, they attended both the 2019 Melon Music Awards and 2019 Mnet Asian Music Awards. The group became the first artist in the history of K-pop to receive all grand prizes from both ceremonies; getting four from each award show. At the end of the year, BTS ranked number fifteen on Billboard's year-end Top Artist Chart and were also the number two act of the year in the Duo/Group ranking, only behind Jonas Brothers. They were named as 2019 Hitmakers Group of the Year by *Variety*. They were also the most tweeted-about musicians of 2019. On December 31, 2019, BTS performed in New York City's Times Square for ABC's *Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve*. At the 34th Golden Disc Awards, BTS became the first artists in history to win grand prizes in both the physical and digital categories in a single year. BTS wrapped 2019 as the fourth most successful group on *Billboard*'s Top Billboard 200 Artists - Duo/Group ranking, only behind Queen, Imagine Dragons and The Beatles.

### 2020: Map of the Soul: 7

On January 7, 2020, Big Hit Entertainment announced that BTS will release their fourth Korean-language studio album, *Map of the Soul: 7*, on February 21 with two singles. On January 10, BTS released a trailer for the album featuring Suga's solo track "Interlude: Shadow". On January 17, BTS released the single "Black Swan", along with a choreography art film performed by Slovenian based MN Dance Company. The official music video for the lead single will be released on February 28. On January 15, Big Hit announced that according to distributor Dreamus, the album surpassed 3.42 million stock pre-orders in its first seven days from January 9 through January 15. These pre-release numbers surpassed pre-orders of *Map of the Soul: Persona* which sold 2.685 million preorders in its first five days. On January 21, BigHit announced the *Map of the Soul Tour,* BTS' fourth worldwide concert tour and second stadium tour. The tour would promote their *Map of the Soul* series, including their *Map of the Soul: Persona* EP, and *Map of the Soul: 7* studio album. On January 23, the Recording Academy announced that BTS would be performing with Lil Nas X, Billy Ray Cyrus, Diplo, and more in a special segment at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards, thus making BTS the first Korean act to perform on the Grammy's stage. "Idol" and *Love Yourself: Answer* received platinum certifications, both selling more than one million certified units in the United States. "Idol" became the group's third Platinum single while *Answer* became the group's first Platinum album, making BTS the first Korean artist to attain this certification in the US.

## Artistry

BTS co-writes, produces, and composes much of their output, to which some media outlets have attributed their success. Since their inception, BTS has developed and maintained a style of "fusion music" with an emphasis on hip hop as their musical base largely due to the influence of RM and Suga's background as underground rappers and their main producer Pdogg. Rather than wanting to stick to a specific genre, BTS has introduced brand new elements into their musical repertoire with each new album. BTS' sound began with old-school hip hop influences heard on 2 Cool 4 Skool and O!RUL8,2?, but evolved to include R&B and rock with Skool Luv Affair and Dark and Wild, orchestral strings and electronic dance music with their The Most Beautiful Moment in Life album series, moombahton, neo soul, and gospel in Wings and You Never Walk Alone, and future bass, Latin pop, and jazz hip hop in their Love Yourself album series

BTS' lyrics are known for their social commentary, often incorporating criticism of South Korean society. Songs such as "No More Dream" and "N.O" from their "school trilogy" were deeply motivated by their experiences with South Korea's emphasis on education and called for change to the education system and societal expectations. Their experiences with youth culture in South Korea inspired songs like "Dope" and "Silver Spoon" (Korean: 뱁새; RR: Baepsae) from their "youth series," referencing generational disparity and the millennial's giving up of romantic relationships, marriage, children, proper employment, homes, and social life in the face of economic difficulties and societal ills while facing condemnation from the media and older generations. The song "Am I Wrong" from Wings (2016) questioned societal apathy towards the state of current events—the lyric "We're all dogs and pigs / we become dogs because we're angry" referenced the South Korean Ministry of Education official Na Hyang-wook who was a proponent of the caste system and described the average person as "dogs and pigs," and BTS performed the song on television during the 2016 South Korean political scandal that led to the impeachment of ex-President Park Geun-hye. RM and Suga's personal struggles with mental health inspired songs like "Tomorrow", "Intro: The Most Beautiful Moment in Life", "So Far Away", "The Last", and "Forever Rain." "Not Today" from You Never Walk Alone (2017) is an anti-establishment anthem, with messages advocating for minority groups, while "Spring Day" was created to memorialize the victims of the Sewol Ferry tragedy.

