294 - The Most Important BTS Era

0:06[SPEAKER_00]: Consequence Podcast Network [SPEAKER_00]: Bora, hey, iconic army. [SPEAKER_00]: Bora, hey, Bethany, I have to say I am missing BTS so much and I'm like so regretful that we couldn't go to another concert on the Adi-Dong tour. [SPEAKER_00]: And something that is making me like really look forward to next year is that RM said recently on a live that he started to write new music again, so I'm like I know he's about time it's about time [SPEAKER_00]: So like, when's the new album coming, you know, and also at their last show in L.A. Jungkook said, see you next year.

1:13[SPEAKER_00]: And of course it was met with like the entire stadium screaming. [SPEAKER_00]: So we know that they're coming back next year. [SPEAKER_01]: Oh yeah, it's been highly rumored that they're going to tour again next year. [SPEAKER_01]: Also, they have all of these songs during the creation of Auditong that they just basically kind of put to the side and they even argue a little bit over who gets to have what song what not. [SPEAKER_01]: So like we know that there's music.

1:37[SPEAKER_01]: readily available if they were to like go ahead and lean into it, but then to hear RM saying that he's ready to write more music and that it's that drive and JK confirming that he's gonna be seeing Army again next year. [SPEAKER_01]: It just is really solidifying that like yes Auditong has been incredible and there's so so much more of the two are left, but that [SPEAKER_01]: Now that the North American tour is wrapped up, essentially, it seems as if this is when R.M.

2:05[SPEAKER_01]: saying, okay, let's go ahead and start working on the next album. [SPEAKER_00]: The next era. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, and I could imagine that they will take some of those songs from that batch of like a hundred songs that are still left after Auditong, but I can also imagine that they will be inspired to write something new, to work on something different, you know, and also I [SPEAKER_00]: mostly as well. [SPEAKER_00]: So I think that they'll probably pull from multiple different places, but it makes me really excited for next year, and I'm like, the next year's already such a big year for me, like, I'm getting married.

2:42[SPEAKER_00]: Like, my sister, I was joking with my friends, like, I will move the wedding to go to a BTS concert. [SPEAKER_00]: My sister called me yesterday asking, well, what would be a good weekend for your bridal [SPEAKER_00]: I might have to tell her to hold off on it like, you know, I don't know. [SPEAKER_00]: If I have to go to BTS, you're going to have to cancel it, you know, like, so. [SPEAKER_00]: Well, we'll make it work. [SPEAKER_00]: We will make it work.

3:04[SPEAKER_01]: We will make it work. [SPEAKER_00]: We will make it work. [SPEAKER_01]: We will make it work. [SPEAKER_01]: We will [SPEAKER_01]: I think I really think that they could sell so many tickets for Arrowhead. [SPEAKER_00]: They could because it's smack dab in the middle of the country. [SPEAKER_00]: Like, literally, and I saw TikTok last night from the Chiefs opener where, like, the whole stadium was like, red and like, they were playing red kingdom and like, it was all lit up and somebody was filming it and they were like, imagine this purple.

3:45[SPEAKER_00]: Imagine this full of army bombs like BTS come on come to Arrowhead. [SPEAKER_00]: So Yeah, that's gotta happen. [SPEAKER_01]: It might happen. [SPEAKER_01]: That we so hope it did that. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, but missing them extra much and just looking forward to what they're doing next year. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, you know. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, me too. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_00]: All right. [SPEAKER_00]: Well, what we get back in a second to get into today's episode topic.

4:14[SPEAKER_00]: Welcome back, where you're hosts, I'm Kayla. [SPEAKER_01]: And I'm Bethany, and this is Standing BTS. [SPEAKER_00]: Your favorite informative Van Gropodcast. [SPEAKER_01]: All right, today we're going to hang out for about an hour. [SPEAKER_01]: And we decided to get a little creative this week with the topic idea. [SPEAKER_01]: And we're going to basically go through all of BTS' eras to date. [SPEAKER_01]: And we're going to talk about just like the significance of each era and at the end we're going to decide what the most important BTS era is.

4:43[SPEAKER_01]: I don't know if we're going to be like formally ranking it, but we're just going to write dive into what we think is the most important era or areas that have led to where they are today. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, and we should clarify too. [SPEAKER_00]: We're not talking about like what our favorite ones are, what we think is like the most iconic. [SPEAKER_00]: I think we're thinking of this in a scope of BTS' impact and their legacy. [SPEAKER_00]: And perhaps also their success, like what was the most important for them, you know, now, like still affecting them or impacting their global success now.

5:18[SPEAKER_00]: So kind of looking at it through a scope of that. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, interesting. [SPEAKER_00]: I'm excited. [SPEAKER_00]: I think we might come to different conclusions or maybe we won't, but we'll just see. [SPEAKER_00]: Before we get too far into today's episode, I want to say thank you so much, Iconics, for being here and for listening, we appreciate you so much. [SPEAKER_00]: You are why we do what we do. [SPEAKER_00]: If you'd like to support us, you can consider joining us on Patreon at patreon.com slash standing BCS.

5:42[SPEAKER_01]: Yes, thanks for being here for all of your support and of course for listening. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, it's okay. [SPEAKER_00]: So real briefly before diving into each era, let's just give you a chronological list and timeline of the BTS era. [SPEAKER_00]: So we have pre-day view from about 2010 to 2013. [SPEAKER_00]: We have the school trilogy era 2013, 2014. [SPEAKER_00]: The most beautiful moment in life era from 2015 to [SPEAKER_00]: the map of the soul era from 2019 and 2020 and then we have the pandemic pivot and the English singles from 2020.

6:22[SPEAKER_00]: It's a 2021 and then of course we have the proof and the solo chapter or like chapter two era in 2022 all the way to 2025 and then we are currently in the reunion and [SPEAKER_01]: lots of history so let's just dive into pre-day view of 2010 to 2013 and I'm glad that we're including this because Kayla you actually were like hey we need to put pre-day view in there I thought you know what you're right like it is kind of an era for them and we mostly know them from this era because of their presence on YouTube and their soundcloud uploads [SPEAKER_01]: So really, when you think back to this era, the most notable material that you might come across is the typical trainees Christmas.

7:12[SPEAKER_01]: There's a video for that, which is mostly just RM and Jin in it. [SPEAKER_01]: But you can hear the full sound cloud version. [SPEAKER_01]: And you hear all of the members in the sound cloud version. [SPEAKER_01]: There's also School of Tears, which is RM, Shuga and Jin. [SPEAKER_01]: And in this music video too, [SPEAKER_01]: I think you can kind of see some of the mocknays, like their side profiles. [SPEAKER_01]: I could be wrong about that, but it kind of looks like that.

7:38[SPEAKER_01]: And then I would say this is one of the most iconic YouTube videos that you see from Pre-Dabio, which is graduation song. [SPEAKER_01]: This is the kind of video with Jay Hope, Jim and John Gug, where they're kind of like out on a football field. [SPEAKER_01]: in the streets, you know, like the snowing outside is kind of winter time. [SPEAKER_01]: They're in their like obviously it's a gorgeous winter form. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: So there's that.

8:05[SPEAKER_01]: And really all of these songs you can tell have been either like remix or they're like covers. [SPEAKER_01]: They're very much like other songs that they've taken from. [SPEAKER_01]: And then they've remixed to like make their own lyrics over that beat. [SPEAKER_01]: So like they took a lot of beats from songs like, [SPEAKER_01]: All I do is win by DJ Khaled and look at me now by Chris Brown So specifically like if you go to SoundCloud and you go back to some of these mixes You'll notice that it's mostly RM and sugar who released them, but during this pretty pre-day Buaera I really picture them just in the studio becoming familiar with how to produce and write music and [SPEAKER_01]: the way that they went about that and started it was by kind of creating these remixes and covers of already established songs.

8:52[SPEAKER_00]: Right. [SPEAKER_00]: It feels like a very formative time for them where they were learning what is their own personal production style, what kind of music do they like to work with to make the song and to make the sound that they enjoy and that they're going for. [SPEAKER_01]: yeah, absolutely. [SPEAKER_01]: And then in addition to just all of this like production working on music, they were also doing pre-day view vlogs on YouTube.

9:18[SPEAKER_01]: So you see a lot of them and like this really dark lit like production room studio where they're just like such babies. [SPEAKER_01]: They're so tiny, but they're talking to the camera and they're just kind of sharing their lives. [SPEAKER_01]: And yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: I would say this was extremely formative in their popularity and just like getting to know them as members. [SPEAKER_01]: Like I think this was a route like the social media presence ends up becoming a much larger insignificant down the road, especially with like top social artists, things like that.

