BTS is a well-known K-pop group essentially known around the world since their 2013 debut. I had the pleasure of being able to attend their concert and experience it from a whole new perspective. BTS consists of seven members known as RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, V, Jimin, and Jungkook. I attended the concert on the second day which was September 6, 2018, at the Los Angeles Staples Center. In my paper, I will be focusing and analyzing the BTS performance based on presentation, songs played, political and social class meanings in their songs, and my observations based on the social and musical interactions during this event.
As all k-pop groups, during the BTS concert, their performance was heavily organized and synchronized, containing plentiful dancing, and similar outfits. It was all enjoyable as well a good distraction because there were so many things going on in the background alongside the BTS singing performance. Most of their songs are very heavily beat-based and all songs consisted of a quick tempo. It kept the crowd's energy up as well as making the group seem more powerful through their performance. BTS songs are similar to other k-pop songs and as Maliangkay states, “most songs are fast dance tracks with a strong contemporary R&B flavour in terms of their melodic contour and beat, and they often include short rap sequence….[and during] the hurried performance[s] of those line, often include a few random English phrases” (Maliangkay 19). The English phrases that were incorporated into their songs became more and more popular during the 1990s and most k-pop singers or groups were integrating them in their songs. This was heavily influenced by other English artists known from the United States. During the 1990s in the United States, the rap and metal genres were very popularized and many prominent artists of the time include, Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre. Since the rise of hip-hop in the United States, the K-pop industry followed the trend and began to add short and quick raps in their songs to give it a twist. The rap part was sung by one of the members during each song which I find interesting because K-pop songs are known to be cute and upbeat but rapping in the west was used by tough gangster like artists. These different styles that were added to K-pop songs were being globalized from different areas of the world. The K-pop industry caught on to what is popular and implemented it in their art in order to gain recognition around the world. BTS Management did a good job in helping the group achieve worldwide success and landed them a world tour. A lot of the non-Korean speakers seem to enjoy the English part of the songs because it makes them feel as if they belong in some sort of way, including myself. Even though BTS is known as Korean boy band group, they do a great job in connecting with the fans especially since they were required to learn English.
Their worldwide success can be traced to more than just their marvelous singing abilities. The group also has very well choreographed dance performances that can not be seen in any other popular genre in the Western world. There is such a large appeal to their dances due to the amount of practice and effort that goes into making each and every dance so spectacular, whether they can have multiple takes in a music video, or they have only one opportunity in a live performance they manage to perform at their very best every time. BTS performance on the stage was done perfectly just as if they were performing it in a music video. Maliangkay supports my statement when he claims, “the complex choreographies are usually performed in front of giant video screens….The use of the video screens, and the set choreographies, allow the live performances to serve as re-enactments of official music videos” (Maliangkay 20). BTS’s performance was well synchronized and was practically perfect, and it seems that if a member made a mistake a lot of the fans would make it out as cute. The K-pop industry is really precise and picky in what they want in a boy band group which is why only one of the member stayed the same from the original pick. The songs that were written and performed “reveals that the uniform-looking template has been carefully adjusted over the years to maintain an element of ‘freshness’” (Maliangkay 20). Additionally, during their songs, I noticed that either certain members would have their own solo or that there was a focus on one or more groups member. This could have appealed to fans with preferred members and be more inclined to attend. This adds to their reputation as a group showing that each individual performer has talent, this contrasts to other groups that only perform together. The groups that only perform together don’t get to expand their individual talents thus making the group as the entirety seems better.
Certain BTS’s songs that were performed had some type of hidden meaning, especially those concerning political and social class issues. It is known that the Korean government gives a substantial amount of funding to the k-pop industry which lies in favor of the government. Since the Korean government provides the funding, they technically have some type of say on what is put out because they do not want artists to put out songs or videos that make the Korean community look bad. However, many artists were able to apply hints without referring back to the Korean government. BTS is one group that was successfully able to accomplish that and performed two songs that are known to have made the government seem unfavorable. One of the songs performed was “Dope.” Based on the first impression, “Dope” is a very high, fast rhythm song which doesn’t seem to be related to any political aspect. However, based on my research if you pay close attention to the lyrics during RM’s rap, he refers to the number 3, 5, and 6 which in Korean is “sam,” “oh,” and “yook”. These numbers are closely related to “Sampo,” “Ohpo,” and the “Yookpo” generations. These three generations were not the best time for many families, and many had to give things up because of the decaying economy in Korea. Many people who were part of the “Sampo” generation gave up relationships, marriage, love, and even having kids. The “Ohpo” generation gave up things the “Sampo” generation gave up as well as many weren't being able to secure a job. The “Yookpo” generation gave up their ability to have an affiliation and a social life. They made it clear in their song that it's not right making the people of Korea to give up certain things, it's as if taking away their rights altogether. Many lived unfathomable lives and lived with plenty of restrictions and limitations in life. In addition, RM also says “Why are you killing us before we can try?” refer to people of older generation calling out the younger generation for not working hard enough when that is not the case. Another song performed was “Silver Spoon”. The title of the song has specific meanings and is a common motif used to label a certain type of group. The use of the word spoon is a popular word in which it means that people who are born with golden, old, decayed, plated spoons correlated to their wealth status and their generational predicament. It is said that people from earlier generations left the new incoming millennial with an unpredictable environment. This is related to how lower class people are trying to reach up and succeed in their life, but many are reminded that they are where they belong. BTS seemingly sides with millennials trying to do more with their lives and encourages them to aim high and make more than what this biased world thinks.
K-pop is a fast growing industry that has been flourishing lately and has expanded nationally all over the world because “K-pop is commonly regarded as a form of musical entertainment” (Maliangkay 19). BTS boy band group is highly fawned over especially when people found out that BTS was going to perform in America. These tickets were sold within minutes and were really hard to come by since everyone was trying to get their hands on them. Surprisingly, upon my arrival, there were a good number of foreigners' I talked to, and when I mean foreigners, I mean individuals who are not of an Asian descent. I talked to Asian people, but I was not expecting as many people of different ethnicity to be there. This widely shows how influential K-pop music is becoming especially since most of the lyrics are Korean. Most of the people who attended were girls, and many were super fans. These super fans were devoted to entering the standing area(general admission) which many lined up hours earlier and even heard from others that people slept overnight. BTS appealed to many different people and ethnicities around the world which correlates closely to how the k-pop industry was going above and beyond to have k-pops groups achieve this perfect illusion. Since the K-pop industry is conservative and “seeing as most K-pop fan are teenagers, it is likely to avoid too radical changes that might put them (or their parents) off” (Maliangkay 19). As Maliangkay stated, “To most fans, however, the appeal of the genre lies as much in the look and visual performance of the acts involved as in their music” (Maliangkay 19). During the concert, many were singing all together in unison and were involved with BTS’s performance. A lot of people had the same themes such as shirts, posters, lights, and much more that related to BTS. The fans were heavily engaging as well as a non-Korean speaker. Many learned the lyrics and participated with BTS which a huge shock because Korean is a totally different language than English.
Overall, K-pop groups have such a large worldwide appeal due to many factors, some of these being a very flamboyant performance which catches the eye with many different colors and styles. Their songs are more than just cute performances aimed at attracting fangirls, but rather they have a deeper meaning and different styles within one song which appeals to larger audiences. They have also achieved mass appeal by receiving help from their management teams and from funding they get from the government in order to depict them in a positive fashion and in turn help attract fans from different regions.