Grace Jeong, editor-in-chief of Soompi, praised the group by stating that, “BTS has something to say, and has a great marketing strategy that doesn’t alienate non-Korean-speaking fans.” While they have received praise for their lyrics, in 2016 the group faced criticisms of misogyny regarding the lyrics of "War of Hormone", "Converse High", and RM's solo song "Joke", as well as a Twitter comment made by Suga. The group's label later issued an apology.

BTS' has cited Nas, Eminem, Kanye West, Drake, Post Malone, and Charlie Puth as musical inspirations. BTS has also cited Queen as an influence, saying they "grew up watching videos of Live Aid.” During their concert at Wembley Stadium in London, Jin paid tribute to Queen by leading the crowd in a version of Freddie Mercury’s "ay-oh" chant from the band’s Live Aid concert.

In addition to musical inspirations, BTS also takes many inspirations from literary, psychological, artistic, and philosophical mediums. Their album Wings is inspired by Hermann Hesse's coming of age novel, Demian. Their song "Blood Sweat & Tears" references Friedrich Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zurathustra, Herbert James Draper's The Lament for Icarus, Pieter Bruegel's Landscape with the Fall of Icarus, and Pieter Bruegel's The Fall of the Rebel Angels by quoting Nietzsche and featuring the three aforementioned paintings in the music video. Their "Spring Day" music video contains lyrical and visual references to Ursula Le Guin's short story The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas. J-Hope's solo mixtape, Hope World, and its lead single Daydream were inspired by Jules Verne's novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, as well as containing a reference to Douglas Adams's science fiction series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The Love Yourself series was primarily influenced by Erich Fromm's The Art of Loving, while their song "Magic Shop" of Love Yourself: Tear was inspired by James R. Doty's memoir Into the Magic Shop. Their 2019 album Map of the Soul: Persona gains its name from Murray Stein's Jung's Map of the Soul: An Introduction.

South Korean president Moon Jae-in, in a congratulatory letter he wrote to BTS, recognized their sincerity and inclusion of diversity as the group's key to success. Moon stated that "Each of the seven members sings in a way that is true to himself and the life he wants to live. Their melody and lyrics transcend regional borders, language, culture, and institutions." The Wire mentioned in their article that "BTS are big because they are “different” because they put creative input to the band’s sound".

Since the beginning of their career they have been delivering social messages through their lyrics. Their lyrics would be open about the cultural pressure placed on Korean teens to excel and do well and to repress their anxieties.“We came together with a common dream to write, dance and produce music that reflects our musical backgrounds as well as our life values of acceptance, vulnerability and being successful,” said BTS’s leader, RM, in a 2017 interview with Time.T heir debut single, “No More Dream,” was an ode to teen apathy. BTS’s success was due to mixing their openness on social media with blunt and honest lyrics — and owning their status as an underdog group battling to succeed against other bands who came from established studios with larger budgets. “Dope” openly celebrated the endless grind of their lives: “Over half of the day, we drown in work / Even if our youth rots in the studio / Thanks to that, we’re closer to success.”

