kpop duck

Bang Shi-hyuk: Yes. I'm like that. Fundamentally, I don't really like treating kids as kids. About 3rd grade in elementary school? After that I don't think that you can't distinguish between what's right and wrong. The tendency to be impulsive is strong so you can create an accident, but to not be able to distinguish what's reasonable and what's not? I don't think that makes sense. Usually when you're younger don't you think of yourself as an adult more? I also thought I was an adult after 4th grade. After I entered middle school I thought, why do others try to preach to me about life? To tell that sort of individual what to do, what not to do, I don't think there's a need for it. I'm saying that you should take responsibility for your choices. With BTS there's one more thing on top of that. If you didn't like hip-hop you couldn't be a part of it. We also can't teach one to love hip-hop.

Cha Woo-jin: It sounds like a scary company?!

Bang Shi-hyuk: I think that on the contrary, it's not. Because there aren't many companies that acknowledge the self-motivation of the trainees. It's not something scary, but we just assess based on your skills.

Cha Woo-jin: Let's talk more about the company. What does the internal organization of Big Hit consist of?

Bang Shi-hyuk: First we have a business management team, consisting of an [artist] management team, a new artist development team, A&R, a visual creative team, and a strategy TF team. On top of this we have the global business team that is led by the vice president and the head of the Japan office.

Cha Woo-jin: From here the teams that I see as important are the new artist development, management and A&R teams, but among these doesn't the new artist development team have a large role?

Bang Shi-hyuk: The role of the new artist development team is over the moment that the management team takes over when the album jacket photos are shot. Once we enter the actual debut countdown the members are completely the responsibility of the management team. The managers enter the dorms and take over from the new artist development team. The new artist development team strictly has the role of discovering new artists and teaching them, but before their debut the PR and fan management team from the business management team will teach them regarding media, communications, and how to correspond with fans.

Cha Woo-jin: What is the point at which the A&R and new artist development teams are divided?

Bang Shi-hyuk: You can say that they are totally different. A&R stands for 'Artist and Repertory' and they are tasked with everything from taking care of the recording studios to organizing recording and album-related schedules. The management team also is a part of scheduling. Apart from that their main task is to go and get songs. To give an example from our company, A&R makes offers to songwriters who have a similar musical color to musicians like 2AM, Lim Jung-hee, and Lee Hyun.

You can think of new artist development as exactly that. A place where we create kids [used the word friend again] that have the talent and right to stand on stage? So it's a place where you can develop the skills to dance really hard and also sing live. This is the most important, and also it's a place where we develop a character and base that once you become a singer, you can make decisions on your own.

I think that's why after debuting the new artist development team feels a sense of deprivation. Because after you debut you are criticized. Even if you try really hard it's hard to hear that you did well. Because for kids [friends] who are facing debut, it's impossible to be perfect and have no cracks. And even if a new artist does well on the stage, outsiders will tell good things to me, so the new artist development team doesn't have many opportunities to heard this sort of good feedback.

Cha Woo-jin: They're a team who works really hard in the background, right? (Bang Shi-hyuk: Yes, they are.) From what I know, Rap Monster [will refer to him as RM from here on] was referred to Pdogg and you made an offer to him, so in this case would RM be directed to the new artist development team?

Bang Shi-hyuk: Yes, I redirected him immediately. To be honest, at that time there wasn't much to call a system. Nowadays there's about a three month period where we see if this kid really loves music, if they have the qualifications to be a trainee. For three months we let them pick when to practice, when to receive lessons and come out on their own. The company doesn't touch anything. After that we do a screening evaluation and a basics evaluation. If the kid loves music, they have a good attitude, their qualifications are good, and if their personality seems good then from there we officially start custom lessons. From that point I also look at the output and give direction on what to teach, what to do. And from there it's really infinite practice and waiting.

TF (Task Force) is formed once we are one year out from a formal launch. To give BangtanTF as an example, core members from each division come together. Every week we film the candidates and after a meeting we will restructure the members. We replace people who need to be replaced and grow what needs to be grown and think over it until the end. And through that process, they create their own color. Once they are three months out from debut, the performance director will stick with them and guide them. Three months out they will record themselves everyday and send it to me, and they will get scolded like that every day. It's a repetition of fix this, change that. For BTS, the three months before debut were really tough and I continually gave them assignments and checked on it every day.

