All about BTS (Bangtan Boys)

All About BTS (Bangtan Boys) II

BTS, also known as Bangtan Boys (: 방탄소년단; : Bangtan Sonyeondan), is a seven-member formed by Kim Taehyung, Kim Nam Joon, Min Yoon Gi, Jeon Jung kook, Park Ji Min, Jung Ho Seok and Kim Seok Jin. The name of the band, Bangtan Sonyeondan, is a combination of "방탄" which means bulletproof and "소년단" which means . They debuted on June 13, 2013 with the song "No More Dream" from their first album, 2 Cool 4 Skool.

BTS has won several "New Artist of the Year" awards, including those at the 2013 and , and the 2014 . A year after their debut, they received major awards for and.

[Pre Debut]

BTS' first members were recruited through '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 and V and Suga from . Jungkook was casted by Big Hit after leaving the auditions in 7th grade. He trained with in during the summer of 2012. Jimin attended the Busan High School of Arts and studied in the department. He was recruited through a private audition. Before getting streetcasted and auditioning, Jin had been a film arts student at . Rap Monster was already performing as an underground rapper and had released several tracks informally, including a collaboration with . 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 . He later enrolled in the Korea Arts School. J-hope was also featured as a rapper for's "Animal". The group's personal account was created in 2011, which they used to keep in contact with their fans before debut.

[2013–2014: Debut with 2 Cool 4 Skool, Dark & Wild, and Wake Up]

The first album of BTS's "school trilogy" series and their debut single album, , was released on June 12, 2013 with the lead single "No More Dream". 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. Three months after their debut, BTS announced their comeback with a second part of the "school trilogy". On September 11, BTS released their first mini-album, . They promoted their song 'N.O', releasing its music video on September 10.

On December 9, 2013, Suga was diagnosed with while promoting with the group in Japan. He was flown back to Korea to receive surgery and was therefore unable to participate in the as well as and year-end performances with his fellow members.

BTS in 2014 performing at

The third part of the "school trilogy", their second mini-album was released on February 12, 2014. BTS promoted the album's title track "Boy in Luv", releasing its music video on February 11. BTS came back with "Just One Day" with its music video released on April 6. The band's Japanese debut album, 2 Cool 4 Skool, was released on April 23; their first single was a Japanese version of "No More Dream".

On June 14, BTS took part in the Bridge to Korea Festival in Russia, an event that aimed to promote tourism between the two countries. There, they became judges of a k-pop cover dance competition and later performed on stage in front of 10,000 spectators. The group also attended alongside and other artists on August 10, 2014.

On August 19, BTS released their music video for their comeback single, "Danger" from their first full album, which sold over 109,098 copies. They made a comeback with "War of Hormone", a track from Dark & Wild. Its music video was released on October 21, 2014. BTS continued to promote in Japan, releasing their first Japanese studio album, , on December 24. This album not only included Japanese versions of their songs, but also their first Japanese original tracks: "Wake Up" and "The Stars".

  BTS performed at the red carpet event and had a collaboration stage with during the awards show. BTS then held their first concert tour, 2014 BTS Live Trilogy – Episode II: The Red Bullet, throughout October, November, and December. They toured Korea, the Philippines, Singapore, Japan, Thailand, and Malaysia. 

[2015–present: The Most Beautiful Moment In Life Pt 1 & 2]

From February 10 to 19, BTS kicked off their first Japan tour, Wake Up: Open Your Eyes. They toured Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, and Fukuoka, and performed for 25,000 fans.On March 20, member Rap Monster released his first mixtape: RM, releasing three music videos for tracks: "Awakening (각성) ", "Do You", and "Joke (농담)". On March 28, BTS held their second solo concert in Korea, BTS Live Trilogy – Episode 1: BTS Begins.

The group's third EP, (화양연화 pt.1), was released on April 29, 2015. It was listed in June by as one of the "27 Best Albums of 2015 So Far" and was the only Korean album listed that year. On May 5, 2015, their title track "I Need U" won first place on 's , which marked their first win since their debut. Signal Entertainment announced that The Most Beautiful Moment In Life Pt.1 had sold over 180,000 copies since its release.

On June 4, 2015, BTS released their fourth Japanese single, "For You", to celebrate their first anniversary of their Japanese debut, with its music video released on the same day. The single climbed to the top on 's daily chart, selling 42,611 copies within its first day. On June 23, BTS released their music video for their follow up single, "Dope", receiving 1,000,000 views in less than 15 hours. "Dope" rose to its peak at number 3 on 's World Digital Chart despite being released two months earlier.

The group's world tour, 2015 Live Trilogy Episode II: The Red Bullet, continued with stops in Malaysia, Latin America, Australia, the U.S., and ended in Hong Kong on August 29. BTS was a part of the 2015 tour in Japan, performing on August 15 at Tokyo's and on the 16th in Osaka.

On September 8, it was announced that BTS would have a comeback with the album on November 30. They also held a three-day concert tour, The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: On Stage from November 27 to 29, where they showcased their title track, "Run". On October 19, it was announced that BTS would be the new brand ambassador for sports brand . The band released the Japanese version of "I Need U" as their fifth Japanese single on December 8.

In January 2016, announced that they will be releasing character avatars based on the members for their game, . They were also selected as the new models for company in February. BTS released their sixth Japanese single, "Run", on March 15.