9:48[SPEAKER_01]: You know, this establishment of creating vlogs and just like day and day out of training life and what they're doing was pretty formative and I think very new at the time. [SPEAKER_00]: Not really, not a whole lot of artists were doing this kind of style and like influencers weren't really a thing at the time Right, especially at that time like you know YouTube was pretty new in 2010 and there were releasing these vlogs and it is for, you know, one of the first times like a possible fans [SPEAKER_00]: They might reply to YouTube comments or, you know, or bring up something that they were asked about in the comments and talk about it in another vlog, and it was also the, you know, the first time that potential fans of the group when they debuted got to get to know the members and like start to see their personalities or know what they like or what they don't like or, you know, just facts about them.

10:51[SPEAKER_00]: So it's definitely very important for building that fandom. [SPEAKER_01]: Absolutely. [SPEAKER_01]: A strong foundation of BTS too, like today. [SPEAKER_01]: This is something they continue to do. [SPEAKER_01]: Right. [SPEAKER_01]: So let's just talk about the overall importance of this era. [SPEAKER_01]: So this era was establishing the group from an underground rap scene, giving them a more like artist-focused credibility compared to like more manufactured groups.

11:15[SPEAKER_01]: BTS also showed like so-for-lion during this time [SPEAKER_01]: and putting themselves out there in a very different model compared to other K-pop groups. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, and it also, I think, forged BTS' core identity that's rooted in hip hop, you know, reinforced each members' roles within the group. [SPEAKER_00]: It helped them, like Bethany mentioned, build their skills to self-produce, to write their own music, and to record it, gave them that time in that freedom to develop those skills.

11:51[SPEAKER_01]: and through all of this they really developed core character traits as a group such as like this relentless work ethic and a deep bond between the members to just strive for success together despite all of the challenges and just kind of being with a much lower hand entering the Kpop world. [SPEAKER_00]: right, totally. [SPEAKER_00]: And like I said with the vlogs like this is where Army first met each member, which I think is just so important to think about now, you know, any new army, it's kind of hard to like know that these things exist unless you're told about them, but like you could go back and discover what they were like way back then at debut and pre debut and it's almost like you were there.

12:35[SPEAKER_00]: So you can really see their whole history even from the beginning, which is very cool. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, what an era and there's not much to tell young during this era like many of you probably know that Taeyang was kind of this hidden member. [SPEAKER_01]: So you don't really see him. [SPEAKER_00]: No, you never do. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I would say the other ones. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, he was revealed revealed right before debut. [SPEAKER_01]: I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed revisiting Pre-Day View Era.

13:00[SPEAKER_01]: It's been a minute since I've gone back and looked at some of this material. [SPEAKER_01]: And it's so crazy because like you hear people say like, oh BTS change, you know, whatever, and a lot of artied-ong topics are about like, yeah, we've changed. [SPEAKER_01]: But going back and looking at this, seeing their dynamics and interactions and many rhythms were like, man, [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, they've changed, but they're the exact same too like they're the same people.

13:24[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, like the core hip hop and everything like it's never left. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I love seeing their roots. [SPEAKER_00]: So let's talk about the next era, the the school trilogy era from 2013 to 14. [SPEAKER_00]: So some core themes of this era is that it was very rebellious. [SPEAKER_00]: It was all about teenage and like teenage angst also included societal pressure and looking at the Korean education system. [SPEAKER_00]: Some key releases from this era are the albums too cool for school or you late too in school love affair in addition to also dark and wild and notable tracks are no more dream, no and boy and love.

14:07[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: Lots of great releases for this era. [SPEAKER_01]: The importance of this era really was that it established BTS as a group who was going to do something different and they were always going to say something real and be true to themselves which made them just more of a relatable group. [SPEAKER_01]: So their music for their debut like no more dream. [SPEAKER_01]: It wasn't about being catchy or flashy pop or like trendy at the time.

14:31[SPEAKER_01]: It was about delivering messages to their peers who had similar struggles and feelings. [SPEAKER_01]: And they were all about being honest rather than being like flashy or trendy like I was saying. [SPEAKER_01]: And it's so funny because they end up winning rookie of the year and 2013 for Melon. [SPEAKER_01]: And if you go and look at some of those articles like back in 2013 when they won rookie of the year, [SPEAKER_01]: People were kind of like thrown back by them.

14:59[SPEAKER_01]: They were like, what is this aggressive hip hop? [SPEAKER_01]: Like it's just it was so different and yeah, they won't Ricky of the year, but a lot of people were like whatever like this is not this was not trendy at the time like it wasn't like [SPEAKER_01]: oh yeah people are going to listen to no more dream like it just wasn't a hit i obviously now it's a total freaking banger but at the time it was like aggressive and they're like who are these guys like what are they doing but they ended up winning rookie of the year and they didn't really win any other major awards but they definitely made an impression at least to say yeah [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I mean, they were coming in and doing something completely different, right, and trying to push the boundaries of like, where is our sound and like how much do they play the game and like try to fit into the industry versus how are they trying to like really carve out their own space and like create a new pathway to be authentic to themselves.

16:00[SPEAKER_00]: I also just need to bring up, because I do think that this is notable in the era, is that this era overall, the school trilogy helped BTS realize the true impact of their lyrics, like when you are a musician, writing lyrics, and putting them out into the world, they're not meaningless. [SPEAKER_00]: People are going to take them to heart and pay attention to what you're saying, because [SPEAKER_00]: If they don't need to pay attention, then why would they listen to you, you know?

16:30[SPEAKER_00]: And so they had some great themes, like within too cool for school and or you late too. [SPEAKER_00]: School of affair, now that they had bad themes, it just gets like really more angsty and like a little bit more of like, Just teetering on a little misogyny of like, why are you doing this to me, you know, like... [SPEAKER_00]: But where they actually faced some backlash for some misogyny was in their dark and wild album For their song War of Hormone and because of that because army was like, hey, like these lyrics aren't cool Like we don't appreciate them like you guys need to educate themselves They ultimately did they educated themselves on the issues of women and they consulted a feminist studies professor and, you know, spoke with her on What they needed to learn in that case and [SPEAKER_00]: Honestly, this garnered a lot of appreciation from the fandom at the time, and I think in the long run it helped be T.S.

17:26[SPEAKER_00]: better relate to their core audience of women and girls because, you know, I think a lot of women really don't appreciate like listening to like misogynistic music, you know, like there's a time in a place like, you know, if you're partying in the club, maybe you'll let some things slide, but like, [SPEAKER_00]: In your day to day or from like your favorite group like if you are listening to something that you feel like is kind of putting you down or placing a man above you That's really not something that we appreciate So I think that this is important because I think BTS was we're able in that moment to take a step back and realize this is our audience [SPEAKER_00]: This is how we want to communicate with them and we need to better ourselves to be able to engage with them appropriately and to also like still enjoy their support because this topic matters.

18:19[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, it was a great learning experience for them and the fact that they did learn from it and then also it showed just how much they really cared about their audience as well. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: All right, so let's go ahead and get into the next era, which is the most beautiful moment in life, H. Y. H. ERA, this is 2015 to 2016. [SPEAKER_01]: So the core themes of this era is just the beauty and vulnerability and hardships of youth.

18:50[SPEAKER_01]: So [SPEAKER_01]: It's really a time of just showing youthfulness, but not being so much focused on the angsty side of it, but this beauty within being young and also acknowledging the hardships that come with being that age and being young. [SPEAKER_01]: This also ends up being the introduction of their fictional BTS universe, the Bontan universe, which was massive and huge, truly, we'll get more into that in terms of the importance of this era.

19:17[SPEAKER_01]: But the most well-known releases for this time is the most beautiful moment in life part one, in part two, and then also the repackaged album, young forever. [SPEAKER_01]: So most notable tracks from this era are, I need you, dope, run, and fire. [SPEAKER_00]: Oh my gosh, I feel like this era is so monumental. [SPEAKER_00]: Firstly, just diving into the importance, like you said, the birth of the Banton universe here. [SPEAKER_00]: The Banton universe started here and it continued throughout the wings era.

19:47[SPEAKER_00]: and into the love yourself era and after a love yourself era we really did not hear more about it, but from 2015 all the way till the end of 2019 so like four years we were in this every single music video connected to and every short film every other release that had a visual element connected [SPEAKER_00]: universe, the Bantan universe that they created starting here. [SPEAKER_00]: And I mean, this allowed fans to engage with their content in a brand new way where they are writing music that can have one meaning, but then they're also giving us visual interpretations of fictional storytelling through that music and through the music videos and the concept photos.

