BTS

BTS (Korean: 방탄소년단; RR: Bangtan Sonyeondan; lit. Bulletproof Boy Scouts), also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010. The band consists of Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook, who co-write or co-produce much of their material. Originally a hip hop group, they expanded their musical style to incorporate a wide range of genres, while their lyrics have focused on subjects including mental health, the troubles of school-age youth and coming of age, loss, the journey towards self-love, individualism, and the consequences of fame and recognition. Their discography and adjacent work has also referenced literature, philosophy and psychology, and includes an alternate universe storyline.

BTS debuted in 2013 under Big Hit Entertainment with the single album 2 Cool 4 Skool. BTS released their first Korean and Japanese-language studio albums, Dark & Wild and Wake Up respectively, in 2014. The group's second Korean studio album, Wings (2016), was their first to sell one million copies in South Korea. By 2017, BTS had crossed into the global music market and led the Korean Wave into the United States, becoming the first Korean ensemble to receive a Gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for their single "Mic Drop", as well as the first act from South Korea to top the Billboard 200 with their studio album Love Yourself: Tear (2018). In 2020, BTS became the fastest group since the Beatles to chart four US number-one albums in less than two years, with Love Yourself: Answer (2018) becoming the first Korean album certified Platinum by the RIAA; in the same year, they also became the first all-South Korean act to reach number one on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard Global 200 with their Grammy-nominated single "Dynamite". Follow-up releases "Savage Love", "Life Goes On", "Butter", "Permission to Dance", and "My Universe" made them the fastest act to earn six US number-one singles since the Beatles in 1966.

As of 2023, BTS is the best-selling musical act in South Korean history according to the Circle Chart, having sold in excess of 40 million albums. Their studio album Map of the Soul: 7 (2020) is the fourth best-selling album of all time in South Korea, as well as the first in the country to surpass both four and five million registered sales. They are the first non-English-speaking and Asian act to sell out concerts at Wembley Stadium and the Rose Bowl (Love Yourself World Tour, 2019), and were named the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry's (IFPI) Global Recording Artist of the Year for both 2020 and 2021. The group's accolades include multiple American Music Awards, Billboard Music Awards, Golden Disc Awards, and nominations for five Grammy Awards. Outside of music, they have addressed three sessions of the United Nations General Assembly and partnered with UNICEF in 2017 to establish the Love Myself anti-violence campaign. Featured on Time's international cover as "Next Generation Leaders" and dubbed the "Princes of Pop", BTS has also appeared on Time's lists of the 25 most influential people on the internet (2017–2019) and the 100 most influential people in the world (2019), and in 2018 became the youngest recipients of the South Korean Order of Cultural Merit for their contributions in spreading the Korean culture and language.

On June 14, 2022, the group announced a scheduled pause in group activities to enable the members to complete their 18 months of mandatory South Korean military service, with a reunion planned for 2025. Jin, the eldest member, enlisted on December 13, 2022; the others followed in 2023.

BTS stands for the Korean phrase Bangtan Sonyeondan (Korean: 방탄소년단; Hanja: 防彈少年團), which translates literally to 'Bulletproof Boy Scouts'. According to member J-Hope, the name signifies the group's desire "to block out stereotypes, criticisms, and expectations that aim on adolescents like bullets". In Japan, they are known as Bōdan Shōnendan (防弾少年団). In July 2017, BTS announced that their name would also stand for "Beyond the Scene" as part of their new brand identity. This extended the meaning of their name to encompass the idea of growth "from a boy to an adult who opens the doors that are facing forward".

BTS was formed in 2010, after Big Hit Entertainment CEO Bang Si-hyuk wanted to form a hip hop group around RM (Kim Nam-joon), an underground rapper well known on the music scene in Seoul. At the time, physical album sales were on the decline and digital revenues were not yet high enough to compensate. Seeing a need for diversified income streams, Bang decided to form an idol group instead, because of the potential for live concert performances and passionate support from fans of such groups. Many trainees refused to become part of an idol group, but J-Hope, RM, and Suga remained. Bang chose to vary from the usual, highly regimented idol groups and create one where the members would be individuals rather than an ensemble and free to express themselves. Auditions were held in 2010 with plans to launch the following year. The band members lived together, practicing up to 15 hours a day, and first performed before a small crowd of industry insiders in 2013.

