BTS's Popularity in the US

BTS or 방탄소년단 is a 7-member idol group from South Korea. Those who watched the AMAs of BBMAs have probably seen them before. You might be wondering, "who are these people, and what the heck are they saying?"

Well don't worry, you're not going crazy. It's also not another jumbled pop song with english lyrics that just don't make sense. Nobody else can understand them either, because they're not speaking english.

That's right. BTS preformed on the BBMAs, The Ellen Show, The Late Late Show, etc. with a song almost entirely in Korean. Oh, and did I mention, only one of them speaks English.

So how did this Korean idol group gain so much popularity in the US?

1. Good looks. Let's be honest. We'd like to think this isn't important for a musician. But when most of your American fans are young girls who can't speak Korean, this becomes a bit more important of a factor. BTS are all very handsome, young, fit men who have a team of makeup artists and stylists for all of their public appearances.

2. Them vocals tho. Park Jimin's soft, airy voice matched with Kim Taehyung's deep sexy tone and Jeon Jungkook's strong earthy choruses topped off with Jin's power verses creates a harmony of unique vocals that mesh so well. Outside of published songs, Jungkook often uploads covers of popular American and Korean songs on the side.

3. Rappers on fire. BTS's rappers aren't average, somewhat talented pretty boy idol rappers. These days idol rappers go hard too, and RM, Suga, and J-Hope are no exception. All three of the rappers in BTS have their own solo songs/mixtapes that are absolute FIRE. Check out RM's "Do You," Suga's "Agust D," and J-Hope's "Hope World" for a real treat.

4. The sun (A.K.A. Jung Hoseok). J-Hope's sunny personality is enough to bring a smile to your face even if you have no clue what he is saying. His smile is contagious, and his expressive face and gestures make him so animated and fun to watch! But don't be fooled, this man can dance! The duality of a man who is both funny and sexy can be very attractive to the ladies.

5. Lyrical reality. Many of BTS's songs are pure lyrical genius. BTS tells their own stories and the stories of the youth in their lyrics, making their songs relatable for many. BTS song "N.O" talks about school life and the pressures society puts on the youth to all strive for the same type of success. BTS song "Spine Breaker" talks about the youth who break their parents' spines, using their parents' money to buy expensive things without thinking about going to work themselves.

6. Theories. BTS's music videos, lyrics, and photoshoots have been known to have secret hidden messages and storylines. Fans spend an insane amount of time looking through the background images of music video stills and coming up with theories that put together storylines and teasers for previous and new videos. Fans are given a lot of content to think about and decipher on their own.

7. Cinematography. Every single one of BTS's music videos is a work of art. Bright colors, amazing choreography, storylines, subtlety, you name it. BTS has also released fun music videos the members actually shot themselves, and has made somewhat of a tradition of doing dance covers of their own songs in interesting outfits. If you haven't seen one, go watch them now. You won't regret it.

8. Personability. Something unique about the Korean entertainment industry is how much you see of an entertainer's personal life and personality. Fans really feel that they are able to get to know their idols on a personal level, and this ups their investment in them. BTS has been on multiple reality shows throughout the years such as "American Hustle Life" or "Go! BTS." Something to remember is that fans are so fast to upload subtitled versions of these shows, that fans really don't need to know Korean to fall in love.

Theories, anyone?