In one of the most anticipated comebacks of Korean-Pop music, South Korean boy band Beyond the Scene released its fifth mini album, “Love Yourself: Her,” earlier this month.
BTS is one of the most popular K-pop groups right now, not only in Korea but in the United States, as they recently hit the top spots in the coveted HOT 100 Billboard chart.
“BTS is helping more people know about the music genre,” senior biology major Danica Magiste said. “I’m happy they are receiving more recognition. I think their popularity will increase if they just continue what they are doing.”
BTS was the first K-pop group to sell its album directly to the United States through Amazon. The preorder for “Love Yourself: Her” sold out on the site, garnering more than 1 million preorders worldwide and reaching No. 1 on Amazon preorders.
K-pop is making its way through the American pop scene, on streaming platforms, such as Spotify and Apple Music. “Love Yourself: Her” made it to the No. 1 spot on iTunes the day of its release.
Earlier this year, BTS won the Billboard Music Award for Top Social Artist. With more than 300 million votes, the band broke the record for most votes in a fan-voted award and beat popular artists, such as Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez and Ariana Grande.
BTS met The Chainsmokers at the awards, leading Andrew Taggart, half of The Chainsmokers duo, to coproduce BTS’s song “Best of Me.”
The Chainsmokers invited BTS to its concert in Seoul, South Korea, where they shared the stage to perform The Chainsmokers’ hit, “Closer.”
BTS has met up with Halsey, Major Lazer and Charli XCX, igniting speculation for future pop music collaborations.
The win at the Billboards and recent collaboration propelled the band’s popularity in North America. BTS songs, including “Blood, Sweat, and Tears,” “Fire,” and “Not Today,” have been played on American radio stations in San Francisco and Chicago.
BTS also broke the record for the number of views on a K-pop music video on YouTube in 24 hours, with around 21 million views on its single “D.N.A.”
Bibhusha Tamrakar, a senior majoring in finance and marketing, said she remembers when she first listened to BTS.
“I was super impressed by their song ‘Butterfly,’” Tamrakar said. “I liked their melody and eventually got attracted to their visuals.”
BTS stands out from other K-pop groups because their concepts deal with deeper themes such as self esteem, social issues, mental-health problems and self love.
BTS’s last album, “Wings,” featured a solo song from each member with lyrics about personal experiences.
“Their songs are meaningful, and BTS teaches their fans to not give up and to work hard to achieve their dreams,” Magiste said.
You can stream BTS on Spotify and Apple Music and watch their music videos on YouTube.