BTS

Name

BTS stands for the Korean phrase Bangtan Sonyeondan (Korean: 방탄소년단), which translates literally to 'Bulletproof Boy Scouts'. According to J-Hope, the name signifies the group's desire "to block out stereotypes, criticisms, and expectations that aim on adolescents like bullets". In Japan, they are known as Bōdan Shōnendan (防弾少年団). In July 2017, BTS announced that their name would also stand for "Beyond the Scene" as part of their new brand identity. This extended the meaning of their name to encompass the idea of growth "from a boy to an adult who opens the doors that are facing forward".

History

2010–2014: Formation and early years

BTS was formed in 2010, after Big Hit Entertainment CEO Bang Si-hyuk wanted to form a hip hop group around RM (Kim Nam-joon), an underground rapper well known on the music scene in Seoul. At the time, physical album sales were on the decline and digital revenues were not yet high enough to compensate. Seeing a need for diversified income streams, Bang decided to form an idol group instead, because of the potential for live concert performances and passionate support from fans of such groups. Many trainees refused to become part of an idol group, but J-Hope, RM, and Suga remained. Bang chose to vary from the usual, highly regimented idol groups and create one where the members would be individuals rather than an ensemble and free to express themselves. Auditions were held in 2010 with plans to launch the following year. The band members lived together, practicing up to 15 hours a day, and first performed before a small crowd of industry insiders in 2013.

BTS's representation by BigHit, rather than one of the three agencies that dominated K-pop at the time, allowed the individual members leeway to express their individuality and have input into the music. On June 12, 2013, BTS released their debut single album 2 Cool 4 Skool, along with the lead single "No More Dream", neither of which sold particularly well at the time. On June 13, 2013, BTS made their stage debut on M Countdown with the single, "No More Dream". Nevertheless, according to Kathy Sprinkel in her book on BTS, that single was "spotlighting young people's anxiety in the face of lofty parental expectations, sent shock waves through the K-pop ranks. Here was a musical act that wasn't pulling any punches. More specifically, they had a point of view, and they weren't afraid to take on topics that are considered taboo in South Korean society and elsewhere." The album reached the top five on South Korea's Gaon Music Chart. In 2 Cool 4 Skool, BTS employed an old-school hip-hop sound from the 1990s. The album's release was followed by appearances on Korean music shows, which caught the attention of reviewers and viewers.

In September 2013, BTS released the second entry in their "school trilogy": the EP, O!RUL8,2?. The album was released alongside the single "N.O." Similarly to 2 Cool 4 Skool, the new release had a theme of students feeling under pressure and needing to sacrifice their dreams and aspirations. According to scholar Kyung Hyun Kim, many of BTS's earlier works such as "N.O." and "No More Dreams" were "expressions of rebellion against the establishment that tapped into Korean teenagers' frustrations with the country's educational system" and, he stated, helped them build a fan base among young people in North America and Europe. That same month, BTS starred in their own variety show, SBS MTV's Rookie King Channel Bangtan, in which members parodied variety shows such as VJ Special Forces and MasterChef Korea. At the end of the year, BTS was recognized with several New Artist of the Year awards in South Korea.

2014–2017

The last entry in BTS "school trilogy", the Skool Luv Affair EP, was released in February 2014. The release topped the Gaon Album Chart, and appeared on Billboard's World Albums Chart for the first time, peaking at number three. The EP was supported by two singles: "Boy in Luv" and "Just One Day". Following Skool Luv Affair's release, BTS played at their first fan meeting in Seoul, selecting the name A.R.M.Y. for the fan club. In July 2014, BTS hosted a concert in West Hollywood, their first show in the United States, and in August they appeared at KCON in Los Angeles.

In August 2014, BTS released the album Dark & Wild, which reached number two in South Korea. It was supported by two singles: "Danger" and "War of Hormone". The group embarked on their first concert tour, 2014 BTS Live Trilogy Episode II: The Red Bullet, which lasted from October to December 2014. The band launched their first Japanese studio album, Wake Up, in December 2014; the release peaked at number three on the Oricon Albums Chart. After the album's release, BTS held their 1st Japan Tour 2015 Wake Up: Open Your Eyes in February 2015. The Red Bullet Tour that had begun on October 17, 2014, in South Korea was resumed on June 6, 2015, in Malaysia and toured Australia, North America and Latin America before ending in Hong Kong that August. In all, the entire tour attracted 80,000 spectators at 18 cities in 13 countries.

