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BTS at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on January 26, 2020. Photo: AFP / VALERIE MACON
BTS, the incredibly popular seven-member South Korean boy band, has been breaking music records for years. But on Monday, August 31, they reached a milestone that no other K-pop artist has ever achieved: debuting with a No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 through their first all-English track, “Dynamite,” released last month. .
According to Nielsen Music and MRC data, the single has been streamed 33.9 million times and sold 300,000 singles since its release on August 21, beating out Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallions’ controversial worm “WAP.”
It’s been a steady rise for the disco-inspired song, which now holds the title of the biggest YouTube premiere in history, garnering over 101 million views in just 24 hours. Six different versions of the single reached the top 10 of the iTunes charts. BTS also swept this year’s VMAs on Sunday, August 30, winning four awards.
BTS performing from South Korea during the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards, held virtually amid the coronavirus pandemic, broadcast in New York. Photo: AFP / MTV
How did a small label band (by K-pop standards) achieve this in less than eight years after their debut? As the group’s leader RM has said time and again, it’s all about the fans.
“If there is anything I have accomplished, it was only possible because I had my other BTS members by my side, and because of the love and support of our ARMY fans,” he said during a speech at the United Nations in 2018.
To this day, BTS fans, known as ARMY, are behind much of the band’s success.
Billboard ranks the Hot 100 singles based on a combination of all-genre US streaming, radio streaming, and sales data. To push “Dynamite” to the top of the Billboard charts, fans around the world personally reached out to their local radio stations to make sure it aired. It was a mission they took seriously, with the hashtag #BTS_Dynamite trending on social media when the song was released.
Despite having had four # 1 albums on the Billboard 200 chart and holding the record for most weeks at number one on the Social 50 chart, debuting at # 1 on the Hot 100 had always eluded BTS.
“The bigger the dream, the better. We want to rank as number one on the Hot 100 chart and number one on the Hot 200 chart, ”said BTS member Suga. he said in a previous interview.
This wish was granted, but not by a stroke of luck. The fact that the first BTS song to reach the milestone is in English was no accident.
“BTS’s new approach [in releasing an English song] is a strategy to get them to a better place in [the Billboard] “charts,” Kim Zak-ka, a South Korean pop music critic, told VICE News, explaining that US radio shows rarely feature non-English songs, contributing to the Hot 100 list.
In addition to releasing the song in English, BTS also released multiple remixes to boost the first week’s sales and a second version of the music video just days after the first one was released.
“BTS’s universal sound and message gained sympathy at a time when the global music market is sinking into a swamp and people need to be comforted due to the coronavirus.” Kim Young-dae, music critic and author of BTS: the reviewhe told VICE News.
“BTS’s fandom has increased tremendously in recent years. On top of that, BTS released their song in English, so that they could overcome their disadvantages when it comes to radio broadcasting. English-speaking fans are also more comfortable with her music. “
The first time an artist of Asian descent reached No. 1 on the chart was in June 1963, when Japan-born Kyu Sakamoto topped the charts with his song “Sukiyaki.” Hip-hop ensemble Far East Movement also topped the chart in October 2010 with “Like a G6.”
One Korean artist who came close in 2012 was PSY, for the song “Gangnam Style”, but it only reached number two on the charts. Today, PSY congratulated BTS by saying, “Finally, proud! I’m so proud,” sharing the results of the charts on their Instagram Stories.
This victory meant a lot to South Koreans globally, including South Korean President Moon Moon Jae-in, who took the time to congratulate BTS On twitter.
“It’s really amazing,” Moon wrote. “It is a splendid feat that further increases the pride of K-pop. The song ‘Dynamite’, which topped the list, is even more meaningful as it has been composed to deliver a message of comfort and hope to people around the world who are fighting COVID-19. It will bring great comfort to Koreans suffering from the national crisis caused by COVID-19. I offer my sincere congratulations. “
In response, BTS thanked Moon for her support.
“Thank you once again for your warm words of congratulations,” the group replied in a tweet. “Although it is a difficult period, it would be nice if our song could be even the smallest of comforts and one of positive energy. We are confident that all the cities of the world, including those in our own country, will be revitalized once again through the bright lights, and we will strive in our work in the field of music, because it is what we can do best. “
Even the band members said that they are still in awe of the achievement.
“I really just talked about this with [my bandmate] Suga but thank you very much and thank you again ARMY. I’m so sorry, I don’t know what to say. The tears keep coming, “said member Jimin.
BTS and their fans are now setting their sights on the next big milestone, hoping to win a Grammy next year, a feat no K-pop artist has ever been able to accomplish.
Miran Miyano and Junhyup Kwon contributed reporting.
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