Cha Woo-jin: Can you tell me about the content of the basics evaluation?

Bang Shi-hyuk: Usually the individual will pick their own song and their own choreography. The teacher will just teach them what is right. We do a basics evaluation every month.

Cha Woo-jin: It's almost like an internal audition?

Bang Shi-hyuk: Yes, it is. However, when RM first came here we didn't have basics evaluations. (Cha Woo-jin: That was three years ago?) Yes, when we started the BTS project three years ago I picked who they should learn rap from, and recruited people… I decided on all these things but as we went on the trainees had a hard time with it. And we respect autonomy, but there were kids who we had to regulate so that they would listen. In the middle of it we even called upon a psychologist as the team leader. That individual structured the program from a personal point of view, and we took that as the background and systemized and created a basics evaluation system that could encompass everything. And I requested to the new artist development team that, 'I didn't want to talk to anyone who does not love music' fundamentally.

Cha Woo-jin: To not like music and to want to be a singer…

Bang Shi-hyuk: I don't want to talk to anyone who wants to vaguely become a celebrity. Of course, wanting to become an entertainer is a great thing. Because you have to have talent. I don't want to work with anyone whose goal is an entertainer, and wants to try to use songs as a means to do so. It's a matter of order. Because it's different if you like songs and in the process of singing you become an entertainer. But the opposite, 'I like music but being a celebrity is just a means to do so', is something I don't like as well. If that's the case you can just create music below the stage. I think that you have to love the stage as well as the music.

Cha Woo-jin: That's the term 'entertainer' that's used a lot recently, right? It's also a concept that didn't exist in the 90's.

Bang Shi-hyuk: It didn't exist. I want a person who loves music, is self-motivated and also has a lot of talent, a person who is like a polyhedron [has many sides]. At the time that BTS was coming out my needs and the market's needs seemed to have fit well. Nowadays, people want more than just skills but some sort of aura of an artist from idols. Kids that you don't have to teach how to express themselves, they just need to take out and show what's inside of them. The company just has the role of growing and guiding that.

Cha Woo-jin: Normally, from the outside people look at things like, 'What sort of concept did this company plan?', but after interviewing many people about BTS it made me think that all the staff place the members at the center of things.

Bang Shi-hyuk: From the beginning I wanted people who knew what they wanted to do, and consequently we found people like that so I'm happy. But you can't rely 100% on the members. The members control the mood and the company fills in any missing parts. What's a little different about BTS is that they adjust their schedule after discussing with management. They don't just move according to whatever's planned. Because they create their own music, they need to know how to manage their schedule. If they can't do that, the next album won't come out. What they want to wear is also clear. I think that BTS' concept comprises of more than half of the members' philosophies.

Cha Woo-jin: Then with BTS as the starting point, I can see what kind of direction is being pointed at, what sort of entertainment company Big Hit is trying to be.

Bang Shi-hyuk: I think that seeing things that right is exactly right. I also decided my identity, what sort of path I should take as an entertainment company CEO while making BTS. I think it was an opportunity to definitively clarify vague thoughts I had about 'I should be going over there [in that direction]'. From now I should produce this and that type of individual in this and that type of way. Global should be applied in this way...it became very clear for this sort of part.

Cha Woo-jin: To be honest when GLAM came out the reaction was 'An idol group from Big Hit?', it was something like this, to give an example, it was like a company focused on making water jumping into the cola [soft drink] business. What sort of decision did you come to from the position of having less experience within the company?

Bang Shi-hyuk: That is a problem that you can grasp by looking at the trends of the music industry, rather than the color of the company. I thought that there was no longer any way to make a meaningful company, enterprise-wise, from just singers rather than idols. If you work with a team that is not an idol, it's best to split share with your manager. You write a good song and produce it, your manager promotes it, and you split profits 5:5. But rather than this sort of system, [I wanted] to have a company that has meaning as an enterprise, and within that company I wanted to propose a type of role model. In the way that SM Entertainment does so today. I think that SM is a model for a company that continuously grows within the ups and downs of the music industry. We started to produce idols with the idea that we should propose that sort of role model in mind, but it turns out this is not an easy task. At first I thought that if the song was good all would work out, but that wasn't everything.

