BTS: Backstory

Jungkook is the most popular as he makes the most mainstream music out of the 7 of them, straightforward extremely catchy songs about love and sex with western collabs for his promoted singles, attracting more general public listeners. I would say they all have very different target audiences when it comes to their solo music, not all of them are aiming for the same goals, some focused on album cohesion, self expression, attracting global hip hop fans etc. I would recommend boracity's video: the bts solo promotions: favoritism or proper strategy? To understand their solo careers better, but this is a pretty niche topic, watch it only if you want to lol

I’m so glad you watched this video. To me BTS has always just been different. They were given freedom. They also love music and love each other & you can tell. While the music got my attention, them as human beings is what made me love them. 💜 I hope you do continue this journey and you can see them from the 15 to 20-year-olds sleeping in one room when they debuted to the grown men just back from their military service. I do recommend live performances because they are true artists and performers. And lyrics matter. Even in songs that may seem on the fun side they are getting across a message If you’re interested in a brief history of K-pop, I recommend this video: https://youtu.be/kPS4tCHT6SA?si=hvea0oXp_8Y_lfPG

Glad you did this! For next steps, there are lots of options: you could do their title tracks in chronological order, see them develop as a group; you could do solo songs from each member, see what they're like individually (and that'll be their most recent work); you can do the most popular ones; you could go for favorite b-sides; you could do mvs, or live performances, or just listen; you could spin a wheel with all the songs, and just pick at random; you could ask ARMY about a snippet of music you heard in this guide and they'll let you know what song it is; or ??? Also, you could watch Taylor's Guide to BTS, which is a little longer than this--and it'll give you a little more sense of each member's personality (and more music snippets). Have fun! I am enjoying your reactions

Thank you for your reaction. This deep-dive video never disappoints. If you want to delve deeper into the founding story and get to know each member, there's a longer guide that will answer your questions at the end of the video. A Guide to BTS Members: The Bangtan 7 🔗 https://youtu.be/huV_yIdxZPY?si=wC1N5rp5i_vFNvJ- by Taylor Mari I was surprised to learn that behind such immense popularity lies not drugs, alcohol, and endless partying (as in most cases), but mutual support, hard work, and endless love—I would even say obsession and respect for their fans. "I want to be the kind of idol my fans can be proud of. I will work harder." I don't remember which one of them said this in an interview, but it really stuck with me. Nowadays, being an artist isn't just about how and what you sing/draw/write/film, but also what kind of person you are, and BTS are the first to show on such a large scale how it should be done.

I have one question, in the video the author says the K-"Pop" (emphasis on POP!) industry and even KPop groups didn't welcome BTS. I know that BTS were talked down by K-Rap/K-Hiphop artists. Most noteable the incident with B-Free. There is a video about B-Free dissing BTS on YouTube. You can easily find it. So my question is, is there any proof for the K-"POP" industry not welcoming BTS? Because I couldn't find any. With BTS being from a small company back then I assume no one in the K-"Pop" industry cared about them. Like it is with so many new groups that come from small companies. So any info would really be interesting. Speaking about their roots, with RM, J-Hope and Suga being active in the underground rap scene in Korea and eventually debuting in a K-"Pop" idol group (BSH talked about this in the Time interview I posted a link to in my previous comment), feels somewhat 'logic' that they were not well received anymore by the K-"RAP" community. In the US the term 'sellout' is used for rappers in a similar context. Is it ok that the rap communities around the world react that way? I am not the one to decide that, but it is very common. So please help me fill in the blanks! Thank you!

So many things on my mind! Since the KPop industry is so intertwined, like most entertainment industries, it might be worthwhile to also learn about the origins of BigHit, the company BTS is signed under, and in particular its founder, Bang Si-Hyuk. Short story is, Bang Si-Hyuk worked as an in-house producer for JYP and founded BigHit in 2005. But JYP and BSH have a bigger history together. E.g. renting a small room in LA to get a foot in the door of the American music market as producers, when they were in their late 20s. That was even before JYP Entertainment was founded in 1997. Also BSH talked about BTS in a Time Magazine interview in 2019, that also gives a little more insight. https://time.com/5681494/bts-bang-si-hyuk-interview/

Any other artists who you would like to see background vids for?