BTS experimented with other styles of music besides hip-hop in The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Pt. 1, released in 2015. BTS wanted to express the beauty and anxiousness of youth and settled on the title of "花樣年華" (Korean: 화양연화; RR: Hwayangyeonhwa), loosely interpreted to define "youth" metaphorically as "the most beautiful moment in life". The album served as an introduction to their youth trilogy, a triptych of albums dedicated to the struggles of young people. The single "I Need U" was a top-five hit in South Korea and garnered the group a win on SBS MTV's The Show. The second single "Dope" (Korean: 쩔어; RR: Jjeoreo; lit. 'It's awesome') reached number three on Billboard's World Digital Song Sales chart and its music video was viewed over 100 million times on YouTube. The group began the world tour extension of their Red Bullet Tour in June, titled 2015 Live Trilogy Episode II: The Red Bullet, visiting cities throughout Asia, Oceania, North America, and Latin America. "For You", in Japanese, was released together with Japanese versions of "War of Hormone" and "Let Me Know" on June 17, 2015, and immediately topped Oricon's daily chart.

In November, BTS commenced their third concert tour, 2015 BTS LIVE "The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: On Stage", beginning with three sold-out shows in Seoul. The tour marked the debut of their fourth EP, The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 2, and was later extended to Japan. Thematically, the EP focused more on the serious and speculative aspects of youth, touching on the pursuit of success, loneliness, affection for their origins, and the suffering of the younger generation due to unfavorable conditions in current society. The album topped the weekly Gaon Album and Billboard World Albums charts. It also marked their first appearance on the Billboard 200 chart, making it for one week at number 171, and eight of the tracks appeared on Billboard's World Digital Song Sales chart.

2018–2020

BTS won major awards at the Golden Disc and Seoul Music Awards in January 2018. In March, the group premiered an eight-episode documentary titled Burn the Stage that offered a behind-the-scenes look at their 2017 Wings Tour, exclusively on YouTube Premium. Their third Japanese studio album, Face Yourself, was released on April 4, 2018, and quickly reached the top 5 of the U.S. iTunes Albums chart. A nine-minute short film, titled Euphoria: Theme of "Love Yourself: Wonder" and featuring the song "Euphoria", followed the next day as a prelude to the group's third Korean-language studio album, Love Yourself: Tear. BTS promoted Tear's May 18, 2018, release with an appearance at the 25th Billboard Music Awards two days later, where they made their initial BBMA performance with their single, "Fake Love". The group also won Top Social Artist for a second consecutive time. The album coincided with the "轉" or "turn" of the series, touching on the tortuous enlightenment of loving without being loved, the pains and sorrows of separation, and providing encouragement to those without dreams.

Love Yourself: Tear debuted at number one its first week on the Billboard 200, becoming BTS's first number-one album in the US and the first K-pop album to top the US albums chart. It also became BTS's first top-10 release in Britain, reaching number eight on the UK Albums Chart. "Fake Love" became BTS's top-10 single on the Hot 100, the first time a song sung mostly in a language other than English had debuted in the top 10. BTS released their compilation album Love Yourself: Answer in August 2018. The album was supported by the single "Idol" and its alternative digital release featuring Nicki Minaj.

Love Yourself: Answer sold over 1.9 million copies on the Gaon Album Chart in August 2018. The album became BTS's second number-one on the Billboard 200 and led to their highest US sales week in the country to that point with 185,000 album equivalent units. In November 2018, Love Yourself: Answer became the first Korean language album to be certified Gold by the RIAA. "Idol" and Love Yourself: Answer both received Platinum certifications in the US, with sales of more than 1 million.

In conjunction with Love Yourself: Answer's release in August 2018, BTS commenced their world tour, BTS World Tour: Love Yourself, with two concerts in the Seoul Olympic Stadium, which sold out in a matter of seconds, as did others of the 22 shows in 12 countries. In October, BTS released their collaboration with Steve Aoki "Waste It on Me", their first all-English language feature. For the final stop of the North American leg, the group performed at Citi Field in New York City, marking the first time a Korean act performed at a US stadium. According to StubHub, BTS was the second best-selling concert act outside the US, behind only Ed Sheeran. That October, BTS renewed their contract with Big Hit Entertainment through 2026.