The idol market does not move on my own competence or simply a good song, but is dependent on how you target a target audience. So we focused our new artist development into idols and we studied a lot. Everyone in the company got together and had discussions. But know-how isn't formed through studying. While learning that you simply can't rely on a producer's intuition, we fell back a lot.

Cha Woo-jin: You ponder about Big Hit's direction and vision in a structural or in the context of an enterprise, but you must have an individual judgment about marketability or about commercial viability, right? Especially with GLAM and VOCALOID SeeU appearing together [2], and with debuting a hip-hop idol like BTS.

Bang Shi-hyuk: I think that is the virtue of not just an artistic CEO but any CEO. It's not a judgment you can make by simply analyzing the market. That sort of decision is first, is this something that I will like. I think that it will be the same at Samsung or Apple, I think my likes and dislikes are the most important. Second, it's intuition. With big decisions I rely on my likes and dislikes and my intuition, and I take full responsibility. For that point, there is at least no differing opinion from anyone at the organization level, from what I know of. The idea that, that is that person's role. And for reference, in the past that was reflected in the songs, but today it isn't like that.

But I don't really know about contents for fans. I can't tell what's better between A and B, but fan management knows exactly. Which between A or B? If I say this, they say 'It's A'. If I ask why, they say, 'I don't know, but I just like A.' And if we release it, everyone likes A!

Cha Woo-jin: It could be that you've pick good people.

Bang Shi-hyuk: That's what they say. Haha. If I go back to the main point, my inclination is to do something different and that's why I can say that Big Hit exists. We could pick someone who the majority thinks is pretty, and go with a song that the majority likes and go with choreography that the majority likes, but to not do that is, I think, the advantage of a company where the owner is the producer. It's not about what's good or bad, but an inclination will be formed for each company based on the owner's special characteristics.

Cha Woo-jin: As a producer, what do you see as the difference between an idol and a regular singer?

Bang Shi-hyuk: I think that idols are closer to the service industry. There is a clear target audience, and there is a preference that this target wants. So I think an idol has to fulfill the virtues this target audience wants. When that is satisfied, consumption occurs. Any singer will do a basic amount of fan service, but for idols that's much more important.

I find a lot of dissatisfaction with the behavior of putting regular singers and idols on the same line and discussing them. It's not a discussion of which has more value or which is more superior. It's just a different service. There is no reason to want the same things from Justin Bieber that you want from Lil Wayne. I think that from the big picture, idols have a completely different start than from regular singers, so I think there is nothing to discuss from placing them in the same line. The only thing that is similar is that both sing and go on stage.

Cha Woo-jin: In any case isn't singing the core of both sides? From the perspective that a song must be good to succeed, what do you think of the tendency towards idol music being imported overseas? Personally, what I found memorable about Jo Kwon's solo album is that it wasn't just bought and brought over but you could almost call it a collaboration.

Bang Shi-hyuk: In the case of idols, the song and performance comes together to make a 'track'. The trends of dance music basically start in the U.S., and it's hard to create an excellent stage with just a track that has a strong Korean emotion. The beat itself cannot be formed in that way. In my personal point of view, the music of foreign songwriters have simpler performance composition than the music of Korean songwriters. But I don't think that collaboration with foreign artists will immediately progress to a major scale. I think it's only possible with minority groups that have the will to industrialize to an international level.

Choi Min-woo: Then from that perspective do you think that the tendency for music from SM or YG to get much more complicated is a solution to stage performances?

Bang Shi-hyuk: Of course. Even when you write rap you can't help but to consider the dance. Nowadays you create choreography based on not only the beat but the rap. There has to be an element within the rap that can excite someone in order to dance. Since I understand this point better than BTS members I tend to give a lot of advice when they work on their rap. As you said, the reason why music is getting more complicated is 100% because of the stage. I think there is definitely the intention of adding in an musical-like element in the song.

Cha Woo-jin: Actually you can say that stage performance is one of the inherent and core qualities of K-POP. So you think the form of music is changed based on the stage performance?

