BTS (boy band)

BTS is a K-pop boy band that achieved a worldwide following in the 2010s and 2020s. K-pop—an umbrella term for South Korean pop music—is known for exciting performances, tight harmony, and precise choreography, as well as music videos created using high production value. It is predominantly recorded and performed in Korean. BTS was the first K-pop band to top the US album charts and, in 2022, became the best-selling artist in South Korean history. The group and its fans, who are known to be extremely invested in the members and music, have a strong social media presence. In June 2022, BTS announced a hiatus so that members of the group could fulfill their mandatory South Korean military obligations. In 2023, all seven members renewed their contracts to reunite after their military service commitment, which they all then completed by June 2025. Representatives from BTS’s label, Hybe Corporation, announced the group’s official comeback was set for March 2026.

Background

K-pop groups developed in South Korea in much the same way as US boy bands of the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s. Some comprise performers who formed groups organically, but most were created by producers in the South Korean music industry. K-pop encompasses multiple music styles. Artists borrow from hip-hop, rhythm and blues, soul, euro-pop, and dubstep, among other genres. In addition to the boy bands, K-pop includes girl groups, rappers, and solo artists.

K-pop agencies sign hundreds of aspiring performers. Agency contracts average seven years, during which teenaged trainees develop their singing and dancing through hours of practice and coaching, often while continuing to attend school. Every month, the agency evaluates trainees for talent, ability to work as a group, and how to cope with the demands of training and fame. Trainees can accept jobs such as modeling or commercials, so long as they follow the agency’s rules. Once they are put in a group, each member has a main job, such as lead singer or rapper and main dancer. One member, who is the most attractive, is the group’s visual, while the most popular is dubbed the face of the group. The leader is usually the oldest or the member who has trained the longest. The youngest is the maknae, the Korean term for youngest member.

K-pop debuted in South Korea on April 11, 1992, when a musical trio, Seo Taiji and Boys, performed on a Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation broadcast. The group combined hip-hop and New Jack Swing music, which was mostly unknown among young South Koreans. In the mid-to-late 1990s, the first manufactured groups, known as idol groups, were created by SM Entertainment, a K-pop label founded in 1989. H.O.T. was the first boy band, while S.E.S. was the first idol girl group.

The golden age of K-pop began in 2008 with the Motown-inspired girl group Wonder Girls, who put Korean pop on the radar of the US music industry. Their song “Nobody” was the first K-pop single to chart on the Billboard Hot 100. The following year, American rapper Lil’ Kim collaborated with soloist SE7EN on the song “Girls.”

BTS arose as part of the so-called third generation of K-pop groups, when the idol industry created and developed multiple successful groups. BTS was created in 2013. Its seven members—Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook—grew up in various parts of South Korea. Unlike traditional K-pop artists, whose music focused almost exclusively on relationships, their debut single was critical of the country’s demanding education system.

The worldwide popularity of K-pop has largely been due to social media and music streaming. Awareness of the music spread to other countries thanks to YouTube and other sites where music was shared. BTS became known for their tightly choreographed and polished music videos, which were posted on social media.

Overview

The oldest member of BTS, Jin, was born in 1992. The youngest, Jungkook, was born in 1997. All seven were teens when they began performing together. K-pop agencies scouted Jin. Jungkook competed on Superstar K, an audition television program. Although he did not make it past the preliminary round, seven entertainment agencies tried to recruit him. J-Hope was a prize-winning competitive dancer before he auditioned for Big Hit Music—an independent label under Big Hit Entertainment, which rebranded as Hybe Corporation in 2021. Suga came in second in Big Hit Entertainment’s audition competition, Hit It, and was signed. Jimin attended a Big Hit audition, as did V, although the latter was only accompanying a friend and auditioned at the urging of a staff member. The agency signed RM on the recommendation of rapper Sleepy.

After spending time as trainees, the seven young men were put together as part of Big Hit’s pivot in K-pop creation. Revenue was sagging, and the entire company brainstormed to find a solution. The team believed that although social media should bring people together, it seemed to isolate people more. Big Hit decided to create a group to meet the need to inspire and make connections with fans. BTS was their answer. BTS stands for a Korean phrase, Bangtan Sonyeondan, which translates in English to "Bulletproof Boy Scouts." More than previous K-pop idol groups, the members engaged daily with fans online. Devoted fans, known as “stans,” received alerts through a Big Hit app whenever new content was posted or when an artist began live-streaming.

Western music fans became aware of BTS largely through social media and the group’s appearances on television programs. They first performed for a national US audience in 2017 at the Billboard Music Awards when they took the award for top social artist of the year, a measure of social media fan interaction. In 2018, they were again named the top social artists and performed.

In its music, BTS has addressed social and personal issues such as bullying and mental health. The group addressed the United Nations in 2018,in 2020, and a third time in 2021, when it promoted vaccination during the global COVID-19 pandemic and recognized the resilience of young people during uncertain times.

The influence of K-pop and BTS, in particular, became obvious in 2020. While the United States and other countries saw multiple protests after the police killing of George Floyd in May, stans stood against racial injustice. For example, when people began posting #WhiteLivesMatter on Twitter, stans hijacked the hashtag to post videos and GIFs of favorite artists and antiracism messages.

The global reach of K-pop is evident in BTS’s social media accounts. By the early 2020s, the official BTS YouTube channel had more than 49 million subscribers. By the mid-2020s, that number had risen to over 77 million. In2021, 1 the group’s official Twitter account had 29.5 million followers, while its Instagram had more than 41 million followers. More than 32 million people followed their TikTok account. Again, these numbers continued to rise throughout the decade, with over 76 million followers on Instagram and over 71 million on TikTok.

BTS is a valuable enterprise. Experts estimate its impact on South Korea’s gross domestic product is about $4.9 billion annually. In 2019, more than 97 percent of Big Hit’s revenue was generated by BTS. By the 2020s, economists suggested that BTS added over $5 billion dollars to the South Korean economy each year.

In 2020, BTS was nominated for a Grammy Award for the first time. (Love Yourself: Tear was nominated in 2019 for Best Recording Package, which refers to the visual look of an album.) BTS did not win the Best Pop Duo/Group performance award. They did, however, become the first Korean act to perform at the Grammys that year. In February, the group released their fourth album, Map of the Soul: 7. It was soon followed by the albums BE and Proof, released in 2020 and 2022, respectively.

The following year, BTS was named the 2020 Global Recording Artist of the Year by IFPI. The group later released several singles, including "Butter" in May 2021, "Permission to Dance" in July 2021, and "My Universe" with Coldplay in September 2021, all of which were English-language songs. "Butter" was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2022. However, it did not ultimately win. BTS earned three Grammy nominations in 2023: Best Music Video for "Yet To Come," Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for "My Universe," and Album of the Year for their appearance on Coldplay's Music of the Spheres. Still, the group had yet to win.

In June 2022, BTS announced a pause in their music career so that the members could complete their mandatory South Korean military service. The seven members of the band committed to reuniting in the mid-2020s and renewed their contracts in 2023. Amid their staggered conscription periods, each member released several solo projects, as well as films from their previous tours, including BTS: Permission to Dance on Stage—LA (2022) and BTS: Yet to Come in Cinemas (2023). In June 2025, Suga was the final member to complete his military service and be discharged.

Despite their break as a group, BTS still released several films from their previous tours, including BTS: Permission to Dance on Stage—LA (2022) and BTS: Yet to Come in Cinemas (2023). They also released the soundtrack to an animated South Korean program in 2023. In 2023, all seven members renewed their contracts.

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