## Impact and influence

BTS has been described as "easily the biggest and most successful name in K-pop in the world" that can "do things no other name in their genre can." As the first Korean musician to make the Global Artist Chart in 2018, BTS had the second and third best-selling albums worldwide and were the second best-selling artists worldwide in terms of physical, digital, and streaming platforms, coming second only to Drake. In the United States, BTS accounted for 72.7 percent of the album consumption units generated by K-pop acts in 2018 out of a total of 17 acts. The most tweeted-about celebrities in the world in 2017 and 2018, *Time*magazine has named the band one of the 25 most influential people on the internet, featured them on the cover of their October 2018 global edition as "Next Generation Leaders," and named them one of *Time* 100's most influential people of 2019. BTS also made it to the Bloomberg 50 in 2018, and *Forbes* Korea Power Celebrity has named them the fifth most influential celebrities of Korea in 2017 and the most influential celebrities of Korea in 2018. CNN has likened the intensity of the fans of BTS to that of "Beatlemania." Their influence led them to address the United Nations at their 73rd General Assembly and to perform to 400 officials including South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the *Korea-France Friendship Concert in Paris*, a summit meant to show the friendly relations between France and South Korea. Due to their contributions in spreading Korean culture and language, BTS became the youngest ever recipients to be awarded the Order of Cultural Merit by the President of South Korea.

BTS has measurably revitalized the Korean economy and the global music industry. Credited for the surge in popularity of online purchases of K-pop items and the growth of the Korean Wave between 2016 and 2018 by the Korea Customs Service and Korea Foundation, BTS was cited as one of the main driving forces for the recovery of South Korea’s music-related sector to levels seen before China’s 2016 ban on domestic cultural contents over soured diplomatic relations. Yung Duk Kim, vice president and chief operating officer of the Korea Creative Content Agency, stated K-pop has “skyrocketed” since BTS' popularity surged, creating jobs not only for BTS and their team but other K-pop idols as well. Various news outlets coined the term the "BTS effect" to refer to the commercial effects of BTS' influence, such as when KB Kookmin Bank savings accounts increased six-fold compared to the prior year following BTS' endorsement and when stock prices of entertainment companies in South Korea shot up for five days after BTS topped the U.S. *Billboard* 200*.* The effect was also observed when companies tied to BTS, such as Netmarble, NetMark, Soribada, Key Shares, GMP, Diffie, and Mattelh ad their stocks rise. Data firm SM2 Networks estimated Hyundai Motor received ₩600 billion ($502 million) in promotional results after commissioning BTS as their promotional models in 2018. Signed on as tourism ambassadors in 2017, the Seoul Metropolitan Government credits BTS for the recovery of Seoul's shrinking tourism industry following the 2016 THAAD controversy, bringing in an average of 790,000 tourists to Korea annually. In December 2018, the Hyundai Research Institute estimated BTS was worth more than $3.67 billion to the Korean economy each year, attracting one in every thirteen foreigners who visit Korea. As of June 2019, BTS' economic effect on South Korea is estimated to be over ₩5.5 trillion ($4.65 billion) per year. Along with Ariana Grande and Drake, BTS was credited as a key act boosting global music sales to $19 billion in 2018. Such profit had not been seen since 2006 after digital purchases gained momentum.

BTS' work has influenced numerous artists, including (G)I-dle, D-Crunch's Hyunho, The Boyz' Younghoon, SF9's Zuho, Euna Kim, Golden Child's Jaehyun, Wanna One, IN2IT, Park Ji-hoon, Kim Dong-han, Seven O'Clock, Hyeongseop X Euiwoong, Noir,  Victon's Sejun, and Loona. After BTS released their single "Idol," the National Gugak Center had to expand the amount of Korean instrument sounds available due to increased demand from Korean and foreign producers alike. K-pop idol groups also began changing the themes of their lyrics from love stories to words such as "looking for myself" following BTS' "Love Yourself" era and RM's speech at the United Nations.