Bang Shi-hyuk: Of course. But I think it'll be hard for all of the Korean pop industry to change towards this form. If you assume that out of 100 small companies there are 100 different products. The moment that a large company a jumps in with one product, that market is cleaned up. Even if they have only one product, the sales volume is overwhelming. If you look at even the Korean music industry there isn't a large percentage of tracks with complicated composition. But even so there are instances of those tracks being called K-POP overseas. That is the effect made by companies that make music from a business perspective.

Cha Woo-jin: Have you been to some place like a music market overseas?

Bang Shi-hyuk: I haven't, but I've sent my employees. I don't really know why one needs to go to places like that. It's not like it's for collaborations, and to say that it's to read the trends there doesn't make sense. I'm skeptical about it.

Cha Woo-jin: In the midst of the division in the music industry, what do you think is the profitability in the market that BTS is realistically aiming for?

Bang shi-hyuk: The digital music market is no longer a profit model. I think the trend has been to give up on digital tracks [streaming] worldwide. Streaming cannot replace albums. I think you have to make profits from concerts, good, and endorsements. But in Korea artists must still sell music, and it's regarded as having true value. Honestly in the past, in about the 18th and 19th century, who sold music. Even up until the start of the 20th century, music scores and concerts were sold, not music. From the start when I thought of thinking that BTS would be an idol group, I didn't expect a lot of profitability from streaming. I just thought, there are idols such as Big Bang and Wonder Girls who succeeded in selling digital songs, so I thought, maybe us too? That's about it, I never thought about making money through digital songs. Rather I think concerts are the most important. If you aim for the concert market you have to eventually go to China. Japan is already fundamental. Before it used to be that domestic was the default, Japan was an expansion, and China was an option but now domestic and Japan are the default and China is the expansion. You can say that it has to be that sort of structure.

Second is endorsement. YG is showing us this well. If concerts go well, endorsements are possible. Sponsorships will continue to stick, advertisements and concerts move together. And finally are goods, this eventually needs to be the profit model. The fandom is the base, but from there we need to gradually expand.

Cha Woo-jin: I agree with you overall. What you referenced is already the direction that major record labels in the U.S. are headed towards.

Bang Shi-hyuk: Of course, the fact that Live Nation has appeared as the frontrunner of the record industry can be seen as a consequence that selling albums has no future. The idea that they themselves are the core of the music industry, and so Jay-Z will contract with them and even in Korea they hold contracts. That direct distribution companies are all running on concerts is saying that there is no answer even if they sell albums.

Cha Woo-jin: Then it seems like at the very least in the case of Big Hit you want to introduce yourselves in a big way to the market, so tell us more about entering the expanding to China.

Bang Shi-hyuk: The reason why China is really important is that this is the only market that is possible right now. From what I can see, we won't even have enough for plane tickets to Brazil. Actually Japan has shrunk. That's why when I see SM I think 'Of course that's SM!' and I'm clapping for them. If EXO continues as they are now, they can make a market like TVXQ and BoA. From my point of view China has rarely been a main market as it is now [for k-pop]. You can't call it a market if a few celebrities film dramas or shoot a couple CFs.

Cha Woo-jin: Then what is the conviction behind BTS, or the grounds for why you can push this group forward in any case.

Bang Shi-hyuk: Largely there are two things, one reason I can push BTS forward with confidence is that all the members are trainees that first started at BTS, so-called Big Hit pure bloods, is a reason. To be honest a case like this is quite unprecedented. Overall there are many cases where one or two trainees will have trained elsewhere and joined later on. In any case, because of this reason BTS understood the producers intentions well without much prejudice. And also they truly have a passion towards music. Most of the members started music and dance from their early teens and despite their young age, struggled in other fields to bring their dreams to fruition and came to have a connection with Big Hit. This passion, it really exists. You can say that this is the driving force behind why I can trust them and move forward.

[1] http://www.yes24.com/24/goods/25095744 [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jx8D_jsNzUY

I thought that the wandering and apprehension I felt during my teens would fade away naturally in my twenties. However, my twenties gave me yet a larger sense of wandering and apprehension, and I took the saying 'it is youth because it hurts' as truth and took that beautiful youth and vainly burned with passion in living out my life in a cutthroat way.

I thought a flame would have been made by how much had been burned, but when I entered the first door of my thirties I only had ashes left in my hand. And at the same time I experienced the saddest parting of my life [2]. I didn't want to live diligently any longer. In my teens I could have dreamed of some vague hope, but I felt like I became of an age where I couldn't dream any more.