2021–2024

On March 4, 2021, the IFPI named BTS its Global Recording Artist of the Year for 2020, the first Asian and first non-English speaking act to top the ranking. BTS occupied three spots in the Global Album Sales Chart of 2020, with Map of the Soul: 7 at number one, Be (Deluxe Edition) at number two, and Map of the Soul: 7–The Journey at number eight. On the newly launched Global Album All Format Chart, Map of the Soul: 7 claimed first place and Be (Deluxe Edition) claimed fourth. On March 14, 2021, BTS performed "Dynamite" at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards, becoming the first Korean nominee to perform, though they did not win the award. On April 1, BTS released "Film Out", the first single from their then-upcoming Japanese compilation album, BTS, the Best. BTS held a two-day online streaming event on their YouTube channel beginning April 17, titled Bang Bang Con 21, and aired three of their previous in-person concerts.

On May 21, BTS released their second English-language single, "Butter". It debuted at number one on the Hot 100—their fourth number one in nine months—making them the quickest act to achieve four chart-toppers since Justin Timberlake in 2006, and the fastest group since the Jackson 5 in 1970. Their next English-language single, "Permission to Dance", was released on July 9. It became BTS's eighth number-one on the Digital Songs chart, extending their record as the group with the most number-one entries on the ranking. On September 24, 2021, the band released the single "My Universe" with Coldplay. The single debuted at number one on the Hot 100, making it the first collaboration between two groups to debut at number one. On October 4, 2021, "My Universe" became BTS' sixth Hot 100 number one, achieving the fastest accumulation of six chart-toppers since The Beatles in 1964–1966. The band held an online concert, titled Permission to Dance on Stage, on October 24, 2021, in Seoul. On November 23, "Butter" earned a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards. Between November 27 and December 2, BTS held their first live performances before an in-person audience since before the pandemic. The band played four sold-out shows at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles as a continuation of their Permission to Dance on Stage concert series.

On January 15, 2022, a fictional webtoon based on BTS, titled 7Fates: Chakho, was released. The comic surpassed 15 million views globally in its first two days of availability and became the highest-viewed title ever launched by Webtoon. The band held three limited-capacity concerts at Seoul Olympic Stadium on March 10, 12 and 13—the largest music gatherings approved by the South Korean government since the pandemic restrictions were imposed—with a total audience of 45,000 people. On April 3, BTS performed "Butter" at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards, though the song did not win the award for which it was nominated. On April 8, the band earned seven nominations at the 2022 Billboard Music Awards and won three, making them the most-nominated and the most-awarded group in the show's history.

2025–present

The group reunited publicly for the first time on a Weverse live on July 1, 2025, in which they confirmed they were preparing a new album for early 2026, their first since Proof in 2022, alongside a new world tour. On January 1, 2026, it was announced that the new album would be released on March 20; the title, Arirang, was revealed two weeks later. In the meantime, the group announced their 2026–2027 world tour, with concerts around the globe and an expected revenue stream estimated at over one billion dollars USD for the concerts and new album.

Arirang was released as scheduled on March 20 alongside its lead single "Swim", with positive reviews from critics. The group held a concert, titled BTS The Comeback Live | Arirang, at Gwanghwamun Square on March 21. The concert was exclusively streamed on Netflix and ranked first in viewership in 24 countries, entering the weekly top 10 in 80 countries. A documentary on their comeback, The Return, began streaming on Netflix on March 27. Arirang ranked number one on the Billboard 200 for two consecutive weeks; meanwhile, BTS kicked off their global tour on April 9 in Goyang.

On July 19, 2026, BTS performed "Dynamite" at the 2026 FIFA World Cup final halftime show, which took place at the New York New Jersey Stadium.

Artistry

Influences

BTS have cited Seo Taiji and Boys, Nas, Eminem, Kanye West, Drake, Post Malone, Charlie Puth, and Danger as musical inspirations. They have also cited Queen as an influence, saying they "grew up watching videos of Live Aid". During their concert at Wembley Stadium in London, Jin paid tribute to Queen by leading the crowd in a version of Freddie Mercury's "ay-oh" chant. "Hip Hop Phile" which was released when BTS's hip-hop concept was at its height, pays homage to the artists who influenced them, including the South Korean group Epik High, Jay-Z, The Notorious B.I.G., CL Smooth, and others.

