WEEK 4 | Time to Rise
January 22-26, 2024
Recognition.
Most of us like to know when we’ve succeeded at something we’ve put a lot of time and effort into, right? Receiving praise and accolades, though not necessarily our primary objective, can certainly make success taste even sweeter. As 2013 was drawing to a close, the members of Bangtan Sonyeondan were deep into promotions for O!RUL8,2? and preparing for their first Christmas together and with ARMY. BTS had been putting in long hours in the music and dance studios, and even though they were from a small company, their steady rise in popularity wasn’t going unnoticed by the industry.
“Rise, be brave…”
Unfortunately, it wasn’t going unnoticed by their detractors either. Recognition can often bring backlash with it, and as BTS found themselves beginning to receive accolades, their “haters” began popping up as well.
This week, we’ll see BTS experience happiness over winning their first awards juxtaposed with anger over narrow-minded opinions coming from former peers, and witness their resilience in the face of their first brush with serious illness since debuting. As they declare in the above quote from “Attack on Bangtan”, let’s watch them rise and be brave.
Playlists & Lyrics
O!RUL8,2? ALBUM SPOTIFY PLAYLIST (also embedded at bottom of post)
ARMY PROJECT 529 WEEK 4 VIDEO PLAYLIST (all YouTube links)
DAY ONE:
While promoting their first comeback, BTS didn’t have enough experience under their belt for a full concert tour, but they did start visiting other countries to do interviews and perform. For O!RUL8,2? they visited both Thailand and Japan and even held a showcase performance in the latter.
It was during this trip to Japan that SUGA began feeling unwell, experiencing abdominal pain and extreme fatigue. He pushed through the pain, even managing some aegyo in interviews and performing “Coffee” for their Japanese fans. In a letter he wrote to SUGA (linked below), Jin expresses his admiration for the way his fellow member endured his condition but also reminded him that it would be okay to take a rest for a bit.
Jin’s words would come to fruition as BTS was wrapping up and preparing to return to South Korea. SUGA’s fever spiked, and his condition worsened. They all rushed home and found out his appendix had ruptured. He had immediate surgery, and everything went well. But he did have to miss out on most of the group’s promotions for the remainder of the year. It was this experience early on that made the members realize they didn’t feel whole unless all of them were present. This would eventually grow into an “all of us or none of us” mentality that would rarely waver in the future, and only then due to illness or injury.
K-FAN*ME CANCAM AEGYO (shown below)
“COFFEE” - LIVE PERFORMANCE (JAPAN) (shown below)
SATZONE INTERVIEW (THAILAND) (shown below)
FULL INTERVIEW KBS COOL FM JANG YOON JOO ROOFTOP RADIO (not in video playlist; BTS appears at 2:38, subtitles appear then)
Fun Fact
Love it or hate it, aegyo is a staple in Idol fandom culture. But what exactly is it, and how did it originate? And who does it appeal to?
Aegyo is defined on Wikipedia as “a normalized gendered performance that involves a cute display of affection often expressed through a cute voice, changes to speech, facial expressions, or gestures.” It can be translated as “cuteness” in English, and is sometimes compared to the Japanese concept of kawaii. Though expected of both male and female Idols, the concept originated more as a way of encouraging younger Korean females to act in a way that reinforces Korea’s traditional gender roles. Though mostly known through popular entertainment, aegyo is not uncommon behavior in everyday Korean society. It can be used as an expression of love and affection for one’s friends and family.
In K-Pop, Idols will often perform aegyo on stage between songs, at fan meets, on social media, or even in interviews, as we just saw with BTS’ introduction on K-Fan*Me. Whether it’s just a cute voice, a song, or maybe even a dance challenge, this is a known method of fan service (an Idol doing something or acting a certain way because they know their fans want it) and fan engagement. Some Idols take to it more than others, most tend to barely restrain themselves from cringing, but they do it anyway to make their fans happy.
It is often younger fans who are drawn to aegyo the most. When an Idol performs it, they appear comforting, cute, and safe. Naturally, as Idols age, they tend to phase aegyo out of their repertoire and will do it only occasionally out of nostalgia or as a special call-back for their fans.
Want some more examples? Enjoy this compilation of BTS Aegyo moments. Let us know if you make it through the whole thing…
DAY TWO:
Rap Monster and SUGA were the first two members of BTS. But before the others joined, and before it was set to be an Idol group, a few other trainees at the company were slated to be members as well. Supreme Boi was one of those trainees. They had all been part of the underground rap scene in one way or another before joining BigHit, and as the group started to form, the idea was that it would be hip hop-based and feature only rappers who wrote and produced their own music.
