Also known as the Bangtan Boys, BTS is an all-male boy band from Big Hit Entertainment comprised of seven members – RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, V, Jimin, and Jungkook.
The group debuted on June 12, 2013 with the song “No More Dream” from their debut album 2 Cool 4 Skool.
BTS is an abbreviation for Bangtan Sonyeondan, a Korean expression which literally translates to “Bulletproof Boy Scouts”. In Japan, the boys are known as Bōdan Shōnendan.
In July 2017, the group announced that they will also be using “Beyond The Scene” as a new meaning to their name as part of their new brand identity.
The group is widely known for their wide social media presence. They were listed by Forbes as the most retweeted artist on Twitter in March 2016. In 2017, they were the first K-pop group to ever win at Top Social Artist at the Billboard Music Awards.
2010 – 2011: Formation
Big Hit Entertainment opened their auditions for a new boy band beginning in 2010 and continued until the year 2011.
The lineup underwent several changes before Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook made the final cut and were officially announced to debut as part of BTS. Six months before their debut, the group started gaining attention on social media for their song covers on YouTube and SoundCloud.
2013: Official Debut, 2 Cool 4 Skool
On June 12, 2013, BTS released their debut single album 2 Cool 4 Skool, the first part of a “school trilogy” series. The lead single “No More Dream” was simultaneously released, followed shortly after by another single, “We Are Bulletproof Pt. 2”.
BTS held a debut showcase with performances of “No More Dream” and “We Are Bulletproof Pt. 2,” making it their official debut in South Korea’s music industry.
The music video for “No More Dream” was officially released ahead of the group’s debut on June 11, 2013. A dance version of the video was then released on June 16 after the group has begun their album promotions in various music programs.
On June 13, BTS appeared on Mnet’s M Countdown, marking the official start of their promotions for 2 Cool 4 Skool.
On July 16, the group released the music video for “We Are Bulletproof Pt. 2”.
2 Cool 4 Skool sold over 105,000 copies and became part of the top 5 hits on Gaon Album Chart. But the singles from the album were not considered major hits.
Following 2 Cool 4 Skool, BTS released the second installment to their “school trilogy” series, the extended play O!RUL8,2?, in September 2013. The EP peaked at number 4 on the Gaon Chart and sold more than 120,000 copies. But like 2 Cool 4 Skool, the singles from O!RUL8,2?, “N.O” and “Attack on Bangtan” both didn’t chart high.
In the same month, BTS starred in their own variety show, SBS-MTV’s Rookie King Channel Bangtan. The show is based on a made-up broadcast station, “Channel Bangtan”, where they did parodies of variety shows such as Master Chef Korea and VJ Special Forces.
And despite the lack of hit songs, BTS managed to cop New Artists of the Year awards in various year-end award shows like the 2013 Melon Music Awards, Golden Disc Awards, and the 2014 Seoul Music Awards.
2014: Skool Luv and First Korean and Japanese studio albums
BTS opened 2014 with the release of Skool Luv Affair on February 12, 2014. the third installment in their “school trilogy” series, which included the singles “Boy in Luv” and “Just One Day”.
The album topped the Gaon Chart and peaked at number 3 on the Billboard World Albums Chart after selling more than 200,000 copies.
In June 2014, the group took part in the Bridge to Korea festival in Russia, an event promoting tourism between the two countries where they were participated as judges for the K-pop cover dance competition and performed in front of 10,000 audience.
In August of the same year, BTS was among the idol groups who were part of the KCON in Los Angeles. That same month, they released their first Korean studio album, Dark & Wild.
The album made it to number 2 on the Gaon Chart and sold more than 200,000 copies. The group promoted the album along with the singles “Danger” and “War of Hormone”.
From October to December, the group held their first concert tour, “2014 BTS Live Trilogy – Episode II: The Red Bullet”. Aside from the show in Seoul in October 17 to 19, the tour included stops in various Asian cities such as Japan, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand.
Also in December, BTS released their first Japanese studio album, Wake Up, which sold 25,000 copies and peaked at number 3 on the Oricon Albums Chart. The album contained the original tracks “Wake Up” and “The Stars” along with Japanese versions of older songs.
2015: First Japan tour & second solo concert, The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 1
In 2015, BTS held their first Japan tour called “Wake Up: Open Your Eyes” in front of 25,000 fans. The same year, they had their second solo concert in Korea with “BTS Live Trilogy – Episode 1: BTS Begins”.
In March of the same year, the group released their EP, The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 1, the only Korean album that made it to Fuse’s list of “27 Best Albums of 2015 So Far”.
