BTS

Also known as the Bangtan Boys, BTS have achieved record-breaking global success since their formation by South Korean record label Big Hit Entertainment in 2013. As they built their reputation, putting out news of the band through online platforms, they released their debut single and EP 2 Cool 4 Skool, in 2013, which were followed by their first album, Dark & Wild, in 2014. Later that same year, the septet – comprising members Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook, who co-write and co-produce much of their own material –released Wake Up, an album of Japanese versions of their songs as well as brand new Japanese tracks. Korean album Wings came in 2016 with the Japanese album Youth. The band toured extensively to promote their albums, including sets at festivals, and in 2017, embarked upon their BTS Live Trilogy Episode III: The Wings Tour. They were awarded the Top Social Artist Award at the 2017 Billboard Music Awards, becoming the first Korean group to scoop one of the accolades. They received their first double-platinum certification in 2018 for the maxi-single “Mic Drop/DNA/Crystal Snow.” Documentary series Burn the Stage followed the group on their 2017 Wings Tour and was released onto the band’s premium video streaming channel. They dropped their third Japanese-language album, Face Yourself, in 2018, which charted at number 43 on the Billboard 200. Their third Korean offering Love Yourself: Tear, which included the single “IDOL,” also saw release in 2018 and the band embarked on their BTS World Tour, which was captured on the 2019 documentary BTS World Tour: Love Yourself in Seoul. In March 2019, the group announced their next world tour, Love Yourself: Speak Yourself, before releasing the EP Map of the Soul: Persona and new single “Boy With Luv” in April. Map of the Soul: 7 became their fourth Korean-language album, released in 2020, and they announced their Map of the Soul Tour in the same year, which was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The group wasted no time and quickly headed to the studio to start working on their ninth full-length, Be, sharing their creative process with their fans via a series of live streams on their video streaming channel. Preceded by hopeful singles “Life Goes On” and “Dynamite,” a joyful disco-pop number and their first English-language single that went straight to the top of Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, the album saw the light in November 2020 and showcased the band’s resilience in the face of adversity. Released in October, their remix of Jawsh 685 and Jason Derulo's single "Savage Love (Laxed – Siren Beat)" gave the group their second US chart-topper. They continued on their world-beating trajectory later that year when they became the first Korean pop artists to be recognized by the American Recording Academy, with "Dynamite" receiving a nod for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards. They also scored a hat-trick of US number 1’s when "Life Goes On" debuted at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 that year. In 2022, they made history again as the first Korean Grammy nominee to perform their own song live ("Dynamite") and went to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart with their second English-language single, "Butter," with the song also receiving a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards. They teamed up with Coldplay for smash-hit single "My Universe," which confirmed their place at the top table of global pop superstars, and the following year became the most-nominated group of all-time at the Billboard Music Awards, gaining an impressive seven nominations in total. In 2022, they released "Yet to Come (The Most Beautiful Moment)," the lead single from their first anthology album Proof. The group then took a hiatus as BTS members enlisted in mandatory military service and announced that they would reconvene in 2025.