Has BTS surpassed Backstreet Boys?

No

Internationally yes, in US no

Tell me why Ain't nothin' but a heartache
Tell me why Ain't nothin' but a mistake
Tell me why I never wanna hear you say
I want it that way

It depends on the metric you use.

Quote from QueenMaknae27

Tell me why Ain't nothin' but a heartache
Tell me why Ain't nothin' but a mistake
Tell me why I never wanna hear you say
I want it that way

Wasn’t that one dorection

No

Yes

and to the people saying yes, um have y’all seen BB’s album sales..tf

in Asia yes, but in West BSB was the biggest BG of all time, so no

bts aren't a household name internationally

Not in the west but they can get there

Quote from tornpet

and to the people saying yes, um have y’all seen BB’s album sales..tf

Screenshot 2021-01-20 134031.png

in my opinion yesssssssss they are better for me

Quote from omnimorphism

Screenshot 2021-01-20 134031.png

yup they’re in a league of their own

It really depends what you look at. Globally they undoubtedly surpass them on numbers, then again it's not an equal comparison -- music is more accessible now than it was in the past. In the US I'd say the Backstreet Boys were/are more of a relevant name, you'd be hard-pressed to find a person who doesn't know them whereas the same can't be said for BTS.

BTS's popularity isn't concentrated in a specific region like most popular artists, which is why it's so difficult to draw comparisons. Personally I think they do and surpass every artist in history on raw, global numbers. That being said, the music industry hasn't adapted to globalization too well, every award is partially based off local statistics and none factor in all platforms.

BTS are quite literally ahead of their time. I'm sure that 10-20 years from now, artists like them who thrive off a global, loosely concentrated fanbase would find more success. Yes, I personally think BTS surpass the Backstreet Boys in relevance. On the other hand, a fair comparison is impossible to draw due to the different time periods and levels of accessibility. I also don't believe it'll ever be reflected in awards since those haven't caught up with the globalized industry.

Quote from tornpet

yup they’re in a league of their own

boyz II men are underrated ughhhhhhhh

Jackson 5!

Quote from mangata

boyz II men are underrated ughhhhhhhh

SPILL

Quote from omnimorphism

Screenshot 2021-01-20 134031.png

This list hasn’t been updated, BTS should be above one direction as BTS is the best selling artist who debuted in the 2010s

*Dynamite is now elgible for 3x platinum*

Mind you this is JUST U.S. numbers, they’ve so over 20million albums in Korea and over 10M singles (no accurate numbers for this anymore as nasty gaon stop reporting single numbers)

Now add Japan and the rest of the world..

But to answer OP.. No BTS has not surpassed BSBs yet!

Quote from zanded

It really depends what you look at. Globally they undoubtedly surpass them on numbers, then again it's not an equal comparison -- music is more accessible now than it was in the past. In the US I'd say the Backstreet Boys were/are more of a relevant name, you'd be hard-pressed to find a person who doesn't know them whereas the same can't be said for BTS.

BTS's popularity isn't concentrated in a specific region like most popular artists, which is why it's so difficult to draw comparisons. Personally I think they do and surpass every artist in history on raw, global numbers. That being said, the music industry hasn't adapted to globalization too well, every award is partially based off local statistics and none factor in all platforms.

BTS are quite literally ahead of their time. I'm sure that 10-20 years from now, artists like them who thrive off a global, loosely concentrated fanbase would find more success. Yes, I personally think BTS surpass the Backstreet Boys in relevance. On the other hand, a fair comparison is impossible to draw due to the different time periods and levels of accessibility. I also don't believe it'll ever be reflected in awards since those haven't caught up with the globalized industry.

do my essay for me

Quote from tornpet

SPILL

they got some of the biggest bops of the century yet people turn a blind eye to them

Quote from tornpet

and to the people saying yes, um have y’all seen BB’s album sales..tf

This is like comparing BTS's streaming numbers to those of the Backstreet Boys. Both are metrics which provide little to no insight into an artist's popularity in their time of relevance.

Album sales are an irrelevant metric today in the same way streaming (especially internationally) was more or less irrelevant in the BB's time.

Public Recognition : Easily Yes.

Success : Not yet but they'll be there in no time. But the thing is BTS success is not concentrated on a specific market unlike BSB. So probably Maybe can be an answer as well.

Quote from wendii

This list hasn’t been updated, BTS should be above one direction

The only number I found was 20 million.

Quote from wendii

This list hasn’t been updated, BTS should be above one direction

then go update it

BSB were huge during a golden age for boy groups and being an American, English speaking group, they managed to become successful internationally way faster and more easily than BTS.

I was a huge fan of BSB back in the day, during their peak and they were really big.

For BTS it took years and it can be still hard for them to get some opportunities or not face discrimination because of the fact that they are Korean and they dont sing in English but for one or two songs.

The fact that they can play in stadiums worldwide, something that if I am not mistaken BSB never did even in the US, and became the biggest group in the world right now despite everything, is even more important imo.

Quote from zanded

This is like comparing BTS's streaming numbers to those of the Backstreet Boys. Both are metrics which provide little to no insight into an artist's popularity in their time of relevance.

Album sales are an irrelevant metric today in the same way streaming (especially internationally) was more or less irrelevant in the BB's time.

I still think that it’s incomparable, who knows what’s in store for BTS but as of right now I do believe the BSB are ahead.

Quote from itiswhatitisss

I keep telling y'all it's not comparable, both are from different eras. BTS are more popular in the streaming era and BSB were more popular in the time physical sales were the dominants form of music. Compare them to One Direction or sum shit idk this really isn't a fair comaprison.

Yes. In the 90's there wasn't even high speed internet to download songs. You had to buy albums to listen to the music you wanted.

Quote from zanded

This is like comparing BTS's streaming numbers to those of the Backstreet Boys. Both are metrics which provide little to no insight into an artist's popularity in their time of relevance.

Album sales are an irrelevant metric today in the same way streaming (especially internationally) was more or less irrelevant in the BB's time.

come again? album sales irrelevant?

LOL, No.

haha lol no

Screenshot 2021-01-20 134031.png

This list hasn’t been updated, BTS should be above one direction as BTS is the best selling artist who debuted in the 2010s

*Dynamite is now elgible for 3x platinum*

Mind you this is JUST U.S. numbers, they’ve so over 20million albums in Korea and over 10M singles (no accurate numbers for this anymore as nasty gaon stop reporting single numbers)

Now add Japan and the rest of the world..

But to answer OP.. No BTS has not surpassed BSBs yet!

Backstreet boys have low streams

Yall should help them. Stream:

Musically yes and overall I’d say give it another 1 or so.

Dunno why sales are brought up when it’s a different era and market now. It’s like saying why can’t bsb out stream BTS now !! Music was only accessible through physicals where you had to buy to listen and then radio. Now most music is heard on yt so it’s like saying “dynamite potentially 100m copies in just one day” You cant make an equivalent now cos the way we consume are so different.

no

Commercially, not yet.

Backstreet Boys has 97 million EAS
BTS has 63 million EAS

Theyre all time global 2nd and 3rd best selling pop groups, ahead of them are Bee Gees if you consider them a pop group.

BTS should surpass them in couple of years.

Cultural relevance and critical acclaim wise BTS is the most successful boy band everpasted-from-clipboard.pngpasted-from-clipboard.png