The EP’s lead single, “I Need U” became a top 5 hit in South Korea and gave BTS their first music show win on SBS MTV’s The Show. “Dope”, the second single of the EP, peaked at number 44 but became BTS’ first music video to reach 100 million views on YouTube.
The song later ranked at number 3 on Billboard’s World Digital Chart. And since its release, The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 1 has sold over 300,000 copies.
In June 2015, released another Japanese single, “For You”, to celebrate the first anniversary of their Japanese debut. With the music video released on the same day, the single immediately topped Oricon’s daily chart, selling 42,000 copies on the first day alone.
During this time, BTS also opened their “2015 Live Trilogy Episode: The Red Bullet” world tour and took part in the Summer Sonic Festival tour in Japan.
Following the Japan tour is a three-day concert tour called “The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: On Stage” tour, where they performed “Run”, the lead single for their latest EP, The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 2.
The album topped the Gaon and Billboard World Album Charts upon release and remained on top for several weeks, the first time a K-pop act has done so.
At the end of the year, BTS bagged the Best World Performer award at the 2015 Mnet Asian Music Awards as a recognition of their strong international presence.
2016: Young Forever, first daesang, Wings
In 2016, their EPs The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Parts 1 and 2 were later combined into a new edition, Young Forever, led by three singles: “Epilogue: Young Forever,” “Save Me,” and “Fire”.
Following the release of Young Forever, BTS held a two-day concert in May at the Olympic Gymnastics Arena in Seoul and went on to tour Asia in front of 144,000 concertgoers. They also headlined KCON in Los Angeles and New York in June and July, respectively.
Young Forever eventually won Album of the Year at the yearend Melon Music Awards, BTS’ first major grand prize (daesang) since their debut.
On September 7, 2016, the group released Youth, their second Japanese studio album which sold more than 44,000 copies on the first day and immediately ranking number 1 in Japan. “I Need U” and “Run” were also released as Japanese singles.
The following month, the group released their second Korean studio album, Wings. It sold 500,000 copies on the first week, paving the way for its entry into the U.K. Official Albums Charts at the 62nd spot and being the first K-pop act to achieve the feat.
Wings reached number 26 on the Billboard 200 chart and was the bestselling album in Korea in 2016 according to Gaon Chart.
BTS continued to thrive internationally with Wings as they became the first K-pop group to have three entries on the Billboard 200 and the first K-pop album to spend more than one week on the chart.
The album also topped the World Albums Chart, World Digital Songs Chart, and Social 50 Chart for the week of October 29.
The lead single for the album, “Blood, Sweat & Tears” became BTS’ first number one hit on the Gaon Chart, eventually achieving an all-kill feat for the group in South Korea. The song’s music video reached more than 6 million views within the first 24 hours, breaking the previous YouTube record for the highest number of views on a K-pop music video within 24 hours.
At the end of the year, BTS won Artist of the Year at the 2016 Mnet Asian Music Awards and was the first group to win it outside of the Big 3 Companies (SM, YG, and JYP).
2017: International Recognition, Love Yourself: Her
BTS opened 2017 with the Live Trilogy Episode III: The Wings Tour. The concert series was supported by You Never Walk Alone, a repackaged edition of Wings.
The repackage was released on February 13, 2017 with more than 700,000 pre-orders. The lead single “Spring Day” topped all eight major real-time music charts in South Korea, even crashing Melon’s digital chart due to heavy online traffic.
The album also entered US Billboard’s Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart at number 15 with “zero promotions”. The music video for the “Spring Day” reached over 9 million views within the first 24 hours after its release, breaking the record previously set by “Blood, Sweat, & Tears”. “Spring Day” reached 20 million views in less than four days, making it the fastest music video by a K-pop group to reach the 20M mark.
A week after the music video for “Spring Day” was released, Big Hit Entertainment released the music video for “Not Today”, another single from You Never Walk Alone. “Not Today” broke all records set by “Spring Day”, reaching 10 million views within 24 hours and 20 million views in less than three days.
In May 2017, BTS won the Top Social Artist Award at the Billboard Music Awards, the first Korean group to have done so after a record-breaking 300 million tweets.
In September, the group released their fifth EP, Love Yourself: Her, featuring their collaboration with The Chainsmokers in “Best of Me”. The album debuted at number 7 on the Billboard 200 chart, the highest rank for an Asian artist in Billboard’s history. The lead single “DNA” peaked at number 2 on the weekly Gaon Chart, while the music video became the most viewed K-pop video in 24 hours with more than 20 million views.
