Photo from BBC and BTS' Twitter account.
British public service broadcaster BBC foretold the future of BTS, stating that "BTS will be different from PSY, who had a one-hit wonder in the U.S. market."
"BTS knows how to interact with their fans and…their popularity is here to stay."
Titled 'BTS: The enduring power of the princes of K-pop,' BBC dived into an analysis on the BTS worldwide fervor on January 8.
BBC described BTS as "the seven-piece boyband who last year managed to go where no K-pop act had gone by conquering a notoriously difficult and unforgiving market: the U.S." As evidence, BBC presented BTS winning over the pop star Justin Bieber for Billboard Music Award's Top Social Artist pick in May and charting high several times on the Billboard charts.
The article shone a light on BTS' clever use of social media. BBC stated "BTS [made] social media history too," and pinpointed the continuous and meticulous interaction with fans as the driving force of BTS' popularity. The article also mentioned that out of all the tweets by the U.S. embassies abroad, U.S. embassy in Seoul's tweet on BTS charting Billboard had set the record for the highest engagement among Twitterians.
Angelica Bacani, a fan from the Philippines, stated, "On my way to school, I scroll through my feeds and see messages from the (BTS) boys." Another fan stated "it's the 'personal connection' with the band…that fans enjoy most." The fan added that "other bands come across as being distant and untouchable but BTS are so relatable."
BBC also did a thorough analysis on BTS' means of interacting with their fans, with comments from Kim Hern-sik, a Seoul-based pop culture critic. Mr. Kim stated, "K-pop groups nurtured by bigger talent agencies often run massive marketing promotions…they are systemic and controlling so fan interaction becomes restricted." He further went on to say "This isn't the case of BTS, who are managed by a relatively small agency. They boys are granted freedom in interacting with their fans on social media and are not treated as just being part of a huge system but rather, like actual human beings."
The culture critic also compared BTS to PSY, famous for his worldwide hit Gangnam Style, stating that "BTS is different from PSY who had one good song but didn't maintain a consistent style afterwards…BTS consistently and continuously built up a musical identity that really resonates with teens," and added that "BTS knows how to interact with their fans and…their popularity is here to stay."
Borrowing the words of a Singapore-based branding strategist Martin Roll, BBC further added that "the past decades are evidence that K-pop is no longer just a passing fad." But the strategist also gave a cautious warning, stating that "BTS needs to constantly think of novel ways to engage their fans in order to sustain their position at the top of the Korean entertainment industry."
By Bongbong and Suwon Han voomvoomk@gmail.com
