This Beat Cha-Ching Like Money: Why BTS Is So Popular

I’ve been experiencing some pain in my right knee for the past week. I knew I shouldn’t have done what I did a week ago, but I was dying to be another statistic in the world.

Yes, I tried to learn the choreography for BTS’s hit-track “Boy with Luv”.

I know I’m a bit late to be doing this since “Boy with Luv” was released in 2019 but hey, better late than never!

Crazy, isn’t it? After listening to BTS’s songs for about 4 years now, I finally feel like I’m giving into their charm. What I did a week ago, trying to follow a YouTube tutorial just to learn the steps of my current favorite song, that’s something I would have easily done 10 years ago and gushed about it. I even know I would have had at least one friend alongside whom I would crush on the members of the band. Oh wait, I’m still crushing on them!

If you don't know who BTS are, then I want to judge you but it's okay, I'm pretty sure I don't know a lot of things too. BTS is a K-Pop group that is taking over the world right now. The group consists of seven members- RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook. Some of their hit songs include Dynamite, Boy With Luv (feat. Halsey) and Blood, Sweat and Tears.

As of Jan 2021, BTS’s first all-English song “Dynamite” stayed No.1 on the Billboard Global 200 chart for 4 weeks. It has charted on Billboard Hot 100 for 19 weeks. According to Rolling Stone India: they were the fourth-most streamed act on Spotify India in 2020 overall and the only International act to make the list of the Top Five most streamed artists in the country.

I don’t usually fall for marketing gimmicks and I’m not interested in the life of an artist beyond their music, but BTS, you’ve got me hooked. I wonder why.

Of course, having a group of seven young extremely good-looking men who can sing, dance and rap certainly helps

Yep, one of the members, Jin was supposedly recruited on the street by ‘Big Hit Entertainment’ (BTS’s Agency) because he’s so handsome. Well, his nickname ‘Worldwide Handsome’ had to have some basis, right!

Honestly, BTS as a group was crafted for success. A strategic decision was made to include rappers RM and SUGA, dance-king J-hope, amazing vocalists Jungkook, V and Jimin, and of course, ‘WWH (Worldwide Handsome)’ Jin to woo the girls. Each has their specialty yet each was trained to blend into the group seamlessly.

Apart from catchy tunes, their songs have a deeper meaning, which resonates with the youth

From talking about mental health and the challenges faced while growing up, BTS has chosen to talk about issues that are prevalent in today’s times and affect many people. Whether it’s their disco-pop song, Dynamite or Blood, Sweat and Tears with more of an EDM influence, there’s one thing about them- you will get up from your seat and move.

At first, I just liked their music because of its sound, but now that I know the meaning and the reason behind all these hits, I feel more connected to them. BTS released “Dynamite” in the middle of the pandemic to uplift everyone’s spirits. And if you listen to it, you’ll see, it does just that. It’ll put you in a disco mood and take you away to some Happyland for a while. I won’t even get into “Blood, Sweat and Tears”. It has a lot of biblical references and once you put together the verses and the shots in the music video, you’ll notice how each verse and shot is placed strategically.

Amazing Choreography which makes them look cool and at the same time is easy enough to follow

When I see their performances, there’s one word that comes to my mind- “Swag”. This is really astonishing since I’ve never been a fan of the word, but if I were to describe BTS’s dance performances, I have got to say, “They’ve got swag”. All the members- RM, Jungkook, Jimin, V, J-hope, SUGA and Jin, look effortless while singing and dancing on stage. But of course, they put in hours every day to reach that stage of perfection.

I’ve noticed the choreographies are intricate, but if fans really want to dance to their favorite BTS songs and flaunt their style, it’s possible. Judging by the endless number of dance covers on Youtube, this seems to be true.

As of today, BTS is the biggest boy band in the world. They’ve been on the cover of TIME Magazine, they’ve spoken at the UN and are often compared to The Beatles, in terms of popularity. For me, BTS is what we want from our world. BTS represents unity amongst cultures and nations, based on music. Music indeed transcends all boundaries. Music and Love are two languages that everybody understands. The fact that BTS sings most of their songs partly in Korean and yet, their shows would be sold out within minutes, shows that regardless of the ever-growing divide between races and nationalities, we all secretly want to embrace our differences and live in a more peaceful and harmonious world.