“DNA’s” entry to the Billboard Hot 100 chart marked BTS’ debut in the chart and the first time a song from a K-pop group made it. The song then climbed the chart to number 67, becoming the highest-charting song for a K-pop group after Wonder Girls’ record at number 76.
The band also collaborated with Steve Aoki and Desiigner for a remix of their song “Mic Drop”, which was marketed as the second single from Love Yourself: Her. The song peaked at number 26 in South Korea and number 28 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, the first top 40 entry for a K-pop group.
Following the international success of “DNA” and “Mic Drop”, the songs were then released as a triple-A side single in Japan along with the single “Crystal Snow”.
The tracks sold over 260,000 copies on its first day and topped the Oricon Daily Chart, making it the highest-selling single from a K-pop artist in just one week.
It then surpassed 300,000 points on the Oricon Weekly Single Chart within the next six days and topped the list with a total of 365,096 points, the most points for a non-Japanese artist.
Love Yourself: Her sold more than 1.2 million copies during its first month, according to South Korea’s Gaon Album Chart. It was recognized as the biggest selling Korean album by month in 16 years, second only to g.o.d.’s album in 2001.
In November, BTS became the first K-pop group to perform at the American Music Awards followed by an Artist of the Year award at the 2017 Mnet Asian Music Awards, their second in a row. Their song “Spring Day” also won Song of the Year at the Melon Music Awards.
On December 12, they announced that they will be performing Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve, the first time that a K-pop group was invited to become part of the show’s lineup.
On December 22, the group made their Japanese music show debut with an appearance on TV Asahi’s Japan Music Station Super Live.
BTS capped the year by charting in the 2017 edition of the Billboard Year-End charts where they ranked 10th on the Top Artists, 2nd on Top Artists – Duo/Group, and 1st on the Social 50 Artists and World Albums Artists.
2018: Double Platinum
In January 2018, BTS was recognized by the Recording Industry Association of Japan as the first and only foreign artist to sell over 500,000 copies in 2017 with a single album. The group also received a Double Platinum certification on the Oricon chart for Love Yourself: Her.
On January 25, the group won the Daesang (Grand Prize) Award at the 27th Seoul Music Awards, also for the latest album.
BTS Member Profiles
RM | Jin | Suga | V | J-Hope | Jimin | JungkookRM
Kim Nam-joon, more popularly known as RM, is a rapper, songwriter, and record producer. He is the main rapper and leader of BTS (Bangtan Sonyeondan) under Big Hit Entertainment.
He first debuted with the group in 2013 and released his first solo mixtape, RM, in 2015. In December 2018, he released his second mixtape, Mono.
The album became the highest-charting album by a Korean soloist on the Billboard 200 chart, peaking at number 26. RM has previously worked with artists such as Gaeko, Wale, Warren G., Krizz Kaliko, MFBTY, and Primary.
Biography
RM, formerly known in the South Korean music industry as Rap Monster, was born on September 12, 1994 in Ilsan, South Korea. He names Epik High’s “Fly” as one of the musical influences that introduced him to hip-hop when he heard for the first time in the fifth grade.
Before his debut with BTS, he was an underground rapper under the stage name “Runch Randa” and has released a number of tracks, including a collaboration with fellow underground rapper Zico.
He is known to have an IQ of 148, belonging in the top 1.3% of the nation in the university entrance examinations for language, math, foreign language, and social studies.
He is fluent in English, which he has mentioned in some interviews as something he learned with his mother as a child by watching the American sitcom, Friends.
After he turned 16, he joined Big Hit Entertainment. He was introduced to the label’s CEO, Bang Si-hyuk, by rapper Sleepy who had seen him perform in the underground rap scene.
The CEO was said to have been inspired to form a group with RM after seeing him rap.
RM is currently enrolled at Global Cyber University.
Career
2013 to present: BTS
RM was the first member recruited by Big Hit Entertainment in 2010 during a talent audition held by the agency. When he started as a trainee, it was then that Big Hit CEO Bang Si-hyuk reportedly decided to form what would become the group BTS.
RM trained with fellow underground rapper Min Yoon-gi (BTS’ Suga) and Jung Ho-seok (BTS’ J-Hope) who later debuted with him in the group.
He trained for a total of three years during which time he performed on five debut tracks credited to BTS between 2010 and 2011. He also worked as a songwriter for girl group Glam in their debut single “Party (XXO)”.
On June 13, 2013, he debuted as a member of BTS on Mnet’s M! Countdown where they performed the “No More Dream” from their debut single album 2 Cool 4 Skool. He has since produced and written several tracks on the group’s succeeding albums.
