Boy bands are quite interesting to study. Like most musical acts, boy bands tend to always have a story of how they came together and work together. In modern times, the boy band tends to be manufactured. Each member carefully chosen from many singers/dancers, until the “right” combination is found. There have been some very successful bands that have sold a lot of music. Our featured band this week brings a compelling back story. They look like most boy bands, and sound like many of today’s great units. However, there are a couple of things that are very different from other bands. This week Weekly Music Commentary features the band BTS. Please allow me to provide more prospective into the group.
It might be good to discuss the name of the band. The group’s name, BTS, stands for the Korean expression Bangtan Sonyeondan (Korean: 방탄소년단; Hanja: 防彈少年團), literally meaning “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), which translates similarly. In July 2017, BTS announced that their name 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.”
Yes, BTS is the first K-Pop group to be featured in Weekly Music Commentary. K-pop (abbreviation of Korean pop; Korean: 케이팝) is a genre of popular music originating in South Korea. While the modern form of K-pop can be traced back to the early 90s, the term itself has been popularized since the 2000s, replacing the term Gayo (가요), which also refers to domestic pop music in South Korea.
Calling K-pop “popular” is very appropriate because BTS, and other Korean groups are major international stars. As we get further into the BTS story, you will find they are more than a group of guys from South Korea. Although it generally indicates “popular music” within South Korea, the term is often used in a narrower sense to describe a modern form of South Korean pop that is influenced by styles and genres from around the world, such as experimental, rock, jazz, gospel, hip hop, R&B, reggae, electronic dance, folk, country, and classical on top of its traditional Korean music roots. That is a good description of BTS music. Nevertheless, it might be good to start at the formation of BTS.
BTS began its formation in 2010 after Big Hit Entertainment CEO Bang Si-hyuk met with group leader RM and was impressed with his rapping. BTS was originally supposed to be a hip hop group similar to YG Entertainment’s 1TYM, but between their initial formation and their debut, Bang Si-hyuk decided that the contemporary youth needed instead “a hero who can lend them a shoulder to lean on, even without speaking a single word”. The group was meant to debut in 2011 and featured on several tracks by artists such as 2AM and Lee Seung-gi before their debut was postponed and the group was reorganized into a more traditional idol group. The lineup was then finalized with Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook in 2012. Six months prior to their debut, they began to gain attention for their presence on various social media websites, as well as song covers on YouTube and SoundCloud.
On June 12, 2013, BTS released their debut single album 2 Cool 4 Skool, the first installment in their “school trilogy” series. It was not the beginning BTS had hoped for. The album had sluggish sales numbers with singles that failed to chart. From their inception, BTS was convinced that telling their story was the only way for the younger generation to relate to their music. The lyrics of the album primarily reflected on the misunderstanding and prejudice towards them, criticism of the society that diminishes their dreams, and their anxiety and determination towards their future. During the production of the album, Suga and RM rewrote the lyrics of “No More Dream” more than 20 times. The single album’s release was followed by several appearances on Korean music shows. Despite being unpolished, these early live performances demonstrated BTS’ potential with their intense and charismatic stage presence.
Shifting their sound and image from solely aggressive, masculine hip hop to more diverse styles, 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” as “the most beautiful moment in life.” Their third EP, The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 1 (March 2015), explored the growth and emotional agony of youth as well as its playful and uplifting sides. The new music also ushered in a shift in the songs lyrically. Originally a hip hop group, their 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.
Interestingly, BTS evolved into a socially conscious group who produced music that had deeper meaning than the early songs. Band member Suga explained the songwriting goals of the band:
In May 2018, BTS released their third Korean-language studio album, Love Yourself: Tear in conjunction with an appearance at the 25th Billboard Music Awards. At the show, BTS debuted as performers with the premiere of their lead single, “Fake Love” and won Top Social Artist, making them the only Korean artist to win the award two years in a row. In the narrative sequence, the album coincided with the “轉” or “turn” of the series, touching on the tortuous enlightenment of loving without being loved and encouragement to those without dreams.
BTS has conquered the world, as their music has found its way into the US successfully. 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. BTS also became the first Korean act to appear as musical guest on Saturday Night Live.
Of course, there is more to the BTS story than covered in this post. Musically, they are performing on the very large world stage and delivering music to their large audience. The fascinating part of their story is that a large portion of their audience do not understand what they are singing about. Rest assured, because of translation we do know the content of their lyrics.
With the release of their album Map of the Soul: Persona, BTS is the first group since The Beatles to earn three number one albums in less than a year. This is the type of band that we are witnessing today. What’s next? More socially conscious music that provides a view to the soul. That’s all!