I felt misery towards myself who had a troubled life that wasn't particularly different than when I was a student and who had failed at even love. I became depressed and spent many days at cafes sitting by myself and staring off into the distance. But one day at the cafe a song uniquely got caught in my ear.

I found myself dwelling over the lyrics of the song without even realizing it and I felt strange. I can't explain how I felt at that moment even today. Right there, I turned on a song finder app and I found out that the name of the song was 'Spring Day'.

And that was the first opportunity that I got to know the artist known as 'BTS'. Thinking, 'what sort of name is this for an artist' [Bulletproof Boy Scouts in Korean] and searched the name to find they were a seven member idol group.

In addition, I discovered that this song had lyrics written by and was composed by someone named Rap Monster [will use RM from here on to refer to him]. It was extremely unexpected. 'Bulletproof Boy Scouts' and 'Rap Monster'. Just looking at the naming it seems off-balance with a song called 'Spring Day', right? ㅎㅎ I think that actually piqued my interest more.

I continuously repeated listening to 'Spring Day', whose lyrics felt like they were written about my heart, and ended up watching their music videos and stage performances as well. I was a person who felt disgusted towards idols, but how pretty their videos, their dance, their song lyrics, and the melodies felt, and with that feeling of healing I listened to their music and watched their videos, and listened and watched repeatedly to forget my reality as if I was taking a dose of medicine to treat depression.

In some ways it was pitiful. At age 30 watching young idols and escaping reality… having never been on an international vacation, lacking a proper hobby—it was something I couldn't imagine myself doing as someone who just busily and drearily lived just to make enough for living expenses.

But regrettably, to the person I was then, it was the only thing that could comfort me. I was so lonely, and while I felt comforted by them, that fact made me more pitiful and I felt discouraged dozens of times.

And I continued to endure day by day in that way until I saw the text below on Twitter by chance.

https://twitter.com/BTS_twt/status/686588745252917248

“““

I'm thankful that you are a fan of me and us. I am also your fan. I am a fan that silently cheers on the loneliness, the fight, and the life that you bear alone. From behind the stage, from the studio, for a long time through notes and through music I send you my fan letter. I hope that you will read that yearning sound.

“““

The moment I read this I felt like I had been hit on the head and, without realizing it myself, tears started to roll down. Later I think I even cried out loud.

Up until then I had thought that I listened to their music and felt healed and I thought I was a consumer who was consuming a well made product.

Lovable visuals and splendid performance, trendy music and lyrics that stimulated one's sensitivity. Through those aspects that had been thoroughly commodified, I briefly felt comfort and as payment these young kids and their agency would gather an enormous amount of money that I couldn't even dream of.

But the moment I saw the text above I thought, 'It wasn't that. I am receiving comfort from a person, as a person,' and the tears started to pour out. And after a long while I learned that this was written directly by RM.

After this I started to like BTS more passionately. I downloaded an app called VApp and as I watched the content on that app I learned what a pure and healthy mind these kids had and how large the respect and love they had for each other was, and how sincere their love was to their fans.

And through different performances and mixtapes, and from watching live concert footage I learned how mature and talented these kids were musically. If 'Spring Day' was sung by a someone who had no skills but was an idol who only won through their visuals I don't think I would have fell this far.

And as if to prove that my thoughts were not wrong, after that they received popularity overseas that seemed like a lie and won victory after victory and in the blink of an eye took a seat as a world star.

In no time, a year has quickly passed and today, although I am still surviving with a miserable life, they have been running step by step towards the summit.

That feeling of unbalance is sad but it doesn't hurt like before. Through being healed by them I've become more brighter, and although my life is a bit bitter, I want to give a sincere round of applause to them.

And… Yesterday I ended up seeing BTS' concert videos that came up on Twitter, and at that scene RM, as if planned in advance, said the following.

Link:  https://youtu.be/86U37rELe9A

"””

And the last thing I really wanted to say,

In letters or sometimes in words that have been delivered…

'It's great that you guys have done so well, but my life, my dream is still in the same place and it feels that you guys are going further and in one way I feel uneasy.'