In 2018, RM was awarded the fifth-class Hwagwan Order of Cultural Merit by the President of South Korea along with the other members.
Solo activities
RM has previously collaborated with numerous Korean and American artists. On March 4, 2015, he released a single with warren G called “P.D.D. (Please Don’t Die)” alongside a music video for the song featuring a behind-the-scene forage of their collaboration.
He also collaborated with artists EE and Dino J for the hip hop project group MFBTY. They released the songs “Bucku Bucku” and “Bang Diggy Bang Bang”.
On March 17, 2015, RM released his eponymous first solo mixtape which ranked 48th on Spin’s 50 Best Hip Hop Albums of 2015.
This was followed by the release of Primary’s EP, 2-1, on April 9 where RM featured on the song “U” alongside Kwon Jin-ah.
On August 4, 2015, the digital single “Fantastic” featuring Mandy Ventrice was released through major music sites in Korea, which was a collaboration with Marvel for the soundtrack of Fantastic Four.
Aside from his work in the music industry, RM also ventured into television. He was a regular cast member on the first 22 episodes of the Korean television program Problematic Men, which began airing on February 26, 2015 on cable network tvN.
RM also co-produced Homme’s single, “Dilemma,” alongside Bang Si Hyuk. The song was released on August 30, 2016, marking his second official production after working on his group’s song “Epilogue: Young Forever”.
Another collaboration was with American rapper Wale on the song “Change,” a socially-charged track released as a free digital download on March 19, 2017. On December 14 of the same year, it was confirmed that RM featured on the remix of Fall Out Boy’s “Champion,” after clips from Spotify UK went viral on Twitter.
The track was officially released at midnight of the following day, reaching number 18 on Billboard’s Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles. It also catapulted him to 46th place on the Emerging Artists Chart for the week of January 8, 2018.
RM released his second mixtape, Mono, on October 23, 2018. In the same month, he also became the first Korean artist to top the Emerging Artists chart in the United States. In a survey conducted by Gallup Korea, he ranked 12th in the list of “most preferred idol of the year for 2018”.
2019
On March 25, 2019, English electronic duo Honne announced that RM made a feature on their of the song “Crying Over You” alongside singer BEKA. The song, which had only originally featured BEKA in 2018, was released two days later.
“Crying Over You” was initially scheduled for a January 2019 release but was postponed due to “unforeseen circumstances”. For its Chinese release, BEKA was replaced by Chinese singer Bibi Zhou.
On the same day, Big Hit Entertainment released the song “Persona” as the trailer for BTS’ Map of the Soul: Persona EP. “Persona” was performed solo by rAM and debuted at number 17 on Billboard’s YouTube Song Chart.
On July 24 of the same year, RM featured on the fourth official remix of Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road,” called “Seoul Town Road”.
On January 6, 2020, RM featured on the song “Winter Flower” by South Korean singer-songwriter and record producer Younha.
Jin
Born Kim Seok-jin on December 4, 1992, Jin is a singer and songwriter more popularly known as one of the vocalists of BTS (Bangtan Sonyeondan).
Pre-BTS Life
Jin was born in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea as the younger of two sons. He attended Konkuk University and graduated with a degree in art and acting on February 22, 2017.
He is currently enrolled in the graduate school of Hanyang Cyber University where he is pursuing studies in areas other than music.
Career
2013 to present: With BTS
Kim was discovered for his looks while walking down the street. He was invited to audition for his current agency, Big Hit Entertainment, while he was studying acting.
On June 13, 2013, he officially made his debut as one of the four vocalists of BTS on Mnet’s M Countdown where they performed the track “No More Dream” from their debut single album, 2 Cool 4 Skool.
Although he has done songwriting in the past, he first co-produced the solo single “Awake” from the album Wings. The song charted at number 31 on the Gaon Music Chart and number 6 on Billboard’s World Digital Singles Chart. In December 2016, he released a Christmas version of the song on SoundCloud.
On August 9, 2018, Jin performed the solo sing “Epiphany” which was first heard in the trailer for the group’s upcoming album at the time. The full version of the sing was released as part of the album Love Yourself: Answer, charting at number 30 on the Gaon Music Chart and 4 on Billboard’s World Digital Singles Chart.
In October of the same year, he, along with the other members of BTS, was awarded the fifth-class Hwagwan Order of Cultural Merit by the President of South Korea.
2015 to present: Solo activities
Jin collaborated with fellow BTS member, V, for the soundtrack of the historical drama Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth for which the latter was part of the cast. They released the song “It’s Definitely You”.
