K-Pop or Korean Pop music hasn’t been
the newest trend but it continues to thrive ever since the 90s. It pulls in
viewers and music listeners with upbeat sounds, elaborate choreography,
striking visuals, eye-catching music videos, and even content which will take
you to a lot of behind-the-scenes videos! K-pop is just content heaven for
those who want to constantly watch videos and listen to songs because they
release EPs and LPs mostly 2 to 3 times a year!
I am one of the people who got
charmed by the world of K-Pop and I started back in 2010. 2nd
generation K-Pop idols like 2NE1 and Wonder Girls are trending back then here
in Manila and everyone just blasts Nobody or Fire everywhere. Heck, we danced
to Fire for our Field Demo back in Grade 6! But that was in 2009 and my
legitimate start in the world of K-Pop was when I saw U-KISS perform on TV and
I thought they looked so cool and their songs are bops! I even saw them perform
at the Mall of Asia Concert Grounds when they performed before Rain (though the ticket we got was free HAHAHAHA). I then started collecting albums which gives me a
whole lot of joy because I get to have more photos of them. My early teenage
years were filled by Korean content and just being happy with my allowance going
to albums and merchandise.
My love for it slowly died down
in my late teenage years as I opted to check out alternative rock and emo bands
such as My Chemical Romance, Panic! At The Disco, Muse, Marianas Trench, twenty
one pilots, and many more. I wouldn’t say my late teenage years were boring
just because I don’t get as much content as I did when I was still a full-time
K-Pop fan. I just lived through listening to the same albums and watched a lot
of crack videos HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
However,
summer of 2017, I got intrigued by this K-Pop boy band that was getting a lot
of attention by being nominated in Billboard Music Awards. I, like all other
fans, just want to see why they are being a hot issue and I fell down the
rabbit hole. I’ve been a fan for a year already and it won’t stop soon.
There are some people out there that
doesn’t understand why a lot of ARMYs love BTS but here I am about to tell you
reasons why! :
1. 1. They
really make high quality music
Yes, K-Pop is infamous
for having artists not make their own music and they turn out to be performers
and entertainers, but not artists as they are not involved with the song making
process. BTS is different from that. Ever since debut, they have been involved
in writing the lyrics, in composing, and in producing their own songs. The
songs vary from genre; hence, the genre they belong to is hard to distinguish
(apart from having hip-hop and pop sounds constantly). Most K-Pop albums also
have the single as the only good song out of the whole thing but every BTS album
has been enjoyable to listen to from start to finish. Love Yourself: Tear has also
been critically acclaimed by music critics, having higher scores than some of
the most well-known artists in the world. They have the musicality and artistry
in them that a lot of K-Pop idols do not have as they constantly work on their
music and give the best material that they can make each album they release.
BTS performing with Seo Taiji in Seo Taiji's 25th anniversary concert.
2.
2. They
have a message to share
What makes BTS special and different
from all other K-Pop idols is that they are making songs with social statements
that resonate with the youth. From encouraging the youth to dream on (No More
Dream), Korean education system making students studying machines (N.O.),
people spending to keep up with the trends while their parents work hard to
earn the money they use on useless things (Spine Breaker), losing yourself in
the process of loving another (Fake Love), and even telling ARMYs to study or
do their work first and watch BTS videos later (Pied Piper)! You can also
listen to their solo songs in the Wings album where they talk about their own
struggles and stories, as well as in the rap line’s (RM,
Suga, and J-Hope) mixtapes. One thing’s for sure is that they have stories to
tell using their own experiences.
3. 3. Their
music videos capture your attention
BTS has popularized
ongoing storylines in their music videos, which started in The Most Beautiful
Moment In Life (Hwa Yang Yeon Hwa) era with ‘I Need U’ and it just continued
until now. ARMYs are always theorizing what happens in the storyline and Bighit
even released the Hwa Yang Yeon Hwa Notes (which were released as inclusions when you buy Love Yourself: Her or Tear albums) to
know the perspectives of each character. The storyline incorporates greek
mythology and a whole lot of literature! I got to read ‘The Ones Who Walk Away
From Omelas’ just because it was used for Spring Day! You would not only get so
lost in the theories made by fans, you will also have fun reading the books
connected to these videos! You’ll never run out of anything to read if you
follow BTS’ material, I swear.
4. 4. Their
high-energy performances
If you’re looking for synchronized dancing, just search for
BTS. They are well-known for having hard dance routines yet they still look
harmonious. And if you think their live singing will turn out horrible from all
the rigorous dancing, then you’re wrong. They have such stable singing and
rapping that you would think they’re not humans for being able to do all of
those things at once but then you have to remember that they practice A LOT.
Watch their Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA) 2017 performance here.
5. 5. Their
personality
They are a funny bunch who love to have fun! Jin likes to crack jokes and
livens up the atmosphere by his funny personality and same goes for J-Hope who
has unlimited energy. Everyone just has a fun personality (even Suga who is
mostly quiet at times would play really well with the others) and give you a
good laugh! And of course, BTS are such down-to-earth and humble guys. They are
the living proof of sticking to your roots and not forgetting about where you came from.
They have gone through a lot in their lives as idols, as trainees, and as normal teens too. They had humble beginnings – RM and Suga were both underground
rappers, J-Hope was an underground dancer, Jimin was a contemporary dance
major, Jin was a college student, V was a normal student who didn’t plan on
even auditioning for an entertainment company, and Jungkook went to auditions
as a kid and had to sacrifice his childhood for whole days in the dance studios to practice. They were managed by a small company and didn’t get the privileges
that the idols coming from the bigger companies do. They were accused of
plagiarism, of “selling-out”, and of sajaegi (company buying their own album in
bulk to count in charts). They had it really hard throughout the years but
despite the success they have achieved, they remain grounded. It’s
inspirational to see normal boys with big dreams reach what they ever wanted
and yet remain the same people that they are like none of the Billboard awards
has ever been given to them.
6. 6. Their
dedication to their fans
One way to seal this statement is how they are so active on Twitter. They
post selcas (self-camera, another way to say selfie; it’s a better term than
selfie, in my opinion), and just tweet to their fans just like how they would
talk to their friends. However, it is not only through social media that they
share their gratitude and affection for the ARMY. They had released songs
dedicated to the ARMY. First was 2!3! (Hoping For More Good Days). 2!3! has this insecure yet hopeful feel as
they talked about their struggles and their wish for a better future for
themselves and for their fans. Next is Magic Shop from the recently released Love
Yourself: Tear album. Produced by maknae (youngest member) Jungkook, Magic Shop
acknowledges the struggles and insecurities of ARMYs and invites them to come
to ‘Magic Shop’ for comfort and assurance that everything will turn out okay.
BTS and ARMYs have a relationship that is far gone from the Idol-Fan spectrum.
They are interdependent friends who seek comfort from each other and support
each other in their own ventures.
Having all of these said, I hope
there are some of you that would try to see BTS in a different light and give
them a try as they deserved to be treated as artists like the mainstream
artists that a lot of people listen to on the radio. It is not just their
pretty faces that ARMYs are so captivated by them, but it’s the aspects of them
that make them musicians and human beings.
Listen to Love
Yourself 轉 Tear (with the lead single Fake Love) on:
Watch Fake
Love MV on Youtube
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