But we also did not believe in ourselves.

That we could do it, that things would turn out well…

"Could we, before we die, perform at a gym once and retire?" "I'm not sure."

What I want to say to you is, we, too, were filthy in the beginning. We, too, did it.

If it is you, who recognized and understood us…

(you can do it too).

For your dreams and your for your life, if our existence, our music, photos, and videos—even just a little bit—when your pain is at 100, if these things can make it 99, 98 our worth is enough.

I really love you.

-20171210 Wings Final Concert RM Ending Ment-

"””

When I first heard this ment I didn't cry as when I first saw RM's words on Twitter. Instead my heart felt hot and I found myself smiling.

And, from a boy who is barely 24, I'm surprised and thankful that I can hear these comforting words that are filled with a deep respect and understanding.

Although my twenties and their current twenties were different as heaven and earth, through his sincere words, as someone who is living through her thirties, I have not become miserable.

A while ago I read a post on pann about RM's misogynistic lyrics. After that, reading books about feminism, consulting with a women's studies professor, and changing lyrics during their concerts—stories about his self-reflection and effort have been detailed in that post so I won't refer to it separately.

The reason why I am writing extensively about my honest personal circumstances is that you can't judge this boy's entirety through a couple words in his song lyrics.

In the self-written song 'Born Singer' which they made in their debut days the lyrics that read, "What is your dream, mine is becoming a rap star" was changed and sung as "What is your dream, mine is being myself" five years later at their concert.

From being a boy who dreamt of being a macho rapper in his teens to becoming a young man in his twenties who sincerely wants to be himself, he grew and matured at an outstanding pace compared to his peers, and the fact that through that process he gifted to others, like myself, an unimaginable comfort and healing.

I was also surprised that Suran's 'Wine / If I Get Drunk Tonight', which I was deeply into and listened to on repeat, was also produced by Suga, which I found out a short while ago at the Melon Music Awards.

And at the most recent concert Suga said he had something he wanted to say that he couldn't because he was too dazed.

"If you lower your prejudice and stereotypes by just a little bit, there will be way more amazing music in your vicinity."

I, too, was caught in that prejudice and treated their music as taboo, and at the same time as someone who was healed by their music, I want to express how true those words that Suga said are.

This song is called LOST and was written and produced by RM.

http://tv.naver.com/v/2157944

"To lose one's path, it is the way to finding that path" I hope these lyrics can give someone like me who has been wandering, in their teens and twenties, and in their thirties, a great hope and courage.

[1] https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=aigo [2] More colloquially, the word is used to refer to a break-up.

BTS's Fame that is Adults Are Unacquainted With

▲ As ever, the popularity and even name of BTS is unfamiliar to the older generations.

ⓒ BigHit Entertainment

The landscape of music in 2017 is completely different than that of 10-20 years ago, with the 1st generation of idols with groups such as H.O.T., Sechkies, S.E.S., and Finkl, and the 2nd generation with DBSK, SS501, etc. Even with selling hundreds of thousands of albums their aren't many in the older generation who know the names of these groups. Generating all their profit from fandoms, the 21st century music market focuses their activities mainly on targeting passionate consumers. The need to appeal to older generations has rather faded.

Starting with the main consumers of the idol market, teens (people aged 10-19), the difference in temperature of popularity amongst younger generations and older generations can only feel vast. At least for mothers whose children like BTS the situation is a bit better. BTS has gathered their fandom via communicating through Youtube, VLive, and other SNS platforms. They also don't appear on variety shows that can help make BTS feel more familiar to older generations due to their busy overseas schedules. This is one of the reasons why the older generation might be unacquainted with BTS.

Bang Shi-Hyuk's first idea was not an idol group but a hiphop group

▲ Compared to today, in their debut days BTS made strong music incorporating gangster rap amongst other genres.

ⓒ BigHit Entertainment

Nobody could have predicted that BTS would rise to the position they are at now five years ago when they debuted in 2013. Bang Shi-hyuk CEO (BigHit Entertainment, songwriter), who produced BTS also was one of these people.