20:36[SPEAKER_00]: This created so much lore that us fans were able to immerse ourselves within and theorize over the storylines and Debate online and discuss and point out different things and like I mean Bethany you and I I know it's a totally different way to engage in the music Like we're not just talking about [SPEAKER_01]: The music videos the song itself the lyrics or whatever they have all this going for them But now they have this storyline and it just really pulls you in it really pulls you in when you have a storyline like this And like you were about to say Kayla like you and I literally would theorize forever about it I remember making Anthony watch like some of the like highlight reels and things like that to like just theorize with him And he's like I don't care about this but I feel like God [SPEAKER_00]: Look, see he has bunch house and by proxy.

21:22[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, he killed his dad. [SPEAKER_00]: Like the storylines were truly so immense and like I mean just talking about what even in the visuals What each members individual storyline what kind of like pain or suffering that represented in the real world like depression or anxiety or like [SPEAKER_00]: thoughts of suicide, or abuse, or alcoholism, and so they would take the storyline and use it as a way to bring attention to other deeper heavier topics.

21:55[SPEAKER_00]: And then at the same time, like their lyrics would also tie in. [SPEAKER_00]: Like their lyrics could be totally about something else, but also there are so smart with the writing where they could still, like, you could align the lyrics [SPEAKER_00]: very cool. [SPEAKER_00]: Very cool and like I said, they continued this until like the end of 2019. [SPEAKER_00]: And it was during the time too that their music shifted away from that more rebellious going against societal pressure, questioning society, more into concepts of exploring [SPEAKER_00]: vulnerability, anxiety about the future mental health, like the problems of youth, and they continue to talk about real and relatable topics that were real to them as they were experiencing growing up currently in their lives, but also resonated heavily with their listeners at the time.

22:44[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: And if I'm being fully honest, if I'm just going to about to give my opinion on this era, I feel like there's a lot of significance around the winds and like I know like the previous era, they were like super bankrupts, you know, the the school trilogy that was shortly after their debut, then they had all this stuff with more hormone and darkened wild wasn't like commercially massively accept. [SPEAKER_00]: successful.

23:08[SPEAKER_01]: And so they felt a lot of pressure for this album to like this is going to make a break you like this is this is it last opportunity and I just am curious what all went on between these two eras because they went from this super angsty aggressive hip hop into this like super vulnerable like sing songy songs at times you know but still like poppy [SPEAKER_01]: But what a shift, but also they didn't lose that vulnerability or like that rawness and honesty of their lyrics.

23:43[SPEAKER_01]: That's staying. [SPEAKER_00]: I think that's what they kept, right? [SPEAKER_00]: And I can imagine there's a lot of discussions with Bang PD as he's trying to lead this group. [SPEAKER_00]: Make sure that this group can one stay together that like the company doesn't run out of money But to find the success that they're striving so hard for and so it's not like they completely Change who they are for this era, but it was a specific tonal shift in the vibe of the music Where it they kind of shed the angst and went more into you know like the mental health of the vulnerability and definitely more of like the lighter pop But I will say too.

24:19[SPEAKER_00]: They also grew up [SPEAKER_00]: you know, they grew up a lot during the school trilogy. [SPEAKER_00]: And I think in that age, they may be grew out of some of those rebellious tendencies that you have as a younger youth, you know, and they wanted to explore no topics. [SPEAKER_01]: So yeah, I just love the tripping of just like the hip [SPEAKER_01]: And it's just like they kind of lost that front or that mask and yeah, they removed it and they showed that vulnerability from within and like really showed who they are and I just love it so so much like what an era.

24:52[SPEAKER_00]: I love it so that too like lost the mask because. [SPEAKER_00]: I think for a lot of people, like, okay, I won't speak for everyone, but for me, like when I think about BTS' identity as a group, like, a Trauma H is where it starts of, like, this feels like BTS, where, like, I love their older music, I love their previous eras, but it does feel like there's a bit of a front up of, like, trying to do this, like, to break the core hip hop, they had to prove themselves, you know, they had a kid on the shoulder.

25:23[SPEAKER_00]: Um, and like they still wrap in this era, like the rap line have incredible songs and incredible verses. [SPEAKER_00]: I mean like Yungi's intro never mind like are you kidding me? [SPEAKER_01]: In the hip hop is still there, too. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, at my age. [SPEAKER_00]: They just evolved, did I think? [SPEAKER_00]: And I feel like this is where they found their sound. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I would tell you. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: So, most significantly, this era led them to their first major music awards show winds and led them into the charts, and this gained them worldwide recognition.

25:56[SPEAKER_01]: They ended up winning their first day saying, which is the album of the year at the Melan Music Awards in 2016 for a young forever. [SPEAKER_01]: And if you watch this acceptance as a word, show acceptance, they are truly stunned. [SPEAKER_01]: Like, two stunned to speak, they're looking at each other. [SPEAKER_01]: Why do I look at each other? [SPEAKER_01]: Like, do we hear that right? [SPEAKER_01]: Like, is this like, is this really happening?

26:17[SPEAKER_01]: And yeah, I mean, that just goes to show that they... [SPEAKER_01]: truly didn't think it would ever happen. [SPEAKER_01]: Like I don't think they thought that they would make it and they did and it's just huge and monumental and this era of really like how to pull to them into the industry. [SPEAKER_01]: It was the first time that other big names were taking notice of them and they became a household name in Korea and really for sure started to make some [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I mean, from going the previous year of thinking while dark and wild was kind of a flop and if this album next album isn't successful we'll have to disband because we've run out of money to on the other end of the year winning album of the year like that's I just I'm sure that for them it was it was an insane feeling, you know, unbelievable truly.

27:14[SPEAKER_01]: I get chills thinking about it. [SPEAKER_00]: Oh, I just did do. [SPEAKER_00]: Okay, so coming off of the HYH era, we go into the wings era from 2016 to 2017. [SPEAKER_00]: And these core themes here, they continue. [SPEAKER_00]: The youthful themes, but it's like youthful temptation. [SPEAKER_00]: They also build on the Benton universe storyline. [SPEAKER_00]: by implementing themes inspired by Herman Highsees Demion and they have a lot of themes of the struggle between good and evil, a lot of literary symbolism, very like beautiful shots, very like artsy, a lot to dig into with the theories and the symbolism.

27:57[SPEAKER_00]: Key releases from this era are of course the wings album and then the repackage of you never walk alone. [SPEAKER_00]: and the notable tracks are blood sweat and tears and this is where spring day shows up as well. [SPEAKER_01]: Queen, Queen spring day. [SPEAKER_01]: So the importance of this area, one of the biggest things that stands out from previous areas is that this initiated their solo artist growth, providing each of the members their own solo track to showcase their personal style, identities, and diving more into like internal conflict and mental health.

28:31[SPEAKER_01]: So we got some of like general youth in age why we age and then this gets to be more internal and like super personal with especially those solo tracks like reflection and stigma. [SPEAKER_01]: So the wings era and just really if you think back to just the wings album and you never walk alone massive commercial success for these albums. [SPEAKER_01]: They sold over 1.8 million copies worldwide, they hit global charts, this when they started charting on billboard and really making recognition like on iTunes and things like that.

29:05[SPEAKER_01]: So, we're seeing them chart internationally with these albums and it really cemented BTS as a major global force by landing on these charts like billboard and [SPEAKER_01]: Breaking records previously unseen for Kpop acts in general outside of like traditional hubs. [SPEAKER_01]: So like it's one thing to be a Kpop act making this kind of impression internationally and being on these charts, but it's a whole another thing having them be from big hit entertainment, which was essentially like no success other than BTS.

29:39[SPEAKER_00]: they were their only group at the time, right? [SPEAKER_00]: Another thing that's notable about this era is of course spring day from the repackage album, and when spring day came out, it wasn't made for this purpose, but it became hugely popular in Korea because it happened to, it's released happened to coincide with a tragic fairy accident where many youth lives were lost, so [SPEAKER_00]: the song came out shortly before the fairy accident and after the fairy accident it was I believe it was like a school trip a bunch of like teenagers were on this fairy and so the the nation really held on to this song as a way of remembrance and honoring those who were lost and [SPEAKER_00]: If you look at the lyrics of Spring Day, like it really suits that type of honoring of a tragedy, even though it's not what BTS intended it for.

