South Korean boy band BTS was formed in 2010 and debuted in 2013. The septet has had a significant cultural impact both in Korea and internationally, and is considered one of the leading figures of the Hallyu wave in the 21st century. The commercial influence of BTS upon the Korean economy, along with its philanthropic and other commercial ventures, has received extensive attention in the press and in financial markets.
International impact Internationally, BTS has been described as "easily the biggest and most successful name in K-pop in the world" that can "do things no other name in their genre can", with Time giving them the nickname "Princes of Pop". Billboards Senior Vice President Silvio Pietroluongo said that BTS is comparable to and as influential as the Beatles and the Monkees. Nielsen Music Vice President Helena Kosinski said that "although BTS weren't the first to open the doors to K-Pop worldwide, they were the first to become mainstream. They don't just appeal to young people but also to the 50s and 60s age demographic."
In 2019, BTS was again named as one of the top 10 Global Recording Artists of the Year by IFPI, for a second time, ranking number 7. In 2020, BTS became the first non-English artist to be named IFPI's #1 Global Recording Artist of the Year. In 2021, BTS became the first Act to be named IFPI's #1 Global Recording Artist of the Year two years in a row. In November 2019, Billboard ranked BTS fourth on their Top Social Artist of the 2010s list, making them the highest group on the list. BTS was also ranked No. 45 on Billboard'''s Top Touring Artists of the 2010s list. It is the highest-ranked Asian act on the list, as well as the only non-English-speaking act.
BTS has been often regarded as the "biggest boy band in the world".References for "the biggest boy band in the world":
They have also appeared in various power listings. The most tweeted-about celebrities in the world from 2017 to 2020, the group was included in Time's list of the 25 most influential people on the internet from 2017 to 2019,Times list of the 25 most influential people:
featured on the magazine's October 2018 international edition cover as "Next Generation Leaders," and were listed as one of Time 100's most influential people in 2019.* After BTS released its single "Idol," the National Gugak Center had to expand the amount of Korean instrument sounds available because of increased demand from Korean and foreign producers alike.
BTS also appeared in Bloomberg Markets 50 most influential in 2018. In 2019, BTS ranked 43rd on Forbes' annual list of the 100 highest-paid celebrities with earnings of $57 million. BTS also ranked first on the list of "Top Rank Global Sustainable Future Leaders" during an announcement from the UN-sponsored SDG association at the United Nations headquarters, and BTS' fanclub, ARMY, was noted as the "Top Rank Sustainable Global grou'." Other notable people included in the list were Malala Yousafzai and Bill Gates.
The group's influence has led it to address the United Nations at their 73rd General Assembly and to perform before 400 officials including South Korean President Moon Jae-in at the 2018 "Korea-France Friendship Concert in Paris," a summit meant to show the friendly relations between France and South Korea. Moon Hee-sang, Speaker of the National Assembly, said that "BTS is doing most of our work" and attributed the results of his overseas trip to the credit of the global group on an overseas trip to promote "sales diplomacy."
BTS holds twenty-three Guinness World Records.
Asia
When the BTS McDonald's meal was released in Indonesia, it caused McDonald's restaurants to close because of the breaking of COVID regulations because of the influx of customers. In October 2019, BTS performed at King Fahd International Stadium in Riyadh and became the first foreign act to perform a solo concert in Saudi Arabia. In 2020, BTS was the most streamed artist overall in Vietnam.
China Although there were THAAD restrictions starting in 2016 that blocked the sales of South Korean items in China, BTS fan clubs were broke the record for the most albums purchased at one time. The fan clubs ordered through surrogate shoppers to get around the mandate.
BTS have often been used for political purposes in China because of its popularity. In 2020 during a speech that a member, RM, made at the Korea Society for promoting U.S.-Korean relations, he stated, "We will always remember the history of pain that our two nations shared together and the sacrifices of countless men and women." The Chinese Communist Party used his statement for political purposee by using newspapers controlled by the party to point out that he did not mention the lives China lost when backing the North. BTS related items began getting pulled from stores in China as a result. The attack lasted less than two days before the press began quietly redacting statements that it had put because of the backlash.
India Indian President Ram Nath Kovind mentioned BTS in 2018 at an official banquet and stated, "Korean popular culture has also charmed us. From 'Gangnam Style' to Korea's band 'BTS', our youth are captivated by the tunes of these iconic pop groups...." According to The Indian Express, during the COVID-19 pandemic, a Korean wave swept up India with BTS, along with popular Korean dramas Crash Landing on You and Squid Game leading the curve.