## Awards and nominations

*See also: List of Awards and Nominations*

BTS have received many awards and honors, including 15 Melon Music Awards, 15 Mnet Asian Music Awards, 14 Golden Disc Awards 12 Seoul Music Awards, 10 Gaon Chart Music Awards, 4 Billboard Music Awards (first Korean group), 4 Korean Music Awards, and one American Music Award (first Korean group). In Korea, BTS have one Multi-Million album and one Million album. As the first Korean group to receive RIAA certification, BTS hse 2 Platinum single, 3 Gold singles, and 1 Gold album in the United States. In Japan, BTS hse 2 Multi-Platinum singles, one Multi-Platinum album, and 3 Gold albums.

BTS also have a large social influence and currently hold 7 Guinness World Records, including the world record for Most Twitter engagements. To dat,e they have spent 131 weeks at #1 on the Billboard Social 50 chart. In October 2018, BTS was awarded a fifth-class Hwagwan Order of Cultural Merit from the President of South Korea for their contributions in spreading Korean culture and language. The members of BTS became members of the Recording Academy in 2019 in honor of their contributions to music and as part of a push to help diversify Grammy Award voters.

On November 7, 2019, it was reported that BTS has become the first K-Pop act to remain on Billboard 200 for a whole year. "Love Yourself: Answer" re-entered Billboard's main albums chart on Monday ,November 4 (No. 165). The album has remained on the charts for 52, non-consecutive weeks, making the album the first, and currently, only K-pop album to do so.

## Other ventures

### Philanthropy

BTS have involved themselves in a variety of charitable events. In 2015, they donated seven tons (7,187 kg) of rice to charity at the K-Star Road opening ceremony held in Apgujeong-dong. The following year they participated in ALLETS's "Let's Share the Heart" collaboration charity campaign with Naver to raise donations for LISA, a charity "which carries forward a preparation business to fight blindess including research on degenrative retina disease treatment and an ivity to improve social awareness on the visually impaired. In April 2018, BTS participated in Stevie Wonder's "Dream Still Lives" tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. with other celebrities, sharing their dreams and hopes for the world. It was revealed that Stevie Wonder himself had asked BTS to participate in the campaign.

In January 2017, news media reported that BTS and Big Hit Entertainment had donated KR₩100,000,000 (US$85,000) to the 4/16 Sewol Families for Truth and A Safer Society, an organization connected to the families of the 2014 Sewol Ferry Disaster. Each member donated KR₩10,000,000 and Big Hit Entertainment donated an additional KR₩30,000,000. The donation was intended to have been made in secret. Later that year, BTS officially launched their Love Myself campaign, an initiative dedicated to helping "protect and support child and teen victims of domestic and school violence as well as sexual assault around the world...", in partnership with the Korean Committee for UNICEF. BTS donated 500 million won (US$448,000) from the members, and 100% of all sales of official goods for the Love Myself campaign over the next two years, as well as include donation desks installed by UNICEF, towards several social programs benefiting violence prevention against children and teens and support programs for victims of violence. In addition, 3% of the sales from each album in the Love Yourself series (Love Yourself: Her, Love Yourself: Tear, and Love Yourself: Answer) will be donated to the cause. Within two months of its launch the campaign raised an additional KR₩106,000,000, taking the worldwide funds total to KR₩606,000,000.

In April 2018, BTS participated in Stevie Wonder's "Dream Still Lives" tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. alongside other celebrities, sharing their dreams and hopes for the world. It was revealed that Stevie Wonder himself had asked BTS to participate in the campaign.