2019
He also worked with groupmate Jungkook on the alternate version of “So Far Away,” a song released by another groupmate, Suga, as part of his self-titled mixtape Agust D.
Jin also released solo covers, including “Mom” by Ra.D, “I Love You” by Mate, and “In Front Of The Post Office In Autumn,” which was originally sung by Yoon Do-hyun in 1994. All three covers were released on SoundCloud on May 7, 2015, December 3, 2015, and June 7, 2018, respectively.
As a host, he made appearances on music programs Music Bank and Inkigayo, as well as a co-host on year-end music award shows.
On June 4, 2019, Jin released his first independent song, “Tonight” as part of the 2019 BTS Festa, an annual event celebrating the anniversary of the group’s debut. He composed the song with Big Hit Entertainment’s resident producers Slow Rabbit and Hiss Noise and wrote the lyrics with bandmate RM. The song was reportedly inspired by his relationship with his pets.
Suga
Born Min Yoon-gi on March 9, 1993, Suga is a South Korean rapper, songwriter, and record producer. He is signed under Big Hit Entertainment and is most popularly known as a member of the group BTS (Bangtan Sonyeondan).
His stage name, Suga, was derived from the words “shooting guard,” a position he played in basketball when he was younger. For his solo works, he goes by the alias Agust D, which is a combination of the initials of his birthplace, “Daegu Town,” and Suga spelled backwards.
He has over 70 songs attributed to him as a songwriter and producer according to the Korea Music Copyright Association.
Early life and pre-debut
Suga was born in Daegu, South Korea and has one older brother. He went to Taejeon Elementary School, Gwaneum Middle School, and Apgujeong High School. He first became interested in rap when he heard “Reggae Muffin” by Stony Skunk. He decided to become a rapper after hearing Epik High.
At the age of 13, he started writing music lyrics and learned about MIDI. He worked a part-time job at a recording studio at 17. From then on, Suga began composing, arranging music, rapping, and performing.
Before he was signed by Big Hit Entertainment, he was known as Gloss in the underground rap scene. He was part of the hip-hop crew D-Town in 2010 for which he produced the song “518-062” commemorating the Gwangju Uprising.
Career
2013 to present: BTS
Suga originally joined Big Hit Entertainment as a music producer. He trained alongside RM and J-Hope and on June 12, 2013, he officially debuted as a member of BTS on Mnet’s M! Countdown with the track “No More Dream” from their debut single album 2 Cool 4 Skool. He has since written and produced several songs for the group.
In 2018, he, along with the other members of the group, was awarded the fifth-class Hwagwan Order of Cultural Merit by the President of South Korea.
Solo activities
On August 15, 2016, Suga released a self-titled mixtape through the online platform SoundCloud. He released the album for free so as not to feel “trapped in some sort of framework”.
The tracks from the mixtape discussed his personal struggles with depression and social phobia. It was rated by Fuse TV as one of the top 20 mixtapes of 2016.
In 2017, he composed the song “Wine” for singer Suran who previously featured in a song on his mixtape. Suran apparently asked Suga for the song after hearing its rough draft at his studio.
The record peaked at number 2 on the Gaon Digital Chart and eventually won Best Soul/R&B Track” at the Melon Music Awards in December where Suga also received the Hot Trend Award for the song.
In February 2018, Suga re-released his mixtape, this time for digital purchase and streaming. It reached the 3rd spot on Billboard’s World Albums Chart, number 5 on the Heatseekers Albums chart, and number 74 on the Top Album Sales chart.
His stage name, Agust D, also reached number 46 on the Emerging Artists chart for the week of March 3 upon the release of the mixtape.
In 2019, he was featured on the song “Song Request” by Lee So-ra, which was released on January 22. He wrote the song with Tablo of Epik High who was also the producer of the track. “Song Request” debuted at number 3 on the Gaon Digital Chart and at number two on Billboard’s World Digital Songs chart, with 3,000 downloads in the United States in just two days.
2019
On February 27, 2019, it was announced that Suga co-produced the track “Eternal Sunshine” on Epik High’s Sleepless In album.
In July of the same year, he was revealed to have produced the digital single “We Don’t Talk Together” for South Korean singer Heize.
Five months later, Suga featured and produced the track “Suga’s Interlude” from American singer-songwriter Halsey’s third studio album Manic.
