BTS

BTS, also known as Bangtan Sonyeondan and Beyond the Scene, is a South Korean group formed by Big Hit Entertainment. It debuted on June 13, 2013, with the single album 2 Cool 4 Skool. The original seven members are RM, Jin, SUGA, j-hope, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook. The group first drew attention through hip-hop-influenced songs about teenage pressure, education, and uncertain futures, then expanded its sound and subject matter across pop, rap, R&B, and electronic music. Their early releases belong to the School trilogy, followed by the youth-focused albums The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 1 and Part 2 in 2015 and Young Forever in 2016. “I Need U” became their first Korean music-show number-one song, while “Run” and “Fire” helped establish a more emotionally varied identity. Wings, released in 2016, connected individual member solos with a larger album narrative and produced the hit “Blood Sweat & Tears.” BTS achieved major international recognition through the Love Yourself series. Love Yourself: Her reached number seven on the Billboard 200 in 2017, making BTS the first Korean act to enter that chart’s top ten. Love Yourself: Tear later became the first album by a Korean act to top the Billboard 200. Its single “Fake Love” earned the group a performance at the 2018 Billboard Music Awards, where BTS also won Top Social Artist, an award it held for several consecutive years. The group’s 2020 English-language single “Dynamite” became its first Billboard Hot 100 number-one. “Butter” and “Permission to Dance” continued that success, and “Dynamite” received a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance. BTS addressed the United Nations several times, including a 2018 speech by RM about accepting one’s voice and a 2020 message encouraging young people during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2022, the members announced a temporary focus on solo activities while continuing as BTS. Jin began mandatory military service later that year, and the other members fulfilled service obligations. BTS reunited after completing enlistment with members finishing service in 2025. Their catalog includes the album Map of the Soul: 7, the pandemic-era releases Be and Proof, and collaborations such as “Boy With Luv” with Halsey and “My Universe” with Coldplay. Proof, released in 2022, combines new songs, tracks, and demos, functioning as an anthology of the group’s nine years. BTS’s career is notable not only for sales, but also for turning stories about ambition, grief, friendship, and self-acceptance into a conversation.