Until recent years, I had never officially joined an organized fan group. I was a fan of the Jackson 5, Stevie Wonder, Elton John and later Michael Jackson. I liked many other artists, but these were the ones I really followed. My financial loyalty to them extended to buying albums and attending concerts. I marveled at my friends and cousins who had posters in their rooms of their favorite artists. I never did that. I was content to enjoy their music live or on the radio, on albums and then cassettes, or on television. I followed the trajectory of their lives through television or magazine interviews. I genuinely cared about the art and the artist. But my investment in what it means to be a fan changed when I was introduced to BTS and became an official card-carrying ARMY just prior to the pandemic.
A colleague discovered that I liked Astro, a K-pop group that I stumbled across on YouTube one day and she suggested that if I liked that group, I would really like BTS. I didn’t think much of it until Astro did a cover of this really catchy tune and I wanted to know the original artist. Well, the original artist turned out to be BTS. Of course, I watched their MV of the song and was a bit disturbed and yet intrigued. From there, I watched additional videos and became amazed by their artistry. Then one day I spent an entire Saturday watching all their music videos in order on YouTube. It took hours. I became curious about who these members were individually and so I watched every introduction to the members video that I could find on YouTube. I found myself intrigued by their backgrounds, their personal story, their relationship to one another, their work ethic, their challenges and personal growth, their message, their personal quirks, their perseverance, and their talent. Their rise to the top was bumpy and unexpected, but well deserved.
Aside from Michael Jackson, I had yet to find another performer putting in the kind of effort to present full performances. Like Michael, these guys provided high quality music, incredible choreography, beautiful staging, handsome visuals, and both a storyline and a powerful social message. To top it off, they invited the fans into their work process and into their personal lives to see the fun, the embarrassing, and the struggles through their own reality shows, documentaries, and personal interactions with fans on V-live. Because of the video coverage that extends from before their June 13, 2014 debut to the present, I could watch them grow, struggle, triumph, struggle again, mature, and then triumph with Grammy nominations and then fail to secure a Grammy Award two years in a row after “Dynamite” and then “Butter“, songs they didn’t write, but sang in English during the pandemic.
For the first time in my life, I purchased more than just albums (and I have them all); I purchased fan items. I have t-shirts and sweatshirts, necklaces, BT21 plushies and figurines. However, I am most proud of my BTS pin collection that chronicles their journey.
In addition, I’m active in four BTS ARMY Facebook groups to share my enjoyment of their content and what they mean to me. I’m a member of the ARMY International Mom’s Group, the BTS ARMY Over 40 group, the BTS! Dope Old People! group and the official BTS FB group. Until this week, the groups have been mostly lighthearted, informative, supportive, and fun (except during in-person concert time when securing tickets to shows is difficult and some are unable to secure them). And then this week happened.
Let me start by saying that anyone who works non-stop for 10 years straight without time to rest and reflect will burn out. And that is what happened for all the world to witness this past week. What was supposed to be a lighthearted nine-year anniversary “Festa” dinner between ARMY and BTS turned out to be a heartfelt announcement that the guys would be taking a break from creating group music to re-discover what their group message will be moving forward and to use the time to put forth individual projects beyond mixed tapes and occasional covers, movie soundtracks, collaborations, etc. While I found this positive, many ARMYs literally lost their minds.
I spent the entire week with my counselor’s hat on trying to help mostly the younger ARMY to see this break as a positive and necessary move. So many people, young and old, discovered BTS during a time of personal crisis. Their message helped those with mental health issues, relationship issues, and health issues to get back on their feet. Many others discovered them during the Pandemic and found comfort in their music and message. For many ARMY members, BTS is their inspiration as well as their happy and safe refuge from the harsh and unpleasant aspects of their lives. Many gained new friendships and found outlets for volunteerism to improve the world. So understandably, many of these fans were terrified that the boys were about to disband, leaving them out in the cold.
This wasn’t at all what the boys were saying, but so many were triggered. Helping ARMY to reframe the abandonment they imagined they heard or actually heard from nefarious sources became my project for the week. Along with others, I did my best to help ARMY understand the humanity of these seven young men and their need as artists to express themselves as individuals and to reflect on and refocus their message as a group. Some found it hard to understand that singing in English for the sake of Grammy recognition, contributed to an identity crisis for the group. However, if one listens to the lyrics in their new title track, “Yet to Come” it is unmistakable that they are returning to their first love, music, and will no longer be seeking industry recognition.
In addition to walking people away from an emotional cliff, I spent time on the Weverse BTS comment line to express my support for their new direction. I even participated in the Purple String Event yesterday, a creative way to share support for their 2nd chapter. It was clear from the dinner that the guys were fearful of disappointing ARMY. It didn’t help that they were drinking pretty heavily because that only unleashed the full expression of their emotions of exhaustion, fear, guilt and identity crisis. Most of them cried and kept asking for understanding and support during the Festa dinner.
Many, like me were upset that they had hidden their exhaustion and that they were fearful that ARMY would not understand them. That hurt my heart. I felt like we were collectively living the lyrics to their song, “Fake Love” with them pretending to be strong when they were weak and putting on a mask to please us while losing their true identity.
Admittedly, it is hard to hear that the two English songs I really enjoyed, “Butter” and “Permission to Dance” sent them into an identity crisis and left them unsure of their next direction as BTS. Because of the immediate misunderstandings and a poor translation, the company and individuals in the group had to quickly clarify that BTS was not disbanding after people seeking click bate said the group was breaking up to pursue solo careers. Even my husband came to me and asked if I had heard that BTS was disbanding. I explained the situation to him in great detail and returned to my Facebook groups.
In conclusion, I love this new anthology three CD album, “Proof”. Not only is the packaging incredible beyond belief, but the three new songs tell the truth of their past work pace, a reflection of their past work and optimism for their new direction, and their love for ARMY. Anyone wanting to get to know BTS can listen to CD #1 and hear all their title tracks from their 19 albums. CD #2 has their individual choice of a solo song, and CD #3 showcases selected demo and studio works. I am convinced that there is going to be more content coming when we have seven men going in seven different directions and also coming together to produce music as BTS. BTS love ARMY and the song dedicated to us on this new CD, “For Youth” is just beautiful. I am convinced that the best is truly “Yet to Come“.