Members of the group have also engaged in individual philanthropic endeavours. Since 2016, Jimin has supported graduates of Busan Hoedong Elementary School, his alma mater, by covering uniform expenses. After news of the school's closing was released, he donated summer and winter middle school uniforms to the final graduates and gifted autographed albums to the entire student body.[57] For his 25th birthday, Suga donated ten kilograms of prime Korean beef to 39 orphanages in Korea under the name of BTS' ARMY fan club.[58]On February 18, 2019, J-Hope donated ₩100,000,000 (US $89,000) to support low-income students attending his alma mater through ChildFund Korea. Earlier, on December 20, 2018, J-Hope donated ₩150,000,000 (US $133,000) to ChildFund Korea in order to support "students in the arts, music, and physical education who need financial support in order to pursue their dreams, and students who need assistance with paying for health care". In addition, fans of J-Hope donated 128 sacks of rice to Gwangju, J-Hope's hometown, along with partnering with the organization "Korea Food for the Hungry International" to organize the "Hope on the Stop Hunger" project, an effort that "sponsors starving children in 53 countries with emergency relief and food". In total, around 35 different fan philanthropical projects were carried out in honor of J-Hope's 25th birthday.  On March 9, 2019, Suga donated ₩100,000,000 (US $89,000) to the Korea Pediatric Cancer Foundation and 329 plush toys to the children patients, alongside placing his gifts underneath the fanbase name. On December 4, 2018, Jin personally donated bags of food, bowls, and blankets to animals under the protection of the Korean Animal Welfare Association. In addition, fans donated 344 sets of female hygiene products worth ₩6,000,000 (US $5390) to Gwacheon, Jin's hometown.

On September 24, 2018, BTS attended the United Nations 73rd General Assembly for the launch of the youth initiative called "Youth 2030: The UN Youth Strategy" and its corresponding UNICEF campaign titled "Generation Unlimited". On behalf of the group, BTS' leader RM delivered a six-minute speech in English about self-acceptance, as well as their Love Myself campaign. According to UNICEF, the goal of the initiative is "to provide quality education and training for young people". BTS were selected to attend due to their impact on youth culture through their music and social messages, previous philanthropic endeavors, and popularity among the 15-to-25-year-old age demographic.

In January 2020, Starbucks Korea announced that they would be partnering together with BTS to launch the “Be the Brightest Stars” campaign including limited-edition beverages, food and merchandise exclusively in South Korea. A portion of the profit from the campaign will go towards career and educational development programs for disadvantaged youth as part of The Beautiful Foundation’s Opportunity Youth Independence Project.

### Endorsements

BTS have maintained numerous global endorsement deals in various industries throughout their career. Partnered with Puma since 2015, BTS initially promoted their sportswear as Puma Korea's brand ambassadors before expanding to become global ambassadors in 2018 and promoting the remix of Puma's "Turin" and "Sportstyle" line worldwide. In 2019, BTS became the first male pop group ever to collaborate with Dior, as the group sported Kim Jones' Pre-Fall 2019 collection at their concert at Stade de France. Business of Fashion called it "the K-Pop industry's most high profile sponsorship ever". In September 2019, Fila announced that BTS hse signed an exclusive contract with them to be their new models worldwide.

BTS served as global brand ambassadors for LG Electronics to promote their LG G7 ThinQ telephone, and for Hyundai Motors as part of the company's promotions at the 2018 LA Auto Show for its 2019 flagship SUV the "Palisade". Due to BTS' endorsement, Hyundai received almost double their anticipated domestic order volume for the car. In the tourism sector, BTS has worked as brand models for Lotte Duty Free Shop since 2017 and as honorary tourism ambassadors for Seoul as part of the 'I Seoul U' program. Promotional advertisements produced by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, featuring the group, aired in over 100 countries. BTS also partnered with popular Korean communication app Line, to create new Line 'characters' called BT21. The collaboration initially produced emojis and electronic stickers, but later expanded to include fashion apparel, footwear, accessories, and other merchandise. Line flagship stores opened throughout Seoul before spreading across the global market into Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and the United States.