J kook is lead visual so you’re supposed to look at him most. Why he is usually front and center before they switch formations. Also does the feature bridge sections in most songs. He’s so GOOD LOOKING UGH

They received so much hate and mockery in the beginning. It was like they were invited to talk shows specifically to be made fun of. Its why so many of their lyrics are about how "you used to mock me but look at me now" type of thing.

BTS really did come from the bottom, and they were definitely made fun of with everyone trying to put them down. Despite that they were known as “Monster Rookies” and won Rookie of the Year awards. Unfortunately they still struggled financially for the first few years until their popularity exploded in 2016. Their success is linked entirely to ARMY working tirelessly on multiple fronts. BTS and ARMY are extremely protective of each other. The members have so much discography both as a group and individually and it covers a wide range of genres, I’ll list a couple of my favorites from each member, other ARMY will probably have different opinions. RM- Wild Flower and Intro: Persona. Jin- Epiphany and Running Wild. Super Tuna is the silly one he wrote about fishing. Suga/Agust D- Daechwita and Snooze. J-Hope- Outro: Ego and Neuron. Jimin- Serendipity and Who. V- Inner Child and Slow Dancing. Jungkook- Euphoria and Standing Next to You A rap line song- Cypher, pt. 3 Killer Vocal line- The Truth Untold They’ve definitely had some fights over the years, some of them pretty big ones too, but their commitment to each other and their fans has created one of the strongest bonds I’ve ever seen. The Dumpling Incident is one of the most famous fights https://youtu.be/bHhsfmLpN10?si=ELPzC9huTHfa6zXv

I actually have not seen this video of BTS, so I enjoyed watching it. I think the description of the guys is so spot on, and I look forward to your reactions to their individual songs. It is awesome to hear how different they are, but together their synergetic effect creates the group. BTS has a truly inspiring underdog story. It is one of the biggest reasons I support them because they came from nothing, achieved everything, and are still so humble and hardworking. Before social media, the way to get your group seen by the public was through numerous TV promotions. However, being from a small label, they didn't receive these opportunities, as the time slots were often allocated to groups from bigger labels. I'm not sure if they were specifically singled out and ostracized or if groups from small labels were all treated this way. They experienced an incident as they gained international popularity, where they were accused of manipulating their sales numbers, as Koreans could not understand how they were achieving such high numbers when they were not popular in Korea. To answer your question about the influences on K-pop, it is both Western and J-pop that influenced K-pop. The first group credited with modernizing Korean music was Seo Taiji and Boys back in 1992. Their sound was heavily influenced by American hip-hop, European techno and metal. Lee Soo-man, the founder of SM Entertainment (one of the Big 4), was also influenced by MTV while studying in the USA and was inspired to modernize music in Korea upon his return. The idol group culture was inspired by J-pop, along with marketing, aesthetics, choreography, and fan culture.

Thank you so much! I am very excited and curious of their new album in 2026. They all have now done their own solo albums or more and gone through the process of finding their own colors. Now they are back together and figuring out how all that will combine back to the group songs. The thing that drew me to Bts was that I had kind of gotten bored to every artist having their own sound and sticking to it. To find good rap, I had to listen to a rapper, to hear jazz, I had to listen to a jazz singer, to find ballads I had to listen to again someone else etc. Then Bts came and I could never guess what they would throw at me next. And that has kept me with this group for 8 years now. Also, them being genuine and so humble, funny, kind and sweet is also a real factor. And also weird, lool! Helps me accept my weirdness when I see them know each others traits and goofyness and weird habits, but still love and accept each other and try to work it out together 💜

Yes, their bond is one of the strongest i've ever seen. Once you get a little more info about their underdog story, you will realized that their bond was forged thru many hardships, injustice, hate, misinformation and many other hurdles. They are brothers and ARMY loves them.

I am so glad you watched this video. Remember this is a very short version so i look forward to more BTS reactions including more guides. Thank you. Borahae