30:31[SPEAKER_00]: So this isn't something that BTS necessarily did besides obviously they made a beautiful song that is so relatable, but it resonated with the entire country and the song is still charting in Korea to this day. [SPEAKER_00]: I think every year around that time in Spring, it retards at number one, [SPEAKER_00]: Everybody in Korea knows the song. [SPEAKER_00]: Like every single person, old young, you know, every single person knows spring day.

30:58[SPEAKER_00]: That's why we call it Spring Queen Spring Day. [SPEAKER_00]: Yes. [SPEAKER_00]: So massively successful song there. [SPEAKER_00]: And then with the wings era and the wings album, they had a huge successful world to world tour just to put it in perspective. [SPEAKER_00]: Their first tour was the Red Bull at tour, and they had 80,000 people attend worldwide. [SPEAKER_00]: When they went on their HRH tour, that only had an Asian leg of the tour, which makes sense, because the company had been struggling prior to that.

31:23[SPEAKER_00]: But they did have 182 and a half thousand people in attendance. [SPEAKER_00]: However, coming off of the success of HRH and into the success of wings, they had a worldwide tour. [SPEAKER_00]: This is like when they first went to us. [SPEAKER_00]: Australia, they came to the states, they went to Europe, and over half a million people attended that tour. [SPEAKER_00]: So, they're most successful tour two days, spreading BTS all around they went to Brazil.

31:53[SPEAKER_00]: I mean, literally touched all the continents besides... [SPEAKER_00]: Antarctica, you know, massive for them and great to her. [SPEAKER_00]: So I mean, some of our favorite BTS performances ever are from. [SPEAKER_00]: The women's show. [SPEAKER_01]: Jen's performance of Awake and Sidney. [SPEAKER_01]: Like, that's one of the times favorite. [SPEAKER_01]: We should have walked happy before God went into record. [SPEAKER_00]: We missed out.

32:16[SPEAKER_00]: We'll have to watch it literally and the other big thing that happened here is that in 2016 They won their second day sang at Mama 20 Mama's 2016 artists of the year is what they won and they all pretty much cry Like they just I mean it's like you know one year is you know could be a fluke could just be lucky But two years in a row. [SPEAKER_00]: I think it's massive especially for a group that had been struggling so much [SPEAKER_01]: And I feel like going to artists of the year off of album of the year, like it's not just, it's confirming that it's not just your ability to have a really good album.

32:53[SPEAKER_01]: Like you guys are the best artists, like you are the best artists right now. [SPEAKER_01]: And that's why I think it was maybe more emotional for them. [SPEAKER_01]: Like RM, he's got just like damp around both of his eyes. [SPEAKER_01]: Jen could not look more gorgeous while he's crying like he's just like stunning like a pretty cryer I mean, I guess that's how to surprise but like beautifully crying Jay hope is like tear and I don't go because crying like literally it's all of them and then it's at the end of the speech where you Gigi just loses it, you know, I think everyone knows this moment of you and Gigi [SPEAKER_01]: and Hobie, like, pulling him in, like, trying to comfort him, but he's, like, he's so, like, head down, like, hand over his face, like, is sobbing.

33:36[SPEAKER_01]: It just meant so much. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, you know if Yungi is losing how much of an impact it had on them to win that. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: And essentially they all cried, but you had to see Yungi just like, I mean, stop. [SPEAKER_01]: It was like sobbing of happiness, right? [SPEAKER_01]: Like, and he was, they weren't sad. [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, it was just like, they all the hard work really had paid off. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I'm sorry.

34:06[SPEAKER_00]: All the visuals top notch in that era. [SPEAKER_01]: This has got to be one of the most visually stunning eras ever. [SPEAKER_01]: I could say that with confidence. [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, really that just like artsy theme that they have of like good and evil and the symbolism. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, it's just like. [SPEAKER_02]: Mm. [SPEAKER_00]: Kill her. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: All right. [SPEAKER_01]: Let's get into the Love Yourself era, which was from 2017 to 2018.

34:29[SPEAKER_01]: The core themes of this era are about self love, healing, and accepting oneself. [SPEAKER_01]: And then this is also paired with their UNICEF love myself campaign that they did. [SPEAKER_01]: Key releases from the Love Yourself era are just Love Yourself her, Love Yourself tier, and Love Yourself answer, which is a repackaged album. [SPEAKER_01]: The most notable tracks from this era are DNA, mic drop, fake love, and idol. [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, mic drop, like...

34:59[SPEAKER_01]: So, I don't think, I mean, I don't think, I don't know, I don't know. [SPEAKER_00]: I don't know, you know? [SPEAKER_00]: Literally, I think I love, I think love, oh my god. [SPEAKER_00]: Okay, so we just have to say, like, we are a little biased about this era because it was the era that we were first fans for. [SPEAKER_00]: It's when we get into the fans. [SPEAKER_01]: We entered the fandom. [SPEAKER_01]: This was our first release, it was love yourself, her.

35:22[SPEAKER_01]: Right, so very much biased. [SPEAKER_00]: So we have a we have a little bit more to say but not too much more than the other is okay. [SPEAKER_00]: We we rained ourselves in so getting into the importance of this era the themes of this era. [SPEAKER_00]: I feel really continued to deeply resonate with audiences making it widely popular amongst the fandom like that self love healing accepting oneself. [SPEAKER_00]: those are one very hard things to do and two things that are much easier if you're getting that those positive messages of why it's important to do that and how to do that.

35:55[SPEAKER_00]: The other thing is that BTS continued to explore solo and subunit tracks on these albums like they introduced with wings of having a bunch of solo and subunit and those are great like thinking about like [SPEAKER_00]: the truth untold, outro tier, like, or even into, you know, love yourself, answer, and the other, like the solo intros of the vocalists during these eras are so good. [SPEAKER_00]: They also, in this era, had a massively successful, I keep saying massively successful, but like, what else can you say?

36:26[SPEAKER_00]: There's a lot of two parts on the right. [SPEAKER_01]: They would be really. [SPEAKER_01]: BTS, you know, if they weren't, right? [SPEAKER_01]: It's been a lot of sickness. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_00]: So they had a two-part tour. [SPEAKER_00]: The first one love yourself tour in 2018 and then like an encore, speak yourself to stadium tour in 2019. [SPEAKER_00]: And why this is important is because that was BTS's first exclusively stadium tour, the speaker's self tour and it was a worldwide tour.

36:52[SPEAKER_00]: So that was just awesome that they are... [SPEAKER_00]: finally at this point to the level of selling out stadiums and Bethany and I were like we had just seen them in September 2018 at like in Fort Worth at this like arena that held you know 18,000 people and then the following May of 2019 like literally nine months later we were seeing them [SPEAKER_00]: Like that was such a mind-fuck that, like, J.E.S.R. [SPEAKER_00]: this big, you know?

37:27[SPEAKER_00]: Um, it was a huge jump. [SPEAKER_01]: And like, we really, we should have put the numbers in here, but, you know, going off of half a million with their previous tour for wings, I think they bumped up to, like, 2.2 million with these tours. [SPEAKER_00]: I think it was like 2.4 million or something. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_00]: I got to look it up real fast. [SPEAKER_01]: But yeah, I mean we weren't being at that little tiny convention center in Fort Worth and being so close to them.

37:54[SPEAKER_01]: It honestly, it was too good to be true, right? [SPEAKER_01]: Like we were there. [SPEAKER_01]: We got to experience it. [SPEAKER_01]: It was one of the best concerts we've ever been to for a reason because truly there would never be a small venue like that of BTS over again. [SPEAKER_01]: Like I think they had so much success by the time we got to see them in Fort Worth. [SPEAKER_01]: Right. [SPEAKER_01]: That, like, they were like, oh, yeah, we can do a whole stadium tour, like world's wide.

38:19[SPEAKER_01]: Totally. [SPEAKER_01]: With this experience. [SPEAKER_00]: Just to follow up your number, it was, it was including both the love yourself and speaker self combined. [SPEAKER_00]: 62 concerts, 14 countries over two million total attendees, grossing, you know, like almost two million dollars. [SPEAKER_00]: So crazy. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_00]: $2 million? [SPEAKER_00]: Almost $2 million. [SPEAKER_00]: The data I see right now just says, just the speaker self-stadium tour was 116 million dollars.

38:56[SPEAKER_00]: So I don't have the numbers for love yourself combined with that, but I can imagine that it's. [SPEAKER_00]: But over 2 million attendees for the entire double tour, you know, is wild. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: You're talking about like five times the amount of attendees compared to their wings tour. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, that's what I mean. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, yeah. [SPEAKER_00]: Those stadiums, man. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: Right.

