“The music that makes you happy, may not be the same one that makes me happy. That’s life, the idea anyhow, is to respect each other’s musical taste, and not to judge what you don’t know, because that is one of the main problems we have as society”.
Para leer este post en español, presiona aquí.
This is a question I get all the time, since the day I decided to tell my friends and family that I am a BTS stan.
It is not fun to get all kinds of criticism and derision. Besides, when you like something people don’t know about, and don’t want to know about, then you become the anomaly of the group. Luckily, I’ve always been an anomaly, this is just one more stain to the tiger.
Back to BTS, many people see a group of 7 Asian men, who wear makeup, and whose lyrics are totally incomprehensible.
Music is an art that manifests through thousands of different vibrations, and not everyone vibrates with the same music. Isn’t that wonderful?
The music that makes you happy, may not be the same one that makes me happy. That’s life, the idea anyhow, is to respect each other’s musical taste, and not to judge what you don’t know, because that is one of the main problems we have as society.
My musical history
I think I should start by writing a bit about my musical history. My music taste is very wide, it depends on my mood. I listen to many beats; of course, there are exceptions, but I won’t write about those, because I don’t wish to offend other music genres.
I have my favorites since I was a kid, and they make me very happy. Some of them are AC/DC, Metallica, Queen, Bon Jovi, U2, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Savage Garden, Placebo… Also: Coldplay, Evanescence, Bruno Mars, Ed Sheeran, Imagine Dragons, Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Adele… I’m just naming a few, otherwise it will take forever. But I want you to have a glimpse of what I like.
As for Latin music, I got stuck in past decades: I love Miguel Bosé, Mecano, Hombres G, Chayanne, Soda Estéreo, La Ley, Laura Pausini (she is Italian), amongst others.
Instrumental music plays a very important role in my life and state of mind, I listen to it since I was a kid; I started with classic music, and then I continued with movie scores. I have a collection of my favorite soundtracks and they are part of my daily life. If I had to name a few, I’d name scores composed by John Williams, John Powell, James Horner, Hanz Zimmer, Ludwig Goransson, Ramin Djawadi, Naoki Sato, 2WEI, amongst many others. I usually listen to them while I’m reading and writing.
And a genre that is always with me, is also dance (electronic) music: Tiesto, David Guetta, Alan Walker, Paul Van Dyk, amongst others. This genre is an energy boost when I have to work all night (baking mostly). Without this music, I just can’t make it.
How did I find BTS?
OMG… It was by accident. I used to read their name here and there, in social media like Twitter, and I knew who they were, but I never stopped to read about it.
Last year (beginning of 2020), I watched an excellent Kdrama called Itaewon Class. I fell in love with the soundtrack, so I added the entire album to my Spotify list, that’s how I got to Sweet Night, by V. That song is so beautiful; besides, V’s voice is another level. Right there I learned that he was a member of BTS. Little by little, I got to know each one of them and their music. It was a beautiful personal process.
A while later, as you know, everybody had to have their graduation ceremony online; so, many artists joined their talent to make a special event, dedicated to the 2020 graduates. I watched the event, even though I was not a graduate, because I felt empathy for those who couldn’t celebrate normally due to the pandemic; and also, I thought it was beautiful that they had this special event. While Katy Perry was hosting the event, suddenly it was BTS’ turn.
I can’t remember what they did first: sing or speak. What I do remember are the messages every member shared for the graduates, and they were beautiful. I felt so emotional when I listened to them, they spoke from the heart and it was so inspiring. That’s what did it for me. Their songs, voices and choreographies that day were awesome, I really enjoyed the experience. At that moment, they earned my admiration and respect.
I’ve listened to all their discography on Spotify and chose my favorites, which I have on a special playlist and listen to all the time. It’s over 4 hours of BTS. I follow them on all the social media I use, I love to see RUN BTS, Bon Voyage, and more.
What do I like about BTS?
Their music
I can’t speak on technical terms, because I know nothing about that. Music is something I feel; but I can tell you that they have various rhythms and they are very emotional. They have a vibration that goes with me, I connect with their music, it lifts my spirit and makes me happy. Is that simple.
Their lyrics
It’s quite funny to hear people criticize over songs “no one understands”, when I actually know many people who sing songs in other language that is not their own, without vocalizing the lyrics; also, they don’t know what the song is about, they have no idea; however, they vibrate with that music, they sing to it as good as they can, and they enjoy it. That is the beauty of music, people.
What’s awesome about BTS is that you can see their videos on their official channels, with English subs and other languages. See? If you are up for it, you can understand what they are trying to tell you.