J-Hope
Profile
Name: Jung Ho Seok
Birthday: 2/18/1994
Birthplace: Gwangju, South Korea
Born Jung Ho-seok on February 18, 1994, he is popularly known by his stage name J-Hope and as a member of highly popular boy group BTS under Big Hit Entertainment. He is a rapper, songwriter, dancer, and record producer.
On March 1, 2018, J-Hope released his first solo mixtape, Hope World, which debuted at number 63 on the Billboard 200. This feat made him the highest-charting solo Korean artist on the list at the time of its release. The mixtape later peaked at number 38.
Early life
J-Hope was born in Gwangju, South Korea where he lived and grew up with his parents and older sister. It was also where he became part of an underground dance team called Neuron and took dance classes at Gwangju Music Academy.
Before he debuted with BTS, J-Hope earned a reputation as a skilled dancer after winning various local prizes, including first place in a national dance competition in 2008. His interest in dancing eventually led him to gain an interest in singing and auditioning as an idol trainee.
When he was a trainee, J-Hope was featured as a rapper in the 2012 song “Animal” by then-2AM member Jo Kwon.
Career
2013 to present: BTS
J-Hope officially made his debut on June 13, 2013 as one of the seven members of BTS. Their group performed the song “No More Dream” from their debut single album 2 Cool 4 Skool on Mnet’s M! Countdown.
He was the third member to join the group as a trainee after rm and Suga and has since been involved in the creation process of the group’s discography.
On Jue 14, 2019, J-Hope and his bandmate V collaborated with Swedish singer and songwriter Zara Larsson on “A Brand New Day,” the soundtrack for the mobile game BTS World.
Solo activities
J-Hope released his first solo mixtape, Hope World, on March 1, 2018, along with a music video for the title track “Daydream”. Five days later, he also released a music video for the B-side track “Airplane”.
Hope World debuted at number 63 on the Billboard 200 list, making him the highest-charting Korean solo act on the chart at the time. The mixtape also peaked at number 38 on Billboard 200, number 35 on the Canadian Albums chart, and number 19 on the US Top Rap Albums chart.
His songs “Daydream,” “Hope World,” and “Hangsang” also charted on the World Digital Songs Chart upon release at numbers 3, 16, and 24, respectively.
On their second week, the songs climbed up to numbers 1, 6, and 11, and were joined by three other tracks off of the Hope World mixtape — “Airplane,” “Base Line,” and “P.O.P (Piece of Paper) pt. 1” — at numbers 5, 6, and 12. “Daydream” peaked at number 1, making J-Hope one of only ten Korean groups to reach number one.
The success of his mixtape brought J-Hope to number 3 on the Emerging Artists Chart, 97th on the Artist 100 Chart for the week of March 10, and 91st for the week of March 17. He is the fifth Korean artist (and second soloist after Psy) to rank in the Artist 100.
Hope World also charted in 10 countries worldwide, while “Daydream” charted at number 3. By the end of 2018, the album was ranked number 5 on Billboard magazine’s year-end World Albums Chart.
On September 27, 2019, J-Hope released a collaboration single with American singer Becky G. titled “Chicken Noodle Soup”. The song debuted at number 81 on the Billboard Hot 100 with 9.7 million streams and 11,000 downloads in its first week.
This made him the first BTS member to chart on the Hot 100 outside the group and the third Korean soloist to rank on the chart (after Psy and CL) and the third Korean artist to do so.
“Chicken Noodle Soup” also debuted atop the World Digital Songs chart, duplicating the achievement of his first song “Daydream”.
V
Profile
Name: Kim Taehyung
Birthday: 12/30/1995
Birthplace: Daegu, South Korea
Kim Taehyung, born on December 30, 1995, is a singer-songwriter, record producer, and actor. Most popularly known by his stage name, V, he is a member of the group BTS.
Early life
V was born in Daegu, South Korea and grew up in Geochang County. He is the eldest of three children with a younger brother and sister.
He was in elementary school when he first aspired to become a professional singer, eventually taking saxophone lessons in middle school as a means to reach his dreams. He became a trainee for Big Hit Entertainment after passing an audition in Daegu.
He enrolled in Global Cyber University after graduating from Korean Arts High School in 2014.
Career
2013 to present: BTS
V officially made his debut in the music industry as a member of BTS on June 13, 2013. They performed their song “No More Dream” from their debut single album, 2 Cool 4 Skool, on Mnet’s M Countdown.
He went on to promote with the group for the succeeding years, eventually gaining popularity in 2016.
The first time he was credited for music composition was in the group’s album, The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 1 for which he co-wrote and co-produced the song “Hold Me Tight”.