39:20[SPEAKER_01]: So, during love yourself, her era, specifically, BTS performed in the US for the first time at the 2017 AMAs, which introduced them to mainstream American media for the first time. [SPEAKER_01]: And since then, they've only continued to grow in the States and have had numerous appearances and performances out of word shows and light night shows. [SPEAKER_01]: And when I tell you Kayla, when I held that AMA party at my house, who was like kind of my birthday, but really was for BTS with AMA's.

39:52[SPEAKER_00]: It was a ruse. [SPEAKER_01]: I really had no idea the significance of that show and their appearance on the AMA's. [SPEAKER_01]: I at the time, like I just really had no idea. [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, how could I know? [SPEAKER_01]: but it really was the outlet in the beginning of BTS getting on to like James Gordon show and Jimmy Kemel and I mean it was just like a smell and Steven Kemel is yeah it just it just ball rolls from there so yeah I I feel like when I think of the love yourself era I think of just exposure in American media [SPEAKER_01]: That really is so significant for this era and that exposure, I think really led them to where we're going to head next in terms of English riskography and so forth.

40:46[SPEAKER_00]: Right. [SPEAKER_00]: It definitely like increased their quantifiable success and has last in years of impact of being able to [SPEAKER_00]: Like I think at the time we talked about like oh my gosh BTS are breaking the glass ceiling, no K-pop act has ever performed at an American award show, you know? [SPEAKER_00]: And then how many times have they done that since then or other K-pop groups or you know K-pop demon hunters group performing golden, you know?

41:17[SPEAKER_00]: So them doing that not only had an impact for them and their future but also so many other artists and acts who came after them. [SPEAKER_02]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_00]: Also hugely notable in this era is that they took their activism to another level. [SPEAKER_00]: So instead of just speaking, I shouldn't say just, but instead of speaking about important topics through their lyrics, they also partnered with UNICEF for the Love Your Self Campaign.

41:41[SPEAKER_00]: And this campaign worked to end violence against children while also promoting self-esteem and well-being for children and youth. [SPEAKER_00]: So an incredibly important message, an incredibly important charity. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_00]: BTS subsequently brought this message to the UN speaking directly to the United Nations about their campaign, the purpose of the campaign in front of such a global audience. [SPEAKER_00]: BTS also or RM actually had a speech prepared and his speech centered on identity, discovering and appreciating each individual for who they are and encouraging everyone to probably be you.

42:19[SPEAKER_00]: And he coupled this message with the power of music and the positive impact that it can have on individuals and society. [SPEAKER_00]: So I feel like this entire campaign really encompassed all of what BTS finds important to them. [SPEAKER_00]: Like the themes and the topics that they really hold valuable and also the music and how those compare together. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, and I just love seeing that this is the first time they're really showing just their activism too and their involvement outside of music as well and just who they stand, what they stand for as artists.

42:53[SPEAKER_01]: It's unique for this era for sure. [SPEAKER_01]: This year they also won Artists of the Year at Mama 2018. [SPEAKER_01]: It was during their acceptance speech that all of the members also got quite emotional about for a little bit different reason this time from previous years. [SPEAKER_01]: Jay hoped noted that they had gotten so much love from army, and then it seemed like it really carried them through just by having more of a hard year, and he was just grateful for them and for all of his members by his side.

43:18[SPEAKER_01]: And it was really Jen that stood out during this exact acceptance speech because he confessed that they had considered disbanding at the beginning of the year, because the group had been going through such a hard time emotionally. [SPEAKER_01]: And just in retrospect, looking at all of these era's prior to love yourself, seeing that they went from like a half a million in attendance at their concerts to 2.2 million and the success and exposure in America and the interview process like the amount of weight and stress and just all of the change in their just identity of being a smaller group into this like worldwide popularity.

43:54[SPEAKER_01]: that would be stressful and I'm sure that their dynamics as a group we're feeling a lot more pressure and a lot more stress in a totally different way that I could see how they were like having a hard time you know figuring it out like how do we basically transition into this new role this like who we are now just so much [SPEAKER_01]: so much pressure. [SPEAKER_01]: And so Yungi mentioned that over like the 2018 year, they realized how happy they actually can be.

44:23[SPEAKER_01]: And so like they ended up getting into a really good place. [SPEAKER_01]: But that award show acceptance speech was emotional and different from other ones because of just like being wrong that moment. [SPEAKER_01]: Like what a time to confess that, Jen. [SPEAKER_01]: Like damn. [SPEAKER_00]: Like, we almost weren't here because we almost just disbanded at the beginning of this year. [SPEAKER_00]: And now, here at the end of the year, you know, Yungi is giving the sentiment of like, we are in such a better place now, you know, speaking after Jen and I mean, I think ultimately this speech shows that the driving force keeping BTS together during that time, because like you mentioned, [SPEAKER_00]: grappling with this instant success, you know, where they are like trying to navigate something completely different.

45:08[SPEAKER_00]: Like they're used to struggling, but they're struggling together and for this cause, but now they're like being put on this pedestal and they're having to like rise to the occasion and can only imagine how much harder the pressure was at that time. [SPEAKER_00]: I think BTS, you know, a lot of them gave the sentiment in the speech that the reason why they're still going is because of the support from Army and that they want to like pay us back for the success that we've given them with our love and support.

45:35[SPEAKER_00]: And so they just kept thinking about like, well, we just have to keep going because of what they've done for us. [SPEAKER_00]: They love us. [SPEAKER_00]: They support us like we, we owe them. [SPEAKER_00]: We owe it to them to keep trying and to not give up. [SPEAKER_00]: And I mean through that, they're they want their artists of the year again. [SPEAKER_00]: So [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: What a transformative time, truly. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, really definitely.

45:58[SPEAKER_00]: Okay, on to the map of the soul era from 2019 to 2020, sometimes Bethany and I call this the lost era because the amount of soul to our is crazy to me that it's lost because it was such a fucking phenomenal era. [SPEAKER_01]: But it was incredible music, but like I mean we were so I mean we were like chess deep in this like we We're so into BTS at the time like our podcast was like peeking. [SPEAKER_00]: I know I mean the listenership back then was insane, but like the it's also just like [SPEAKER_00]: The tragedy of COVID, you know, obviously impacted the world.

46:37[SPEAKER_00]: And it, in some way that it's like permanently here is that like this whole era was lost to it. [SPEAKER_00]: Like we got the music, we got the videos, and then we didn't get any of the performances, any of the tour because, and that's why it just feels lost. [SPEAKER_00]: Like they made this incredible music and it feels like, [SPEAKER_00]: we just it was that small moment in time and then we had to move on. [SPEAKER_00]: So lots of lots of great themes though with this era we have interspection.

47:08[SPEAKER_00]: We have a lot of Carl Young's psychological framework of the persona, the shadow and the ego and the exploration into that and we also have the idea of self actualization. [SPEAKER_00]: I mean, this era turned us all into philosophers, like, seriously. [SPEAKER_00]: One of my least favorite courses in college, and with this era, I was like, diggin' all into it. [SPEAKER_00]: And so some of the key releases, of course, are Map of the Soul persona and Map of the Soul 7, and some notable tracks are Boy With Love, Black Swan, and the Rapline Solo's Persona, Shadow, and Ego.

47:44[SPEAKER_01]: Hmm, black swine came from the shadow came from this era like these are the such fantastic iconic songs from the group So really the importance of this era where this last era type [SPEAKER_01]: taught us about like how to how to love ourselves and all that. [SPEAKER_01]: This era was more about showing fans how to discover and understand themselves. [SPEAKER_01]: It's core themes were really woven into every song and the lyrics engaged with sinners and this youngy and philosophy.

48:16[SPEAKER_01]: It definitely became like these site concepts that I haven't seen since school, you know, like resurfacing and really getting to apply it to your own life and then seeing it through the lens of BTS' lives as well. [SPEAKER_01]: This era just continue to explore like a lot of the subunit songs and solo songs as well Like getting persona with RM and shadow with you gain ego with J. [SPEAKER_01]: Hope like it just you got that And then you got the subunit songs like jamevoo and things is that so it was just I mean it was an incredible era truly and [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, because that these songs, they felt so authentically aligned with each member, like Jim and his filter and stuff.

49:02[SPEAKER_01]: My time with Jungkook, like, yeah, respect, nomgi, like, there's just so much that really was truly BTS to the core, them really getting to show this part of themselves, this like more map of the soul, them showing that introspection on themselves and delivering that through this album. [SPEAKER_01]: When I say album, obviously, I'm thinking of like map the soul seven was just a massive album for them. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I mean map the soul seven did repackage persona, so it's able to encompass both of them.

