Bangtan Boys
Bangtan Boys at Seoul Plaza, Jung-gu, Seoul, in October 2013.
Background information
Also known as
BTS Bulletproof Boy Scouts Bangtan Sonyeondan
Origin Seoul, South Korea
Genres
K-pop Hip hop R&B Dance
Years active 2013–present
Labels
Big Hit Entertainment Pony Canyon
Website bts.ibighit.com
Members
Jin
Suga
J-Hope
Rap Monster
Jimin
V
Jungkook
Bangtan Boys
Hangul 방탄소년단
Hanja 防彈少年團
Literal meaning Bulletproof Boy Scouts[1]
Revised Romanization Bangtan Sonyeondan
McCune–Reischauer Pangt'an Sonyǒndan
Bangtan Boys (Hangul: 방탄소년단; RR: Bangtan Sonyeondan), also known as BTS, is a seven-member South Korean boy group formed by Big Hit Entertainment. They debuted on June 13, 2013 with the song "No More Dream". They have won several "New Artist of the Year" awards, including those at the 2013 MelOn Music Awards and Golden Disk Awards, and the 2014 Seoul Music Awards, as well as two major bonsang awards. The name of the band, Bangtan Sonyeondan, is a combination of "방탄" which means bulletproof and "소년단" which means boy scouts.[2]
History
Pre-debut
Bangtan Boys' first members were recruited through Big Hit's "Hit it" auditions in 2010 and 2011. It was a nationwide audition where people were recruited from their local provinces, like Jimin and Jungkook from Busan and V and Suga from Daegu. Jungkook was casted by Big Hit after leaving the Superstar K3 auditions in 7th grade. He trained with Movement Lifestyle in LA during the summer of 2012. Jimin attended the Busan High School of Arts and studied in the modern dance department. He was recruited through a private audition. Before his audition, Jin had been a film arts student. Rap Monster was already performing as an underground rapper and had released several tracks informally, including a collaboration with Zico. He had previously used the stage name "Runch Randa." J-Hope was part of street dance team Neuron before he was a trainee and won prizes in dance festivals in Gwangju. He later enrolled in the Korea Arts School.[2][3] J-hope was also featured as a rapper for Jokwon's "Animal".[4] The group's personal Twitter account was created in 2011, which they used to keep in contact with their fans before debut.[5]
2013: Debut with 2 Cool 4 Skool, O!RUL8,2?
The first album of BTS's "school trilogy" series and their debut single album, 2 Cool 4 Skool, was released on June 12, 2013 with the lead single "No More Dream".[1][6] The music video was released the day before. On July 9, 2013, the group announced their official fanclub name: ARMY, which stands for Adorable Representative M.C for Youth.[7] Three months after their debut, BTS announced their comeback with a second part of the "school trilogy". On September 11, Bangtan Boys released their first mini-album, O!RUL8,2?. They promoted their song 'N.O', releasing its music video on September 10.[8]