In the entertainment sector, BTS published the webtoons *Hip Hop Monster* and *We On* through the Nate Webtoon portal, and the webtoon *Save Me* in collaboration with LICO and Line Webtoon. In the toy industry, Mattel created dolls modeled off BTS' outfits from the music video "Idol", Medicom Toy created the "BE@RBRICK", a block-like toy featuring the BTS logo and accents modeled after BTS' stage clothes, and Funko released BTS versions of Funko Pops. In the gaming industry, Nexon released character avatars based on BTS for their RPG game Elsword, and BTS worked with DalcomSoft to release the rhythm game *Superstar BTS* in January 2018, as well as with Netmarble Games for the story-based, mobile simulation game *BTS World* released in June 2019. In November 2019, BTS announced they are teaming with Casetify to globally launch a new tech accessory collection, which contains accessories compatible with iPhone, Samsung devices, AirPods, Apple Watch, MacBooks, iPads and more.

In Asia, BTS have worked as brand spokespersons for KB Kookmin Bank, one of the four largest banks in South Korea. Their collaboration generated the opening of over 180,000 accounts, and BTS extended their contract with KB Kookmin Bank through 2019. Coca-Cola Korea signed BTS on as their new campaign models for promotions during the 2018 World Cup in Russia. In the beauty and apparel industry, BTS hse maintained a relationship with uniform brand SMART since 2016, having renewed their contract with them through 2019. BTS hse also promoted the face mask brand Mediheal, the cosmetics brand VT Cosmetics, and the contact lens brand Play/Up. In October 2019, Kyungnam Pharmaceutical announced that BTSise going to be the new brand ambassadors for Lemona, a vitamin supplement company. The company announced they are planning to expand to the global market with BTS and release new vitamin drinks.

In October 2019, ceramics company Kwangjuyo stated that they will collaborate with BTS in releasing plates, mugs, and other pieces. The colors of the ceramics were inspired by Map of the Soul: Persona, and the Plum Blossom pattern is used to represent the message of hope and positivity that BTS brings. Also in October 2019, Tokopedia, an Indonesian e-commerce company, announced that BTS will be their new brand ambassadors.

In December 2019, BTS were announced as the new global ambassadors of ABB FIA Formula E Championship, the electric street racing series, Formula E. Through the partnership, the South Korean septet and Formula E will team up to promote how electric vehicles can help combat climate change.

## **BE (era)**

**BE** is the sixth era of BTS' career. It started on August 21, 2020 with the digital single "Dynamite".

This era isn't officially connected with the fictional BTS Universe.

### **Dynamite (August 2020)**

*See also: Dynamite*

"Dynamite" is BTS' seventh English digital single. RM explained that "Dynamite" is an exciting and lighthearted song that they have always wanted to try. He added, "While producing songs, we had the thought that it would be nice to give energy to the fans soon, so we decided to shockingly release the "Dynamite" as a single before our new album in the second half of the year.

## **BE**

***BE*** is the first self-directed and seventh mini-album by BTS. It was released on November 20, 2020, at 2PM KST

### **Background**

On April 2020, RM revealed that the group is already preparing for their next album  and Suga shared that the members had decided who would be in charge of what part of the process. On May 2020, Jimin revealed that he had taken on the role of music project manager, meanwhile, V had taken the role of the visual project manager. Later, Jin shared that he will be working on the album design along with Suga. On July 27, 2020, BTS revealed via VLIVE they would be releasing a new English single in August 21. On August 2, 2020, Big Hit Entertainment revealed the new BTS single is called "Dynamite". On August 21, 2020, RM explained that "Dynamite" is an exciting and lighthearted song that they have always wanted to try. He added, "While producing songs, we had the thought that it would be nice to give energy to the fans soon, so we decided to shockingly release the "Dynamite" as a single before our new album (BE) in the second half of the year."[8] Later on August 2020, the members share ideas for the title track music video as the theme of the new song being: Life goes on. Jungkook will record the members with a G.C.F style in a place like In the SOOP having fun and in contrast, staying in home (the members will record Jungkook's scenes), also the staff will record them performing without an audience in their upcoming online concert Map of the Soul ON:E as part of the music video. On September 28, 2020 at midnight KST, BTS announced via Twitter and Weverse that their new album would be titled "BE" and be released on November 20 at midnight EST (2 PM KST). According to the Weverse notice, "BE" will be released in a deluxe edition format and contains "the most 'BTS-esque' music yet" that imparts the message of "even in the face of this new normality, our life goes on."

