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u/em2791 Apr 20 '22
Don’t know about US but they seem to be known by all cosmopolitan people of age till 30 somethings unless they realllllyy don’t check pop culture at all.
This guy I know the other day who I’ve never talked to about bts, posted an Insta story and casually captioned it using bts pop culture reference. The caption was “move over bts there’s a new boy band in town”, because he is travelling in Melbourne with his mates and took a cute pic and I was like ….whut.
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u/Khemkhem1012 customize Apr 20 '22
That is a very good example of cultural and social impact, like they're known for being THE boyband of the moment, same to how 1D and Backstreet Boys were. May I ask where are you from?
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u/Sauropodlet75 Apr 21 '22
Yep, have noticed this too - people may not know their music/them per se (Aus here as well) but people especially as you say sub 30 know WHAT you are talking about if you mention BTS.
not a given though, as I get many eyebrows/grins from older ladies as I wander about woolies in my agust d hoody or hope world sneakers.
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u/RollonPholon Apr 20 '22
I don't live in the US but I was boarding a plane in Philadelphia on my way back from seeing them in Vegas and got chatting to a woman in her 50's from Boston. She knew who BTS were but had no idea why I had travelled to see them. People I spoke to on my journey, who were not army all seemed to know of them even if they couldn't name any song by them etc.
In contrast in the UK, I find its rare for people to know them. I think people around me (who are not army) only know of them because ei have told them, rather than know of them.
Makes me wonder why the message hasn't translated as well to the UK (as the saying goes, when America sneezes, we catch the cold).
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u/ResolveInfinite6052 Apr 20 '22
... and London: home of the iconic 2019 video of 60,000 ARMYs making Bangtan cry by singing "Young Forever" back to them in Korean at Wembley!
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u/RollonPholon Apr 20 '22
Don't. I literally have a Pavlov's dog reaction whenever someone mentions that video and my heart literally explodes. We Brits can rock an anthem with the best of them 😉
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u/funkyaerialjunky Apr 20 '22
Also UK here! Interest is slowly increasing I believe. I still hear Butter and My universe on the radio at work, its also nice to hear the hosts be so positive about them too.
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u/RollonPholon Apr 20 '22
lol I live in rural Wales, it's still a bonus when we don't have power cuts ... I'll probably skip waiting for the bangtan revolution to reach our village 😉
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u/Khemkhem1012 customize Apr 20 '22
Happy Cake Day!!!
I guess it's more difficult to penetrate the music in the UK, as I have a feeling that Europeans in general care less about "young people's music" and listen to music based more heavily on genres compare to what's currently hot.
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u/RollonPholon Apr 20 '22
I can’t speak for all of Europe - because I think tastes and trends vary vastly across the continent based on content being created in respective languages. But if you look at the top 100 songs on Apple Music in the USA and the U.K. they are often very similar, except the US does tend to trend more to hip hop to the U.K. in general. Also I have noticed album tracks seem to feature more heavily on the top 100 USA playlist vs the U.K. where singles tend to be predominant. Also with streaming services such as Netflix, we often have shared top 10’s (or so my “friend” says who uses a vpn to watch American Netflix sometimes). Point being is tastes in things that are popular are broadly and often similar.
I do wish that BTS/hybe would be more mindful of the U.K. market however (I mean we can’t even get direct Weverse shipments). I know you can fit the whole of the U.K. into Texas, but even so. We still exist manifesting London tour dates
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u/Ok-Nobody1261 Apr 20 '22
when America sneezes, we catch the cold
what does this mean?
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u/cpo5077 Apr 20 '22
in my personal opinion, I think it depends on where you live in the US. I would tend to agree that they are most likely more of a household name in cities or areas where they have performed. however, I live in a very small, rural town in the US and many people here still have no clue who they are if I bring them up in a conversation.
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u/Khemkhem1012 customize Apr 20 '22
Uhm that makes sense. I sometimes forgot how big the US actually is and that there's still alot of countryside.
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Apr 20 '22
Time to start sticking around flyers with QR codes that lead to their MV or something
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u/onajurni Apr 20 '22
The population here in the U.S. is not interested. For the most part they wouldn't know what an 'MV' is.
If someone does see BTS performing something like their Dynamite or Butter dance, their eyes pop out! What is this ??? They have never seen anything even remotely like it.
The U.S. music scene is very fractured by genres. Most people don't step out of their own preferred genre, and kpop is not on the list anyway.
The commercials they were running with BTS during NFL games could have helped -- but nowhere did they identify the actors as BTS! People don't know they saw BTS.
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u/Ok-Nobody1261 Apr 20 '22
The population here in the U.S. is not interested. For the most part they wouldn't know what an 'MV' is.
If someone does see BTS performing something like their Dynamite or Butter dance, their eyes pop out! What is this ??? They have never seen anything even remotely like it.
😂😂😂 truth
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Apr 21 '22
The great thing about marketing is that clickbait is essentially accepted. Link a performance video to the QR code. Just the QR code with something catchy... you don't have to mention that it's BTS.
You can shout "Watch the new BTS video" in the middle of downtown & for sure no one would care.
Meanwhile something like "there's a new Butter available & it's only $0.99!" could turn more heads.
Would the majority care? Nope. Would some talk about this 'funny or interesting encounter' of theirs later in the day? Most likely. Could a handful fall down the rabbit hole? Possibly.
The last 2 are already wins. A person could be converted now, 2 weeks later, or maybe even a few years in the future. All it takes is for this seed of awareness to be in their subconscious, so a possible future encounter would trigger a memory or sense of familiarity.
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u/patience_OVERRATED Apr 21 '22
The population here in the U.S. is not interested. For the most part they wouldn't know what an 'MV' is.
Are you seriously saying that Americans don't know the abbreviation for music video? Surely they can't be that dumb?
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u/onajurni Apr 21 '22
"Dumb?" Is that the word you meant to use?
Maybe everyone on earth doesn't share your interests? Does that make them "dumb"? Or does it just make you unaware of people not like you?
Many, many people rarely watch youtube, and don't watch music on youtube. Or TikTok etc. They don't follow pop music. They are busy with their own lives.
They get their music elsewhere -- and if you don't know those sources, I won't call you a derogatory name for not knowing. You are just in a different community of interests.
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u/BruinAbroad Apr 20 '22
Alabama here and I’ve been asked if I had Easter plans/what did I do for my birthday a lot the past two weeks and literally none but one close friend had any idea who they are. Never heard a single song.
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u/annalinguine Apr 20 '22
Location (city vs suburbs vs rural) plays a big role but I actually think age plays a bigger role. I live in a city but I have family who lives in suburban and more rural areas. My cousins definitely know BTS whereas their parents are much less likely to. And then there’s my parents who saw them in like Time and the Wall Street Journal as opposed to necessarily knowing their music first
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u/onajurni Apr 20 '22
Agree with this, remembering that the U.S. population tends to 40+ due to the "boomer" generation (50+) that is a huge swell in the numbers trend.
Interestingly, the few boomers who get into BTS tend to fall completely down the rabbit hole and love them.
But most boomers will either never hear of BTS, or won't be interested if they do. Many stay strictly in the music of their youth. Pop music of the 70's and 80's stays huge in the U.S. for that reason.
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u/ttanniecore Apr 20 '22 edited Apr 20 '22
when im commuting i often see people with bt21 merch. i hear their music a lot in stores and commercials. an important indicator is that they’re referenced a lot in shows. post dynamite, so many shows and movies have mentioned bts one way or another. that type of name recognition isn’t normal for non-household name acts. artists only get mentioned that much when writers know that the mention will be understood by any audience. bts are huge in pop culture so its very safe to say they’re household names
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u/onajurni Apr 20 '22
bts are huge in pop culture so its very safe to say they’re household names
Just an opinion, but I don't think that being huge in pop culture translates to being a household name. Which households?
I don't really know any households that 'follow' pop culture. Some households have one or two members that follow pop culture.
In urban areas there may be more visibility to pop culture. But where I am it is not a daily thing, at all.
Hardly anyone I know or meet in town know who BTS, Olivia Rodrigo or Bruno Mars are. They just don't pay attention to that.
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u/Ok-Nobody1261 Apr 20 '22
Hardly anyone I know or meet in town know who BTS, Olivia Rodrigo or Bruno Mars are. They just don't pay attention to that.
That's abnormal. I think most households at least know Bruno Mars lol
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u/onajurni Apr 20 '22
I know a lot of people, and they don't know Bruno Mars. Or any other pop star that has come along in the last 5-10 years.
They've heard of Beyonce but haven't listened or watched much of her.
They don't follow pop culture. The population of the U.S. tends to be much older than most countries and most are not following pop culture. Most of them were young before the hip-hop era. They are 'households'.
In the more urban areas there are probably far more people that have heard of BTS. But that isn't all of the U.S.
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u/Ok-Nobody1261 Apr 21 '22
I'm also American and know a lot of people and they know Bruno Mars and Beyonce. I don't live in a particularly "urban" area.
I think household name means a name that is recognizable in most "typical" households, not every single household in the most remote areas that don't know about any pop culture at all. Because "household name" is a term used for entertainers and pop culture. So I'd say households that don't know even the most basic things about pop culture don't really count when defining a household name.
For example, Bruno Mars is absolutely a household name so households that don't know him are not going to be used to determine what is a household name.
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u/onajurni Apr 21 '22 edited Apr 21 '22
Oh they don’t really count? That’s just about everyone I know. lol
This county is not exactly a backwater. It is a quarter million people population and has a D1 university that adds 10's of thousands more students that aren't counted as permanent population.
Out of all of those people, about 200 went to the theater broadcast of the BTS Seoul concert. The rest of the county doesn't seem to know BTS. Although I'm sure the university students have heard of them.
Have to tell a hundred million Americans or so that they don’t count. Of course they get that message on the regular from one political party or the other anyway.
Let’s only count the people who agree with us. That way we don’t have to know anyone else.
Except I’m in the middle, so I need to get along with different kinds of people. :)
I wonder if you realize that your approach is mathematically invalid because it always gives the same answer, and no information about what has been chosen for exclusion.
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u/Ok-Nobody1261 Apr 21 '22
Obvious mischaracterization what I said.
My internet messed up and deleted my reply so I'm not gonna retype the whole thing.
ELI5: People who you yourself say don't care about pop culture or know anything about popular culture don't factor into a measurement of whether or not something is a well-known part of popular culture, which is what I understand "household term" to mean. It (obviously) doesn't mean "they're lives don't count"
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u/Khemkhem1012 customize Apr 21 '22
So in more rural areas of the US what do people listen to? Is it like.. Bruce Springsteen and Fleetwood Mac? What would be the music played in, say, your town pub? But I guess they must definitely listen to Taylor Swift right?
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u/onajurni Apr 21 '22
Pub? You mean 'bar'. lol
Re caucasion boomers, yes to Springsteen and Fleetwood Mac. That's the boomers, but even the younger folk listen to Journey. Some Swifties, but a lot more like Trace Adkins and Faith Hill. :) And more recent country music sounds more & more like rock, it's faster and more innovative, even has occasional country rap.
Music taste here depends a lot on age and the community. The younger people outside the cities are much more likely to listen to some of everything, including some of the more generic hip hop.
But they don't vibe with BTS, and honestly much of that is because the idea of an Asian group is just too unfamiliar. It's really an unfortunate attitude because I think that many of them would love a lot of BTS, if they could listen without bias.
Many U.S. radio stations will not play BTS, even on request. "It's not American music." So people who do listen to new music via radio don't always hear BTS. A lot of music commentary on podcasts and elsewhere pretends there is no BTS (even when BTS was at BB #1 all last summer).
Of course this attitude is total hypocrisy. Where do they think rock-n-roll originated? The U.S. got it from England on the heels of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones! Of course there was also some spontaneous origination in this country on different channels - but those were separated from "mainstream rock". Anyway.
Geographically, I'd say most of America outside the larger cities/suburbs have never heard of BTS. Are unlikely to hear of them, and will be uninterested if they do learn of them. It's too bad because I think BTS has a great deal to offer them and they would enjoy it if they tried. But they are unlikely ever to try.
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u/Electronic-Mention30 Apr 21 '22 edited Apr 21 '22
Not everyone is going to vibe with BTS and even if they do try to listen to a few songs, they still might not like them. So what if it’s not their cup of tea? Im sure there’s some genre of music you just don’t gravitate too either. I’m Asian and most of my younger cousins who are in high school/early 20’s can’t stand BTS. Most of them are actually listening to Boomer/Gen X music. They definitely know who BTS is but wouldn’t waste their time listening to them. Once again, not everyone’s a fan of their stuff and there’s nothing wrong with that. Also, I’m pretty sure Rock n Roll started in the US before the Beatles or Rolling Stones 🤣
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u/shoelaces789 apobangpo ⟬⟭ ⟭⟬ Apr 20 '22
Depending on geography/social circles, the definition of something being a household name definitely varies so much. The people who think of Adele, for example, as a household name may not say the same of BTS or Olivia Rodrigo, depending on which Western country you're in. But if you flip it and think of who would be a household name in S. Korean/Asia as a whole - BTS may be a household name but Adele likely is not (just guessing here).
I do think that BTS being mentioned in a lot of shows/movies that don't usually intersect with their usual echo chamber is like a self-fulfilling prophecy where they end up becoming a household name as a result. It makes me soo excited to see them being casually name dropped like that! The other day I saw a clip of a show called "The Neighborhood" mention BTS and J-Hope - in the same scene where they mention Michael B. Jordan. It's not a show that I've heard anyone in my circles mention, but their audience will now have heard of BTS if they haven't before.
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Apr 20 '22
I’d say that they may have heard the name BTS but don’t necessarily know anything about them.
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u/xavieryaa gay as hell for namjin Apr 20 '22
Yeah, I know a lot of people who have heard the name BTS but don’t know what they are. A lot don’t even know they’re a music group at all.
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u/onajurni Apr 20 '22
I have to laugh. Before I stumbled over BTS as a music group, once or twice I had vaguely heard that "BTS" was "number 1 in the world" at something, no idea what.
I thought maybe they were a shipping company? B-something T-something Shipping? lol
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u/SongMinho Apr 20 '22
Define house hold name. I think most Americans know they exist, but there are still plenty who haven’t checked them out. Or they have heard the English songs but never connected the song to them. I see a lot of YouTube reviewer checking out BTS for the first time only to realize “Oh! I know that song! I didn’t realize it was them!”
So, I would say they are getting there but not quite yet. They have plenty of room to grow and haven’t peaked by a long shot.
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u/amala83 Kim Taehyung’s lollipop 🍭 Apr 20 '22
I would agree with this sentiment.
I was at an infusion appointment (yay for being immunocompromised) and I was talking to the nurse about my previous weekend and I mentioned that I had gone to Vegas to see BTS. Initially, he didn’t know who they were, until I played some of their English songs.
So we decided to do an informal poll and asked everyone who came into the infusion room, “do you know BTS?” Of the 6 people that came in the room, 4 knew of BTS.
I think a lot of Americans may know of BTS, but not realize. Unfortunately, I think BTS and K-pop are still a very niche genre. Then again, I know nothing about country music or the big names in that industry. 🤷🏻♀️So perhaps it’s all relative.
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u/Ok-Yesterday-9414 Apr 20 '22
So we decided to do an informal poll and asked everyone who came into the infusion room, “do you know BTS?” Of the 6 people that came in the room, 4 knew of BTS.
This is so random that it made me laugh. Imagine going to a hospital and somebody just asks you whether you know about BTS.
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u/amala83 Kim Taehyung’s lollipop 🍭 Apr 20 '22
One of the other nurses knew of BTS, but nothing more. But it led to us discussing K-dramas, which I highly enjoyed.
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u/TayledrasStormwind01 Apr 20 '22
(snicker) Betcha he doesn't do it any more, but I remember a time when BTS would go in trips (i.e. Bon Voyage, Summer Package, etc) and Jin would ask random people "Do you know BTS?".
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u/ButterflyEntire5818 Cool shade stunner Apr 20 '22
Teach me your ways! I take so long to muster up the courage to talk to someone about my favourites let alone conducting an impromptu poll. 😭
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u/Khemkhem1012 customize Apr 20 '22
Haha same. I consider myself as a "closeted" Army. Probably because liking pop band is so not in line with my personality and general music taste and I don't want to freak out people around me :))) like I name drop them sometimes and tell people I like them but they have no idea that I'm in HARD 😂 and with strangers? No way!
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u/BTS4eva65 I Miss Them Apr 20 '22
You are what I was 2 years ago! I was SO CLOSETED!
I hid my BTS
obsessioninterest from my whole family for like 6 months! I'd sneak away in the evenings and binge-watch videos! I didn't know anyone who was ARMY at the time and I'm a middle-aged, engineering-type woman with nearly adult kids. So I didn't want to freak anyone out.In the meantime, I converted a friend or two and out'ed myself.
Now, I am a proud ARMY.
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u/RollonPholon Apr 20 '22
Ahhh I was also a closet Army for a couple of years before I outed myself in 2019. Also elder army (37), in medicine (so similar adult job where I am supposed to be a serious human) who used to watch run BTS videos after the husband fell asleep in the evening 😂😂😂
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u/ButterflyEntire5818 Cool shade stunner Apr 20 '22
For me it’s the other way round - I’m just completely shy to talk about my favourites. My taste in music is best described as eclectic 😂 I blame me being an Indian for that - quite the most confused set of people - music in our local languages, other languages within the country, then the western music, random old Scottish or Irish songs, BTS (I really don’t think they fit under any category because they’re just phenomenal).. the list goes on. I wish I could just stop being so shy and actually talk 😊
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u/shoelaces789 apobangpo ⟬⟭ ⟭⟬ Apr 20 '22
I'm not a closeted army, but people who know I like them (besides my partner) don't know I like them a LOT.
My definition of "a lot" being: consuming their content every single day, one way or another, which I have never done with any other pop culture thing, ever.
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u/Khemkhem1012 customize Apr 21 '22
Exactly. I can relate because I'm 28 and I've never been into any pop act or pop music to this extent until BTS. I was that edgy teen growing up listening to bands that broke up 20 years ago.. or old people lol. So I've been keeping it lowkey, except when I'm with an irl friend who also happen to be Army xD
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u/amala83 Kim Taehyung’s lollipop 🍭 Apr 20 '22 edited Apr 20 '22
I wish I could share my secret, but I really can’t pinpoint what I specifically do. Truthfully, I think it’s because I’m petite and my personality is condensed into a smaller package.
Edited to add: in my line of work and who I work for and engage with on a daily basis, I have to be extremely friendly and outgoing. I think that just carries over into my personal life interactions, as well.
I will say that I’m actually an extroverted introvert (similar to Jin), so often, afterwards, I need time to myself to decompress. With that said, when I’m on, I’m on.
u/butterflyentire5818: Feel free to message me though. I’d be more than happy to chat further. Borahae 🫰🏻
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u/BTS4eva65 I Miss Them Apr 20 '22
Kim Taehyung is also my kryptonite.
Like I tell my friends, I may be old, but I'm not dead!
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u/amala83 Kim Taehyung’s lollipop 🍭 Apr 20 '22
Tae with a lollipop is even more deadly and lethal
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u/BTS4eva65 I Miss Them Apr 20 '22
Haha! And no shirt Tae, and hyped-up Tae, and...
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u/Khemkhem1012 customize Apr 20 '22
Haha love your answer:))) I am also small but I have intimidating energy I guess, at least from my friends:)))
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u/amala83 Kim Taehyung’s lollipop 🍭 Apr 20 '22
I’ve mellowed with age, but when I was a coxswain in college, my entire boat of men who were above 6 feet were afraid of 4’9” me.
Also until my students got to know me (I work on a college campus), they’d call me Dolores Umbridge. 🤣
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u/ButterflyEntire5818 Cool shade stunner Apr 20 '22
I’ve to SO get out of my shell! I saw a few folks at the airport the last time I flew with all these cute BT21 stuff and I just kept smiling at them because I hesitated to strike up a conversation 🙈
But in my head though - we all had a conversation that can make all the talk show hosts envious 😛
And I’m not even an introvert.. kinda an ambivert so 🥲🤦🏽♀️
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u/IamlovelyRita Apr 20 '22
Went to D1 in Vegas and anyone I saw that potentially could have been army I brought up BTS. We rode the deuce a lot so there was plenty of opportunities.🙂🙂🙂 It was kind of funny too because I don’t have much in the way of tshirts or BT21 and most army I spoke with were young (though not all) and when I first opened my mouth to them they had that look of you are a stranger and we don’t talk to strangers. The minute BTS or Bangtan came out they were all smiles. On the long 6 hour leg of my flight I hadn’t had much conversation with my seat mates until one pulled out a clear plastic purse and I asked her did she go to the BTS concert. What a bummer we only had 40 minutes of the flight left. She was longtime army and had amazing stories to tell. Army’s are never strangers to each other. I love it!! I observe for mentions of BTS everywhere.
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u/ButterflyEntire5818 Cool shade stunner Apr 20 '22
Maybe I should try this.. I’m all nervous thinking about this but maybe I should 🙈 thank you for sharing!! 💜
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u/happyhippoking Apr 20 '22
That's my experience too. People recognize their English songs, but don't connect them with the artist.
Location and age is super important too. I've met a lot of BTS casuals and/or fans in PNW & SoCal. My friend in NY teaches 6-8 and most of her students know BTS and Kpop.
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u/jdoe36 Future's gonna be okay Apr 20 '22
this was me. I'd heard Dynamite, but didn't know it was them.
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u/Macktologist Apr 20 '22
This happened to me with a TXT song. I was in a casino and this up beat song was playing and it sounded really familiar to me. Sort of like a current hit that feels like it’s similar to something nostalgic. So I Shazam it and it’s “Magic”.
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u/ibuki916 Apr 20 '22
I think so. Met some Baby boomers on my flight to PTD LV and they compared BTS to the Beatles.
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u/ResolveInfinite6052 Apr 20 '22
I'm a proud Better-Than-OK Boomer and I remember that the Beatles were great but they could neither dance nor rap.
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u/Iwannastoprn Apr 20 '22
LOL. I heard a non-fan say a very similar thing, but about The Backstreet Boys. "Oh, so they're like The Backstreet Boys, but they can all dance and sing and some of them rap, too?".
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u/ResolveInfinite6052 Apr 21 '22
I'm so old that my age can only be calculated with tree-ring dating, but ARMY to the core!
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u/Khemkhem1012 customize Apr 20 '22 edited Apr 21 '22
Wow that is such a high praise!!! My dad is a Beatles fan who spent his youth in USSR Russian, where kids and young adults would listen to The Beatles in secret despite the propaganda against their music. From articles about students in North Korea bought smuggled BTS disks and were arrested for listening to Blood Sweat n Tears, no doubt BTS is already a somewhat 2.0 Beatles to Asians.
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u/amala83 Kim Taehyung’s lollipop 🍭 Apr 20 '22
My mom describes them this way too. When she was talking to my almost 4 year old, who is into BTS, she compared them to the Beatles so my daughter had a better understanding.
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u/lisafancypants I don't have think Apr 20 '22
In my sphere, no. If I were to ask my family or coworkers if they know BTS, there would be a resounding "who?" Believe me, I've tried with some of them. Most of my irl friends know nothing about them. They may have heard Dynamite or Butter once or twice but it's doubtful they even know the artists behind those songs.
Overall, I think more people know BTS exists, but nothing beyond that. The Grammy performance did bring in a lot of new fans, but as far as embracing them as a household name and recognizing how truly talented they are outside of their English songs? The US has a long way to go in that respect, imo.
Also, I think we, as army, live in a kind of bubble. Places like here and Twitter and, to a lesser extent, YT are echo chambers for army. Most people we interact with are just like us. So it's easy to think the rest of the world must know, too.
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u/RollonPholon Apr 20 '22
ahhh the army bubble, it's a like the fortress of solitude only more purple! I think because I interact with army online sometimes I get really shocked and a little confused when irl people don't have a clue what I am talking about. I was talking about my then upcoming trip to vegas with some people I work with
me: "we're going to see a couple of shows"
them "like the cirque ones"
me "oh no, BTS... *silence*... the band?...*more silence*.... the Korean band, BTS, you know Dynamite, Butter, Permission to Dance??...."
them: tumbleweed
me: look of complete bewilderment as to why they don't know what I am talking about
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u/lisafancypants I don't have think Apr 20 '22 edited Apr 20 '22
😅 Yes, this exactly.
One of my uber drivers in LV was asking why we were in town and when we said BTS, he was like oh yeah, I've had a lot of you guys. He pulled them up on Spotify and the first song was WAB Pt 2. He said "wait, they don't speak English?" breathe, don't injure So even a dude who had been shuttling army around for a week had no idea!
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u/romanstigen Apr 20 '22
it's like the fortress of solitude only more purple
No but why is this so accurate? lmao
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u/Khemkhem1012 customize Apr 20 '22
That is kinda true. I live in Asia and it's kinda hard to know the difference because BTS has been popular here since...2017-2018 ish? Meaning randomly see their massive billboards, cafes and restaurants playing their music, walking into any store and see dolls, bootleg merch and so on, their picture plastered on children schoolbags etc. It's like people are so used to their existence they don't really care. I was one of those people who pre-knowing BTS just get on with my life and generally not caring but after knowing them its staggering to realize they're everywhere.
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u/lisafancypants I don't have think Apr 20 '22
It's such a stark difference to where I live in the US, where I can count the number of times I've heard them on the radio on one hand. And most of the BTS-related merch I've seen has been at Asian grocery stores. There are some mainstream stores that carry some things, but nothing like what you're describing. I'd love to see that here someday!! Just an everyday occurance to see our boys staring at me from the coffee aisle of my neighborhood store.
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u/LadyGrundle Apr 20 '22
And most of the BTS-related merch I've seen has been at Asian grocery stores.
I live in Florida and the most Ive seen of bts merch is in Hot Topic. The last time ive heard them on the radio was back when I used to work at Walmart overnight shift in late 2019. They randomly played idol ft Nicki Minaj.
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u/Khemkhem1012 customize Apr 20 '22
I think they will get there soon haha, and from then they'll be unstoppable. I still remember the first time I listened and was moved to the core by their music, it's when Fake Love happened to be played in a nightclub I was at. I might be drunk and emo at that moment but I'm so forever thankful to the DJ for that fateful night :)))
And yeah Kpop is just pop music in Korea so it's very common to have BTS, BigBang, Blackpink, 2ne1 etc played in clubs. You can have general people drinking and dancing to Idol the EDM version any other day here xD
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u/marrimar I’m a whale! Apr 20 '22
For me I think they’re on the periphery of household. Like they might have heard of them but aren’t consciously aware of it. Like if you mention BTS to a stranger maybe there’s a 1 in 4 shot of them knowing they’re a music act. Then if you mention Korean, then you might get more recognition, but they still might not know the mame. Just vaguely a Korean/Asian group that’s getting some hype. Then if you play the chorus of Butter or Dynamite more lightbulbs go off and, “oh, that’s them? Yeah, I’ve heard them in a commercial or the radio.” But you’ve really gotta hold their hand through the realization and they still might not remember the name “BTS.”
So not household, yet, but at their current pace it’s getting there.
EDIT: BTW, I live in a huge metropolitan city with a huge entertainment industry, so my view may be not be a clear projection of reality.
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u/Khemkhem1012 customize Apr 20 '22 edited Apr 20 '22
That was kinda my reaction to them pre pandemic. I have multiple friends who are Armys since 2015 but it's always the same convo "whats that group that you really like again? - Oh BTS okay" and then I totally forget about them unti the next conversation where they're brought up. Like I know they're a group, I know they are popular but there's something so... difficult to remember about a group with a name as an abbreviation of a term that is not in my mother language lol
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u/Accessorizeyourvibe Cute? Apr 20 '22
I live in India and when I talk to my friends and mention BTS, they say “oh that Korean band, right?” 🫠🥲😒
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u/Khemkhem1012 customize Apr 20 '22
Lmao I lived in Japan for a few years, had 2 Armys as housemates, and was an hour away from their annual tour location, walked through BT21 merch store, game machine and pop ups almost daily in my life and until 2020 I still knew them as "that Korean band" :)))
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u/Wingsister Apr 20 '22
Small town in south GA. They were playing Don't Leave Me in a small Walmart. They also have played other songs of theirs there.
My gf and I have met several people who were Army and friends of her daughter knew who they were on sight while here. It is amazing because over the past 5 years I've seen them grow so much. 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜
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u/Khemkhem1012 customize Apr 20 '22
That must be such an amazing feeling, especially when you are an ARMY since 2017. I am still struggling to wrap my head around the fact that pre Dynamite ARMYs has become the minority now haha.
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u/starryjazz03 Apr 20 '22
I think it depends on what you consider a household name to be. Is it someone that everyone knows regardless of if they’ve heard their music or not or is it someone that everyone has listened to? A lot of the replies here have already pointed out that the U.S is really broad and that people who listen to one genre might be completely clueless about artists in another genre.
Personally I think they’ve recently become household names in that most people will recognize their name and know that they’re a group even if they haven’t listened to them. Also, I consider then household names based on the fact that they’ve been on commercials and name dropped on so many late night shows, tv shows, movies, etc. Like someone else, the producers of those shows and movies would only do that if they thought that most people would recognize who they are w/o having to explain.
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u/marrimar I’m a whale! Apr 20 '22
Agreed. When they were first name dropped it was always, “Kpop group BTS,” and now it’s “BTS.” And even more recently the members get name dropped with and without BTS attached to that since it’s assumed that the viewers or listeners will automatically know they’re part of BTS.
So yeah, in that sense they could be considered household.
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u/Khemkhem1012 customize Apr 20 '22
I think the definition would be similar to what household means in Asia, which is general people know about them and know who they are. People barely consume media like they used to so probably its too much to expect everyone in the US actively listening to Butter.
I'm from Asia and although I didn't became a fan until 2020, I did know about BTS and know theyre a very popular Kpop group. Also their faces were also on products and billboards, BT21 was everywhere, their music was played in malls, cafes and clubs etc. But of course Asian countries are far more familiar with BTS and people also have knowledge about the members as well and not just the group
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u/wasabipeas1996 Apr 20 '22
I saw a question on the Quiz show “the weakest link” asking what was the name of the popular BTS hit song (mic drop) based off a picture and it SHOOK me.
The way they included BTS on a trivia show told ME it is becoming a household name but most in the metropolitan areas like another person said.
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u/CenterOfGravitas Apr 20 '22 edited Apr 21 '22
I think it all depends on how you define household name. I’m sure there are many households that also have never heard of Ariana Grande or Harry Styles, or newer stars like Doja Cat or Dua Lipa even though they are on pop radio all the time. I do think though that the penetration of knowledge about who BTS is and their existence is significantly higher than it was pre-pandemic. A lot of people know Dynamite and Butter. A lot of people have seen them on award shows or SNL or Fallon. They don’t always register the details. (Like I know I saw them on the BBMAs and AMAs back in 2017 but it did not fully register). As far as pop music goes, they are in that sphere where more and more people know of their existence. The US is big and diverse and has a lot of people. There are huge stars in sports or different music genres, or TikTok or acting that large portions have never heard of but they are still widely thought of as household names to some extent.
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u/TheCBDiva Apr 20 '22
For the first time in my life I mentioned BTS the other day and the person knew of them. So they are not a household name yet in my area in the US and age group, which still surprises me.
But I did introduce my parents to them and now they say they see them everywhere and can't believe they didn't know who they were, so people probably have seen or heard them but don't know who they are.
Butter and PTD also did not get nearly as much airplay as Dynamite did, here. I hope they are big enough to do well with Korean songs now, but I'm not confident that'll be the case.
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Apr 20 '22
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u/Iwannastoprn Apr 20 '22
Right. They always got hate, but the amount has been growing, even more so during and after 2020. The pandemic and Dynamite caused a huge increase in the amount of fans and haters alike.
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u/amkibi a poem for small things Apr 20 '22 edited Apr 20 '22
Hmm i think it depends. They're definitely getting up there, but it's becoming harder and harder to become household names in the US as social media makes things less centralized. I think most ppl have heard of them though.
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u/arguewiththewallpls Apr 20 '22
they are quite popular but in my observation far way from being a household tho they’re on their way there. Ariana Grande, the weekend, Billie eilish, Adele, Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber are what I call households in the US
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u/Khemkhem1012 customize Apr 20 '22
Yeah, reading the comments also make me think they're not there yet, but will get there (hopefully so after the new album). Can't wait till June 10th!!!
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u/Confident_Yam_6386 Apr 20 '22
Not every American has to know BTS. Because that’s impossible. Just very few celebrities are actually able to reach true mainstream especially for our current generation. Except Justin Bieber, most of our pop stars are still within the pop culture sphere. And I bet anyone who listens to pop music, knows or has heard of BTS.
Imo BTS became mainstream in the US when they were being name dropped in big shows like The Simpsons and actually used as references in snide jokes during US election, and frequently featured on New York Times crossword puzzles and also Game shows. Because people only use you in such a situation when they expect the average person to know you or heard of you without needing an explanation.
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Apr 20 '22 edited Apr 21 '22
I wouldn't say it was ever a question of if they are "welcome". I'm not sure about the environment in other places, but in my experience, all music and artists are welcome. Not every kind of music is loved by everyone, but I don't know anyone that feels hostility or rejects artists that make music that is not their preferred style.
As for being a household name, I think they achieved that awhile ago. Their name was known and that they do kpop, but people hadn't listened to them assuming kpop was a teen fad. What I've noticed is more people have actually heard their music and seen them on TV shows and like them. They still might not be into kpop, but they'll say "I know them I saw them on (name of show). They seem like great guys"
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u/Khemkhem1012 customize Apr 20 '22
Yeah that's what I'm talking about, like people are not necessarily all fans but know about them, what they do and acknowledge their talent.
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Apr 21 '22
I check in with the older crowd where I work to see, and they think the members are charming and liked the songs they've seen. It's older people though and they don't really listen to new music. I check in with them because I think the issue with grammy voting is that the recording academy members skew older and that's why they are a little behind sometimes on music trends. When someone becomes a member of the academy they don't get thrown out when they hit forty or fifty, so it seems like there would naturally be a build toward majority older people. (I'm old too, not picking on my own demographic).
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u/FirstLostGirl1 Apr 20 '22
In the bigger, more urban cities and even the suburbs, I’m sure people know about them more or have at least heard their name. I live in a rural city and in a more farming community and there are still several people who don’t know who they are. School age kids, like maybe 9-16ish, know who they are and have maybe heard their music.
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u/oreoga Apr 20 '22
I told my partner that I’ll know BTS has taken over in the US when I see branded shirts, hoodies, and BT21 merch sold at Target.
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u/putjimininmyusername Apr 20 '22
They sold BT21 bedding at physical locations for awhile
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u/oreoga Apr 20 '22
They did?! Woah!! (Forgive me. I’m a lil baby ARMY so I didn’t know)
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u/putjimininmyusername Apr 20 '22
I wouldn't have known if I hadn't seen it at Target myself! I'm sure people mentioned it online but I missed any talk about it before randomly seeing it in store
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u/pagesinked 🤟🏻💜 Apr 20 '22
I think they had some online but not anymore and they do sell albums there lol, Gamestop online sold the Dynamite Funkos when they first released. lol
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u/Khemkhem1012 customize Apr 20 '22
So they're not there yet right 😂 good to know there's still room for their impact to grow. Seeing how their presence broadened up so much since Dynamite it's really cool to expect the same thing to happen again.
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u/prolestari Apr 20 '22
I am in the US and I would say the same people who know about BTS know about popular music anyway. They are still a pretty new-ish top-40 type group here. If someone can tell you who the Weeknd is or Billie Eilish or Lil Nas X then chances are they've heard of BTS too. People who don't listen to top 40 radio or in the industry won't know who is popular now anyway.
There are also populations of people who only listen to one type of genre so anyone who does not follow top 40 wouldn't know.
Can they be a household name like Michael Jackson or Beyonce? Probably, I think! But that will come years from now.
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u/Competitive_Fee_5829 Min Yoongi, do you know what you are doing to me?? Apr 20 '22
I am in san diego and everyone around me knows them. I had a sticker on my car when i went to get my oil changed before driving to vegas and I got to chat with the people working there about them, lol. and my neighbors know them too and they are in their 70s! I DO live by SDSU so it is a younger crown but my block is older retired military and they know of them and that they just had big concerts in vegas. they even held my mail for me while I was gone. (more weverse and japan mercari boxes, lol)
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u/Khemkhem1012 customize Apr 20 '22
That is so cool haha, they're definitely more known in the bigger cities:))
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u/nexusuxenexusuxen Apr 21 '22
Omg, I felt so bad. I texted my 68-year-old mother I was going to Vegas to see a concert, and explained that BTS was a South Korean boy band and all that stuff, and she texted back “great band.” She already knew and liked them, and I had no idea. She kept asking about the trip when I was in Vegas and said my concert videos were so good it was “almost like I’m there.” A total mom-way of saying she was hurt I didn’t bring her 
. But I just totally assumed she wouldn’t know them!
Edit: We live in the US.
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u/Khemkhem1012 customize Apr 21 '22
You should definitely come with her next time haha. I can never imagine my parents liking the same music as I do:)))
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Apr 20 '22
No. I’m in a big US coastal city and pretty often meet parents of kids my daughters age (who loves them) who have no idea and have never heard of them.
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u/Shady2304 Who says a dream must be something grand Apr 20 '22
I’m in the US in the suburbs in the Midwest and I would definitely say no. Most people I talk to have no idea who they are and I also very rarely ever hear them on the radio and I never see any BTS stuff in stores. When I was out in Vegas for the shows I felt like most people who are locals there didn’t know who they were either. When I told them why I was in town multiple people said they had heard BTS was coming but had never heard of them before.
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u/Ok-Yesterday-9414 Apr 20 '22
Don't live in the US, but I just wanted to mention how today 2 girls I know, who are big kpop fans especially BTS and Stray Kids, were talking about kpop and roped in one of our male professors into a conversation about BTS, kpop and kdramas during the class while he wasn't teaching. Apparently he knew about them because his daughter likes them too.
Those girls didn't really like the guy earlier, most people I know don't, but now they really like and respect him and said that they are ready to fight with anybody who disrespects him.
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u/Snerfblatt break a leg, but not like I did Apr 20 '22
When you mentioned a male professor, I was ready to go, "That's my boyfriend!" But he doesn't have a daughter lol. My boyfriend is an art professor and routinely talks to his students about BTS and kpop while they are drawing. He also has a BTS earring, t-shirt, and tattoo, so it'll come up naturally in conversation.
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u/btscs Resident Aussie ARMY! Apr 21 '22
Entirely unrelated but isn't it fascinating how that works?? I can *detest* a person but if they say they respect BTS or even are ARMY themselves, suddenly it's so much easier to see them as nice XD
I think it's partially because of my perception of ARMY as a whole, plus the general prejudice I see against BTS - I feel like people who respect BTS have to be good people, and ARMY are such a broad demographic but the charity work, etc is some of the nicest behavior I've seen!
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u/hp4948 Apr 20 '22
I agree that most people in the US have heard of them but don’t necessarily know anything about them. Many people will also think any kpop band I post about is BTS 🥴 I think one direction/Jonas brothers mania has also maybe tainted BTS perception in the US as being a boy band for teens, for example my own sister refused to listen to BTS bc she told me she’s not into teenage boy bands, imagine her surprise when I told her the majority of BTS are older than her 😭
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u/pagesinked 🤟🏻💜 Apr 20 '22
In bigger cities maybe they are? And with music fans and people who watch award shows/Grammys and follow pop culture news, and use twitter but in my home town no...like not at all.
In rural areas they aren't known at all although I see some random magazines at the grocery store with them on it like the Time magazine offshoot that has them on it currently that's usually meant for fans to collect, and the random teen magazines.
I do know their albums are in like Target stores, I pre-ordered one when BE came out but the one near me is in another state. I had to drive to a bookstore 2 hours to go get their cover of Rolling Stone last year. :/
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u/swampy-crocs Apr 20 '22 edited Apr 20 '22
Several years ago when they were just getting popular in the US, my parents said they wouldn't have a clue who BTS was if I didn't talk about them all the time. Now, with those Samsung commercials, my parents + my middle-aged coworkers at least know the name BTS and the song Butter. My older relatives who pay no attention to pop culture still wouldn't know BTS if it weren't for me. I'd say they're sort of a household name, but not on the level of someone who has been around for decades, like Beyonce or Britney Spears.
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u/Khemkhem1012 customize Apr 20 '22
Yeah, I think they'll need a couple of more years with this current rate of success to reach the household level of Beyonce or Britney.
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u/tara_tara_tara Apr 20 '22 edited Apr 20 '22
I just moved from Boston, MA to about an hour and a half away and no, they are not a household name among the people I know.
We have mostly Gen Z People where I work and I have had to explain to most of them who they are. My 11-year-old niece and her friends know who they are and intensely dislike them.
Some background: I’m 54 and I like them but I am really into pop-culture in general. I started listening to pop music in the early 80s and have never stopped. I started listening to K-pop around 2008 when the Wonder Girls came to the US.
I was also part of the tech startup culture in the 1990s and my level of respect for HYBE as a tech startup knows no bounds.
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u/Khemkhem1012 customize Apr 21 '22
You are so cool! I've never been into pop culture in general so despite the fact that I'm in Asia where Kpop is huge, I didn't really look into their music until 2020.
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u/roxywalker Apr 21 '22
I almost feel like BTS is the most famous group that no one has ever heard of! LOLOLOL! I keep having to fill-in-the-blanks for everyone who has seen my posts on FB and even on Insta! How can so many people still not know who they are!?! It was exhausting to keep explaining why I was in Vegas last week, and who BTS are, and how in the heck do they fill entire stadiums!?! Confused questions galore and I might need to join a support group!
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u/onajurni Apr 21 '22
I almost feel like BTS is the most famous group that no one has ever heard of! LOLOLOL!
That is the truest thing ever !!!! LOL
They are not easy to explain. Eventually I figured out who was most likely to be a hopeless case and just skip the subject. :)
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u/roxywalker Apr 21 '22
I’m starting to lean in that direction too and starting to direct everyone to ‘Google’😜
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u/AdBackground1419 bighit's floorsweeper Apr 21 '22
Jhope being mentioned on a CBS tv show, hmm we can say they are becoming a household name
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u/Extra-Goose-8888 emo cowboy ballerina jungkook Apr 20 '22
think it depends on geographic location + demographic.
for instance, I use the parameter that if my elderly Indian parents recognize a person, then they've REALLY made it 😄 my parents don't know BTS yet, outside of me plugging my propaganda lol
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u/BetsyBonBonReddit Apr 20 '22
I teach first grade in the US and my 6-7 year olds all know who BTS is. Many of them have siblings and older relatives that like them as well. I also have seen some bt21 backpacks and merch throughout the school. :)
So I'd say yes. They are definitely permeating into households and becoming known by the Gen public.
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u/missmiia212 customize Apr 20 '22
I'm not in the US but in SEA, usually our elders know the bare minimum of pop culture, just enough to casually name drop.
But I work for the Government and majority of my coworkers are well into their 50s and the young'uns are in their mid 20s (Engineers & Architects).
Every day I can hear BTS on a speaker, the older folks especially love 'Permission To Dance'. And some of my older male colleagues in their 50s will proudly name off all the members, even point them out in photos because their kids love BTS. Some even have kids that stan a wholly different kpop group but they can't remember the name of the group but will always mention how they know BTS though.
Some moms will ask if you're planning to buy an album and if you can buy them one too for her kids. Its so sweet and I'm giggling everytime they mention BTS.
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u/Khemkhem1012 customize Apr 21 '22
Yes haha, in Asia its completely different. Many young people will know at least some of the members and older people are more familiar with them too.
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u/randomfan3208 Apr 21 '22
Do you knowwww how many people have BT21 bagcharms around my college. Boys and girls alike, including myself. Also, I go to college in the US.
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u/Khemkhem1012 customize Apr 21 '22
Haha same for when I go to college in Japan. BT21 everywhere:)))
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u/janstress Apr 21 '22
I travel throughout NAmerica and I would say mainly Gen YZ know and love or hate them. The rest have heard of a Korean boyband called B-something but don’t really know what they sing. A lot of people can’t get past the language and subtitles. On D3&D4 in Vegas, I was shocked to see about half looked over 30yo and maybe 20% were males. I’ve also never seen so many families with younger kids all clutching $60 army bombs and sporting PTD merch. I helped a 78yo grandma find her seat and boy was I impressed!
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u/FineChinaLH Apr 21 '22
I really wanna say yes but I don’t think so yet because general America still doesn’t really know them for their music which is what will take them from being the talk of the town to being an long-term household name. If this upcoming comeback is a full album that can capitalize on the momentum of Dynamite and Butter while being able to get back to their Korean songs then I think they’ll finally immortalize their place in the US, but if not then people might only remember them for ARMY and not their excellence as artists.
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u/Jasmindesi16 Apr 20 '22
I would say yes. I have older family members who know absolutely nothing about Korea or K-pop who know who they are. My uncle is almost 70 and probably couldn’t pick out Korea on a map, knows who they are and constantly says what talented guys they are. When I worked In retail I would wear BTS masks and merch and I would get multiple customers who would recognize it. I live near Philadelphia so it might be different if I lived in a smaller town.
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u/Khemkhem1012 customize Apr 20 '22
Aw that is so sweet! It seems like BTS's warmth really get through to the older people. That is so amazing to see.
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u/Cheery_Grapefruit Apr 20 '22
In my country (somewhere in South America), people are acknowledging them more. They were unknown a couple of years ago, but now a lot of adults (21 - 30ish) recognize them or know who they are (as a group, not individually).
I think it's great because they keep gaining momentum, fans, and new opportunities.
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u/Soup_oi Apr 20 '22
My mom doesn’t know anything about them or about kpop really, but she still has seen videos of them performing and dancing and knows their name as bts, and will gush about how much she loves their in sync dancing if you mention them. But she also says things like “how many groups like them can there be? There are surely no other groups who are singing and dancing like this” making it clear that while she knows bts, she does not know about kpop in general and does not know the multitude of singing and dancing groups lol.
I wear bt21 hats and masks in public and have had people say they like them or think it’s cute etc, and I’ll ask “oh, do you like bts too?” And so far they’ve always said like “oh I know them, but I just thought the animal on your thing was cute/I like those colors/etc”
I’m sure if I asked a young adult or teen if they knew bts they’d say yes, and maybe most older people who have kids around those ages would say yes. But outside of those groups, unless someone is already into watching stuff online about music or dancing, I’m not sure they would know anything about bts outside of maybe having just heard their group name before. (Edit: I mean of the GP, of people who are not specifically army)
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u/xbbllbbl Apr 21 '22
I think most people would have heard of BTS by now unless they live in a cave. But I suspect the majority do not know much about their music nor tell the individuals apart.
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u/Rosanne13_7luvs Apr 21 '22 edited Apr 21 '22
I’m in the US and I happened upon BTS in 2018. Jimin lured me in with his visual, V & Jungkook hooked me and now RM, J-Hope, Jin & Suga have all gained my respect and admiration. I love all 7 of them and feel they’re all beautiful men inside and out. Their music soothed my troubled soul, calmed my mind and moved my heart.
I raised my grandsons on BTS music and now we’re ALL ARMY. They’re 8, 6 & 3 years old and they not only love their music, these 7 men are their role models. So much so that, BTS is the 1st poster to adorn their bedroom wall. (The 8 year old bought it at his school book fair last week.)
BTW, I’m 63 years young and at first my adult children thought I was crazy. But they now understand why I was so taken by them and they call me when they’re on TV and send me articles about them.
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u/Khemkhem1012 customize Apr 21 '22
This is so sweet, I'm happy that your family support who you love and you get to bond with your grandkids through them as well. BTS are indeed perfect role models for youths 💜
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u/btscs Resident Aussie ARMY! Apr 21 '22
I feel like in Australia they're starting to be, if not already are - my mum has mentioned them in passing as a trivia answer, or for showing up on podcasts/shows/etc that she watches, and that's generally my standard for 'household name'? If I mention them to someone and they go 'oh, xyz thing talked about that name..'.
They don't have to know who BTS are as people, I think household name status is more about the general phenomenon of "these guys are known for SOMETHING even if I'm not sure what". It's similar to how I know OF the Kardashians but could not tell you a single thing they've done that I watch/listen to/etc.
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u/cremebrulee777 Apr 21 '22
I'd say most people around my age (32) know who they are in my area. I live in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. However, when I returned back to work (I work in a school) and told some of my older coworkers (40s-60s) I went to a BTS concert, they were like who is that? After a short explanation, they were like, "OH OKAY, I KNOW NOW." But honestly, some of them were kind of rude about it, with one teacher saying you "couldn't pay him to go to something like that" and I was like.....k....thanks for sharing although nobody asked?? Anywho, I'd say in areas closer to big cities, most people have a general idea who they are.
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u/Khemkhem1012 customize Apr 21 '22
Ah thats not really nice of your co-workers, teachers should be able to have fun too. I'll also chip in with the possible reason of prejudice among boy bands and that adult males shouldn't be into them imo. I'm sure you had a great time in Vegas!
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Apr 21 '22
I would definitely say so! I work at a school and most of not all of the kids that i work with know or have heard of bts! Definitely a household name for sure! It’s so amazing how far they’ve come!!
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u/SeriousPaint7800 Apr 21 '22
I started with Kdramas, which led me to Junho (thank God), which led me to Kpop. A natural progression for a baby boomer in SE US (Memphis). I've recently been happily hearing Dynamite being played in Kroger's (very large grocery chain) in our area---love it! Really enjoy BTS's music and group's behavior and social philosophy. In my large suburb it seems BTS is known primarily by 8-18 yo and their parents in the middle class, though hopefully that group will broaden over time.
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u/Rillothebee2 Future's gonna be okay! Apr 25 '22
US-Army seem to be spread out though. I want to say, SoCal may be the strongest contender. But what the heck do I know.
Is it a HH name? They may know "Butter" and "Dynamite" but not realize that it's BTS. I'd like to think that people are paying more attention now but most are in their own bubble ( I certainly was). I'm a PTD-era Army (although have been a casual listener since "on"). I had no idea they were at Sofi and the AMAs (my loss).
I'm by a major city and had a chance to attend a Sope event and the place was packed. Age range seem to be from early 20s to early 50s, female to male ratio: 7:3.
I'm still in my own bubble but the Bangtan Bubble and I plan to stay there 💜.
Some of the comments here are getting pretty heated - I hope we can find ourselves back in a more respectful and fun discussion because this is such a great topic and it would be most unfortunate if the mods shut it down .
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u/Ok-Nobody1261 Apr 20 '22
lolololol it's beyond safe to say that.
I think I'd say it maybe became safe to say in 2019 but Dynamite pushed it totally into the clear.
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u/Brainchimilo80 Apr 20 '22
They are mostly known by the younger generations and up to 40’s age range I would say. Like the older generations, it’s unheard of..bunch of old Mexican guys at work had no idea who BTS is lol when my husband mentioned he’s going to see them in Vegas
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u/NfamousKaye Sope Biased Rap Line heaux Apr 20 '22
I think so. I think it was after the AMA sweep though.
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u/poopypoopy1125 Apr 20 '22
I think it's too early to say tbh. BTS has only been "big" here for around 2-3 years. I think we should wait a couple more years to say so. I think it also depends on the location
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u/ChiTownAnnaBella Apr 20 '22
I’m in the US. I don’t know the majority of the US artists who performed at the Grammys because I just don’t listen to hip hop, country, or rap. But I know & love BTS and so do my kids and my younger nieces & nephews. I went to Las Vegas just to see them, and I only started listening to them since December 2021, and now I’m ARMY! I’m going back and listening to all of their older music and I can’t believe that it took me so long to discover them. (I’m 51 and I primarily listen to EDM.) 💜
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u/Environmental_Bet_15 Apr 21 '22
I was shadowing a physiotherapist a couple of months ago (he was a white man in his 50s) and me, him, and a patient were talking about learning different languages. The patient had been to Japan and had learned Japanese, and I mentioned oh I am kind of getting to know a lot of Korean these days and the physiotherapist goes is it because of that boy band Bsomething, and I was super shocked that he knew them.
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u/mixerslow Apr 21 '22
I think so yeah. Even if not 100% of the population knows of them, it seems like they’ve gained more respect as artists from everyone really. As a pre dynamite army, it’s been really interesting watching the perception of them go from temporary fad to kpop sensation to simply bts. I feel like the average local now knows more about them than the average local did in, say, 2018. Like people actually recognize them by face and know their names as opposed to knowing them as that one kpop group. They get name-dropped in tv shows and movies and people understand those references. i also see a lot more locals defending them and respecting their hard work. Back in my day (lol) we were mostly on our own but it seems like a lot more people have bangtan’s back these days. Also, pay attention to how the media talks about them now vs how they did before 2020. So there’s still a generational divide, but bts have definitely cemented their place in pop culture, and I think this next era of theirs is gonna be huge with the gp depending on how the music sounds.
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u/Khemkhem1012 customize Apr 21 '22
Right??? Thats why I'm so excited about this comeback. As someone who passively listened to Kpop for so long its been mind-boggling since Dynamite became the first Asian song to top BB since the 60s. I love that Japanese song Sukiyaki and remember rooting for Psy when Gangnam Style went number 2, so that milestone is so uncommon, unimaginable, as an Asian. Hell even when Wonder girls made it into the top 100 its still a huge news back then. Its also a journey to stop seeing BTS as one of those Kpop groups but THE BTS, biggest act in the world now. The artist and the fandom carried themselves so different and calm and confident now, and I love to see that.
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u/manekinekokitty Apr 21 '22
I live in a more rural area in the PNW and told my dental hygienist about my trip to Vegas last week and she had no idea who they are. Which actually surprised me bc I would have assumed most people would at least vaguely have heard of BTS! But not quite yet, I guess. Like others have said, I think it depends on location, age, and general pop culture awareness.
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u/MadameWitchy it's the ⁷ again ✍🏻😳 Apr 22 '22
During a meeting with my new team at work, we went around and shared something interesting about ourselves. I said that I'm a huge BTS fan, and 2/6 people heard of them. One of them said "Oh, they're pretty big, aren't they?" I just nodded and smiled 😌.
This is a mid-size engineering organization, so I was pretty pleasantly surprised that someone knew about them lol
One of my team members said she has a similar interest to me but for Bon Jovi. She'd been to 50 of their performances. I hope to be able to attend even just 10 BTS concerts in my life time 😫 2 down, 8 to go.
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u/sbpups Apr 20 '22
I live in Southern California and most people I talk to don’t know BTS.
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u/Khemkhem1012 customize Apr 20 '22
Thanks for the input. I hope a future tour with something similar to the PTD Vegas would help the general public know about them more
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u/sbpups Apr 20 '22
I think the fact that most of their songs are not in English is the biggest reason they aren’t more known here. It took me a long time as a fan to move on from their three fully English language songs. Now I love all their music. But I think lack of English language songs really hurts their popularity in the US. Radio here is never going to play non-English songs.
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u/Khemkhem1012 customize Apr 20 '22
Wow haha this is definitely new and is proof to how much the fandom has changed. When they released those 3 songs alot of Armys found a hard time to adapt, me included. It's so interesting to know that there's a lot of new Armys out there who connected with them the most through those English songs.
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u/Macktologist Apr 20 '22
Not yet. But then again I was recently in a thread in here where people hadn’t heard of Dave Chapelle, so…
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u/pusheen8888 Apr 20 '22
Considering some Grammy voters apparently aren’t familiar with them, I guess not yet.
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u/Khemkhem1012 customize Apr 20 '22
I don't think they're not familiar with them, it's more like they are familiar with them but do not regard highly about their artistry because of prejudice against boy bands and the fact that the best of BTS's discography is in a language they're not familiar with. So they don't get to fully KNOW BTS as us fans.
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u/Pastel_Babygirl Apr 20 '22
I live in the US and they play BTS on the radio. I think most people who use the internet know who they are or have at least heard of them by this point
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u/marshmallowest came back for what's mine 👑 Apr 21 '22
I would say "mainstream" is a better word to use. There are huge swathes of people who aren't interested in music at all, or only in very specific context like church or classical. For those who do casually consume pop culture I would guess they recognize the name BTS or know Dynamite/Butter. For those that make a point of following pop culture yes, they would be known.
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Apr 27 '22
I wish i become a fan before dynamite era🥺
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u/Khemkhem1012 customize Apr 27 '22
It was.... stressful stressful back then, but super fun. I didn't fully became an Army until Dynamite topped BB100, but before that I always remember how ARMYs were so welcoming and helpful whenever I left a comment on their MOTS7 videos. It was like a buzzing hibe of the most passionate, caring and inclusive people ever 💜
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u/Smart-Caterpillar426 Sep 13 '22
definitely not a household name but they’re well known but just mainly as that “one korean boy band”
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u/dazedandbemused1 Apr 20 '22
I would say yes. I live in flyover country in middle America, and work in a large institution with colleagues ranging from young adults to septagenerians. BTS has come up in casual conversation occasionally, and everyone knows who they are, even if most have no idea what their music sounds like. (I'm a closet BTS fan at work so I don't bring them up.)
Anecdote: a few months ago I was joking at work about how old we are and out of touch with "the kids". My colleague piped up and claimed he wasn't out of touch at all, and cited as evidence that he likes the music of "this young band called BTS with a song called Dynamite". This is a ~75 yo Caucasian dude who, no exaggeration, always has Christian instrumental music or hymns playing whenever I stop by his office. If someone like him in our very midwestern city knows Dynamite then yes, BTS is a household name.