Korean pop group BTS is preparing to deliver a hotly anticipated performance at the Billboard Music Awards on Sunday with the television debut of their first English-language song “Butter.”
The male septet, who are in the running to win awards in four categories including top-selling song for their Billboard Hot 100-topping track “Dynamite” , will be singing remotely via video feed from Korea.
The group’s album ‘Map of the Soul: 7’ was named the best-selling album of 2020, according to Forbes, with more than 4.8 million copies sold worldwide in less than a year.
This record may soon be eclipsed as BTS continues to churn out music. Their latest album, ‘Hot Sauce’, recorded 1 million sales in its first week, managing company SM Entertainment said in a Thursday press release.
Korean pop groups are increasingly in demand these days from young audiences around the world and while many BTS fans cannot speak Korean, they enjoy the dancing element of performances which far surpass the choreographed routines put on by their North American brethren.
“Official dance choreography is an integral part of the performance in addition to the music, and is presented as such by the artists who are also talented dancers,” Wooseok Ki, author of ‘KPOP: The Odyssey’, told NBC.
“This is evidenced by the plethora of official dance rehearsal videos, choreography videos, and dance challenges that the artists/companies release.”
Such dedication has helped BTS achieve a position of global popularity unseen among many pop stars, but at a cost.
Dr. Crystal Anderson of George Mason University believes the strain of rigorous dancing on k-pop stars is similar to the demands experienced by professional ballerinas, and comes at a high cost.
“The long hours and hectic schedules…can have a negative impact on physical and mental health in the way we see with other performers, such as ballet dancers,” she wrote.
Breaking with the traditional code of silence imposed on Korean pop stars by their managing agencies, BTS members have been candid with their own mental health struggles.
“I’m comfortable now and feeling good, but those sorts of negative emotions come and go,” Suga told Rolling Stone. “I think, for anybody, these emotions are not something that needs to be hidden. They need to be discussed and expressed.”
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