The BTS Army was out in full power for the Ok-pop phenomenon’s Q&A on the Grammy Museum on Tuesday (Sept. 11). The intimate group of 200 followers arrived (at the least) an hour early to get as shut as doable to their Idols, mixing and mingling with each other and sharing tales of the reveals they’ve seen, encounters they’ve had and what bought them into the group within the first place. One fan stored a number of fingers crossed whereas ready in line, presumably hoping for a photograph, autograph, or some miraculous one-on-one time with the band’s members.
Inside, everybody filed to their seats and the museum’s government director, Scott Goldman, welcomed the group and launched BTS’ record-breaking music video, “Idol.” The room lit up and finally melted into one large sing-and-dance-along, language barrier be damned. When the video ended, Goldman was joined on stage by Jin, RM, J-Hope, Jimin, V, Suga, and Jungkook. No introductions had been needed, as every member’s entrance triggered screams from one finish of the room to the opposite.
Fresh off a four-night run at LA’s Staples Center, the seven-piece Korean boy band answered Goldman’s questions on their artistic course of, the evolution of their profession, and naturally, their loyal fanbase.
BTS is Taking Control
From their songwriting to their music movies to their dwell performances, the seven members of BTS have turn into considerably extra concerned within the common artistic course of, giving them extra confidence on stage and within the studio. Though they’ve all the time had a hand in all of their work, their elevated creativity behind the scenes permits them to really feel extra free and have extra enjoyable when performing, in keeping with J-Hope.
The group is in a continuing state of creation, a “year-round song camp,” in keeping with Suga. They will submit melodic concepts, then lyrics, to Big Hit Entertainment CEO Mr. Bang and work alongside him and their manufacturing workforce to construct stray lyrics and melody into chart-topping hits. Jimin added that the evolution of every tune accelerates within the studio, as lyrics get tweaked and musical thrives are added whereas every monitor is being recorded.
When requested in regards to the group’s songwriting course of, Suga identified that their artistic contributions transcend melody and lyrics, and prolong to choreography, artwork path, and wardrobe styling. All of those visible and musical parts mix to create the general BTS aesthetic.
Their Messages of Positivity are Clean and Consistent
Mr. Bang has been working with BTS because the starting of their profession and has all the time inspired them to talk from the guts. Suga spoke of their joint philosophy of Music & Artist for Healing, the mantra that precedes all of BTS’ music movies. Their songs are private, written from each ache and optimism, pushing their followers to observe the identical self-love and care that has helped them push previous the tough patches in their very own lives. Suga recollects the music he listened to rising up that helped him escape and desires to create equally wholesome musical experiences for his or her followers.
It Was a Risk to Commit to a Four-Part Series… But It’s Paying Off
From the School triology earlier of their profession to the Love Yourself period that’s presently enjoying out, BTS trades in grand ideas, crafting story archs via a number of albums. Storylines twist and switch all through their initiatives and particular person songs’ meanings could solely absolutely take form when listening within the context of an entire album. Jin famous that the lead single and music video for every mission will typically replicate the album’s coloration, taste, and overarching messages.
RM added that it has been a creative danger to embark on such high-scale initiatives as a result of if the idea doesn’t join with their followers, they might be caught fleshing out an unsuccessful and finally unsatisfying sequence. The music trade could be fickle and spending two and a half years on an concept to which their followers can’t relate might significantly halt their momentum.
But it appears to be working to this point. Love Yourself: Answer adopted Love Yourself: Tear to turn into the group’s second No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart within the span of simply 4 months. Their worldwide touring footprint is rising concurrently, as they’ll be the primary Ok-pop group in historical past to play a U.S. stadium with their Oct. 6 present at New York’s Citi Field. Gordon’s comment that we might see BTS on the Grammy stage earlier than later sparked wild applause from the viewers.
BTS’ Ok-pop is a Reflection of the Diverse World through which They Live
Suga took a second to arrange his ideas after a fragile query from Gordon. When requested to talk on Ok-pop as its personal style, he famous that he hesitates to categorize Ok-pop in that method, however that he’s impressed by the combination of many alternative musical kinds and aesthetics into Korean music. BTS themselves mix parts of pop, rap, digital, and R&B and proudly mix all of their work into an audio-visual bundle that appeals to followers throughout genres and cultures.
Jungkook provides that, like his band-members, he listens to all kinds of music from his native South Korea to many types of American widespread music. The completely different approaches to lyrics and manufacturing from all completely different kinds encourage BTS to create the genre-bending music that has launched them to superstardom.
The Guys Owe Everything to Their Army
Near the shut of the interview, V thanked these in attendance and famous that their followers give them the wings to rise to the meteoric heights to which they’ve climbed to this point. When requested about their American followers, RM stated that he’s notably impressed that they’re singing alongside at every live performance to the mostly-Korean lyrics that replenish BTS’ catalog. He bought the followers within the viewers laughing together with his remark, “they know how to play.”
With their ever-growing fanbase and total success, Jungkook capped the Q&A by promising that the band is more and more conscious of their duty to make one of the best music they will and to ship for his or her Army.
Bonus Insight: On their tour of the Grammy Museum earlier that day, J-Hope gleefully uttered, “It was lit.”