Their 2016 album Wings was inspired by Hermann Hesse's coming of age novel, Demian. Their song "Blood Sweat & Tears" quotes Friedrich Nietzsche's Thus Spoke Zarathustra, and its music video features visual references to Herbert James Draper's The Lament for Icarus, Pieter Bruegel's Landscape with the Fall of Icarus, and Bruegel's The Fall of the Rebel Angels. Among the literary and other sources that have inspired their works are those by Haruki Murakami, Ursula K. Le Guin, Carl Jung, George Orwell and Nietzsche. The Love Yourself series was influenced by Erich Fromm's The Art of Loving, and their 2018 song "Magic Shop" from Love Yourself: Tear was inspired by James R. Doty's memoir Into the Magic Shop.

Musical style

Since their inception, BTS have emphasized hip hop as their musical base, largely due to the influence of RM and Suga's background as underground rappers; during early visits to the US, the group received mentoring from American rappers. Bang Si-hyuk previously acknowledged that K-pop as a whole draws from black music, and author Crystal S. Anderson stated, "BTS's rising popularity in the US represents the continuation of the ways that K-pop functions as part of a global R&B tradition." T.K. Park and Youngdae Kim of Vulture deemed the track "Outro: Her" from Love Yourself: Her as the best example of the group's understanding of old-school hip hop, with raps inspired by Chuck D and Tupac and jazzy chords from the 1990s to create a classic hip hop sound.

The release of "Blood Sweat & Tears" in 2016 accelerated BTS's transition from a hip hop to a pop group. Park and Kim noted that the song draws from dancehall, reggaeton, and moombahton but opts for a "baroque mysticism" rather than the "partylike atmosphere of its influences". The group also began incorporating traditional Korean elements into their music. For example, their single "Idol" (2018) features an adlib from Pansori, a Korean form of operatic storytelling, and vocal imitations of the sounds of Korean janggu drums.

While BTS maintains roots in hip hop, their sound has diversified. They first experimented with R&B, rock and jazz hip hop on Dark & Wild in 2014; EDM in their The Most Beautiful Moment in Life album series; moombahton and tropical house on Wings and You Never Walk Alone; future bass and Latin pop in their Love Yourself album series; slow-dance ballads, emo rap, Afro pop, funk, trap, pop rock, and hip pop in their Map of the Soul album series; and disco in their single "Dynamite". The band members have explored different genres on solo tracks, such as neo soul on V's "Stigma" and flowing R&B on Jimin's "Lie".

Lyrical themes

Since their formation, BTS have believed that telling their own stories is the best way for the younger generation to relate to their music. Writing many of their own lyrics, the group discusses universal life experiences such as sadness and loneliness in their work and turn them into something lighter and more manageable. RM stated that BTS tries to avoid a preaching or reprimanding tone in their songs "because that's not the way that we want to spread our message ... We're born with different lives, but you cannot choose some things. So we thought that love, the real meaning of it, starts with loving ourselves and accepting some ironies and some destinies that we have from the very start." When asked if it is difficult to write about things like mental health, Suga responded,We feel that people who have the platform to talk about those things really should talk more, because they say depression is something where you go to the hospital and you're diagnosed, but you can't really know until the doctor talks to you ... More and more, I think artists or celebrities who have a voice should talk about these problems and bring it up to the surface.

Themes explored in BTS's discography range from exploring "the troubles and anxieties of school-age youth" to "themes like love, friendship, loss, death, and more". Early BTS songs, such as "No More Dream" and "N.O" from their school trilogy, were described by Tamar Herman as motivated by personal experiences with South Korea's rigid approach to education and called for change to the educational system and societal expectations. The members' experiences with South Korean youth culture also inspired the songs "Dope" and "Silver Spoon" (Korean: 뱁새; RR: Baepsae) from their youth trilogy. These songs reference generational disparity and millennials giving up romantic relationships, marriage, children, proper employment, homes, and social life in the face of economic difficulties and societal ills while facing condemnation from the media and older generations. The group's label dubbed The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: Young Forever, the conclusion to their youth trilogy, "a special album that marks the conclusion of the epic journey of the series, containing the last stories told by young people who, despite an uncertain and insecure reality (The Most Beautiful Moment in Life Pt. 1) continue to surge forward (The Most Beautiful Moment in Life Pt. 2)." Wings focused on mental health, criticisms of the K-pop "idol" scene, and delivering a female empowerment message. The Love Yourself series introduced new themes regarding youth culture in South Korea, including the excitement of love, pain of farewell, and enlightenment of self-love. According to Kathy Sprinkel, BTS's 2020 "quarantine album" Be "chronicles the group's coming to terms with a suddenly new reality and offers support for their listeners going through the same upheaval and uncertainty".

