The Global Rise

Here, we narrate the pivotal moments in BTS's career that led to their astronomical rise to fame. From their breakthrough songs to their international performances, we capture the emotions and excitement felt by both BTS and their adoring fanbase. The impressive fandom growth and the unbreakable bond between BTS and ARMY are key elements of this chapter.

BTS and other K-pop fans have become a movement unto themselves online.

Most recently, BTS fans have received national attention for their viral digital activism such as matching the K-pop group's $1 million donation to the Black Lives Matter movement. K-pop fans also said they reserved thousands of tickets for President Donald Trump's rally in Oklahoma before not showing up (rows of seats remained empty at the rally though it's unclear if the viral campaign by K-pop fans was the reason why).

Ju Oak Kim told Insider that fans are no longer passive consumers of their artists' work. Kim says that today, fans are able to see the tangible impact they can make as consumers and are "empowered" to be proactive about using their social capital as a collective fandom.

For example, Jiya Kim said that she had already made several contributions to organizations supporting the Black Lives Matter movement after seeing many of her fellow BTS fans share messages of solidarity and support. She told Insider she also commissioned some BTS fan artists who used proceeds for their art to donate to the movement.

"The moment that we heard (where BTS stood), we were able to use BTS's name explicitly to muster the forces," Kim said.

A few years after their debut in 2015, BTS came in first place on a weekly music performance show on one of Korea's three major television broadcast networks with their first single with "I NEED U" from their third mini-album, "The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Pt. 1."

Since then, the group has continued to shatter records. This past March, BTS' "Map of the Soul: 7" album marked the group's fourth No.1 album on the Billboard 200 chart. The album recorded 347,000 album sales and over 74 million on-demand streams, making it the "largest week for any album in 2020," Billboard reported at the time.

For the music video for "ON," the album's lead single, the Head of Culture and Trends at YouTube confirmed that they "set a new record for peak viewers for a premiere."

Most recently, BTS topped a Guinness World Record for most viewed concert livestream in a virtual concert that was viewed by over 700,000 fans globally.

BTS became the first K-pop artist to present at the Grammy Awards in 2019. The year after, the group became the first K-pop artist to perform at the award show.

In 2019, BTS became the first K-pop artist to present at the Grammy Awards. The following year, they became the first K-pop artist to perform at the award show.

However, fans on social media criticized the music show for not including the group's music in any of their nominations. Halsey, who collaborated with the group for their single "Boy with Luv," supported the group by saying that the "US is so far behind."BTS will likely continue to dominate the music industry into the 2020s.

Their latest album "Map of the Soul: Journey" was released in Japanese in July. The new album includes Japanese versions of a number of their latest songs like "Boy with Luv" and "IDOL," in addition to four new Japanese songs. Upon release, it dominated Japan's Oricon chart, opening up yet another region in the world for BTS to shine.

Meanwhile, "Map of the Soul: 7" became the only album released this year that sold over half-million copies, according to Nielsen Music and MRC Data's midyear report. The report also places BTS as the second most consumed genre artist, following Billie Eilish and ahead of Taylor Swift.

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