As a popular songwriter of JYP, Bang Shi-hyuk entered the music industry through winning 'Yu Jae-Ha's Music Contest'. Compared to a considerable number of songwriters who have pushed for lyricism such as Cho Kyu-Chan, Go Chan-Yong, and Yu Hee-Yul, Bang Shi-Hyuk solidified his position in trendy pop and dnace music. This was a bit of an peculiar path. Alhtough he did create many songs like Baek Ji-Young's representative track 'Like Being Hit by a Bullet'.

Bang Shi-Hyuk's original idea was not to create an idol group, but a hip hop group with many members like N.W.A. or Wu-Tang Clan. We can suppose that he was able to come up with an unconventional concept because he's lived a music life that was different from others.

Although he made contact with rapper Beenzino and the winner of Show Me the Money 4 produced by Mnet, rapper Basick, he wasn't able to bring his idea to fruition. The team frame was created with Rap Monster (currently active under the moniker RM) at the center and while preparing for debut, the team's direction and members changed.

'Strong' music when they debuted...  the success of <The Most Beautiful Moment in Life> series (HYYH) that showed flexibility

▲ Popular songwriter Bang Shi-hyuk. He is the origin of BTS.

ⓒ BigHit Entertainment

If you examine their 2013 debut single, <2 Cool 4 Skool>'s title track 'No More Dream' to the 2014 mini 2nd album <Skool Luv Affair>'s 'Boy in Luv' that is used in various audition programs as a competition song, the tracks are quite different than BTS's music today.

Simply put, this is because with so-called 'strong' hip-hop music, they set forth a front, with H.O.T.'s 'Downfall of the Warrior' or Seo Taiji and the Boys's 'Come Back Home' coming to mind. Even today, hip-hop is a main genre in BTS's music. But if you consider that today BTS evenly accomodates EDM and trendy pop sounds, their sound has changed significantly since their beginning. This (their sound in the beginning) played a part in setting them apart from teams that appeared at a similar time and also helped grow their fandom. However, it seemed that this 'strong concept' was also a impediment to building their popularity. During this process, the success of the <The Most Beautiful Moment in Life> series that started in 2015 was their turning point.

BTS’s I Need U Dance Practice: https://youtu.be/hvUZb9NT7EY

These works sung of the youth of an anxious era and highlighted BTS's features. With a flexible melody that was hard to find in their earlier work, the HYYH series was the ignition that secured their fandom.

Part 1's title track 'I Need U' created a large sensation that led to not only boy groups but many girl groups to cover the track, and Part 2's 'Run' with its components of rock music attempted many musical variations. Their perfectly in sync choreography and extravagant performance that is now their trademark was also a large component of their popularity as well.

In 2015, 2 years after their debut, BTS achieved first place at a music program and sold 520,000 copies of <The Most Beautiful Moment in Life> part 1 and part 2 placing their names among the ranks of popular idol groups.

Past the domestic stage to the world stage

With the settlement of the <The Most Beautiful Moment in Life> series with <The Most Beautiful Moment in Life  Young Forever> and their second full album <Wings> BTS combined their success to win a daesang at the year end music awards. Up until this point, there isn't much difference from other popular idol groups.

However, as if they were thoroughly well-known, BTS has raised a great sensation in the overseas markets and have launched them to be 'world stars'. Of course as in the past and as it is today, overseas tours and other activities earning foreign profit falls under the category of normal activity but BTS has acquired fans from a larger range and has achieved a differentiated success.

BTS’s FIRE Dance Practice: https://youtu.be/sWuYspuN6U8

Videos of BTS's brilliant performances have propagated through the work via Youtube and other SNS platforms. BTS's videos lack nothing in capturing the hearts of the public in the American pop market which hasn't seen another boy group emerge after One Direction.

In 2017 with their special album <You Never Walk Alone> and <LOVE YOURSELF 承 'Her'> which sold as many as 1,400,000 copies domestically, and having won an award at the Billboard Music Awards, having performed at the American Music Awards, having appeared on three popular talk shows on public American TV networks, and with plans to appear on a New Year's special show (Dick Clark's Rocking Eve) BTS is paving their own path that no one has walked on before.

Their success factor... what they have yet to show us infinite

▲ On the 5th, Billboard reported that BTS's 'Mic Drop' (Steve Aoki remix) will rank 28th on the Billboard Hot100 and have the highest rank as a k-pop group in history.