Japan BTS began the third Korean wave in Japan despite diplomatic difficulties between the two countries. With BTS and the girl group Twice in the lead, it went from a subculture to mainstream. In 2018, when the Japanese boy group King & Prince debuted, its agency stating the group was modeled after BTS because of its popularity. In 2019, the group Ballistik Boyz debuted and was modeled after BTS as well. In 2021, Rakuten Group did a survey to find which country's fashion is the most influential in Japan. Men in their teens and twenties named BTS as the second-most popular fashion influence, after only Takuya Kimura. During the 2020 Summer Olympics, BTS was played during some of the sporting events.
BTS broke Oricon's record and became the first artist to achieve over 10 million streams during a single week for at least three songs. BTS is the second foreign singers to reach number one on Oricon album charts, the first being Michael Jackson. It is also the first Korean album to hit number one on the Oricon chart. Map of the Soul: 7 – The Journey set new album records for the highest first day sales by both a foreigner and a Korean artist in Japan. With its album BTS, the Best, it became the first Korean group to sell one million copies of an album and it went on to become the best selling album of the year within a single day of sales. The single "MIC Drop/DNA/Crystal Snow" is the highest-ranking song by a Korean artist on the yearly Oricon chart that was ever achieved, and "Butter" became the fastest song to receive platinum certification in history for the chart.
In 2018, BTS and the girl group Twice were invited to perform at the popular show Kōhaku Uta Gassen. Both appearances were cancelled without warning, and it was said afterwards that it was because of the BTS member Jimin wearing a T-shirt that depicted the atomic bomb detonating with text celebrating Korea's liberation from Japanese rule during World War II. It was questioned why the ban was happened only then, as the incident had happened in 2017, and BTS had been allowed to perform in December 2017 at Japan Music Station Super Live. At a later date, it was revealed it had been banned for political reasons because the Supreme Court of Korea ruled that Japan's Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. needed to compensate four Koreans for forced labor during the war. A member of BTS, RM, had also tweeted about National Liberation Day of Korea from Japan, which added to the fodder.
North Korea Despite strict crack downs on K-pop, BTS have been experiencing popularity with North Korean youth. If contraband is found, an individual can face five to fifteen years in prison. A private source stated that its popularity was because of its meaningful lyrics, which tell listeners to "love themselves." In 2020, North Korean soldiers were caught partying and listening to "Blood Sweat & Tears." To combat their growing popularity, government propaganda was created and calls Korean groups like BTS "slaves" and states that they "suffer miserable lives." North Korean high schoolers were still caught listening to BTS after the mandate.
South Korea BTS accounted for 41.9 percent of album sales in the first half of 2019, up from its market share of 25.3 percent the previous year. According to a JoyNews24 Power People of 2019 survey among industry professionals, BTS was chosen as number 1 with 74 votes, with number 2 being Parasite Director Bong Joon-ho with 29 votes. BTS topped the list of Forbes Korea Power Celebrity in 2018, 2020, 2021, and 2022. It ranked fifth in 2017 and second in 2019.Forbes Korea Power Celebrity:
In December 2019, according to the annual survey conducted by Gallup Korea, BTS were the most preferred artists of 2019 for a second consecutive year. The septet were the first artist not from a "Big Three" entertainment company (SM, YG and JYP) to win Artist of the Year at the 18th Mnet Asian Music Awards in December.
Celebrating the Korean music icon Seo Taiji's 25th anniversary as a part of his anniversary project "Time: Traveler," BTS released a remake of Seo Taiji's 1995 classic "Come Back Home" in July 2017 and reworked the sound and lyrics to similar sentiments toward societal change that Seo Taiji argued for in his songs. BTS was later invited by Seo Taiji to perform as backup vocalists and dancers for eight songs in his Seoul Olympic Stadium concert held early September. During the concert, Seo Taiji acknowledged BTS' thematic similarities to his music and recognized the group as his musical successors. He declared, "This is your generation now. Show them."
Kang Soojung, an exhibition manager at the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, said that while preparing the 50th anniversary exhibition called "Square," she was greatly influenced by BTS' hidden track "Sea." BTS appeared on You Quiz on the Block, a South Korean variety show program, where it broke the show's rating records for viewership in March 2021. It was announced in 2021 that the K-pop group Blitzers was modeled after BTS. Congresswoman Ryu Ho-jeong used pictures of member Jeon Jungkook showing his tattoos in order to help decriminalize tattoos as they are illegal in the country.