BTS (Korean: 방탄소년단; Bangtan Sonyeondan), also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a seven-member South Korean boy band that began formation in 2010 and debuted in 2013.
Their lyrics, often focused on personal and social commentary, touch on the themes of mental health, troubles of school-age youth and coming-of-age, loss, the journey towards loving oneself, and individualism.
Kim Seok-jin (Korean: 김석진), also known by his stage name Jin, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, and member of the South Korean boy band BTS since June 2013.
Kim was scouted by Big Hit Entertainment for his looks while walking down the street. At the time Kim was studying acting and had no background in music. Subsequently, he auditioned for Big Hit as an actor before becoming an idol trainee.
Kim has co-written and released three solo tracks with BTS: "Awake" (2016), "Epiphany" (2018), and "Moon" (2020), all of which have charted on South Korea's Gaon Digital Chart. In 2019, Kim released his first independent song, the digital track "Tonight". He also appeared on the 2016 Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth soundtrack alongside BTS member V. Kim has received critical praise for his falsetto and emotional range as a singer.
Since May 2018, Kim has been a monthly donor to UNICEF Korea, requesting that his donations be kept private at the time. They were eventually publicized following his induction into the UNICEF Honors Club in May 2019 for donating over 100 million Korean won.
Jung Ho-seok (Korean: 정호석), better known by his stage name J-Hope (stylized as j-hope), is a South Korean rapper, songwriter, dancer, and record producer. In 2013, J-Hope made his debut as a member of South Korean boy band BTS, managed under Big Hit Music.
His stage name, "J-Hope (제이홉)", comes from his desire to represent hope for fans, as well as to be "the hope of BTS."It is also a reference to the myth of Pandora's box, as after the box was opened and all the evils inside were released to the world, the only thing left was hope.
J-Hope released his first solo mixtape, Hope World, worldwide on March 1, 2018. The album was met with a positive reception. His debut at number 63 (and subsequent peak at number 38) made him the highest-charting solo Korean artist on the Billboard 200 at the time of the mixtape's release.
On September 27, 2019, he released his song ”Chicken Noodle Soup” featuring Becky G. On October 12, 2019, the solo single debuted at No. 81 on US Billboard Hot 100, which made him the first member of BTS with a Hot 100 hit under his own name.
On November 17, 2020, he donated 100 million Korean won in support of children experiencing economic difficulties amid the COVID-19 pandemic. On February 18, 2021, he donated 150 million Korean won to support children with visual and hearing impairments.
Kim Nam-joon (Korean: 김남준) better known by his stage name RM (formerly Rap Monster), is a South Korean rapper, songwriter and record producer. He is the leader of the South Korean boy group BTS.
In 2015, he released his first solo mixtape, RM. In October 2018, his second mixtape, Mono, was the highest charting album by a Korean soloist on the Billboard 200 chart, having peaked at 26. He has recorded with artists such as Wale, Younha, Warren G, Gaeko, Krizz Kaliko, MFBTY, Fall Out Boy, Primary, and Lil Nas X.
In school, RM scored in the top 1% of the nation in the university entrance examinations for language, math, foreign language and social studies and had an IQ of 148. RM's parents were strongly opposed to his interest in a musical career due to his academic achievements, and initially RM decided to set music aside to focus on his studies. In order to convince his mother to allow him to be a rapper, he asked her if "she wanted to have a son who was a first-place rapper, or a 5,000th-place student".
In January 2020, he was promoted from associate to a full member of the Korea Music Copyright Association. In December 2020, the Arts Council of Korea named him one of its ten 2020 Patrons of the Arts, in recognition of his donation of 100 million won to the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art for the printing and distribution of various rare art books to schools and libraries in rural and mountainous regions.
Min Yoon-gi (Korean: 민윤기; ), better known by his stage names Suga (stylized as SUGA) and Agust D, is a South Korean rapper, songwriter and record producer. Managed by Big Hit Music, he debuted as a member of the South Korean pop idol group BTS in 2013.
The stage name Suga (슈가) is derived from the first syllables of the term shooting guard (슈팅 가드), the position he played in basketball as a student. He adopted the alias Agust D in 2016 for his mixtape, which is derived from the initials DT, short for his birthplace, Daegu Town, and "Suga" spelled backwards.
By age 13, he began to write music lyrics and learned about MIDI. He worked a part-time job at a record studio by age 17.
In 2016, he released his first solo mixtape, Agust D. In 2018, he re-released the mixtape for digital purchase and streaming. The reissue reached number three on Billboard's World Albums Chart. In 2020, he released his second solo mixtape, D-2.
In November 2020, Suga underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum (reverse Bankart tear) in his left shoulder, and announced that he would be taking a break from subsequent promotional activities in order to fully recover
Park Ji-min (Korean: 박지민), better known mononymously as Jimin, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, and dancer. In 2013, he debuted as a member of the South Korean boy band BTS, under the record label Big Hit Entertainment.
Under BTS, he has released three solo songs: "Lie", "Serendipity", and "Filter". "Lie" was released in 2016, as part of the group's second Korean studio album, Wings. It was described as stunning and dramatic, conveying dark undertones and emotions that helped reflect the overall concept of the album.
In May 2019, Jimin became the first BTS member to have a solo music video achieve 100 million views on YouTube with "Serendipity". It was the nineteenth BTS music video overall to achieve the milestone. He was the only BTS member with multiple solo songs in the January 2020 update of the Official Chart's top 40 list.
In July 2020, Jimin donated 100 million Korean won to the Jeonnam Future Education Foundation, for the creation of a scholarship fund for talented but financially struggling students from South Jeolla Province.
Kim Tae-hyung (Korean: 김태형), also known by his stage name V, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, and actor. He is a vocalist of the South Korean boy group BTS.
V coined the phrase "I purple you" during BTS' fanmeeting in November 2016. Ever since then, purple has become a symbol of BTS and their fans. UNICEF also used the phrase for their anti-bullying campaign in collaboration with BTS.
In 2018, Eugene Investment & Securities Co., Ltd. conducted analytical research on Google search trends relating to the K-pop industry. "V" ranked first on the chart, meaning it was the number one most searched keyword for the past five years in South Korea. In a survey conducted by Gallup Korea, V was chosen as the 4th most preferred idol of 2019; he was previously ranked 9th in 2018.
As of 2021, he is enrolled at Hanyang Cyber University, pursuing a Master of Business Administration in Advertising and Media.
Jeon Jung-kook (Korean: 전정국), better known mononymously as Jungkook, is a South Korean singer and songwriter. He is the youngest member of and vocalist in the South Korean boy band BTS.
Jungkook was 2019's most-searched male K-pop idol on Google according to their mid-year chart. He topped the chart again in 2020, and was the most searched K-pop idol on YouTube in 2019 and 2020.
On Tumblr, he ranked 1st in 'Top K-Pop Stars' for 3 consecutive years. On Twitter, he had the most retweeted tweet of 2019, and the 2nd most retweeted tweet of 2020.
In March 2021, Jungkook set a new all-time record for the most real-time viewers in V Live history when his solo live broadcast surpassed 22 million simultaneous viewers —he first broke the record in October 2018, when his broadcast surpassed 3.7 million viewers worldwide.
BE. 2020.
Map of the Soul: 7. 2020.
Love Yourself: Answer. 2018.
Love Yourself: Tear. 2018.
Love Yourself: Her. 2017.
Wings. 2016.
The most beautiful moment in life: Young Forever. 2016.
Dark & Wild. 2014.
Skool Luv Affair. 2014.
2 Cool 4 Skool. 2013.