Impact

On April 29, 2019, Time magazine named BTS one of the 100 most influential people of the year, labeling them the "Princes of Pop". Billboard executive Silvio Pietroluongo compared the group's influence to that of the Beatles. MRC Data executive Helena Kosinski noted 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." The first non-English speaking artist to make the Global Artist Chart in 2018, BTS was the second best-selling artists worldwide across multiple media platforms, second only to Drake. In 2020, BTS became the first non-western and non-English speaking artist to be named IFPI's Global Recording Artist of the Year. In South Korea, BTS accounted for 41.9 percent of album sales in the first half of 2019, up from their market share of 25.3 percent the previous year.

In 2022, Youna Kim described BTS as having spearheaded the Korean Wave, representing the global expansion of Korean culture as effectively as Psy did in the previous decade and with the strength of influence that the Academy Award-winning South Korean film Parasite had in 2020. South Korea's central bank, the Bank of Korea, found in 2021 that BTS, including a "ripple effect" that included increased tourism to South Korea; increased interest in Korean culture, movies, and study of the Korean language; and added approximately US$5 billion per year to South Korea's economy, a growth of about 0.5 percent. A 2018 study showed that, on average, 800,000 foreigners per year had visited South Korea over the past four years for BTS-related reasons.

Writers identified BTS as leaders even among other highly influential K-pop groups such as Girls' Generation, Super Junior, Exo, Twice, and Blackpink and note that BTS's success shows the importance of a strong, active fan base in the age of social media, where fan campaigning can be as important as musical quality to a song's success. The group has also distinguished themselves at the forefront of the business side of the K-pop industry by pursuing less restrictive contracts with their management company to maximize their artistic originality and creativity. With this newer approach to career management, BTS created closer ties to the South Korean youth and encourage individuality and authenticity among their audience.

Diplomacy

In his 1990 essay Soft Power, political scientist Joseph Nye developed the concept of a second type of power different from traditional authoritarianism. Nye wrote, "This second aspect of power – which occurs when one country gets other countries to want what it wants – might be called co-optive or soft power in contrast with the hard or command power of ordering others to do what it wants." Researchers such as Maud Quessard have applied the concept of soft power to BTS and their influence on entertainment diplomacy and international relations. Youna Kim and Maud Quessard all read the currency of soft power as including culture, political values, and foreign policy, which applies to BTS's ability to be co-optive in their approach to spreading their message of harmony, acceptance, and addressing life's setbacks via their broad appeal on the international stage.

BTS was invited to address the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September 2018. That same year they performed in Paris before an audience of 400, including President Moon Jae-in and other officials, at the 2018 Korea-France Friendship Concert, a summit celebrating the friendly relations between France and South Korea. That year, BTS became the youngest recipients of the Order of Cultural Merit. Despite cultural medals traditionally being given to recipients with over 15 years of achievement, Moon recognized the group, five years into their career, for their contributions in spreading Korean culture and language worldwide. In September 2019, BTS were mentioned by Moon while announcing strategies for the content industries, for having pioneered innovative business models through direct communication with fans. In 2020, BTS received the James A. Van Fleet Award in recognition of their outstanding contributions to the promotion of US-Korea relations, the youngest honorees to receive the award. In July 2021, they were appointed Special Presidential Envoy for Future Generations and Culture by President Moon. In their role as envoys, they help to "raise awareness on global agendas, such as sustainable development, to our future generations and to strengthen the nation's diplomatic power across the world" and appear at international events such as the 76th United Nations General Assembly. On May 31, 2022, BTS visited US President Joe Biden at the White House to discuss the recent rise in anti-Asian hate crimes and discrimination.

Fandom

According to Kyung Hyun Kim, BTS's rise was facilitated by a great increase in music video programming and consumption on YouTube and the coming of an idol empire, including merchandising of nonmusical products, games, and fantasy fiction, as well as an expansion of online music fandom. The group has a large, highly organized, online community of fans known as ARMY (Adorable Representative M.C. for Youth), which translates the group's lyrics and social media posts into other languages and matches charitable contributions of BTS's members. As of June 2026, BTS is the only artist to have amassed 80 million subscribers/followers across each of YouTube, Instagram, Spotify, and TikTok. The fan community helps generate BTS's number-one chart rankings via coordinated campaigns on streaming platforms, as well as pushes to feature BTS's music on radio stations and television. Some ARMY members may even surpass the group itself in influence among BTS fans.

