Photos: Three Angles Production
Bangtan Boys (BTS), a seven-member hip-hop boy group, debuted on June 13 last year. If you’re scratching your head trying to figure out who they are, don’t worry – you’re not the only one.
With new Korean idol groups sprouting on an almost-daily basis, it’s no wonder that many groups debuted by smaller agencies struggle to make their names known.
They released their first single, 2 Cool 4 Skool but have since released two Korean mini-albums and more recently, a full-length studio album titled Dark and Wild. This month, they will make their first splash on our little red dot with The Red Bullet Tour in Singapore on December 13.
2014 BTS Live Trilogy In Singapore Episode II. The Red Bullet details
Date: Dec 13 (Saturday)
Time: 7.30pm
Venue: The Star Theatre
Ticket prices: S$268 (VVIP), S$228, S$168, S$128, S$108
*VVIP tickets include a Hi-5 session pass and a poster
Tickets are now available on SISTIC
xinmsn is giving away Category 2 tickets to BTS The Red Bullet Tour in Singapore, courtesy of Three Angles Production.
Simply answer the following question and three winners will be picked to win.
Question: What is the title of BTS’s first studio album?
Email your answer together with your name, NRIC, residential address, email address and contact number to editor@mediacorp.com.sg with the subject 'xinmsn BTS'.
Contest ends December 10 and the winner will be notified via email. *Terms and conditions apply
Read on to find out about BTS’s thoughts of still not feeling like stars yet, practicing up to 16 hours a day and knowing each other like they’d know themselves.
Which song does each member like the most from BTS’s entire discography and why?
Rap-Monster: ‘Road’, the hidden track of our debut album.
Jung-kuk: ‘Road’. This song has recently moved my heart.
Jimin: It’s hard to choose just one song. I’d pick ‘Road’, ‘Hip-Hop Lover’ and ‘We On’.
Jin: ‘Boy In Luv’ is my favorite song.
J-Hope: ‘Hip-Hop Lover’! This song is about why we love Hip-Hop, therefore I love this song most.
V: ‘Cypher part.3’, the Rapper-Line song.
Suga: ‘Let Me Know’! I made this song – there’s no other reason why!
You mentioned that Dark and Wild shows off a more mature side of BTS; where do you see your music going from now and do you feel the pressure of living up to expectations for your next release?
We don’t think of it as pressure - we think about our next album on a daily basis but it doesn't give us stress. Instead, it’s a good sort of tension. We love hip-hop so we will continue to make hip-hop in general. There might be some changes in the theme of lyrics but we don’t have a specific concept yet.
Your title track ‘Danger’ speaks of relationships, but to each member, what do you think is a “danger” that you are currently facing?
Frankly we don’t feel any kind of ‘danger’. We have so many schedules these days and we are really enjoying it. We were worried if we could not have any schedules after debuting because having nothing to do would mean that we failed. Fortunately, we have very busy days now.
After visiting so many countries for concerts, recordings and so on, how do you deal with feelings of being homesick?
Eating Korean food or chatting with the fans in Korea through Twitter helps a lot. Fortunately all members can accustom themselves to exotic places so we don’t have difficulties going overseas.
What have you discovered about the other members after going on tour together?
At this point of time, we have nothing to discover about other members. We know each other well since we lived together even before debut. We can even expect what other members are going to say and we know who can do certain things best.
It’s been more than a year since BTS debuted – but what are the moments that make you feel like you’re a star?
Actually, we still don’t feel we are stars. We can feel our fans who love us when they make themselves heard (during concerts) but there are still not many people who can recognize us on the road. This just means we have to work harder and harder. (laughs)
There have been reports that BTS practice up to 16 hours a day – what is a day in the practice room like and what do you do before and after practising?
Once we practice 16 hours a day, we get really exhausted and we really can’t do anything after that.
What is the turning point in your careers as singers?
There isn’t a turning point per se but we do have moments where we feel proud to be a singer. The first concert is that one moment. Many fans came to see us and sang along to our songs – I can’t express the feelings of that moment. After going through that, I understand why other singers cry during their concerts because they’re so overwhelmed. We want to feel that moment in Singapore too.
Now that 2014 is coming to a close, what are some things that BTS would like to achieve before the year ends and what are your hopes for 2015?
Our unchangeable goal is winning in music shows. We feel that all singers may have the same goal. Some people can’t understand why we want to achieve it but it’s very big thing to us because it means that a lot of people love our songs and enjoy listening to them.
Please give a message to your Singapore fans.
The word ‘First’ always makes us feel excited. We will make the best concert ever for the fans who have waited for us for a long time. We will try to visit to Singapore many times, so please call our company and ask them to let us come often. (laughs)