He was also credited for his contribution in the lyrics for the song “Fun Boyz,” which was co-composed by fellow member Suga.
For the group’s next album, The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 2, V’s melody was used for fellow member Jungkook’s lyrics in the song “Run”. He again worked on the melody for his solo single “Stigma” from their album, Wings.
V unofficially released a cover of “Hug Me” with fellow member J-Hope, as well as “Someone Like You” by Adele.
He released his second solo song, “Singularity,” in May 2018, which was used in the trailer for BTS’ third LP, Love Yourself: Tear. A month after the release of “Singularity,” it was added to The Guardian’s Top 50 songs for the month of June 2018 playlist. It also made it to number 28 on Billboard’s Top 50 BTS songs curated by critics.
The song also debuted in UK radio when it was played on BBC radio on October 25. By the end of the year, “Singularity” was ranked 20th on the New York Times’ list of “The 65 Best Songs of 2018”, alongside the group’s song “Fake Love”.
It was also named the fourth “best and most replay-worthy song of 2018” by LA Times Pop Music Critic Mikael Wood, while Guardian Music Critic Laura Snapes named it as one of her favorite tracks in the publication’s “Best Music of 2018” Albums and Tracks” list.
On October 24, 2018, V became one of the youngest recipients of the fifth-class Hwagwan Order of Cultural Merit (along with his groupmates), a prestigious award given by the President of South Korea for their role in the spread of Korean culture.
He, and his bandmate J-Hope, collaborated with Swedish singer Zara Larsson on the song “A Brand New Day,” which was part of the soundtrack album for their group’s mobile game, BTS World. The song was released on June 14, 2019, and debuted on top of the World Digital Song Sales Chart.
Solo activities
Aside from his work in the music industry, V has also ventured into acting when he made his small screen debut with a supporting role in KBS’ drama, Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth. For the drama’s soundtrack, he also worked with fellow BTS member Jin on the song “It’s Definitely You”.
On June 8, 2017, V released the song “4 O’Clock,” which he co-produced with groupmate RM, to celebrate their fourth anniversary.
His first full solo track outside of BTS, “Scenery,” was released on January 30, 2019 through the group’s SoundCloud page. The song was first teased at the 2019 Seoul Music Awards followed by another teaser on BTS’ Twitter page.
V wrote and composed the ballad song, which was produced by Docskim of Big Hit Entertainment. It also includes the contributions of other producers from the label, Pdogg and Hiss Noise.
The song broke SoundCloud records when it reached 100 million streams just a little over 14 days, the shortest time for the platform. “Scenery” broke SoundCloud’s streaming records nine times in two weeks, setting the record at 11 million streams per day.
Jimin
Profile:
Name: Park Ji Min
Birthday: October 13, 1995
Birthplace: Busan, South Korea
Born Park Ji-min on October 13, 1995, he is a singer, songwriter, and dancer most popularly known by his stage name. He is a member of the boy group BTS.
Early life
Jimin was born in Geumjeong District, Busan, South Korea to a family composed of his parents and a younger brother. He attended Busan’s Hodong Elementary School and Yonsan Middle School. He was in middle school when he started to learn popping and locking dance at the Just Dance Academy.
Prior to becoming a trainee at Big Hit Entertainment, Jimin was a top student in the modern dance department of Busan High School of Arts where he studied contemporary dance.
One of his teachers suggested he audition with an entertainment company and it brought him to his now-label, Big Hit. When he passed the auditions in 2012, he transferred to Korean Arts High School from where he graduated in 2014. He is currently enrolled at Global Cyber University.
Career
2013 to present: BTS
Jimin made his official debut as a member of the group BTS when they released the single “No More Dream” from their album 2 Cool 4 Skool on June 12, 2013. He holds the position of vocalist and dancer.
As a member of the group, he has so far released two solo songs. “Lie” was released in 2016 as part of their album Wings, while “Serendipity” was released as part of their 2017 album Love Yourself: Her. He also released a full-length edition of “Serendipity” in the same year.
All of his three solo songs surpassed 50 million streams on Spotify, making Jimin the only Korean artist to have three solo songs with over 50 million streams on the platform. The three songs are also the only solo songs by a BTS member in the Official Chart’s list of 20 most-streamed songs from the group in the UK.
In 2018, he was awarded the fifth-class Hwagwan Order of Cultural Merit by the President of South Korea along with the six other members of BTS.
On March 6, 2020, Jungkook and Jimin featured in LAUV’s song, “Who,” which the American singer released as part of his album How I’m Feeling.