BTS interacted and engaged with their followers from their earliest days via social media, as well as via BTS Universe, an alternate storyline involving the members told through music videos, mobile games, books, short films, and more that gives fans room to theorize. Kim suggested that ARMY are drawn to BTS since the members are seen as underdogs, originating from the Korean countryside and a relatively minor Korean entertainment company, which allows young fans to identify with them. BTS's lyrics speak to social values, and fans respond by trying to improve the world. As a result, the fandom regularly embraces activism on charitable causes and socio-political issues such as refugee crises, racial discrimination, children's rights, climate change, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Feedback from ARMY to BTS affects the group's actions and lyrics; BTS has eliminated certain Korean words that sound like American racial slurs from their songs and ended collaboration with a Japanese producer when Korean ARMY members deemed his views extreme.

Per South Korean author Jiyoung Lee, the relationship between BTS and ARMY is "a mutual exchange between artists and their fans" that is about more than merely "ensuring the band's primacy", but also "extending the band's message of positivity into the world". Lee opines that BTS and ARMY are "a symbol of change in zeitgeist, not just of generational change". The band members themselves agree and have long acknowledged their fans' role in their success. According to Sarah Keith, "BTS embody a moment of generational transformation. ARMY represents a 'coming of age' for the young, in which cultural production and influence are global and meaningful, and where the youth are politically and socially engaged."

Other ventures

Endorsements

BTS partnered with Puma beginning in 2015, initially as Puma Korea's brand ambassadors before expanding to global ambassadors in 2018, and promoting the remix of Puma's "Turin" and "Sportstyle" line worldwide. In 2019, BTS signed with Fila to endorse its sportswear. BTS has also served as global brand ambassadors for LG Electronics' smartphones, and Hyundai Motors' 2019 flagship SUV the Hyundai Palisade and fuel cell electric SUV, the Hyundai Nexo. BTS became global ambassadors of the electric street racing series Formula E to promote how electric vehicles can help combat climate change. In 2020, BTS partnered with Samsung Electronics, releasing a limited BTS-themed version of the Galaxy S20+ and Galaxy Buds+. As the first male pop group ever to collaborate with Dior, BTS sported ensembles from Kim Jones' Pre-Fall 2019 collection at their concert at Stade de France. The band became global brand ambassadors for Louis Vuitton in April 2021.

Philanthropy

BTS are known for their philanthropic endeavors. Several members of the band have been inducted into prestigious donation clubs, such as the UNICEF Honors Club and the Green Noble Club, in acknowledgement of the size and frequency of their donations. They have also received awards for their donations, with one member receiving a Patron of the Arts Award for donations to the arts, and BTS as a whole receiving a UNICEF Inspire Award for their Love Myself campaign. They often donate privately, with their patronage later being made public by the organizations they support and the media. The band's efforts have motivated their fans to also engage in various charitable and humanitarian activities, and on occasion even match their donations.

Accolades

BTS have received numerous awards throughout their career. They have consecutively won the Billboard Music Award for Top Social Artist since 2017; are the only K-pop group to win Top Duo/Group, at the 2019 Billboard Music Awards; and are the most-awarded group in BBMA history as of 2022, with 12 wins overall. BTS are also the only K-pop group to win Favorite Duo or Group – Pop/Rock and Favorite Social Artist at the American Music Awards, and became the first Asian act in the show's history to win Artist of the Year in 2021. They are the first Korean pop act to receive a Grammy Award nomination, and the first Korean artist to be nominated for a Brit Award. With 30 awards overall, including a record four consecutive wins for Artist of the Year (Asia), BTS are the most-awarded foreign artist in the history of the Japan Gold Disc Awards. They have also received a total of 50 trophies at the MAMA Awards.

Members

Jin (진) – vocalist

Suga (슈가) – rapper

J-Hope (제이홉) – rapper

RM (알앰) – leader, rapper

Jimin (지민) – vocalist

V (뷔) – vocalist

Jung Kook (정국) – vocalist

Filmography

Films

Burn the Stage: The Movie (2018)

Love Yourself in Seoul (2019)

Bring the Soul: The Movie (2019)

Break the Silence: The Movie (2020)

BTS: Permission to Dance on Stage – LA (2022)

BTS: Yet to Come in Cinemas (2023)

BTS: The Return (2026)

Online shows

Run BTS (2015–present)

BTS In the Soop (2020–2021)

BTS: Bon Voyage (2016–present)