However, BigHit’s CEO, Bang PD, always kept his ear to the ground of the music scene. He noticed a growing trend calling for hip hop groups that had both rappers and singers. And once j-hope, with his amazing dance skills, joined the company, Bang PD began to see a completely different trajectory for Bangtan Sonyeondan. As the vision shifted from a rap/hip hop group to a hip hop Idol group, some of the members decided to move on, including Supreme Boi. He didn’t move far though, in fact he stayed on at BigHit as a producer/songwriter and has worked with BTS many times since their debut. He even features on “Cypher Pt. 3” with them and he’s still at BigHit to this day.
While Supreme Boi decided he didn’t want to adapt to fit into the new plan for BTS, he didn’t look down on Rap Monster and SUGA for pursuing it instead. There were others who did, though. There were some rappers still in the underground scene who started calling them “sellouts” because they became Idols. On an interview panel with KBH Hip Hop (listed below), the rapper B-FREE disses Rap Monster and SUGA to their faces. It’s hard to watch the whole thing, but it’s also important to do so. Sadly, it’s one of the first of many encounters like this that they have had to deal with throughout their career. But BTS would learn to clapback in the best way possible… through their music.
Fun Fact
BTS covers many genres of music, but as we’ve been exploring for the past few weeks, they debuted as a hip hop Idol group. They have evolved into so much more than that, but we can still hear the influence of hip hop at the core of most of their music even today. A lot of that can be attributed to the fact that their three main songwriters are rappers.
O!RUL8,2? gives us BTS’s very first cypher track, “BTS Cypher, Part 1”, but what exactly is a cypher as it relates to rap? The Oxford Dictionary defines a cypher as “a secret or disguised way of writing a code.” A cypher can also refer to a circle or the number zero. As referenced in hip hop culture, a cypher is a type of freestyle rap performance. A group of rappers, often gathered together in a circle, will take turns rapping in order to show off their lyrical skills. Cyphers allow rappers to demonstrate their creative wordplay, different styles, and improvisational abilities in a freestyle environment.
Many professional rappers release tracks they’ve written and call them “cyphers.” But if it’s not freestyle, can it still be considered one? The answer lies in the structure of the song. In a cypher, one rapper will flow about a certain topic which will then be either continued or flipped around by another rapper in the next verse, playing off the prior themes from the verse before. And so on. The way the song is written, it gives the atmosphere of a freestyle rap battle more so than a studio-produced hip hop track. If you listen to any of BTS’ cypher tracks, you’ll recognize this structure right away. It’s how Rap Monster, j-hope, and SUGA all play off of each other's words but do it in their style to their own beat.
And even though we’ve yet to cover the rest of the cypher series… what better way to give an example of what we’re talking about than giving you a link to a Cypher medley performance.
Bangtan Bubble: Did BTS introduce you to rap and hip-hop, or were you a fan already?
Let us know your answer in the comments below, or on social media (include the hashtag #BangtanBubble)!
DAY THREE:
As mentioned above, while wrapping up promotions in Japan, SUGA’s appendix ruptured, and he had to have an emergency appendectomy once back in South Korea. This was at the beginning of December 2013. While he was recovering, he had to miss out on most of the group’s activities for the rest of the year, and that included performing at award shows.
Pay close attention when watching the SBS links below, and you’ll notice a stand-in for SUGA. That is Son Sung Deuk, BigHit’s longtime in-house choreographer and performance director. Like Supreme Boi, he has worked with BTS from the beginning and has choreographed some of their biggest hits, like “Fire”, “Fake Love”, and “Blood Sweat & Tears” (just to name a few). He sometimes performed with them as a backup dancer in their early days, but this time he had to sub in as a main performer on an awards show.
BigHit Entertainment (now HYBE) had fewer than twenty employees when it started. The company and Bangtan Sonyeondan grew alongside each other. BTS has always been fortunate to have a group of talented and protective staff around them since their debut. They definitely needed it as they started gaining popularity and attracting criticism from jealous contemporaries.
“SBS PERFORMANCE DANCE PRACTICE” (shown above)
BTS “NO MORE DREAM”: SBS MUSIC AWARDS (shown below)
ROOKIE KING EPISODE 7 (shown below)
Fun Fact
“Attack on Bangtan” was written by PDogg (another longtime producer at BigHit), Supreme Boi, j-hope, SUGA and RM (Rap Monster) before SUGA’s surgery, and before the radio show with B-FREE, but it really seems like a response to them, doesn’t it?