Solo activities
Beyond his activities as a BTS member, Jimin also pursued solo projects, beginning with a collaboration with his bandmate Jungkook in 2014 for “Christmas Day.” The song is a Korean rendition of Justin Bieber’s “Mistletoe”, with the Korean lyrics written by Jimin.
In 2016, he started appearing on variety shows such as Hello Counselor, Please Take Care of My Refrigerator and God’s Workplace. In the same year, he became a special MC on music programs Show! Music Core and M! Countdown. In December of that year, he performed on a special stage with Taemin from SHINee at the KBS Song Festival.
On June 2, 2017, Jimin once again released a collaboration with Jungkook — a cover of Charlie Puth and Selena Gomez’s “We Don’t Talk Anymore.”
Jimin also started releasing solo songs outside of BTS’s discography in 2018.
The song “Promise” was released for free on December 30 through the group’s official SoundCloud page. Featuring lyrics written Jimin and his groupmate RM, as well as a cover artwork photographed by V, the song went on to become SoundCloud’s Biggest 24-Hour Debut Ever.
“Promise” surpassed Drake’s record when he released the song “Duppy Freestyle.”
Jungkook
Born Jeon Jung-kook on September 1, 1997, he is a singer-songwriter and record producer most popularly known by his stage name Jungkook. He is a member of the boy group BTS.
Early life and pre-debut
Jungkook was born in Busan, South Korea to a family that consists of his parents and an elder brother. He went to Baekyang Elementary School and Middle School in Busan.
When he became a trainee at Big Hit Entertainment, he transferred to Singu Middle School in Seoul. When he was younger, Jungkook dreamt of becoming a badminton player. His ambitions changed after seeing BIGBANG’s G-Dragon perform “Heartbreaker” on television and decided that he wants to become a singer.
He auditioned for Superstar K in 2011 during the talent show’s auditions in Daegu. Although he wasn’t selected, he received casting offers from seven different entertainment companies. He eventually chose to become a trainee at Big Hit Entertainment after seeing his would-be groupmate RM perform.
In the summer of 2012, Jungkook went to Los Angeles, California to improve his dance skills as part of his debut preparations. In June of the same year, he appeared in Jo Kwon’s “I’m Da One” music video and worked as a back-up dancer for labelmate Glam.
Jungkook graduated from Seoul’s School of Performing Arts in 2017. He is currently enrolled at Global Cyber University along with his fellow BTS members RM, J-Hope, Suga, V, and Jimin.
Career
2013 to present: BTS
Jungkook made his official debut with BTS with the release of their single 2 Cool 4 Skool on June 12, 2013. As part of the group, he has sung two solo tracks – the first being the pop track “Begin” from their 2016 album, Wings, and the second being the song “Euphoria” from the album, Love Yourself: Answer, released in 2018.
“Begin” was about Jungkook’s story of moving to Seoul at a young age to pursue his dreams of becoming an idol singer.
It also expresses his gratitude toward his groupmates for taking care of him since their trainee days. “Euphoria,” on the other hand, was first released on April 5, 2018 accompanied by as nine-minute short film. It was used as the introduction to the third installment of BTS’ Love Yourself album series.
The full track was released on August 24, 2018. “Euphoria,” produced by DJ Swivel, charted at number five on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart. It also charted for 13 weeks on South Korea’s Gaon Digital Chart.
Aside from his solo tracks, Jungkook has also been credited as the main producer for two of BTS’ songs – “Love Is Not Over” and “Magic Shop”.
On October 25, 2018, he, along with the other members of the group, was ordained with the fifth-class Hwagwan Order of Cultural Merit by the President of South Korea to recognize their contributions in the spread of K-pop around the world.
On March 6, 2020, Jungkook and Jimin featured in LAUV’s song, “Who,” which the American singer released as part of his album How I’m Feeling.
2015 to present: Solo work
Jungkook participated in the “One Dream, One Korea” campaign in September 2015, where he took part in a song collaboration alongside several Korean artists in commemoration of the Korean War. The song was released on September 24 and presented at the One K Concert in Seoul on October 15.
In 2016, he was cast in the pilot episode of the show Flower Crew and appeared on Celebrity Bromance. He also joined the talent competition King of the Masked Singer under the name “Fencing Man”.
On November 6, 2018, Jungkook performed “We Don’t Talk Anymore” alongside Charlie Puth in a special collaboration stage at the MBC Plus X Genie Music Awards. He previously did covers of the song, one on his own and another time with groupmate Jimin.
BTS on Running Man
BTS made a special appearance on the popular Korean variety show, Running Man for episode 300.