49:34[SPEAKER_00]: But I feel like the lyrics from map the soul seven are some of the deepest lyrics that [SPEAKER_00]: as like a whole album. [SPEAKER_00]: You know, obviously I'm not saying that they don't have deep, introspective lyrics on other albums, but if you're looking at all of the songs on this album, I feel like every single song has those themes and has like such a depth to it where I remember, you and I just picking apart every single lyric and like the songs that we had music videos for, like I will never ever forget some of the visuals from the shadow music video and the lyrics [SPEAKER_00]: Lyrically, and visually tied together, I just think that it was, like, truly authentically BTS and what each member needed to communicate is also huge because it was their 7 studio album, Map of the Soul 7.

50:28[SPEAKER_00]: So this, of course, is a significant number for the group in four fans, because BTS are 7, and BTS are 7, and BTS are 7, and BTS are 7, and BTS are 7, and BTS are 7, and BTS are 7, and BTS are 7, and BTS are 7, and BTS are 7, and BTS are 7. [SPEAKER_00]: Yes, hello. [SPEAKER_00]: Oh my god. [SPEAKER_00]: It's important there. [SPEAKER_00]: Just because of that. [SPEAKER_01]: Right. [SPEAKER_00]: Yes, it's literally tattooed to their body.

50:47[SPEAKER_01]: No pun intended, but is so crushing to know that this is the last era because it really was such an incredible time for them. [SPEAKER_00]: Can it never got to perform moon for army on tour? [SPEAKER_00]: Like it's fucked up. [SPEAKER_01]: It's so far. [SPEAKER_00]: Oh It's so fucked. [SPEAKER_00]: Don't don't give us a new album next year beat. [SPEAKER_01]: Yes, just like run back map of the soul seven Make it like map of the soul nine or something and then like, you know, like Black Swan That got released for everything else and it was just released before the album itself and that is the only time that I've [SPEAKER_01]: Now, I've been able to go back to sleep because I couldn't stop listening to it.

51:28[SPEAKER_01]: I like really sick like two in the morning or something because I was on the Pacific coast at the time. [SPEAKER_01]: And I just repeated that song over and over. [SPEAKER_01]: Oh my gosh. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, sorry. [SPEAKER_01]: I mean reminiscing. [SPEAKER_00]: All of the different visuals and like films that they release like a music video but also like a choreography and like the, just... [SPEAKER_00]: incredible. [SPEAKER_00]: Honestly, too, like the reason why Map of the Soul 7 was such a big deal, like not only being their seventh studio album, but this was the same time that they also decided to sign another seven year contract with Big Hit, most Kpop group contracts are for seven years, and it's very, very rare that groups.

52:06[SPEAKER_00]: make it to seven years and then also re-sign. [SPEAKER_00]: It's commonly called like the seven-year itch. [SPEAKER_00]: Like you it's super uncommon for a group to make it and then choose oh yeah we want to keep doing this again. [SPEAKER_00]: But BTS said no we love it. [SPEAKER_00]: Let's keep going in seven more years. [SPEAKER_01]: Mm-hmm. [SPEAKER_01]: Huge for them. [SPEAKER_00]: And like, members still say, like, you and Gees, like, how can we do this until we're 60?

52:28[SPEAKER_00]: He literally said that recently on this tour. [SPEAKER_00]: So yeah. [SPEAKER_00]: And also this era, ushered in a new phase of music for BTS, where I feel like they started to branch out from having like one sonic theme for an album. [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe another album that you could kind of say this is love yourself tear, but I still think love yourself tear had like a... [SPEAKER_00]: like a overarching kind of vibe, whereas with map of the soul seven in particular, not that we're all over the place, but they really explore different genres, especially with the members, solo songs and subunits songs.

52:59[SPEAKER_00]: They explore different textures with the sound and you know, and I think this may be led to the later experimentation with Auditong, where they felt comfortable to kind of do that so more. [SPEAKER_00]: I agree, 100%. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: I didn't realize that we would maybe be a little biased for the map of the soul. [SPEAKER_00]: Meaning either. [SPEAKER_01]: But it kind of means there. [SPEAKER_00]: Through there. [SPEAKER_00]: Okay.

53:22[SPEAKER_00]: We're we're passionate about the lost era. [SPEAKER_01]: All right. [SPEAKER_01]: So let's get into what happens after this, which is the pandemic pivot and the English singles, which is from 2020 to 2021. [SPEAKER_01]: Core themes of this era are around comfort, resilience, [SPEAKER_01]: key releases for this time include B and then all of the English single trilogy. [SPEAKER_01]: So notable tracks of Dynamite Butter Life goes on permission to dance things like that.

53:54[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, importance of this era for me I always think about B as being such a beautiful glimmer in the darkness that was the 2020 shutdown. [SPEAKER_00]: I think it bought brought both fans and BTS themselves [SPEAKER_00]: and it brought hope to army when we all felt so far apart and many people felt very lonely. [SPEAKER_00]: Later on when they were able to do the permission to dance tour in L.A. and Las Vegas, like hearing telepathy live, you know, hearing those songs from be incorporated into the set list felt like such a party, you know, it was [SPEAKER_00]: Really, really monumental and felt like, oh my gosh, we made it.

54:37[SPEAKER_00]: We made it through this really hard tough time. [SPEAKER_00]: So I'll always remember the B error for that. [SPEAKER_00]: Like, I love B so much. [SPEAKER_01]: Me too. [SPEAKER_01]: It really brought a lot of that comfort during this time. [SPEAKER_01]: It's like exactly what we needed. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, I also think that this era, like you said that one of the core themes as far as their music was resilience, but I think this era, you know, thinking about the English tracks brought BTS resilience as well, like they're navigating something completely new and I think they've, you know, they probably had gained a lot of resilience throughout their career because of their struggles they went through.

55:15[SPEAKER_00]: but this was brand new territory and they had to figure out how to navigate it. [SPEAKER_00]: Their English tracks brought their biggest radio hit today, Dynamite, which is still their top most viewed music video on YouTube. [SPEAKER_00]: It's by Jay Hope, says it's his favorite BTS song because he thinks it's like, quote, unquote, the most popular song. [SPEAKER_00]: And I mean, the fans I've got to really enjoy these songs. [SPEAKER_00]: It felt like really special releases at a time when making a full-blown album.

55:41[SPEAKER_00]: wasn't going to be profitable to arena wasn't possible and so we got to have like the special little like nuggets of like music video radio play like BTS continuing to keep their name in the media and stay popular during this global shutdown. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: And going off of that, especially with talks about dynamite, I feel that this era in terms of its importance, the release of dynamite was monumental. [SPEAKER_01]: And that like, if we're talking about success within the group and just like gaining even more listenership, [SPEAKER_01]: This was the time for that.

56:21[SPEAKER_01]: I feel like there are so many pandemic armies like tons of pandemic armies, and it's just so weird. [SPEAKER_01]: Definitely so weird to think about like 2020 like these armies are not fresh anymore. [SPEAKER_01]: These are six years of commitment to the group, you know, going on seven years of commitment to the group chills. [SPEAKER_01]: and so I just feel that like obviously our bias is in like oh yeah we joined in right after weings going to love yourself but the love yourself era going into you know where they are now I feel like this pandemic moment was even though like you were saying they had to pivot a lot because like global shutdown all this stuff had to cancel their map of the soul tour all of that [SPEAKER_01]: Their ability to pivot and then release B and do the English trilogy and then continue to continue to grow in terms of army and their fans, it's just immense.

57:20[SPEAKER_01]: I feel like it just goes to show how much they, how much they can do and how much their capable love. [SPEAKER_01]: Like I just, you know, it gives me chills thinking about it. [SPEAKER_01]: Like this era, I think is hard to think about [SPEAKER_01]: This era of muddied the waters for BTS a bit when it came to their identity and RM even said that like at the 2022 festival dinner that he felt like he had BTS in his hands and totally sort of doing the English tracks, especially like after dynamite he felt like be he still had the group in his hands dynamite was still in his hands and then kind of lost themselves after that.

57:57[SPEAKER_01]: And he didn't feel that they were in control anymore and felt like they were not so much themselves. [SPEAKER_01]: It caused them to lose their way. [SPEAKER_01]: And it's just an interesting time for the group because while they experience some of their biggest commercial success, they also felt like they were losing their authenticity. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, and it's so interesting because like you're making such a good point about all of the fans that became fans during this time.

