Several months ago, I made the observation that BTS, and BTS alone, had taken America by storm. With BTS topping charts across the globe, I must now extend this observation worldwide. Nobody is doing it like BTS, no matter how much media play gets thrown around.

Map of the Soul: Persona is BTS’ biggest record-breaking comeback to date.

It’s hard to keep track of all the amazing things achieved during the first week of release alone, but I’ll do my best to lay it out:

But as we international ARMYs know, Korea and the United States aren’t the only music market in the world. MOTS:P has achieved remarkable breakthroughs in markets across the globe!

MOTS: Persona

#1 South Korea

#1 Japan

#1 UK

#1 Scotland

#1 Australia

#1 New Zealand

#1 USA

#1 Canada (projected)

#2 Netherlands

#2 Sweden

#3 Germany

#3 Belgium (Flanders)

#3 Norway

#5 France

#5 Italy

#6 Ireland

#16 Belgium (Wallonia)



Let’s keep it going! @BTS_twt #BTS — bora is melting (@modooborahae) April 20, 2019

For the first time ever, @BTS_twt debuted on the South African Coke Top 40 Chart. BTS ft @halsey – Boy With Luv is at #34 on the Top 40 on @KFMza — Luke Waltham (@lukewaltham) April 21, 2019

People often assume that because the United States is the biggest market in the world, it’s also the hardest to break into. That’s not true. Countries in Europe are much MUCH tougher nuts to crack. That’s probably why outside of K-pop conventions, major idol companies have largely ignored the continent for many years now.

BTS finally set foot on in Europe in 2018 with multiple sold out shows. They’ll return in 2019, not only with sold-out stadium concerts but also with a high-charting/chart-topping album to back them up!

The truth is that the rest of the K-idol industry cannot keep up with BTS, not even superficially.

It’s way past time for certain media sources and fandoms to embrace this reality and find a unique path forward. At the rate that ARMYs and BTS are moving, coattail-riding is not only inefficient but it demonstrates a cynical expectation that duplication will yield similar results.

We’ve seen this with the coveting of award nominations for honors that were previously trashed as worthless. I guess some people really think if they can get a “paper award,” the magic will happen by itself?

While BTS certainly wasn’t the first Korean artists or idols to appear on American television (as we’ve been repeatedly reminded), they’re the only ones who bring clout with them wherever they go.

BTS is on their THIRD No. 1 album in the United States. Even better, their third consecutive number one album within a twelve-month period! BTS managed to sell hundreds of thousands of albums within a couple of years in America alone, and they were the best selling group worldwide in 2018.

They never had to beg America to give them a chance. ARMYs made them relevant before they set foot here. Now, this behavior is repeating itself all over the world!

Their climb has been incredible to watch, especially if you are someone who’s observing it with the knowledge that they managed to do so without conforming. BTS albums are Korean, they discuss Korea-based issues, and have gone above and beyond to not only promote their country but address a variety of issues and ideologies that are still domestically taboo.

Additionally, they had Halsey singing in Korean instead of caving to pressure to put out fully English music.

I can’t BEGIN to emphasize how meaningful this is for expanding ethnic and cultural representation. Despite what pressed persons spitting out the words “Western validation” say, BTS has done more to represent Korea on the global market than anyone in the K-idol game who debuted before or after them up to this point.

One out of every 13 tourists visits Korea due to BTS’ global popularity. They’ve also encouraged an incredible amount of foreigners to start learning and speaking Korean. Anyone claiming BTS’ influence isn’t real or palpable is outright lying to themselves and others.

When BTS kicked the door open to American pop music relevance in 2017, so many just assumed the whole idol industry would ride their coattails to fame and fortune. And yet…

CREDIT: @msbeatrice_81



Patreon supporters, I have some additional insights. 🍵 Please stay tuned for that tea over at @OGAB_Patrons.