BTS’ lyrics usually speak about loving yourself, fight for your dreams, not let other people darken your light, love you and accept you as you are. To them, women are the most extraordinary beings in the world, their words never denigrate women, in any way; and it is unacceptable for them to offend them in any way. Besides, their lyrics motivate women to value and respect themselves. That message is received by many teenagers, and I think that’s awesome.
When you connect with what they are saying, with their rhythm, and the energy they have when they sing and dance, it’s just incredible. If to that you add watching them perform, beautiful. You can watch their videos on their YouTube channel.
They are not perfect, and don’t intend to be
They show themselves as they are. They don’t seek to show you absolute perfection. They also have fears and insecurities, and are not afraid to show you that side, because the world is not perfect, people. The beauty standards that society shows you is not real. Beauty comes from within, beauty is what you project, not the shape of your eyes, nose, hips, skin color, etc.
Yes: they do wear makeup and use brand clothing. It is part of their job; in Korea, China, and other Asian countries, men wear makeup, and there is makeup specifically for men. That bothers many people on this side of the planet, and I find quite funny and ridiculous, how some men feel offended because others wear makeup.
Their trajectory
These kids started from zero. They trained tirelessly since they were teens in order to become idols in Korea, and those trainings are not for everyone. The work is hard, and not everyone makes it. They signed up with a small company and you could say that they grew together, and complemented each other very well. Big Hit Entertainment gave them the chance to express as they feel and I believe that is the key to their success. They write their own songs, they like to express their ideas and show the huge love they feel for ARMY, which is the name of the BTS fandom.
Each one of them has his own magic
These are the members of BTS:
Each and every one of them has a unique beauty inside out. Each one has a different talent and they complement each other very well. There is a lot of love and respect amongst the seven of them. Of course, they must have their fights, like everyone, but they’re still together and strong, which shows their brotherhood.
To wrap things up
Currently, BTS has become a worldwide success. Their fandom is gigantic, and it grew even more in 2020.
For Korea, BTS is a big deal. Thanks to them, Korea has grown economically and on the touristic industry as well. Nowadays, more and more people want to travel to Korea, taste their food, learn their language, and learn about their culture; not to mention feeling closer to their idols.
I think I’ve already mentioned a few reasons why I became ARMY; now all I am looking forward to, is see them live, which I hope to accomplish one day, because a live show must be another level of awesome.
As for the country, I’ve been attracted to visit Korea since long before BTS; Korea, China and Japan are on my bucket list.
As an important fact, let me tell you that BTS has been nominated for the first time to win a Grammy. The award show will be in a few hours, but weather they win or not, being at that level is something BTS always dreamed of. A dream that now has become reality. It makes me very happy to see how far they’ve come and how down-to-earth they are, despite their current status in terms of fame and money.
If you don’t know BTS, I suggest you watch their performance at the Grammys, without judgement. Look at them with a different perspective and an open mind.
ARMY
ARMY is the name of the BTS fandom. I used to read many negative comments about ARMY; in fact, that was the reason why I kind of didn’t want to get into it. I used to watch them from afar, because sometimes I sensed aggressiveness, and I am a person who is totally against receiving hate, witnessing hate, and spreading hate.
About this matter, all I can tell you is that it’s true there are some intense members, but it’s not the majority. As everywhere else, you will find a bit of everything. But actually, all you got to do as ARMY, is love BTS and support the 7 of them equally.
Besides, about all those who spit hate towards BTS (there are tons), you have to ignore them. The idea is not to spread more hate. The members of the group do that, and we should follow their example. BTS has gotten so far because of their talent and fandom. As long as our support remains, it doesn’t matter how much hate they receive, no one will ever darken their glow.
Here I quote some words spoken by the leader of BTS, Kim Nam-joon (RM), concerning the Grammys: First about the performance at the event, and then when they were asked to give a message to ARMY:
“Actually, performance is what we wanted more, like eager for more even than a nomination award or wining, because, you know, our team is a… we are a performance team so… actually performance with our own song was kind of like one of our final dream for this whole journey, so we are so flattered and excited at the same time”.
“There are like numerous… So many lucks and blessed that we could have gotten for these 8 years, but I guess, for the whole journey the best luck that we ever had is that we all have you guys, all over the world, so please don’t forget that, so, whatever, whether we get the Grammys or not, we already got what we wanted: we got you so, that means that we got everything, so please don’t forget that, and stay healthy and happy as well”.
If you want to share your love for BTS, or you want to know more about them, please reply in the comments.
Xoxo,
MJ
Related posts on my Blog:
My story related to «Fix You», by Coldplay
Mi terapia es escribir. Me desahogo escribiendo sobre la vida, mis aficiones, aprendizajes, bienestar, historias, libros y recetas. También me hace feliz conectarme contigo.