58:24[SPEAKER_00]: I would wager that they're one of the few artists that actually gained fans during the pandemic on such a massive scale. [SPEAKER_00]: And I would also say, dynamite, the release of dynamite is when BTS became a household name in the United States. [SPEAKER_00]: We're like in Korea, it was 8 or 8 age, but like whenever I tell my students, oh, I'm a fan of BTS, they're a Korean pop group, the one song they always know for the last six years is dynamite.

58:54[SPEAKER_00]: Even even my middle schoolers now, [SPEAKER_00]: who were born in like 2013. [SPEAKER_00]: So they were very young when dynamite came out. [SPEAKER_00]: They know dynamite. [SPEAKER_01]: It was ready to play. [SPEAKER_00]: They'll sing me dynamite. [SPEAKER_01]: That's got to be one of the first radio play songs, right? [SPEAKER_00]: It was, yeah. [SPEAKER_00]: It was their first American radio play song. [SPEAKER_00]: Well, Mike Drop played on the radio, the designer and Steve Aoki remix, the version that had designer on it because designer was pretty big at the time.

59:23[SPEAKER_00]: But this was their, [SPEAKER_00]: their biggest radio play. [SPEAKER_00]: And I mean, like everybody knows it. [SPEAKER_00]: So I would also say this is an important era because it's when in the United States BTS became a household name. [SPEAKER_01]: Yes. [SPEAKER_01]: Okay. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_00]: I know there's a lot going on there. [SPEAKER_00]: For down to our last two areas here, let's talk about proof and the solo chapter, spanning 2022 to 2025, core themes here is honoring their past and pivoting into individual members, artistic exploration, and mandatory military service.

59:56[SPEAKER_00]: of course we have their anthology proof album, biggest songs from that, the new songs from that are born singer, run BTS and yet to come, and of course the various solo member projects that we got from the members pre-imposed military service. [SPEAKER_01]: So for this era, let's talk about proof, really. [SPEAKER_01]: It was just an official compilation of their top and most influential and impactful music to date. [SPEAKER_01]: So it was partnered by a book beyond the story, a 10-year record of BTS.

1:00:29[SPEAKER_01]: and it gave us solid period at the end of the sentence that was their first 10 years, but also a promise to the return of their yet to come. [SPEAKER_01]: So there was a lot of hope instilled and proof that like, yes, like, here's a wrap up of all of these past 10 years. [SPEAKER_01]: We have to do this mandatory service, but you know, the best is yet to come and [SPEAKER_01]: That was what we really clung to as they went into military service, and I think they knew we needed that.

1:00:59[SPEAKER_01]: And so with proof, finally they gave an official recording to Born Singer, that was a pre-day view song. [SPEAKER_01]: There's tons of videos out there of them performing this song like before the release of proof, and just like how emotional and sentimental that song is. [SPEAKER_01]: how meaningful it is. [SPEAKER_01]: So it was just like really instilling who they are and where they've come from and putting it into proof. [SPEAKER_01]: Like it's just like showing their origin and I don't know.

1:01:27[SPEAKER_01]: It's just special having that official release on this album. [SPEAKER_01]: And then we gain songs like Run BTS which shout out all of their hard work. [SPEAKER_01]: The entire group has done and gave them kudos to individual [SPEAKER_00]: Recognizing everything that's happened to date and putting a cap on it and instilling hope for what will happen in years to come Yeah, right and I think it was I mean the name of the album to going back to their roots of like Band-tons so you then bulletproof boy scouts like looping that back in too is like a red declaration of this is who we are in this era They brought back like the black and [SPEAKER_00]: outfits, the gold chains like kind of really making it full circle as they included songs from their entire history and it's like they were including the visuals of that as well and the naming of that as well.

1:02:23[SPEAKER_00]: And then they moved into solo work so the solo work gave each member the space to evolve as an individual musician as well as the opportunity to the tour if time allowed we got solo tours from [SPEAKER_00]: Jai Hal from Yungi and from Jin, and this also gave them some time to rest before or after military service, but BTS planned very well, where there's simultaneously fed us like, I felt like almost monthly with incredible music and music videos during military service, like they seriously kept us so busy.

1:02:55[SPEAKER_00]: And I think that this time gave each member the perspective that although they can have successes in individuals and they enjoyed successes in individuals, they also still prefer to make music and perform as a group and they're looking forward at that time to reuniting as a group. [SPEAKER_00]: I also think that this solo work was important because it [SPEAKER_00]: helped each member evolve, right? [SPEAKER_00]: In their own music making, it kind of like where as a group we know that, you know, the two main songwriters are RM and Junguk helps with songwriting.

1:03:28[SPEAKER_00]: Junguk might help with writing choruses or doing some arrangements, but like there are definitely roles within the group of BTS that were established up to this point as far as making and producing their music, writing the lyrics, et cetera. [SPEAKER_00]: But with the solo work each member had the reins, they got to write lyrics. [SPEAKER_00]: They got to work in the production side. [SPEAKER_00]: They got to really decide like, what do I want?

1:03:51[SPEAKER_00]: My music and my sound. [SPEAKER_00]: And so developing that as an individual, they're then able to bring that. [SPEAKER_00]: into the next era as a group and maybe the dynamics of like who's doing what changed a little bit But I think it's for the better. [SPEAKER_00]: So I think it's a cool cool feature for them. [SPEAKER_01]: Me too And I feel like with any group out there that Being able to express yourself as an individual artist as well is super important like there are bands that break up because of that Specifically, right so the fact that the this got to be built in to their [SPEAKER_01]: timeline in their career and they're all allowed this opportunity was probably very healthy in the long run that they got to do this.

1:04:34[SPEAKER_00]: I agree too and then it gave them that perspective where they realized, hey we do want to come back together as a group as they promised with with yet to come. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah absolutely. [SPEAKER_01]: Alright, last era, the most current one, Auditong, the Reunion Era, 2026, to present core themes include full group reunion, returning to roots, and celebrating their multi-year musical journey. [SPEAKER_01]: Main releases are just the new group projects, including Auditong.

1:05:06[SPEAKER_00]: Mm-hmm. [SPEAKER_00]: Swim, body to body, normal, I mean. [SPEAKER_00]: Hooligans, the importance of this era, honestly, for us, this is the first era where it feels like BTS wasn't chasing something. [SPEAKER_00]: They're not chasing a Grammy, they're not chasing commercial success. [SPEAKER_00]: They're just doing what they want to do. [SPEAKER_00]: The other big highlight and importance here is that every member had input on song creation, the writing production arrangement, which songs were included or excluded from the album.

1:05:40[SPEAKER_00]: We got to see in their documentary all of the debate that went into picking and choosing and creating these songs and how the songs kind of transformed over time. [SPEAKER_00]: Which I think this made the work deeply personal and authentic for this group, which at this time for them to be reuniting and to, you know, flashing back to 2022 where they felt like they were wondering where was their identity and their authenticity, now they fully have regained it, and perhaps better than ever, because the members have their solo perspectives and what they're bringing in.

1:06:12[SPEAKER_00]: This album is the first album, [SPEAKER_00]: ever, ever any album ever from any musician where all 14 songs charted number one to 14 on Spotify. [SPEAKER_00]: Crazy. [SPEAKER_00]: It's the most stream to Kpop album of all time across all platforms. [SPEAKER_00]: It has the most single day streams in Spotify history. [SPEAKER_00]: And it was number one on Billboard Hot 200 for three consecutive weeks. [SPEAKER_00]: And then multiple songs from this album continue to chart for weeks and weeks.

1:06:43[SPEAKER_00]: after. [SPEAKER_00]: So it immediately garnered huge success. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: And I think we also just need to mention to the importance of this era is the fact that this is their first time back together as a group since 2022. [SPEAKER_01]: Like it's been four years without them. [SPEAKER_01]: So highly anticipated from the fans, highly anticipated from the media and the general public. [SPEAKER_01]: So like there was a lot of importance put on this era just because of that.

1:07:11[SPEAKER_01]: Like it's post-military. [SPEAKER_01]: Totally. [SPEAKER_01]: But still going off of just audience on the album, like it truly represents themselves holy. [SPEAKER_01]: The type of music that they want to make now, their culture, their hip hop roots, all like the going back to the roots is so strong in this. [SPEAKER_01]: Like it's unforgettable, the experience of listening to this album for the first time with you Kayla. [SPEAKER_01]: And hearing the intense hip hop and Corey coming out of the bedroom, coming out to the family room and be like, [SPEAKER_01]: This is BTS like he was you like just the sound.

1:07:45[SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, yeah, the sound is absolutely them and Yeah, I'm just Incredible. [SPEAKER_01]: I mean, that's truly what this album stands out for and it feels like debut number two for the group in a way They are Currently entering success of their biggest global stadium tour to date selling over 2.4 million tickets for the first 41 shows worldwide [SPEAKER_01]: and there are on track to gross 1 billion in revenue from the tour by the end of the year.

