The lead single for their next Korean album will probably be successful, maybe more than Boy With Luv on youtube or Life Goes On on spotify, but it won't be as successful as Dynamite or Butter since it won't get the same support from their US label. The album itself, however, will most likely break several records for sales and chart positions both in the US and internationally, as well as streaming records on spotify and youtube. I'd expect their next album to have one of the biggest, if not the biggest sales debut this century for any album globally (currently the record for this century held by Adele's 25 with 6M first week units globally with mots7 coming in 2nd with 5M units), and most likely the biggest album debut in the US this year.
Posts by erighter
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When I speak of gp, I mean international gp. BTS is not gonna become one the greatest of all time because of Korean gp recognition only, let's be real. You can't be a greatest one only because you're a freakin legend in your own country. Otherwise Johnny Halliday would be one (and I'm sure you have no idea who he is, understandably so).
I'm talking about international gp as well, I agree on the second point though.
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What people are you talking about exactly? I'm sure Armys know their Korean songs, obvisouly. The gp though? I'm not so sure. Anyway, the discussion could go on and on. My point is, I don't understand Armys' urge to discuss that matter so soon and most of all why they expect everyone to agree on this. Only history will tell what will go down in history.
BTS is a korean act, the gp sees them as the face of kpop. If you think BTS are treated the same as english artists in western countries when they release English songs, I don't know what to tell you because that's obviously not true.
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So? Whether there's a good reason or not, it's the reality of the situation anyway. Plus, Dynamite, Butter and PTD are English languague songs so the wall to break for BTS is not as hard as with a Korean song. Yes they're Asian but so what? Is there a such big prejudice against Asian people or is it merely a language thing?
What usually holds foreign acts back is the use of another language. Once they go English, most barriers fall down (unless they suck at it of course).
BTS is known for their korean discography, whether or not they release an english song, people know them for their korean albums which does not help them in western countries.
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Both of whom are english speaking artists, so it is expected for them to top the charts in an english speaking country.
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I don't live in nugu land, I live in Paris area, France. lol The simple truth is: BTS are not mainstream. They're not well known by the gp. They have a lot of fans, I have no doubts about that but not the point that you cannot miss them. It's true that there's an cultural exception when it comes to music in France: most artists who top the charts are French. Like, in the top 20 you'll find only 5 foreign artists. But it's no better for BTS in the other European countries. In Europe, BTS are simply not as successful as in America. Not successful enough to snatch the #1 spot on charts easy.
Then that is an example of one area of the world specifically, it is not indicative of the world as a whole.
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Is it even possible to compare historic acts with contemporary ones, given the current state of interconnectivity and globalization?
You are merely indulging a perception. Nothing wrong and hopefully it will come true.
Quantitative consumption is the only data that is not perception.
When BTS has built a portfolio of works that is consumed by the world (not just west) as regularly and with longevity as their work is in Korea.
Then greatness is undisputable.
Until then it is just personal biases.
I am going to wait for that.
Assuming they won't become as big as western legends based on the past performance of less popular non-western acts is also just "indulging in a perception". Nobody can say anything for certain until we have seen their long term impact and success in the coming decades.
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I never saw nor heard them one single time anywhere in my vicinity. We didn't even have the BTS meal here. TV and radio were huge until the early 00's then everyone got access to the internet. The youth no longer watches TV, they're on youtube, twitch, instagram or tiktok. The times have changed too much, I don't think anyone will become as legendary as the artists of old.
Well, it sounds like the area where you live is just more disconnected from pop culture than most places. I live in a major city, the McDonald's in my area even had noticeably more customers during the BTS meal promo than it did before or after it. BTS is also all over social media as well, including apps like youtube and tiktok.
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I don't know if such comparisons really make sense. The industry and music consumption were so different back then. What's for sure is the Beatles and Michael Jackson's influence went beyond their sales numbers. Gp recognition was about air time: radio, TV, movies even. Michael Jackson had an entire big budget movie based entirely on his character and his music. Same for the Beatles with the Yellow Submarine, an animated film that receiced widespread acclaim. Love em or hate them, these guys were impossible to miss.
