When Big Hit Entertainment announced that it was launching a new boy band, the internet went wild digging for more information. Why? Because Big Hit is home to the world’s most famous boy band, BTS.
Who?
OK, stop laughing. I can’t imagine anyone not knowing who BTS is, either. But, then again, I also realize that not everyone who loves K-Dramas is necessarily well versed with Korean boy bands. So, here’s just a quick rundown of why BTS is such a big deal:
May 2017: They win the top social artist award at the Billboard Music Awards.
September 2017: “Love Yourself: Her” is released and debuts at No. 7 on the Billboard 200 albums chart — the highest-charting Korean album ever at the time.
November 2017: BTS becomes the first Korean group to perform at a major U.S. awards show when they sing “DNA” at the American Music Awards.
February 2018: The Recording Industry Association of America certifies “DNA” and “Mic Drop (Remix)” as Gold, making them the first Korean group to reach this achievement.
June 2018: Time Magazine names the group in its “25 Most Influential People on the Internet” list.
September 2018: BTS are invited to the launch of Generation Unlimited at the United Nations, where RM gives a heartfelt speech encouraging today’s youth to live their best lives. He closed his speech, saying, “These faults and mistakes are what I am, making up the brightest stars in the constellation of my life. I have come to love myself for who I am, for who I was and for who I hope to become.”
October 2018: Many K-Pop groups have toured the United States, but BTS became the first Korean group to play a stadium in the U.S. when it sold out a concert at New York’s Citi Field. And BTS makes the cover of Time magazine, where they’re honored among Time‘s list of Next Generation Leaders.
November 2018: Their theatrical documentary, “Burn the Stage: the Movie,” kicks aside One Direction’s 2014 record to become the highest-grossing musical production.
December 2018: BTS’ “Love Yourself: Tear” and HuskyFox — the album’s art director — are nominated for Best Recording Package. While the band itself wasn’t nominated, there would be no package to design without the album. And all nitpicking aside, this was the first time that a Korean group was recognized by the Grammys. (Opera singer Sumi Jo was the first Korean artist not only to be nominated — three times! — but also win a Grammy. Yay, girl power! She’s really fantastic and you should definitely check out her music. She also has a K-Drama tie-in. She made a guest appearance in the first episode of “Dream High.”)
I haven’t even gotten into 2019, but you get the point. BTS is a big deal and is regarded by many as the pop culture face of Korea.
So to compare any fledgling artist to BTS isn’t fair, especially when the group in question — Tomorrow X Together — made its official debut earlier this month. TXT has had an inordinate amount of interest, because they are Big Hit’s latest boy band and people are curious whether lightening can strike twice within the same company.
Here’s my cop-out answer: It’s too soon to tell. There’s no arguing that the group is talented and full of charm. They are young, in both biological age (ranging from 16 to 19) and experience. They can sing and dance like nobody’s business.
However, they need time to learn, grow, make mistakes and adjust to a style that fits who they are.
But even though they are still a rookie group, they have already accomplished some impressive feats:
• They released “The Dream Chapter: STAR” on March 4. Just a few hours later, it hit No. 1 on iTunes Top Albums chart.
• But wait, there’s more! The music video for “Crown” got more than 15 millions views within 24 hours.
• The quintet has already signed with Republic Records — home to Ariana Grande, Drake, Jonas Brothers — for a U.S distribution deal.
• Annndddddd …. Since their debut, the group already has amassed 1.7 million followers on Twitter.
It’s human nature to want to compare two groups, so I can’t fault people who ask me if they’re the next BTS. But my answer is always, “No.” What they are is TXT, a young Korean group that shows promise, but hasn’t had time yet to reach their full potential.
To put things into perspective, George Harrison was still 20 years old when the Beatles made their “Ed Sullivan Show” debut. But he had four solid years of touring experience by that age. K-Pop bands operate on a different model, but performing live will only improve TXT’s possibilities … just as it did for BTS.
To paraphrase one of the Rolling Stones’ hit singles, luckily, “Time is on their side, yes is it.”
Be sure to follow @GoAwayWithJae, where I tweet about all things Korean.
13 Comments
Hi
One of the best Korean music group around ! Check it out !
Very good news. I’m a long-time Bangtan Boys Fan and was long-time
BTS Fan since 10 years. me & my boyfriends listen to every
one of Korea Melody, and BTS and Suju are typically the top kpop group of which I follow the most
of the time.
I don’t think people should compare BTS and TXT. I am Army I like TXt music, it’s fresh and different. One thing I like that they didn’t try to look more mature in the first debut. In the song, the boys sported natural looks. They showed their real self. TXT is barely one month old. They are in the learning phase…They will learn as they grow, the music will mature and evolve with time. They will have many things to show. They will have their own struggles, they will cope up and grow. .The vocals are great, hopefully, they already have own flavor of music.BTS has established now, they are doing great. I am proud of them.They are making history with stadiums…hoping for more accomplishments to come. Hoping for Grammy next year or performance by BTS. Both Soobin and Namjoon dimples deserve recognition.Bighit loves dimples.My fav female artist is one who has dimples and Namjoon.I find every member of BTS and TXT is unique . They all have lovable personalities, every member shines equally in stage.All are equal.BTS and TXT are from the same family.BTS is BTS and TXT is TXT.They don’t deserve comparison. Both groups will support each other in the future and nurtured by Bighit.
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Well said Unni. For me, TXT has to prove themselves over the upcoming years to earn a comparison with ANY artist.
Thank you! And yes! I am patiently waiting for them to release a full album’s worth of material and tour. They have plenty of time to grow.
I really wish this would stop. I’m an army and i love bts but other people shouldn’t press for other rookies or txt to be like bts. That can cause psychological damage. They’ll feel like they aren’t good enough if they’re constantly compared to bts. Support groups for the content they enjoy and give out, not because you’re pushing for them to be a group they aren’t. Goodness sake, soobin had already commented on the lines of worrying they would bring a bad image to bts and their name. They shouldn’t feel that way.
Comparisons are made, especially within the general public, because people sometimes need some kind of marker to understand who they are reading about. TXT will come into their own groove and people will see and hear for themselves. Some will still claim, “They’re the same as BTS.” But, they’d be wrong. 😛
These days, it seems like people/companies are pushing or wanting artist to be the “Next BTS,” instead of letting things happen naturally like they did for Bangtan. However, I feel BTS have a carved themselves a special place in history that I don’t know if anyone reach anytime soon. There are certain people in History that move something forward and BTS have done by opening more doors than anyone thought possible for the K-music industry. Because of them, more groups than ever are seeing some sort of success in the West more than ever before. More Western media are paying attention to the industry and reporting on it. Artist themselves are setting goals and dreaming bigger because of what BTS has done because they have shown its possible. In that sense I don’t think there will ever be another BTS until someone has an impact like that. Now will TXT be able to do it, maybe. Like you said time will tell but they do have potential to reach and become a global group like BTS. I definitely see qualities in them that I see in BTS but one thing is for sure, whatever they do, they will do it as TXT and not the “Next BTS.”
Yup! I totally agree with you. They will just be TXT, not “Next BTS”
Very well stated. Thank you, Larry.
Whoever saying that TXT is BTS 2.0, they are the most pathetic person in the world.
Awww, I don’t think most people are being malicious about it. They are just curious and want to learn more about TXT. And that’s a good thing!
Have a great day!