1:08:14[SPEAKER_01]: So the members too have seemed to find a really great work-life balance between tour and enjoying hobbies and downtime, which in the past I think with like the permission to dance on sage tour, they were having a little bit of a difficult time with like [SPEAKER_01]: the work life balance and touring, but they've spoken how much they're enjoying this tour being back on stage with their brothers and being back with army and seeing all of the love for their music and through the era through like the surprise songs too that they're getting to revisit some past songs like.

1:08:43[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, it's been an incredible air. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_00]: It's been nothing but, like, realizing, right, like, oh, Army loves these songs. [SPEAKER_00]: Like, we, all of the fans know your whole discography and, like, appreciates them. [SPEAKER_00]: You know, like, they're not forgotten for us, even if they were eight years ago. [SPEAKER_00]: So I just think that's special for them, and I really feel like this era seems like it was designed to bring BTS as a group longevity, like they are making the music, they want to make they're doing things on their terms and they're prioritizing each member's health and happiness.

1:09:16[SPEAKER_00]: while being crazy successful, you know, doing it. [SPEAKER_00]: So they're booked, booked, booked and busy, yeah, but like still running in a 6k every day, minion gear, you know, going to take the vacations and going to six flags and going, you know, tuna fishing and, you know, like having the time to do those things that they really love and enjoy. [SPEAKER_00]: I think it's awesome. [SPEAKER_00]: Wow, okay, so Bethany, I have to ask you the question, which era do you think is the most important BTS era based on all the way said here?

1:09:52[SPEAKER_01]: Man, this is a tough decision. [SPEAKER_00]: This is really hard. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I like if I could do top three, you know, but if I have to pick one or do can I do top three? [SPEAKER_00]: You can do top three, but I want to hear your reason for your number one [SPEAKER_01]: Okay, obviously H.M.A.H. [SPEAKER_01]: is one of them. [SPEAKER_01]: I think love yourself is another one, and then I would say Auditang. [SPEAKER_01]: Oh, but you know, it's just so weird.

1:10:20[SPEAKER_01]: Our discussion really made me think like, was the pandemic era more influential than I expected it to be? [SPEAKER_01]: you know like I I think there was a lot of resentment around that era a lot of like questions around that era that some of us are you didn't quite we were having a hard time to really appreciate it for what it was at the time but in retrospect now I'm like dang it did have a lot of importance and value it was transformative for them as a group for sure yeah okay so out of those ones that you listed do you have one I mean [SPEAKER_00]: Maybe you don't, and I can go if what I was going to say too, if you want to think about what you thought your number one would be.

1:10:58[SPEAKER_01]: I think I know what my number one is. [SPEAKER_00]: Okay, I'll say going into this episode, like, you know, doing the research and talking, immediately when I brought this episode idea to you, what I had in my mind as the most important BTS era, and what I was like, some other era needs to convince me otherwise. [SPEAKER_00]: is HOMA H. Like I said earlier, like I just feel like it's where they found their sound, it's where they became popular and successful for the first time.

1:11:28[SPEAKER_00]: It really enabled the rest of their career to happen. [SPEAKER_00]: And where they took off, you know, I think that a lot of what started in a trauma age continued to influence them throughout the years. [SPEAKER_00]: However, as we continued our discussion, I have to agree with you. [SPEAKER_00]: I do think [SPEAKER_00]: I do think Love Yourself is very important for like what they did during it, but because of our discussion of the pandemic, pandemic era, I think that that era was one of their topmost important areas because it showed them how to make it through a tough time in a different way.

1:12:07[SPEAKER_00]: And it gained them more group resiliency that, you know, that they did not have prior to that. [SPEAKER_00]: And it also forced them to navigate something brand new after they had already had so much success and so much experience as a group. [SPEAKER_00]: I think them going through that hard time together and losing some of their authenticity is what brought us auditing today. [SPEAKER_00]: And that's my last era that I think is the [SPEAKER_00]: is Auditong, and it's hard.

1:12:37[SPEAKER_00]: I'm like, is it recency bias? [SPEAKER_00]: It's hard to not argue that for me, my number one would be Auditong because not only are they like making their music no terms and conditions, right? [SPEAKER_00]: They're doing exactly what they want to do. [SPEAKER_00]: And I think that's fucking huge. [SPEAKER_00]: But number two, Korean culture is like, [SPEAKER_00]: completely seeping out of this era. [SPEAKER_00]: And I also think that is BTS to their core.

1:13:02[SPEAKER_00]: They have always found that very important to convey their culture through their music. [SPEAKER_00]: And in the stage performances, in the, you know, the Netflix comeback show, in the lyrics of the songs, [SPEAKER_00]: In the title of the album, everything is like purely representative of that Korean culture and who they are. [SPEAKER_00]: And I think that this current era sets them up for, like I said, longevity and is like a really, really cool part of their legacy as far as like what it added to their discography.

1:13:33[SPEAKER_00]: and pushing the boundaries of the music. [SPEAKER_00]: So those are my big three of what I would think HRH pandemic era surprisingly for me. [SPEAKER_00]: That was a dark force and Auditong. [SPEAKER_00]: I mean. [SPEAKER_01]: So what do you think? [SPEAKER_00]: Did you have a top one where the same place? [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah, I mean, going back to just arting on again, like I think of it's hard to say that this is the most important era when we don't know what's ahead, but it's setting it up for such a huge moment for them.

1:14:05[SPEAKER_01]: I feel like I see nothing but continued success in the direction that they want to go as a group from here, but it's really hard to pick. [SPEAKER_00]: years to come like in, you know, three to five years, we might have more perspective or we can say, wow, Auditong really was this point in the timeline that did x y and z for them, but it's hard to guess at like the future. [SPEAKER_00]: of you know how important this is in the long run.

1:14:40[SPEAKER_00]: But it does feel like an important era for what it's doing for them right now and what it represents for them right now. [SPEAKER_00]: I think that's why it feels important. [SPEAKER_00]: This is the impact that it's had. [SPEAKER_00]: This is why it's so important. [SPEAKER_00]: Queen Spring Day is still charting, you know? [SPEAKER_00]: So I just I think that's why it's hard. [SPEAKER_00]: It's hard to have that that perspective. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah.

1:15:10[SPEAKER_00]: I think they're all important for very different reasons. [SPEAKER_00]: I think we've come up with what we think are like the big three or the big four if you're including the love yourself errors in there and I'm so curious Iconics listening and what do you think? [SPEAKER_00]: What do you think? [SPEAKER_01]: Yeah. [SPEAKER_00]: because I think really this could go in so many different ways. [SPEAKER_00]: So let us know your thoughts.

1:15:32[SPEAKER_01]: But in this Spotify comments give us your rationale. [SPEAKER_01]: Because I'm really at a loss. [SPEAKER_01]: Like I going into this episode I really was thinking the love yourself eras. [SPEAKER_01]: Because I felt like that was where they went from. [SPEAKER_01]: Yes, HIV, HIV, HIV important in terms of establishing themselves in the industry, but love yourself. [SPEAKER_01]: I think is where we really ran with the popularity and success and charting.

1:15:58[SPEAKER_01]: And I mean, they were like on a streak of like five years of winning artists of the year. [SPEAKER_01]: Like they just had so much success and yeah, they had struggles with it, too. [SPEAKER_01]: And how much they had to switch as a group from being in the struggle to being in the spotlight. [SPEAKER_01]: Um, but yeah, like the pandemic era too, I mean, you think about like the struggle that they went through during that time and they wouldn't Audit on one and exist if they didn't go through losing themselves through that era, you know?

1:16:27[SPEAKER_00]: Exactly. [SPEAKER_01]: So yeah, it's really hard to pick. [SPEAKER_01]: I might go with love yourself. [SPEAKER_01]: I am biased. [SPEAKER_01]: Mm-hmm because I still feel like that it that really was BTS still and it the love your self-air went into map of the soul which is just as iconic you know like I think that they really found themselves as like a sweet spot. [SPEAKER_01]: It's a sweet spot. [SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, yeah, I agree.

1:16:52[SPEAKER_00]: Yeah, so iconic. [SPEAKER_00]: You also let us know Spotify comments comment on our Instagram reply to us like let us know because Truly wear it a loss. [SPEAKER_00]: We've given you our thoughts and now we want to hear yours So make sure you let us know and of course you can find links for all of the things in the description Thanks for listening and thanks for standing BTS