Celebrity Spotlight: BTS

방탄소년단 (Bangtan Sonyeondan), better known as BTS, is a seven member boy group constructed by BigHit Entertainment (now named HYBE Corporation). The members, RM, Jin, SUGA, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook, all debuted together under the band name BTS on June 13, 2013 with their lead single “No More Dream” on their album ‘2 Cool 4 Skool’, and are now considered the world’s biggest boy group.

BTS is an English abbreviation for the meaning ‘Bulletproof Boy Scouts’ in Korean. J-Hope, one of the members, has said that the name represents the group’s desire “to block out stereotypes, criticisms, and expectations that aim on adolescents like bullets”. Their group name also correlates with their fandom name “ARMY”, which stands for “Adorable Representative MC for Youth”.

BTS has evolved in a variety of ways as a group and as individuals. They’ve won a large variety of awards and were even nominated for “Best Pop Duo/Group Performance” at the Grammys both last year and this year, but sadly they didn’t win.

A few major and more well known awards they’ve won are:

New Artist of the Year (Melon Music Awards) – 2013
New Artist Award (Seoul Music Awards) – 2014
Best World Performer (Mnet Asain Music Awards) – 2015
Global Artist (Melon Music Awards) – 2017
Record of the Year (Seoul Music Awards) – 2017
Favorite Global Music Star (Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards) – 2017
Top Social Artist (Billboard Music Awards) – 2017 & 2018
Choice International Artist(Teen Choice Awards) – 2017 & 2018
Best Boy Band (iHeartRadio Music Awards) – 2018
Favorite Social Artist (American Music Awards) – 2018
Worldwide Icon of the Year (Mnet Asain Music Awards) – 2019
Album of the Year(Golden Disc Awards) – 2022
Billion Streams(Spotify) – 2022

In total, the group has won 459 awards and has been nominated for a total of 654.

Nowadays BTS is known a bit more for their English songs “Dynamite”, “Butter”, and “Permission to Dance” that have been released since 2020. While these songs have no doubt brought much attention to the group, they also have a great number of songs that are significant to ARMY’s and the members themselves. Whether the song has a special meaning towards ARMY and the members of BTS, or the song simply sounds good, here are a few top picks that ARMY enjoys :

Boy With Luv
Euphoria
Spring Day
MIC Drop
Blood Sweat & Tears

Give these songs a listen, it may end up on one of your playlists!

Now let’s get to know the members:

RM
Kim Namjoon better known as RM is the leader and main rapper of BTS. He is the only member that was part of the original line up of BTS due to constant member switching. RM also released his very first mixtape “RM” on March 17, 2015 and his second mixtape “Mono” on October 23, 2018.

Some of his other solo songs are:
Persona
Trivia: Love

Fun fact: RM taught himself how to speak English using the popular sitcom ‘Friends’.

Jin
Kim Seokjin, better known as Jin is the sub vocalist and the oldest member of BTS. He was scouted by BigHit in 2011 while there were only three members of BTS in the group (RM, SUGA, and J-Hope). His first solo was called “Awake” which was released on BTS’s “Wings” album.

Some of his other solo songs are:
Abyss
Epiphany

Fun fact: Jin likes Disney Princesses, and Super Mario games and toys.

SUGA
Min Yoongi, better known as SUGA is the lead rapper and the 2nd member to join BTS. He used to be an underground rapper and was in a group called D-Town. At that time, he used the stage name “Gloss” since that’s what “Yoongi” translates to in english.

Whenever SUGA releases solo work, he uses the alias “AGUST D” which is SUGA spelled backwards and DT which means “Daegu Town” for his hometown Daegu. He has come out with two mixtapes so far, the first one called “AGUST D” which was released 15 August 2016, and the second one called “D-2” which was released 22 May 2022.

Some of his other solo works include:
First Love
Interlude: Shadow

Fun fact: He can write lyrics for songs in a short amount of time. He wrote the lyrics for his solo song in BTS’ album “Love Yourself: Answer” called “Seesaw” in about an hour.

J-Hope
Jung Hoseok, better known as J-Hope is the main dancer, sub rapper and sub vocalist of BTS. He chose the stage name “J-Hope” because he wants to be a source of hope and positivity to his fans. Back in 2018, on March 2nd, he released his first solo mixtape “Hope World”, then later released his collaboration with Becky G, “Chicken Noodle Soup” on 27 September 2019.

Some of his other solo works include:
Trivia: Just Dance
MAMA

Fun fact: J-Hope has a sister known as Mejiwoo, who is a fashion designer, model, influencer, business woman, and YouTuber.

Jimin
Park Jimin, better known as Jimin is the main dancer and lead vocalist of BTS. He was the last member to join BTS and so far has had 4 solo songs released:
Promise
Filter

Before he joined BTS, he attended Busan High School of Arts and learned modern dance, but later transferred to Korea Arts High School with BTS member V.

Fun fact: Jimin was class president in his class for 9 years and was the top in his class.

V
Kim Taehyung, better known as V is the lead dancer and sub vocalist of BTS. Although he has been with BTS for quite some time before debut, fans didn’t hear of him until closer to debut date. He was the 6th member to join BTS.

V has acted in a K-drama called “Hwarang” in 2016-2017. He also sang the original soundtrack song “It’s Definitely You” for the drama, with BTS member Jin. Some of his other solo works are:
Inner Child
Singularity

Fun Fact: V has a strong interest in photography, classical music, and art.

Jungkook
Jeon Jungkook, better known as Jungkook, is the main vocalist, lead dancer, center and the youngest member of BTS. He was the 5th member to join BTS and auditioned around the age of 13 in 2011. He then debuted at the age of 15 in 2013.
Some of his solo songs include:
Still with you
Begin
These songs perfectly express how he’s grown as a person alongside BTS.

Fun fact: After hearing BTS member RM, he wanted to join BigHit Entertainment. He also enjoys playing video games and drawing.

Instagram:
BTS official (@bts.bighitofficial)
Twitter:
방탄소년단 (@BTS_twt)
Facebook:
BTS (방탄소년단)

Sources:
BTS (Bangtan Boys) Members Profile: BTS Facts;(Updated!)
List of awards and nominations received by BTS
These 11 K-Pop Artists Won The Most Music Show Awards In 2021
List of awards and nominations received by BTS
Mejiwoo Profile and Facts (Updated!)
Who Joined BTS in Order..