In any case, the chart (which @msbeatrice_81 updated for 2019 releases), tells a STARKLY different story to what we’ve been hearing since BTS exploded in success and popularity. What endless media play sources would have us believe is that BTS aren’t special and that their accolades were both inspired by and somehow belong to an entire bubble of “dedicated K-pop fans.”

What these results really indicate that despite such claims, ARMYs and ARMYs only have made the effort to stand behind a specific group (BTS) in an impressive show of worldwide support.

Contrary to what some insist, sales do matter. You can’t feed your faves without buying their music or streaming it on paying platforms. It eventually becomes impossible for companies to continue to afford to pour the money necessary into creating new music and promoting a group. No, not without significant returns.

NEWSFLASH: K-pop isn’t put onto the global market for free or with zero desire for financial gain!

The thing is that many international K-pop fans internalized the belief that the sales of any individual K-pop group are not their concern and that worrying about them is practically perverse!

Meanwhile, Korean idol groups continue to disband. As much as i-fans complain when it happens, most refuse to make a connection between their own wallets and the demise of the groups themselves.

…Or they unironically blame ARMYs when an idol group folds. I’m not even kidding.

I remember watching a TV movie about the Temptations. While the board was deciding whether or not a song of theirs was good enough for release, the question was asked, “If you had to choose between buying this record and a sandwich, what would you buy?”

A lot of international K-pop fans continue to go for the sandwich, and not much is being done by companies to curb this behavior. They don’t produce music good enough to move them to buy it outright. Even more regrettable, these businesses refuse to treat fans outside of the Korean market like they are genuinely part of these fandoms. Instead, they’re “foreign cash-cows.”

Believe what you want, but I suspect this ongoing psychological exclusion likely fuels the blatant refusal to promote and buy music with any significant emotional sincerity. You’re welcome to argue with me, but the bottom line never lies!

I’m not saying all of this merely to be shady. My overall point has always been that if you want it for YOUR faves, then go get it!

ARMYs have never stood in anyone else’s way. There was nothing keeping fandoms from getting on iTunes or Spotify and doing numbers for any ONE group they might insist is as good as or better than BTS!

If they had it like that, I think they would love receipts as much as we do! But getting such receipts requires a level of commitment and intelligence that’s never been asked of international K-pop fans by these idol companies. But then again, these numbers were never asked of ARMYs by BTS/Big Hit either. So what’s the difference?

I made the point before, and I’ll make it again: LOVE.

ARMYs don’t always agree and we don’t always get along, but when it comes to BTS, we share a single brain cell that’s obsessed with their career success and comfort. There’s no secret formula or recipe to what BTS has. What they have is the love of millions of people behind them all over the world.

Other companies called idols “global” without the success and fame to back it up. They remain obsessed with the appearance of success and not the reality of it. There’s no love in that. When there’s no love in how you treat your idols and no love in how you treat their fans, how can you POSSIBLY hope to create a fandom half as powerful as ARMYs?

Likewise, when your entire plan revolves around defeating ARMYs and destroying BTS rather than lifting someone up because you believe in them, there’s no love in that, either.

Really, how dare such people ever open their mouths to say to any ARMY, “Focus on your faves,” when they’ve probably never opened iTunes long enough to find their own fave’s song for purchase?! Focus? Your fave is not on my Twitter account, Sister Susan! My blog is not to be confused with Spotify. I can lay out these receipts while streaming.

Exactly WHAT are YOU focused on again….?

ARMYs, please don’t buy the fake hype. BTS is doing it unlike anyone else and no coattail shall prosper.

Do not let people talk you into being disappointed in this comeback or make claims that we haven’t had any significant growth. BTS has broken through GLOBALLY while others are still trying to compete with their 2016 into 2017 level of fame.

We are where we are because of love. So please continue to focus on BTS and ARMY and stop worrying about what others are (allegedly) doing because the only people we’re chasing at this point is ourselves.

*These aren’t final numbers. I’ll update this when the final numbers come out!

NO QUESTIONS TO ASK. BTS PAVED THE WAY. HAPPY EASTER!

👋🏾

IMAGE: YouTube/MBC