Beyond The Story

Chapter 5

LOVE YOURSELF 承 'Her' LOVE YOURSELF 轉 'Tear' LOVE YOURSELF 結 'Answer'

On May 20, 2018 (local time), BTS ascended to the stage at the Billboard Music Awards (BBMAs), held in the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. They were about to perform the title song "FAKE LOVE" from the new album, LOVE YOURSELF 轉 'Tear,' released a few days before, for the very first time.

The BBMAs meant a lot to BTS—they had attended for the first time the previous year, where they were awarded Top Social Artist, and they would finally also be performing there for the first time. They were awarded Top Social Artist for the second year in a row, and LOVE YOURSELF 轉 'Tear' became their first Billboard 200 number one album.

However, it was during this period of tremendous glory that BTS were

also experiencing their most serious crisis to date. This fact was only made known seven months after the 2018 BBMAs, at the MAMA Awards on December 14.

On this day, BTS were awarded Artist of the Year for the third year in a row, and mid-acceptance speech, j-hope said through teary eyes:

I ... I think I would have cried whether we'd won or not. This year. Because we went through so much, because we received so much love from all of you, I wanted to repay you no matter what, really ... thank you so much, really, I want to say in this moment when we're all here together, to the members, "Thank you so much."

Jin, who was already in tears listening to the other members' speeches, said, in a trembling voice:

Uh, really ... this year ... I'm reminded of its beginning. At the beginning of this year, we really, we had a very hard time emotionally. So ... we discussed between us and debated

whether to break up or not ... but, we really got our acts together and ended up getting such good results ... I think it's a real relief ... I am so thankful to the members for getting our acts together, and I want to say how thankful I am to ARMY for always loving us.

"Breakup." This is the last word you would associate with BTS now, and it was no different at the beginning of 2018. Before LOVE YOURSELF轉 'Tear,' LOVE YOURSELF 承 'Her,' released in September 2017, had been their first album to sell over a million copies, and it had also reached number seven on the Billboard 200, BTS's highest ranking so far. However, while BTS were soaring up toward the sky, those very same heroes of the story were in fact plunging to the bottom of the sea, with no end in sight. SUGA summarizes the atmosphere within the team at the time:

We all wanted to say, "Let's quit," but none of us could bring ourselves to do it.

At the end of 2018, once BTS had made it through their breakup crisis, RM watched Bohemian Rhapsody (2018), which tells the story of legendary British rock group, Queen. RM says that the many things BTS had been through flashed through his mind as he watched the movie: