BTS releases new album after historic success of 'Dynamite'

SEOUL -- K-pop sensations BTS released their highly anticipated new studio album on Friday, following the historic success of their all-English single "Dynamite."

The trailblazing septet cemented their prominence in the world's biggest market in August, becoming the first South Korean act to top the US singles chart -- with "Dynamite" entering the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 1.

They are credited with generating billions for the South Korean economy, and last month their label Big Hit Entertainment made a high-profile stock market debut.

Their latest effort, titled "BE", was to be given a simultaneous worldwide release at 2 p.m. South Korean time.

The new, eight-track record is the group's fifth Korean-language studio album, and "contains the most 'BTS-esque' music yet," Big Hit said in a statement ahead of the release.

"BTS have been on an explosive trajectory this year -- an amazing feat considering how much they've been continuously attracting new fans for years now," Jenna Gibson, a researcher at the University of Chicago, told AFP.

"Before this year, some skeptics may have still had doubts that BTS were just a fad, that the growth would drop off. This year has clearly, firmly, put those doubts to rest.

"It's hard to overestimate the anticipation for this album."

The English single "Dynamite" is among the tracks on the album, and the first number, "Life Goes On," aims to deliver a "message of healing" in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, Big Hit said.

"Our goal with the music on 'BE' is that it can be a comfort to a lot of people," member Jimin told a press conference Friday. "If many people can relate to it, I will be really thankful."

Since their debut in 2013, BTS have ascended to global superstardom, holding a string of sold-out shows in Los Angeles, Paris and London last year.

Their lyrics are often socially conscious -- themes include societal competition and the ills of consumerism -- and they consistently engage with fans at home and abroad through social media, having accumulated 30.7 million followers on Twitter.

"What this album needs to do is to persuade the skeptics who have more recently heard about BTS that their work is powerful, original, and deep," CedarBough Saeji, a visiting professor at Indiana University Bloomington, told AFP.

"If this album can demonstrate that loyal fans exist in large part because of phenomenal artistic offerings, the critics who attribute BTS's success only to loyal fans will be forced to reassess."

The megastars are scheduled to perform "Dynamite" and "Life Goes On" for the 2020 American Music Awards on Sunday in Los Angeles. 

Agence France-Presse

Excitement builds as S. Korea firm behind BTS nears IPO

SEOUL - Investors are anxiously awaiting as the South Korean entertainment company behind hugely popular K-pop boy band BTS plans its initial public offering next Thursday, with its market value expected to reach 4.8 trillion won ($4.14 billion).

As institutional investors sought a slice of Big Hit Entertainment shares, the company's IPO price has reached the top end of the range indicated by it earlier. As a result, the company is set to raise around 960 billion won from debuting on the Korea Exchange.

Seven members of the band, who are all in their 20s, will each receive shares worth 9.2 billion won.

Since its debut in South Korea in 2013, BTS has gone on to win many fans across the world with its synchronized dance moves and hip-hop songs as well as their beautiful melodies.

BTS's songs are known for lyrics that address social issues, one reason the group seems to resonate with many young people. The group topped the Billboard album chart in 2018 and reached the No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart this year.

For many years, South Korea's entertainment business had been dominated by three major companies. But Big Hit Entertainment, a relative new entrant to the market, had an operating profit last year larger than those of the three companies combined.

Most of its earnings come from businesses related to BTS.

The South Korean government has expressed hopes for increasing demand for BTS-advertised products and BTS-related tourism. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism recently estimated that its recent big hit single "Dynamite" would alone generate an economic effect worth 1.7 trillion won.

As is often the case with a South Korean boy band, however, mandatory military service hovers over the group members. That leaves a potential question mark on Big Hit Entertainment's post-IPO prospects.

Concern over the company's business prospects briefly arose when speculation grew that the group's oldest member, 27-year-old Jin, would soon serve in the military. South Korean men usually begin serving in the military before turning 28.

The company sought to quiet the chatter in early September, after it had announced its IPO plan, by saying that Jin's conscription could be postponed until the end of next year under a provision in the military service law.

The company is believed to be referring to a provision that allows people enrolled in graduate schools to postpone their mandatory service.

But all seven members will have to serve between 18 and 22 months in the military at some point, provided the law remains unchanged. That means the company will have to find a way to keep the group relevant while it lacks some of its members due to military duty.

-Kyodo News-

BTS launches music video of new single ‘Stay Gold’

MANILA – Big Hit Entertainment finally released the official music video of “Stay Gold” on Friday.

The track is the lead single of South Korean boy band BTS’ “Map of the Soul: 7 The Journey” album which is slated for a July release.

Two days since it was uploaded, the music video already garnered more than 36 million views on YouTube.

BTS is composed of RM, Jin, Suga, J-hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook.

Their other hits include "Boy With Luv," "Dionysus," "On" and "Fake Love."

Watch the full music video of “Stay Gold” below.


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South Korea's BTS boyband management apologizes over bar visit

SEOUL -- The manager of South Korea’s popular boyband BTS has apologized on behalf of one of its members who went to a bar in April, contrary to government advice, just as the country is trying to contain a recent coronavirus outbreak around Seoul’s club scene.

Jungkook, the BTS’ main vocalist, visited a restaurant and a bar in the Itaewon neighbourhood with friends on April 25, the boyband’s management Big Hit Entertainment said on Monday.

A new cluster of virus cases emerged in that neighbourhood this month as social distancing measures eased on May 6, prompting authorities to delay school reopening and close bars and clubs again.

“We have no excuse that we placed the artist’s personal life before we were able to emphasise the importance of social distancing. We bow our head in apology,” the company said.

The 22-year old, who was there before the first case among Itaewon clubgoers was confirmed, is not showing any symptoms and has tested negative for the coronavirus, Big Hit said.

“He is also deeply regretting on how he did not follow social distancing measures seriously.”

South Korea has been lauded for its quick and effective response to the pandemic but the resurgence of cases has raised concerns about a second wave of infections here

Before the rules were eased on May 6, authorities had allowed clubs and bars to stay open as long as they complied with strict social distancing measures, while advising people not to visit them.

Local media reported three other boy band members were with Jungkook during that outing, including Cha Eun-woo of Astro, Mingyu of Seventeen and Jaehyun of NCT.

The managers of all three issued statements confirming they were in Itaewon on the same day as Jungkook, apologising for their failure to follow social distancing measures. Jaehyun posted a handwritten apology on social media.

As of Monday, 170 cases have been traced to the Itaewon outbreak, with several hundreds in self isolation, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The seven-member BTS suspended their world tour over coronavirus concerns last month.

-reuters-

S. Korea's boyband BTS suspends world tour over coronavirus

SEOUL --South Korea's K-pop boyband BTS will suspend their world tour over worries about the spread of the novel coronavirus and restrictions aimed at stopping it, their management said on Tuesday.

The seven-member band had already postponed the North American leg of the tour, that was scheduled to start on April 25, and cancelled a Seoul concert because of the coronavirus outbreak.

"Due to the nature of BTS concerts involving travel by thousands of international fans no matter where the performances are held, it is also difficult to resume the tour with the current strict restrictions on cross-border movement still in place," Big Hit Entertainment said in a statement.

"Therefore, we have made the difficult decision to suspend the previously announced tour schedule and develop a new schedule."

The suspension of the tour, which was due to include concerts in Europe and Japan, comes as the coronavirus pandemic has infected more than 3 million people globally, with countries imposing travel restriction and lockdowns.

Big Hit Entertainment said it would give details of a new tour schedule as soon as they were clear.

-reuters-

How BTS shot a ‘top secret’ video in Grand Central Terminal

NEW YORK — The video clip of BTS, the South Korean boy band, performing at Grand Central Terminal is only 6 minutes long. But it took almost 2 months to arrange for “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” to film the K-pop group dancing beneath the celestial ceiling inside the iconic train station.

BTS is wildly popular, a singing and dancing global phenomenon with millions of fans and dozens of awards. Last year, their music video for the song “Boy with Luv” generated 74.6 million views in 24 hours, a record.

How did they manage to pull off filming inside a busy transit hub that welcomes about 750,000 visitors every day?

Timing is everything.

The “Tonight Show” production team approached Metro-North Railroad, which runs Grand Central Terminal, to schedule a time to shoot last December, said Meredith Conti, manager of special events for Metro-North Railroad.

Once the day, Feb. 8, had been agreed upon, the crew of about 180 members, including dancers, a marching band, camera operators and members of the production team arrived to set up at Grand Central Terminal at about 10 p.m.

“It’s Saturday so it’s a much quieter time,” said Catherine Rinaldi, president of Metro-North Railroad.

She added: “We are over the moon about how successful this has been.”

The terminal, home of the MTA Metro-North Railroad and a subway station serving the 4, 5, 6, 7 and S lines, was still open as usual (it closes at 2 a.m.) But it was the weekend, when traffic is not as heavy, said Conti, who has overseen hundreds of productions in her 14 years on the job and was present the day of the shooting.

“I’ve seen quite a few,” Conti said. “This was pretty cool.”

It was a “top secret” mission to keep BTS hidden.

The backup dancers and the marching band stayed in Vanderbilt Hall and the North West Balcony rooms rehearsing while the crew set up their multiple cameras, Conti said.

Then, at about 12 a.m., RM, Jin, SUGA, J-hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook — the members of BTS — got to the terminal, which remained open.

It was important that the public not catch a glimpse of the K-pop group members because their appearance on “The Tonight Show” was a surprise.

“They were not in the public areas while we were still open,” Conti said. “It was top secret.”

It wasn’t until 2 a.m., when the terminal had officially closed to the public, that BTS set foot on the main terminal floor.

They had 2 hours to nail the perfect video clip of “ON” from their new album, “Map of the Soul: 7,” before the terminal’s cleaning staff came in to wash the floors. The doors would open to the public again at 5:15 a.m.

Jimmy Fallon and BTS rode in a special subway.

The episode, which aired Monday night, also featured a #FallonAsksBTS segment in which the seven members of the group rode the subway with Fallon while answering some of the questions their fans, also known as the army, posed on Twitter.

“Can you ask BTS, when they make a song, what comes first, the melody or the lyrics?” Fallon asked the group on behalf of a fan.

The segment was filmed inside an R160 subway car two days after the Grand Central Terminal video, said Sarah Meyer, chief customer officer with the New York City Transit. Fallon’s team had contacted the agency in December, Meyer said.

But this was no regular commute: The train used for the segment is no longer operational but is rented out for special events, including TV and film productions, as well as training, Meyer said.

“It was moving while the cameras were rolling,” Meyer said.

Two train operators, one on each side of the train, were in charge of transporting Fallon and BTS back and forth along a track from a Bowery platform to a Canal Street platform.

The shoot, which was eight hours, took place on a recent weekday afternoon, Meyer said, but they managed to keep it secret, too.

“We wanted to keep the number who knew about this to a minimum,” Meyer said. “It was kept quiet.”

You, too, can shoot a video at Grand Central.

Every year, the staff of Grand Central Terminal accepts 20 to 30 large-scale production requests from TV and film companies, Conti said.

Movies with scenes filmed inside Grand Central include “Men in Black II” and “The Proposal.” The location has also been used for music videos like “Carry On” by Fun and “Legend in Your Own Time” by Carly Simon.

Productions are usually scheduled for the weekend or overnight, avoiding rush hour and aiming for times when service does not have to be disrupted, Conti said.

Small-scale productions, like wedding shoots or student films, which do not require more than one camera or additional support from her office, usually take place between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., outside rush hour.

Conti said that her staff grants about 500 of these requests per year. The Terminal does not allow any recording from late November to late December, when traffic is heavier because of the holidays, Conti added.

(If the price is right.)

“The Tonight Show” did not film inside Grand Central for free.

The Terminal charges a labor fee that includes staff used to supervise the production, electricians, on-site safety and customer service representatives, as well as a rental fee for the space, Conti said. She declined to comment how much Fallon’s show paid for the BTS shoot.

“The Tonight Show” also paid to rent the special subway.

“We were really excited about this one because we do believe that Jimmy Fallon and BTS bring diverse communities together and that’s exactly what New York City Transit does as well,” Meyer said. “There is good synergy.”

But back to the rental fee: When the MTA wrote a message to BTS and Jimmy Fallon that read, “Thanks for riding with us” on Twitter, one person replied, “Take the money they gave you and fix the damn trains.” 

source: news.abs-cbn.com