Watch BTS bring 2020 some joy with a new performance of “Life Goes On”
The pandemic hasn’t been able to stop or defeat the spirit & passion of BTS. The Korean outfit has made sure that their fans have their upbeat songs & cheery choreography to jam to, throughout the year. Map of the Soul: 7, the fourth Korean-language – seventh overall – studio album by the band was released in February this year.
The album ushered in the record-breaking year for the boy band. It sold 4.02 million pre-orders, thereby becoming the most pre-ordered South Korean album. On the global scale, too, the album established its throne – it sold 422,000 units, surpassing Eminem’s record for Music to be Murdered By that sold 279,000 units only. That’s a huge margin to become number one!
This was followed by the release of their smashing single “Dynamite” that broke more records than we can count. The debut day itself marked major milestones for the single. “Dynamite” opened at the top spot on Spotify’s daily Global Top 50 chart when it released in August this year. If you want to crunch numbers, how’s this: it was streamed 7,778,950 times within a day.
It became the biggest Spotify debut of 2020 & in the process successfully dethroned Taylor Swift whose previous record of 7.742 million streams with “Cardigan” from her surprise quarantine album Folklore had made major headlines with its cottagecore aesthetic. If this wasn’t enough, the music video for “Dynamite” is living a record-breaking life of its own.
The music video managed to surpass 100 million views on its debut day itself, beating Blackpink, their fellow Korean outfit, that held the previous record for a debut day of 86.3 million views. Now, it’s on its way to garnering 650 million views. While we’re still reeling in these numbers & taking in the success, the septet created a whole another album for us to feast on.
Thus came BE, their latest album released in November 2020. Being hailed the most BTS-esque music ever, BE is already on its way to records – it opened at the top spot on the Billboard 200. Just when it felt like the boy band had peaked, they earned their first Grammy nomination, becoming the first become first K-pop group to earn a Grammy nomination in a major category.
They’ll be competing against the likes of Dua Lipa, Justin Beiber, Taylor Swift, and Ariana Grande. They tweeted, “Thank you to everyone who listened to and sympathized with our music during the difficult times. Above all, it is ARMYs who made the miracle of being a Grammy candidate. We always appreciate and love you. Thank you @RecordingAcad for this great honor!”
They aren’t done adding spark to this otherwise dull year. They dropped by The Late Late Show with James Corden to perform their latest single from BE called “Life Goes On.”
The septet, comprising of RM, J-Hope, Jimin, Jin, Jungkook, V, and Suga, ushered in the holiday cheer in a set with Christmas tree & other decorations. Their performance is still very upbeat & full of hope – only now they’re more interested in the story, in the company of each other, than they’re in the dance finesse.
This performance from @BTS_twt tonight genuinely made me a bit emotional. The effort they put into it, the vision to recreate our set. Extraordinary. It made all of us so proud x 💜https://t.co/w7GlEL8ipw
— James Corden (@JKCorden) November 25, 2020
James Corden also tweeted, complimenting the band on their hard work in the visual work involved in their performance, “This performance from @BTS_twt tonight genuinely made me a bit emotional. The effort they put into it, the vision to recreate our set. Extraordinary. It made all of us so proud.”
The band members have often talked about how they want the album to signify hope in these trying times. Jin was quoted as saying, “This album is like a page in our diary of the times we are currently living in. I think this album will give us an opportunity to grow further as artists who can represent the current times through music.”
