2020 is turning out to be a good year for the K-pop boy band BTS. With the band becoming the first Korean act to debut at No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, they have only one regret- not being able to celebrate with their fans.
The group’s first English song, “Dynamite” logged approximately 34 million U.S. streams and 300,000 sales in its first week — the largest digital sales week for any artist in nearly three years.
“It feels like real, but still like a little unreal at the same time because we cannot meet our fans, we cannot go to some kind of award or performance,” said RM, the South Korean rapper, songwriter, and frontman of BTS to Reuters. “It’s like, we’re so grateful but … we’re so sad at the same time,” he said.
Since their debut in 2013, the South Korean boy band has surfed the global K-pop craze to dizzying heights. However, the members seem unsure about why they succeeded over the countless other K-pop groups. “All I know is that we came together and did the best we could. That’s all it is, and before we knew it, we reached a height that we never had imagined,” said Jimin.
But with much success comes pressure. “It would be a lie to say it’s not a burden. But personally, I think an appropriate amount is good for us. We just see it as one of the burdens we must carry,” said J-Hope.
The final intention of the seven-member group is to seize a Grammy nomination and win. However, they do question whether there is a place for them in the United States.
“Grammy solo performance or nomination is like one of our last dreams. So, we will keep doing our best and we hope we could touch the people’s hearts in the Recording Academy someday,” RM said.