On October 19, 2020 Big Hit Entertainment release a group concept photo for the album. From October 27 to October 29 BTS released letters of the members to ARMY on official Twitter and Weverse pages, inviting ARMY reply to BTS members with the hashtag #TO\_BTS on Twitter.[13][14][15] At the same time, in Japan were placed billboards with QR codes promoting the album. The QR codes leads to different letters of the members written in Japanese. On October 30, Big Hit Entertainment revealed "Life Goes On" as title track for the album.[16] On October 31, Big Hit Entertainment revealed two concept clips, Reflection version and Mirror version.[17][18] From November 1 to November 7, Big Hit Entertainment revealed V, Jimin, RM, Jungkook, Jin, Suga and J-Hope concept photos along with a explicative audio by themselves. On November 8, Big Hit Entertainment revealed a concept clip of Room version.On November 10, Big Hit Entertainment revealed the tracklist. On November 13, Big Hit Entertainment revealed "Life Goes On" credits. On November 17, Big Hit Entertainment revealed the first teaser for "Life Goes On" music video.

### **Promotion**

On November 6, 2020, Big Hit Entertainment shared that Suga underwent surgery to repair his torn shoulder labrum on November 3. He decided to receive surgery in preparation for his mandatory military service as well as his career afterwards, and the decision was made after extensive discussion with the agency. As a result of the surgery, Suga will be unable to participate in most activities, which may include promotions for this album.

## **Dynamite**

"**Dynamite**" is the seventh English digital single (first all-English song) by BTS. It was released on August 21, 2020, at 1 PM KST. An EDM remix and an acoustic remix were released on August 24, 2020, also a tropical remix and a poolside remix were released on August 28, 2020.

On September 17, 2020, the Extended version of the single has been removed and the Deluxe version has been renamed to "DayTime Version". A "NightTime Version" was released on September 18, 2020 featuring slow jam, bedroom, retro and midnight remixes.

Later the song was added as the eighth and final track in their seventh mini album *BE*.

This song has achieved a 610 Perfect All-Kill (PAK) on Korean charts, the most for any song.[1] The song also debuted and charted for two weeks at #1 on Billboard Hot 100, marking BTS as the first Korean act in the history to top the chart for three weeks. The group then retains the #2 spot on the chart for another four weeks. On September 28, 2020, BTS becomes the first act to top the Hot 100, Global 200 and Global 200 Excluding U.S. charts simultaneously.

## **Life Goes On**

**Life Goes On**" is a song by BTS. It was released on November, 20, 2020, serves as the title track and appears as the first track for their seventh mini album *BE*.

The song debuted at #1 on Billboard Hot 100, becoming BTS' thrid #1 on Billboard Hot 100.[1] Also top the Global 200 and Global 200 Excluding U.S. charts simultaneously.

## Why YouTube Deleted Views on BTS’s Music Videos, but Not BLACKPINK’s

KPop fans are now outraged because of the ‘deleted views’ issue by YouTube. They are questioning why YouTube deleted views on BTS’s Music Videos, such as Idol, ON, and the most recent one is the lead single of their Japanese album, Stay Gold. This issue is raised after BLACKPINK How You Like That music video surpassed BTS Boy With Luv views only in one day ARMYs notice that this is not the very first time YouTube seems to delete some views on BTS music videos.

### ON Cinematic Music Video

Earlier this year, after BTS premiered ON Cinematic Music Video, their fans streamed it on YouTube to reach millions of views in just one day. It results in becoming YouTube premiere with the highest number of views, according to *Variety*.

An ARMY reported on Twitter that the music video had reached 104,967,372 views within 23 hours after its release. However, the views were depleted to 45 million views a day after it premiered.

