Who are BTS? For those of you who are not familiar with the
global sensation (or live your life without any sort of internet interaction),
BTS are a South Korean boy band consisting of seven members. Whilst they do
come under the Korean pop genre (or K-pop as many call it), the genre of their
music is significantly varied with a few being; pop, rap, hip-hop and EDM
styles. Those of you reading this will probably already know this, as thousands
of articles out there have already introduced the group in a similar vein.
However, this article will hopefully bring a different insight on the group and
how they changed my life in the span of a year and if it doesn’t then I have
had a great time writing this piece regardless.
When you think of a BTS fan (or ARMY as the technical term
goes), many people wouldn’t think of a South Asian Boy living in England as
their first port of call. The stereotype of teen fangirls may be common (trust
me, I saw this at the O2 in London) but BTS makes music for everyone. Old and
young people. Boys and girls. People of different nationalities and religions.
Having only listened to BTS music in a household such as mine; many people made
fun of it and mocked my taste, but I couldn’t care less. Many of you know that
BTS wear make up which goes against the masculine agenda in a country such as England
(however very common in one like South Korea). One of the many things people
will say when introduced to this band (from personal experience) is ‘oh they
wear make-up’, ‘they look like girls’ etc. Who cares? If these same people saw Tear
or Mic Drop (plug; go listen now) being performed, I would guarantee they’d be
bopping in their chair (don’t @ me). I don’t think fanboys of a band like BTS
should be viewed as being different or ‘girly’ because of a masculine agenda
especially in a rap and hip-hop dominated music market. There shouldn’t feel a
need to look like an outcast to listen to BTS when everyone around you is
listening to Drake or Lil Wayne.
BTS make music for their fans. Each song carries a weight
and personal meaning, some relating to love, society or even pressures on young
people. Truly self-involved in the process of making their music and tackling
issues such as depression or suicide; finding BTS was a great time in my life.
Sat on YouTube trying to revise, I came across Mic Drop Remix in my suggested
feed. Within a span of four minutes, I was hooked, and that song was rinsed for
a couple of weeks (and still is). At a time at which I wasn’t feeling the
greatest, I could count on their music to lift me up. Queue a couple of weeks
and I was awake watching a live performance of Fake Love at the Billboard Music
Awards in the early hours of the morning. A memory which will I will never
forget; (Fake Love is THAT song by the way).
When people are first introduced to BTS, the first thing
they may notice is they have seven members. OMG! Ring the alarm bells, call for
help please. ‘Why are there so many? That’s too much for a group!’; are typical
and normal responses I’ve seen from many people being introduced to the band.
Please let me know if this has happened to you before. Western bands are typically
limited to a maximum of five members e.g. One Direction, Little Mix, Fifth
Harmony so people are normally accustomed to a smaller group size. Behold the
fact that there are only TWO more additional members, and suddenly remarks of ‘half
a football team’ come into play which is something I can never truly understand.
God forbid anyone show them The Boyz (a twelve-member K-pop band) because I think
their minds would internally combust.
ARMY have a reputation of being quite passionate for BTS. If
you watch interviews involving BTS, ARMY are commonly mentioned as this
screaming horde of zombies which to me can sometimes detract from their music
and personalities. ARMY care a lot about BTS (and I mean A LOT) which I can understand
so they’re not at fault here, and presenters aren’t at fault either as the
force of ARMY is massive and loud (literally); just have a look at BTS social
media pages where likes and retweets jump by the second. As ARMY myself, I don’t
scream at my screen (at least I try not to, I joke I promise) but I do stream because
I like their music and catch a V-Live (live stream for the fans) here and
there. BTS has bangers left, right and centre, no questions asked. Yes, they
sing in Korean and that’s a main criticism I get from people. No, I can’t
understand what they’re saying Jan but that didn’t stop you from listening to
Despacito on repeat during the summer. If you like pop-EDM; try DNA, for a pure
hype track for the gym there’s Not Today or Fire. Emotional ballad songs are also
abundant; The Truth Untold or Epiphany or if you just want a song to make you
smile; there’s Anpanman; watching this one with the dance is even better.
As they say, once you Jimin, you can’t Jim-out.
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