The road of success for BTS was not a smooth or easy ride for the seven members, as they faced many obstacles throughout their early career. 방탄소년단 (Bulletproof Boy Scouts) or BTS debuted on June 13, 2013 under BigHit Entertainment who at the time was a small, almost bankrupt, entertainment company.

BTS began to form around 2010 when BigHit CEO Bang Shi-Hyuk had heard about a 16 year old boy named Kim Namjoon (RM), who was an underground artist at the time. The CEO was very impressed and recruited him as a trainee in the company. From then on, the CEO had intentions of creating a hip hop group and recruited underground rapper Min Yoongi (Suga) and street dancer Jung Hoseok (J-Hope) as trainees. As the next year came by, CEO Bang decided to instead form an idol group and added main vocalist Jeon Jeongguk (Jungkook), Kim Seokjin (Jin), Kim Taehyung (V), and Park Ji Min (Jimin).

The members trained to become idols with many hours a day spent in dance practice and vocal lessons on the daily for about three to two years. The members lived together in a one bedroom dorm that the company provided for them. The company was struggling with finances and the members began to question whether they would ever be able to debut. One of the members, J-Hope had enough and decided to leave but quickly returned because he trusted the company and believed in the members.

They were finally able to debut on June 13, 2013 with the song “No More Dream”. They caught the public’s eye because they made music about the overwhelming pressures placed on teens by Korea’s society. Because BTS came from a small company, they did not have money or many connections with the music industry and were cut off from many music shows. They were mistreated by many MC’s in variety shows and were never really taken seriously. It wasn’t until 2015 that they finally began receiving more recognition by music programs because of their fans. Social media allowed BTS to really connect and respond to their fans in a way that has never really been done before by other artists. They constantly updated on Twitter or Youtube and would go live on the VLive app.

As their fandom grew, so did their success in Korea and around the world. In 2016, they won their first Daesang Award at the MMA’s which is the equivalent to an award for Artist of the Year at the Grammy’s. In 2017, they were invited to the Billboard Music Award where they received more exposure in the United States and suddenly they blew up. Their fame in America continues to grow and has paved the way for more K-Pop artists to share their music in America too.

https://www.vox.com/culture/2018/6/13/17426350/bts-history-members-explained

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BTS_(band)

470 words