South Korean boy group BTS’s new track Dynamite hit a milestone on September 8, remaining at the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for a second week in a row. On August 31, the song debuted at No.1 and the group made history as the only all-South Korean group to ever debut at the No.1 spot. Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V and Jungkook held a press conference on September 2 to celebrate the milestone after Dynamite debuted at No.1 on the Hot 100.
The septet was asked how they were able to reach the general public in the US with Dynamite and member RM responded with an insightful reply. Upon its release, Dynamite has broken YouTube, Spotify and Billboard records. Dynamite is the group’s first real radio hit in the US which has helped the song garner casual listeners outside of the band’s already-established fan base.
RM gave an insightful answer about why the track did well with the American listeners.
“It’s not an easy question to answer, I think. And that’s because, of course, it’s not just, No. 1 on the Hot 100, the Billboard chart, it’s not something you can achieve with only fan support,” he said. “It could be our performances, our behind the scenes, and what we said, what we did, what we showed.”
He continued, “When you do something, when someone does something with sincerity, it doesn’t always resonate with other people. Sometimes we do something and that’s not acknowledged or rewarded… I think it’s the power of music and the power of performance.”
RM also acknowledged that the English lyrics and disco-pop genre made the song more accessible for casual listeners.
Picture: Instagram
“I think ‘Dynamite’ was more familiar because of the language as well as other elements. The language and the disco-pop were familiar to the American public. Something that’s easy to sing and hum along with. It doesn’t have an overarching macro-level message. Sometimes, simpler messages really get across. I dare say that all these factors came together to create this achievement.”
At the press conference, the BTS members were also asked about what they want to accomplish next after having a song reach No. 1 on the Hot 100.
“We went to the Grammys at the beginning of the year and we did a collaboration performance. Now I would like to put on a single performance, just BTS on the Grammy Awards stage,” Suga said. “It would be great to receive an award, but that’s not going to become a reality just because we want it. We need help from a lot of people. Just getting to perform on the Grammy Awards stage is our goal.”
RM then added that he hopes BTS will be nominated and win a Grammy Award too.
“The Grammy Awards is something all of the performers dream of,” he said. “Of course, we would like to perform there, too. We would, of course, like to be nominated. It would be great to receive the award. That is the direction we should be headed for.”
The group is expected to release a Korean-language album toward the end of this year. At the end of the press conference, Jimin told the media that their future songs are just as good as “Dynamite.”
“In the future, I hope that you keep your eyes on us striving to achieve our next goal. We really like our song this time, but we really like our next songs too,” he said. “I hope you look forward to it.” /TISG