### IDOL Music Video

back in January 2019, ARMYs were also irritated by the ‘deleted views’ on BTS Idol Music Video.

Quoted from Google’s support forum, ”After quality views are counted, view count updates more frequently. The process of including all quality views can take some time, depending on a video’s popularity and viewership. Afterward, the view count updates more frequently, but keep in mind that we’re constantly validating views, so view count can always be adjusted.”

Moreover, regarding the frozen views, Google explained further that, “On some videos, the view count might seem frozen or not show all the views that you expect. Video views are algorithmically validated to maintain fair and positive experiences for content creators, advertisers, and users. To verify that views are real and accurate, YouTube may temporarily slow down, freeze, or adjust the view count, as well as discard low-quality playbacks.’’

### YG Entertainment Trick to Increase Views for BLACKPINK

Some reported that YG Entertainment put BLACKPINK music videos under the “People & Blog” category instead of “Music” to avoid “frozen or getting overlapped views filtered out.”

It doesn’t only happen on their comeback single How You Like That, but also happened with Stay Music Video back in 2016.Various netizens pointed out that this is a media-play by YG for them to enter the American market. Unfortunately, BLACKPINK comeback single How You Like That music videos views are mostly from Southeast Asian countries, such as Thailand and Indonesia. it's because yg post blackpink's Mv under "People & Blogs" category,that means that you only have to watch 3 second and it's counted as a view. Bts and other group have thei video under "Music" caregory,you have to watch all the mv to be counted as a view Well, ARMYs and BLINKs are still talking about why YouTube deleted the views on several media.

## BTS Nicknames

**RM**

* **RM**
* Rapmon
* God Of Destruction
* Rap Monster.
* Namjoon
* Joon
* Grape King

**Jin**

* **Jin**. ↪ This is his stage name
* . Seokjin. ↪ His real name.
* . Seokjinnie. ↪ A cute and cooing way to call his name. ...
* Eomma. ↪ A nickname was given by Jimin and now being used by armys. ...
* Pink Princess. ..
* . Worldwide **Handsome**. ...

**Jimin**

* ChimChim,
* Diminie,
* Dooly,
* Jiminie,
* Park Jiminnie

**Jungkook**

* Kookie
* Golden Maknae
* Bunny
* Jungkookie
* Jeon Jungkookie
* JK
* Nochu

**Suga**

* August D
* Lil Meow Meow,
* Min Suga
* Yoonie
* Yoongles
* Yonnie

**V**

* Gucci Boy
* Baby Bear
* Tae Tae
* Baby Lion
* Secret weapon
* CGV
* The Wind Prince.

**J-Hope**

* Hobi
* Sunshine
* Hope
* Angel
* J-Farmer
* J-Horse
* J-Dope

## Trivia

* They have donated 1 million dollars to Black Lives Matter.
* RM is a former underground rapper. He is also a former trainee on Big Deal Records, but he did not pass the auditions. RM also lived in New Zealand for 6 months.
* Suga wrote the song ‘좋아요’ (I Like It) in under 30 minutes.
* J-hope auditioned in JYP Entertainment together with B.A.P’s Youngjae and Halo’s Dino, but wasn’t accepted, so he went to Big Hit Entertainment and made it in as a trainee.
* Jin is close friends with VIXX's Ken, B1A4's Sandeul, KNK's Seungjun, Sleepy, Jee Seok Jin, Lee Yi Kyung and Yoo Seung Ho.
* Jungkook produced and wrote Magic Shop, which is featured on the full-length album, Love Yourself 轉 'Tear'. It's the second song he produced, prior to Love Is Not Over, which was released on The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 1, and The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: Young Forever.
* V  is very sociable and he has a lot of friends who are also idols. Some example is: Baekhyun (EXO), Park Bo Gum (who supported him before he became successful) and more.
* Jimin is close friends with SHINee's Taemin, EXO's Kai, Wanna One's Ha Sung Woon and HOTSHOT's Timoteo.