I stand by my claim that BTS should have ditched Korea and ditched the military and let the Korean males complain until hell freezes over.
They did not say anything about the leader of Seventeen getting military exemption.
And, given that Kim Taehyung is hanging around with the likes of IU, instead of people in the industry (IU was not, is not and never will be part of KPop), it does not look like BTS is thinking about the world now.
At the height of its power, BTS had virtuNoally no rivals.
In 2021, since BTS had cleaned the slate so thoroughly, there were only 8 major acts remaining in the world, BTS, The Weeknd, Ed Sheeran(at that time allied with BTS), Taylor Swift, Dua Ripa, Olivia Rodrigo, Justin Bieber (then a Hybe act), and Meghan Thee Stallion (allied with BTS). So great was the domination that IU, who never won any awards outside of Korea, was counted in the top 9 artists of the world, a reputation which led to her being ranked #135 in the Rolling Stone Greatest Artists ranking.
Never again a local singer will be counted among the stars of the world.
And no one talked about Kendrick Lamar back then. He was a has been, a goner, history.
In 2021 BTS had to worry about only The Weeknd, Taylor Swift, Dua Ripa, Olivia Rodrigo , and... IU.
In 2026 BTS has to worry about all of the above (except probably IU), plus Morgan Wallen and all these country singers and Kendrick Lamar and the resurgent Hip Hop forces. Bruno Mars, also considered to be a has been, will chip in time to time.
BlackPink might join the stampede to defeat BTS.
BTS having given up its world domination so Bang could play a mogul in Korea and take photos with steamy BJs was very foolish, and now the forces of Pop have assembled to crush BTS when it returns. I don't think there is a plan to deal with the giants of Pop now.