BTS's representation by Big Hit, rather than one of the three agencies that dominated K-pop at the time, allowed the individual members leeway to express their individuality and have input into the music. On June 12, 2013, BTS released their debut single album 2 Cool 4 Skool, along with the lead single "No More Dream", neither of which sold particularly well at the time. On June 13, 2013, BTS made their stage debut on M Countdown with the single, "No More Dream". Nevertheless, according to Kathy Sprinkel in her book on BTS, that single was "spotlighting young people's anxiety in the face of lofty parental expectations, sent shock waves through the K-pop ranks. Here was a musical act that wasn't pulling any punches. More specifically, they had a point of view, and they weren't afraid to take on topics that are considered taboo in South Korean society and elsewhere." The album reached the top five on South Korea's Gaon Music Chart. In 2 Cool 4 Skool, BTS employed an old-school hip-hop sound from the 1990s. The album's release was followed by appearances on Korean music shows, which caught the attention of reviewers and viewers.

In September 2013, BTS released the second entry in their "school trilogy": the EP, O!RUL8,2?. The album was released alongside the single "N.O." Similarly to 2 Cool 4 Skool, the new release had a theme of students feeling under pressure and needing to sacrifice their dreams and aspirations. According to scholar Kyung Hyun Kim, many of BTS's earlier works such as "N.O." and "No More Dreams" were "expressions of rebellion against the establishment that tapped into Korean teenagers' frustrations with the country's educational system" and, he stated, helped them build a fan base among young people in North America and Europe. That same month, BTS starred in their own variety show, SBS MTV's Rookie King Channel Bangtan, in 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 in South Korea.

The last entry in BTS "school trilogy", the Skool Luv Affair EP, was released in February 2014. The release topped the Gaon Album Chart, and appeared on Billboard's World Albums Chart for the first time, peaking at number three. The EP was supported by two singles: "Boy in Luv" and "Just One Day". Following Skool Luv Affair's release, BTS played at their first fan meeting in Seoul, selecting the name A.R.M.Y. for the fan club. In July 2014, BTS hosted a concert in West Hollywood, their first show in the United States, and in August, they appeared at KCON in Los Angeles.

In August 2014, BTS released the album Dark & Wild, which reached number two in South Korea. It was supported by two singles: "Danger" and "War of Hormone". The group embarked on their first concert tour, 2014 BTS Live Trilogy Episode II: The Red Bullet, which lasted from October to December 2014. The band launched their first Japanese studio album, Wake Up, in December 2014; the release peaked at number three on the Oricon Albums Chart. After the album's release, BTS held their 1st Japan Tour 2015 Wake Up: Open Your Eyes in February 2015. The Red Bullet Tour that had begun on October 17, 2014, in South Korea was resumed on June 6, 2015, in Malaysia and toured Australia, North America and Latin America before ending in Hong Kong that August. In all, the entire tour attracted 80,000 spectators at 18 cities in 13 countries.

BTS experimented with other styles of music besides hip-hop in The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Pt. 1, released in 2015. BTS wanted to express the beauty and anxiousness of youth and settled on the title of "花樣年華" (Korean: 화양연화; RR: Hwayangyeonhwa), loosely interpreted to define "youth" metaphorically as "the most beautiful moment in life". The album served as an introduction to their youth trilogy, a triptych of albums dedicated to the struggles of young people. The single "I Need U" was a top-five hit in South Korea and garnered the group a win on SBS MTV's The Show. The second single "Dope" (Korean: 쩔어; RR: Jjeoreo; lit. It's awesome) reached number three on Billboard's World Digital Song Sales chart and its music video was viewed over 100 million times on YouTube. The group began the world tour extension of their Red Bullet Tour in June, titled 2015 Live Trilogy Episode II: The Red Bullet, visiting cities throughout Asia, Oceania, North America, and Latin America. "For You", in Japanese, was released together with Japanese versions of "War of Hormone" and "Let Me Know" on June 17, 2015, and immediately topped Oricon's daily chart.

In November, BTS commenced their third concert tour, 2015 BTS LIVE "The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: On Stage", beginning with three sold-out shows in Seoul. The tour marked the debut of their fourth EP, The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 2, and was later extended to Japan. Thematically, the EP focused more on the serious and speculative aspects of youth, touching on the pursuit of success, loneliness, affection for their origins, and the suffering of the younger generation due to unfavorable conditions in current society. The album topped the weekly Gaon Album and Billboard World Albums charts. It also marked their first appearance on the Billboard 200 chart, making it for one week at number 171, and eight of the tracks appeared on Billboard's World Digital Song Sales chart.