I Joined the BTS Army

I’m in love with K-Pop which is South Korean pop music. I enjoy it with or without the English subtitles. The K-Pop world paid close attention to the artistry of Michael Jackson that combines catchy music, incredible dance choreography, a moving storyline, mad aesthetics with attention paid to makeup, clothes, set design, camera angles and lighting, and production. K-Pop captures and nurtures my soul in the same way Michael Jackson captivated me. Surprisingly, it was my pre-debut Astro boys who lead me to the most popular K-Pop boy group on the planet, BTS. It was while watching pre-debut Astro members dancing to catchy songs that prompted me to find the songs. I discovered that both the songs and the choreography were from BTS. And so, I delved into BTS and became a huge fan.

The name BTS stands for a few things. Originally, Big Hit Entertainment had them slated as a hip-hop group when they debuted in June 2013 and BTS stood for Bangtang Sonyeondan which translates to Bulletproof Boy Scouts. They soon switched over to K-Pop and they became idols, wearing makeup and losing some of the hard edge. The seven member group, BTS, then became also known as the Bangtang Boys. In 2017 they added Beyond the Scene to the meaning of BTS. I get it, people evolve. And this group has definitely evolved over the 10 years they have spent living and working together as a unit. Like Astro, the members each have a unique personality, appeal, and role.

The leader of the group is RM (Rap Monster). Like his name implies, he is a rapper. Apparently he took a lot of heat from the hip hop scene when he became an idol, switching to K-Pop. He is the only member fluent in English and talks about learning English by watching the sitcom “Friends”. There are two other rappers, Suga and J-Hope, although Jungkook also raps. Suga is an introvert like me. He is an award winning and prolific songwriter who never intended to become famous. They call him the grumpy member. J-Hope is the exact opposite, full of positivity and great dance moves as the lead dancer, donning the strict dance teacher mode at times. Jin is the oldest in the group, born in 1992, and he is a really great singer. He is considered the visual, meaning the really good-looking one. And yes, he is good looking. But beyond good-looking is the incredibly sexy and charismatic Jimin. He was formerly a contemporary dancer and it shows. This young man is so attractive that even straight males have a hard time resisting his sex appeal. He is the shortest member, a lead vocalist, and a main dancer. He is the member my eyes are drawn to the most. I would call him my bias (K-pop for favorite). V is another that was recruited as a visual. He too is a lead dancer and vocalist. And finally, there is my other bias, Jungkook, the youngest in the group. This kid, born in 1997 does it all. He is the main vocalist, a main dancer, he raps, and on top of that he is so handsome. He is also quite the athlete. That’s the low down on the members, now on to my favorite songs and videos.

I mentioned that Astro introduced me to BTS by covering two of their songs. Those songs were Boy in Luv (2014) and Dope (2015). Other songs that have gained widespread popularity include I Need U (2016), Danger (2014), and Mic Drop (2017). Although the videos of these songs are well done, I prefer the live performances because videos depict such harsh realities and a harder edge of hip hop. My favorite early videos are Dope (2015) and Blood Sweat & Tears (2016) which is artistically beautiful. Also artistically wonderful is Fake Love (2018) and Black Swan (2020).

And finally, their most recent releases have captured my attention with more views than I care to admit. I’m captivated by the pure fun of Boy With Luv and the music and power of On, the Kinetic Manifesto Film. There are so many other BTS songs and videos that I am fond of. I have officially joined the fandom of BTS, called the A.R.M.Y.