ⓒ BigHit Entertainment

[I] will shortly organize the last five years of BTS's path. To be honest, with all this it may still not be enough for the older generations to understand why BTS is so popular and is the top trend. Then, it might be helpful to hear from Bang Shi-Hyuk CEO, who created BTS, on why they have succeeded.

On the 30th of last month, MAMA held their 2017 Professional Awards in a hotel in Hong Kong. On that day, Bang Shi-Hyuk gave the keynote speech on 'BTS's success and their coexistence with the Western Music Market', and I have condensed the speech into three points.

"Coexistence between mainstream culture and alternative culture"

"Coexistence between traditional media and new media"

"Coexistence of a fandom that transcends ethnicities and countries"

It is true that Psy's 'Gangnam Style' in 2012 raised a larger sensation. Through this song the potential to raise k-pop, that was the exclusive property of k-pop enthusiasts, to the mainstream showed promise, but unfortunately did not sustain strength. This is because it was not built on the foundation of a loyal fandom.

BTS, on the other hand, has shown potential over the past two years that built on a strong fandom, they could rise to mainstream culture. This statement is made with the optimistic meaning that BTS will not simply stay put at where they are today.

BTS’s DNA Dance Practice: https://youtu.be/GEIU_7v40Dw

As of late, it has been a while since it is absolutely important to communicate and promote on SNS platforms and the internet. BTS, too, is active in using such platforms and has succeeded in raising a reaction that is greater than with other groups. This has caused others who don't know about BTS to also have interest. Also, as this is a shift from promotion that happened primarily through mass media to promotion that focuses on the artist individually, this is a subject that is worth paying attention to. Through this method, the formation of a diverse fandom is something that BTS can be proud of and is also the groundwork their popularity.

Unlike preceding (sunbae) groups that have gained popularity in mainly China, Japan, Southeast Asia, and other Asian regions, BTS's fandom is encompassed of fans from all over the world, including the U.S., Europe, and South America. Through the medium of music, they have shown us the coexistence of a fandom that transcends ethnicities and countries. Just in time, BTS's single 'Mic Drop' (Steve Aoki Remix) has placed 28th on the Billboard Hot100 Single chart as the highest placing k-pop group in history.

For these seven young men who have yet to show us more, the results they have produced up to now will not be the peak of BTS, but a starting point for yet another type of success.

Copyright (c) Oh My News (citizen reporter), distribution and redistribution without notice is not allowed

Extra text | This post has also appeared on Kim Sang-hwa's personal blog (http://blog.naver.com/jazzkid) Oh My News allows duplicate distribution since the author wrote it by his or herself.

[Comments]

true****

They have started to dig into the 30-40s middle-aged to elderly segment at an alarming pace. The distribution of different age groups on the comments on BTS articles is proof. There are many auntie and uncle fans like myself who are sorry we recognized them so late

myma****

Congrats to Bangtan and Bang Shi-hyuk~ When I see things like this it highlights that not only are the artists important, but the planning ability of a supportive company is also important. To compare with another group, in Gukkasten's case with the best vocal ability of Ha Hyun-Woo and with music that would sit well overseas, without the planning of their company it seems they just fade away. I'm personally a bit sad...

gjgo****

[editor’s note: ahahah all of them had me DYING;;;; the last one is sooo funny if you imagine someone sitting there waiting until their song comes out on the hour and pressing it too early LOL]

[source]

this one's v forcefully taking flowers that were part of the award

this one's v touching baekhyun's butt when he was just standing there

this one's v hitting baekhyun's head ㅡㅡ

isn't it too much? if v has a conscious he needs to write an apology letter ㅡㅡ

if you're an exo fan or a v hater then upvote or downvote this post

all my life i've never seen someone so bad at pretending to be a fan... oh god...

ah ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ i'm an exo fan and i can't honestly say that i like btsㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ this is fuckingㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ it's so unbelievable i'm lauhgingㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ v's protecting baekhyun's head, how should i look at it so it looks like he's hitting him? really i'm curious

if baekhyun passes by this post he'd hella laugh at your post ㅋㅋㅋㅋ

[♡ kpop slang of the day ♡]

팬코 (pen-co): short for fan (팬) cosplay (코스프레). this is when someone pretends they're someone's fan

[♡ source ♡]