How BTS has captured my heart
BTS has celebrated their 8th year anniversary just a week ago and I am happy to have reached my one year fandom anniversary in May. With all the hype and buzz that has been going around them, I believe that my journey with them has reached a commitment that not a lot of people understand but I am welcome to share with you.
When the pandemic hit, I guess a lot of us tried to get by through exercising, picking up a new skill or like me, getting drowned by the Korean wave. The K-wave, explained in short, is the South Korean Pop culture and entertainment phenomenon that has reached a huge popularity on a global level.
Ultimately my curiosity of finding out what the K-wave was all about led me to this whole cultural reset: BTS. A South Korean boy group made up of rappers RM, SUGA, J-Hope and singers Jin, Jimin, V and Jungkook. The perfectly assembled members have been taking over world-wide charts, breaking records as well as cultural boundaries and that have been nominated for music’s most prestigious award, the Grammys.
Now what significance do these South Korean boys hold in a lot of people’s hearts? From being completely thrown off and hooked by their extravagant live concert performances to getting a glimpse of their personalities through their reality shows to deeply appreciating their kind hearts and authenticity, bit by bit I understood what they were all about.
As the reality-show-music-documentaries enthusiast that I am, I have developed a deep empathy for these guys after watching their documentary series ‘Burn The Stage’ (very recommendable). I was deeply touched by their work ethic, their wise and humble minds and their dedication to teamwork and each other. Aside from having grown an understanding about them I have also discovered sides of all seven that I strongly resonate with in one way or another. BTS are just genuinely good people with a set of values that I relate with so much. So, allow me to present to you a rather diluted summary of everything that I appreciate about BTS:
Authenticity
On a surface level, one would question their authenticity because they wear make-up and fall under the definition of a boyband — except, they don’t. I think what really sets them apart is their authenticity and genuineness in their music.
I am a sucker for deep storytelling and that’s definitely one of their strongest assets. With RM being the main songwriter, he set the group’s standard on writing deep, thoughtful and meaningful lyrics. What strikes me the most though, is how the lyrics translate so simply but dig so deep. I can go on and on about their lyrics and could write another essay about them, but my main point is, that BTS isn’t just another fabricated boy group that sings and raps about conquering girls’ hearts but they address so many vital themes in a young adult’s life — loving yourself, fighting through hardships and finding hope at the end of the day and finding the strength to live on.
I have always had a soft spot for people that are genuinely passionate about something. And I naturally gravitate towards those people who aren’t afraid to express this. Having observed BTS during interviews, their variety shows and their latest reality show ‘In The Soop’ you would hardly notice that they’re global superstars because of how down to earth they are. RM always mentions that they’re just seven ordinary guys and you best believe this. They are seven ordinary guys with an extraordinary passion and love for music. Their commitment to being good role models and not losing themselves in this box just shows that they don’t take their profession for granted. They are fully aware that they have a responsibility towards their fanbase ARMY, so they know that each action they make follows with a consequence.
Following a Calling
“A sense of responsibility and a calling” is what J-Hope has shared during one of the documentary interviews. He doesn’t take his career lightly because he feels like it’s a calling that carries responsibility — as 👏🏼 it 👏🏼should👏🏼 . The moment I heard this statement I couldn’t help but feel surprised since I don’t think I have ever heard an artist speak about their profession like this. In that moment I appreciated the affirmation so much because it just proves to me that callings are real, whether it may be for Missionaries, Artists or unrelated to profession.
Callings and purpose are part of life and to me BTS are people that passionately go after their calling with the right posture of heart, i.e. awareness of the responsibility, mindfulness, gratitude and being vulnerable yet available to serve others. They wholeheartedly serve ARMY and never fail to give them credit where credit is due. Serving someone requires a lot of love, humility and also selflessness. And it goes to show through their dedication of providing high-production performances, their never-ending appreciation for ARMY and their commitment to always work hard and do their best.
Following a calling and being dream chasers go hand in hand. BTS are dream chasers and they encourage you to be one too. Having started off from a small entertainment company that was threatened by bankruptcy to today, buying out a billion dollar US media company that holds artists such as Justin Bieber, Tori Kelly and Ariana Grande, BTS has proven themselves that with perseverance, faith in ones dreams and moving forward as a team will lead you to your purpose. Whenever they get asked about their journey to success, they never fail to include to talk about their hardships with critics, people who didn’t believe in them and their own personal shadows. I believe that their humility is one of their strongest assets and has also lead them to where they are now.
Connected through Brotherhood
When the pandemic hit, I only realised a lot later that we have definitely been deprived from a lot of things. Yet mostly from social interactions and connecting to each other. Hence, I found their reality show ‘In The Soop’ very timely, wherein they spent a few days in the countryside near Seoul, surrounded by a lake and mountains to just focus on one thing: relax and reconnect. Even though it was part of their job filming a show like this, their personalities and brotherhood has never been this stripped down. One of the pivotal moments and my personal favourite part of the show was V’s and Jungkook’s heart to heart conversation. It just taught me that they make an effort to uphold their relationships amongst each other and are not afraid in getting into uncomfortable conversations for the sake of their brotherhood. In one of their past interviews, they indeed affirmed that what have made them so close over the years were all the fights and arguments that they had over room distributions or even petty things as food. Over the years they have learned how to communicate with each other and even came up with the rule of talking it out and always finding solutions together. This has apparently set their foundation of learning and growing from mistakes as a team. As supposedly other K-Idols envy their tight bond, I do too but makes me appreciate my relationship to my siblings even more. But the thought of how seven completely different people turn out that compatible with each other and essentially have grown into family that bicker and nag each other, is one of many blessings I see through BTS.
Comforting
From their lyrics to their speeches — BTS is what you need when you need a tight big hug. I’m not going to lie, I have found a lot of comfort in their music but also in their silliness displayed in their variety shows. I can only speak for myself when I say that I have never experienced this special bond between an Artist and their fans. I’m ever so surprised, in awe and amazed by how they connect to their fans even through the screen. The speeches at every concert reaches the hearts of every person in the audience because the messages always hit home. The groups’ realness, kindness and love is so feasible at that it can literally make you teary-eyed.
Sometimes when the Lord has a big plan for you, He will allow people to journey with you. You can debate all you want but I am convinced that the Lord has gifted me these seven guys at the right timing just to remind me that it’s okay to move on and continue with life. I will forever appreciate and be forever grateful for their presence in this world regardless of being a fan or not. Their positive impact and influence on people is truly God-sent and I think I’m in this for the rest of my life.
Ending this article with one of my many favourite #NoteToSelfs:
“Put my hands together to pray
Hoping that tomorrow I’ll laugh more, for me
It’ll be better, for me
When this song ends may a new song begin
Hoping that I’ll be a little happier”
— 00:00 (Zero O’Clock) — BTS
