PSY’s 2012 hit song “Gangnam Style” was the first K-pop song to rise to global popularity, bringing attention to the South Korean music industry, and more specifically the K-pop industry. However, it would take another couple of years until K-pop began to fully establish itself outside of South Korea. At the forefront of this change: K-pop boy group BTS. Having started out small under a struggling company, they have since risen to levels unprecedented for K-pop stars, both domestically and internationally. The group’s company,
The beginnings of BTS
Composed of members RM, Jin, SUGA, j-hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook, BTS debuted in 2013 with the track “No More Dream”. Though initially operating as a group focused on hip hop, they quickly expanded to cover various music genres. Several members are closely involved in
music production, from writing to composing. Such talents have led to numerous solo mixtape releases, as well as collaborations with other artists. The group’s first years saw only mild success; BTS started to gain traction domestically between late 2015 and 2016, with songs such as “RUN”, “DOPE”, “Spring Day”, and “Blood Sweat & Tears”. Internationally, the group’s popularity began to take off in 2017 with their track “DNA”. This gradual rise is reflected in
BTS’ album sales over the years.
BTS’ overseas success
Apart from breaking records for music charts and world tours, BTS has carved out a place for itself in various American music award shows. The American music industry is widely considered among most successful and ubiquitous music scenes worldwide. With the increasing international success and popularity of K-pop, more and more American and European music award shows are nominating and awarding K-pop artists for their Korean or English-language releases. The
Billboard Music Awards (BBMAs) were the first major American music institution to recognize BTS’ growing success. The group was first nominated and awarded in 2017, and was subsequently invited to perform at the BBMAs from the following year onwards.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no
liability for the information given being complete or correct.
Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date
data than referenced in the text.
