Analyzing the sensational rise of BTS
I think the whole thing, boy band, it’s a little bit of a dirty word. They say it’s not a good thing to be in a boy band.~ Liam Payne(One Direction)
From the The Beatles to Backstreet Boys and One Direction, boy bands over the decades have made a significant impact on the music industry. With the internet revolutionizing music over the last decade, the rise of recent musicians has been significantly different from earlier bands. While the term “boy band” was coined in the late 1980s¹, it can be fairly accurately stated that boy bands have existed since much longer. They are also often targeted at young specifically teenage female audiences. The term also often specifically implies “young handsome men in their 20s who specifically target pre-teens through their aggressive marketing prioritizing looks over actual music.”¹
While the term “boy band” has several connotations attached to it, for the purposes of this essay, it can be simply defined as a “vocal group of male musicians”. Almost all mainstream boy bands until now have sung primarily in English, BTS is a notable exception. Their phenomenal rise despite singing in Korean can perhaps be better illustrated by a few examples.
- Their single, Dynamite garnered 101.1 million views on YouTube in a mere 24 hours, breaking the record for most views obtained in 24 hours by a music video.² It also debuted on top on billboard’s hot 100 charts.
- BTS’ Love Yourself tour in 2018 had the most expensive tickets for 2018 with tickets going up to $3800³.
- BTS’ label Bighit Entertainment raked in $508 million in profits in 2019, a YoY increase of 95%⁴.
BTS: A brief history
Bangtan Boys(or BTS for short) is a boy band from South Korea consisting of 7 members. BTS members range between 23 and 27 years in age. Like most other Korean Pop groups, the initial BTS members were scouted by an agency and went through rigorous grooming and training at an agency. This is in large part due to South Korean society’s extreme obsession with status and beauty. There is a clear focus in the South Korean music industry on the performer rather than the actual music.⁷ Although the group was formed in 2010, they achieved mainstream popularity in 2015 with their album “The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Pt. 1”.
Demographics of BTS fans.
As with any good music group, good marketing plays a huge role in the success of BTS. Following graphs may help to quantify the demographics of their fans.
The first graph shows an overwhelming majority of BTS’ fans are females. The second graph further demonstrates that more than 60% of their fans are within a narrow range of 25–29 years of age. Fans under 20 make up more than 27% of their audience while fans above 30 make a mere 6.9% of BTS’ fans.
Keys to success
Fan-base: K-pop and BTS in particular have gained a rapid fan following in western countries and Asia alike⁸. This fan base (who call themselves Adorable Representative MC for Youth or ARMY for short) is fiercely loyal and extremely vocal on social media platforms. According to Brandwatch, the group and related terms were mentioned an average of 1,004,197 times daily on social media platforms. The constant adulation of fans has played a huge role in the increasing relevance of BTS and K-pop as a whole.
Looks and choreography: It is no secret that boy bands have always been looks-oriented. BTS is no exception. In the highly competitive South Korean music industry, looks play a big role in success of bands⁷. Dance prowess and stage presence perhaps plays a greater role than the actual euphony. Clever choreography in flashy music videos coupled with extravagant concerts and live performances all have played a substantial role in BTS’ rise.
Emotional resonance: Most of BTS’ songs have central themes relevant to younger audience. Their message on self love, confidence and body positivity resonates well with their young female audience. For instance their runaway hit song “Dynamite” has been explained by one of the band members as “It’s about all the little things that make life truly valuable and special”. He further explains that the song aims to serve as a message of hope for ARMY all over the world⁹.
The Social aspect: In conversation with several BTS fans, I discovered that most discovered them and their music through friends and family. This huge community helps publicize BTS on social media and real life alike leading to a positive feedback loop. Needless to say the author has found the ARMY to be a group of vociferous and incredibly devoted youngsters.
Author’s notes
The later points mentioned discussing the reasons behind BTS’ wild rise and the subsequent development of a huge fan base is to a large extent based on author’s interviews with BTS fans.
For any corrections, please contact the author.