BTS are on the radio, in movies, and in TV. They perform on major TV shows that are watched globally whenever they release something major, and are referenced in TV and movies all the time. I live in the US and they are on the news whenever they put out a single or an album.
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Ah ok, then yes, the numbers speak for themselves.
Adding up stream equivalent sales and physical sales, this is like selling almost 30M albums in a year. That is certainly comparable to acts like the Beatles or Michael Jackson at their respective peaks.
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No I don't think so. If you remove the kpop aspect, their popularity is not unprecedented. They're a globally famous group. Great, there are many other famous artists on a global scale. In Europe they're nowhere near the top of the charts. Their fans are very devoted though, I give you that. I'm not sure it's enough to make history though; again it is an extra musical feat. Music wise, I don't know what they'll be remembered for.
I said right now. At the moment, no group or even act in general is as popular as they are globally. In 2020, they were both the best selling act globally with over 10M physical album sales and the most streamed act globally with over 17.3B streams. Nobody is more popular than them right now.
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The thing is, I don't think a music artist can enter history for the sole reason they're non-Western and popular. It has nothing to do with music. That's cool that BTS reach that level of success despite being a Korean group. But even in consideration of that, 1/ Gangnam Style became a viral phenomenon before BTS' global breakthrough, and 2/ it's not like South Korea was some kind of third world country with a joke of a music industry.
So yes they definitely deserve some accolades but when it comes to a spot among the greatest ever? I don't know, it depends on whether we're speaking top 10 or top 100. I can see them enter Rolling Stone's Top 100 but they won't be anywhere near the very top spots imo. Their musical influence and gp recognition is just not enough at this point.
I don't even think that their popularity is impressive solely because they are not western. It is impressive in general, western or not. People can interject in this thread and say "well, I don't think random people can recognize them in the streets where I live" but that doesn't change the fact that the amount of consumption that their music is generating is unprecedented at the moment for any act globally.
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Only time will tell.
There have been other phases where a non western act became popular, but either they did not sustain or rather were merged into West.
Latin music for example.
The challenge is not with ability or content.
But that West dominates the channels, the platform, the biggest being the English language.
Whether an act can remain distinctively Korean or non-Western and still achieve that level of fame?
Already BTS is compromising with English lyrics..
Still these things happen over generations and BTS definitely is a major progression.
Once again, yes there have been popular non-western acts, but none of them reached the same level of popularity BTS have now. This indicates that the success BTS are achieving is different from what has been seen before from non-western acts.
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Nice. I hope they continue.
But this question is about greatness, for which lack of sales and streams are elimination, but presence is not a guarantee.
Greatness is like Michael Jackson, Beatles level, whether BTS is already there, I am not sure.
But I hope they can.
It takes decades to build up to the level of the Beatles or Michael Jackson, that level comes with legacy. Only time will tell what BTS' legacy will be. In terms of peak popularity, however, BTS is already among the greatest of all time.
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Don't be.
They have done fantastically well for a non-English act.
The limitations of their popularity is not their fault or lack of trying, or impressive abilities, but the domination of English-Western narrative at this point in history.
The greatest international cultural hegemon is still Hollywood, then other Western content including music.
But after that, among the non-Western acts, and even in the West, BTS is the probably the greatest contemporary acts in popularity.
No insult to them.
They are literally pulling higher global streams and sales than any english act right now, their popularity is not lacking.
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Apart of kpop fans not many people actually know BTS or their songs.
I live in Germany and I only heard their songs a couple times (less than 10 times) in stores and cafes. If you ask people in the streets about BTS, they wouldn't know them. Even young people at my school (non kpop fans) didn't know BTS.
BTS made a huge impact for a kpop act but it's nothing near The Beatles or One Direction and I wouldn't say BTS is one of the Greatest of All Time.
That's an interesting take considering One Direction never pulled the streams or sales that BTS are pulling now.
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We will have to wait and see next week. I think it's within the realm of possibility, but anything can happen