The song’s lyrics (which you can read in our Lyrics PDF at the top of the post) are boastful and resilient. They remind us that, though BTS may get knocked down, they’ll always get back up again. And they urge us to do the same in the Fan Chant for “Attack on Bangtan”.
“Who are we? Rising Bangtan Sonyeondan!”
FLASH FORWARD! You probably already know that BTS also releases Japanese albums. They typically contain a handful of their Korean songs translated into Japanese, as well as a few originals written for those albums only. “Attack on Bangtan” was translated and featured on both their first Japanese single (“No More Dream”) and album (Wake Up) in 2014. Here’s a performance from one of their tour dates in Japan in 2016. This is an ARMY favorite as it features a lot of crazy onstage antics and silliness.
Attack on Bangtan/The Rise Of Bangtan - BTS (방탄소년단) 花様年華 On Stage Epilogue
Wondering what V is referencing with his adorable “Nico Nico Nii" in the middle of the performance? Here ya go!
DAY FOUR:
Sometimes the members of BTS really match the chaos that swirls around them. A perfect example is the unhinged dancing SUGA, V, and JungKook do backstage in one of the videos linked below. Despite the craziness of their day-to-day life though, and as we’ve seen in weeks prior, BTS also know how to turn a disappointing situation around for their fans. In the midst of dealing with haters surrounding them, illness, and even catastrophic weather, Bangtan pulls together to make the best of it.
In the episode of Rookie King you're about to watch, a typhoon cancels a trip for the group, but they manage to pivot their plans into something else just as entertaining and fun. This resiliency would continue to be a core part of their mission as a team.
Years later, when the pandemic rocked the world and BTS faced the cancellation of their entire world tour, they would again find a way to turn the negative into a positive. While they’ve evolved musically and personally, they have always remained true to themselves and their commitment to “Rise, be brave” for ARMY.
“PALDOGANGSAN (SATOORI RAP)” ON “SHOW CHAMPION” (as show below)
DKDKTV: PALDOGANGSAN (SATOORI RAP) EXPLAINED BY A KOREAN (as shown below)
BACKSTAGE DANCE PARTY (as shown above)
ROOKIE KING EPISODE 8 (as shown above)
Fun Fact
ARMY has a lot of fandom in-jokes when it comes to BTS. For example, in one of the links you just watched, j-hope has his camera out to take pictures. It’s a long-running joke that j-hope is the group’s unofficial historian and that he's taken hours and hours of video that he’s saving up to use for some crazy purpose. ARMY hopes for a documentary some day.
Another one of these inside jokes is SUGA’s nickname of “Minstradamus.” This is a play on his surname “Min” and the name of the famed 16th-century Greek astronomer, Nostradamus. Nostradamus was well-known as a self-proclaimed prognosticator who wrote Les Prophéties, a book of poetry that allegedly predicted future events.
SUGA has at times in the past correctly predicted BTS’s chart positioning’s and award wins, thus the origin of his nickname. Every time something he says ends up happening, ARMY responds with “Yoongi gets what Yoongi wants.”
It hasn’t been foolproof, but SUGA’s been correct more often than he hasn’t, so who knows–maybe he has a little bit of secret insight the rest of us don’t.
Check out this article about the origin of the song Paldogangsan for more Minstradamus predictions and other interesting “Boralore”.
Bangtan Bubble: What’s your favorite BTS/ARMY inside joke you’ve discovered so far?
Let us know your answer in the comments below, or on social media (include the hashtag #BangtanBubble)!
DAY FIVE:
BTS had a lot to reflect on as their debut year was ending. The holidays brought them new memories of time spent together, and also many shiny “Best New Artist” awards. As we watch them prepare for the shows, the members barely dare to hope that they might win. Backstage at the Melon awards, V even says, “We definitely won’t get the award.” Rap Monster and j-hope both add, “If we do receive it, we’ll all have mental breakdowns.”
But they did receive it, along with other awards as well. Luckily for us, the resulting “breakdowns” were minimal. BTS faced the new year, 2014, full of love and gratitude despite the hardships they’d been dealing with. In their New Year's Greetings, Jin thanks ARMY for all of their hard work that year, and Rap Monster says, “Your happiness is more important to us than ours.”
And as they begin to look ahead to their next comeback, they tell us they plan to show ARMY even more love and an even more impressive Bangtan Sonyeondan. But they’ll remember where they began. V promises in his New Year’s message, “We won’t lose the mindset we had as rookies as BTS.” They won’t forget to be brave. And their rise was only beginning…
KKUL FM 06.13: “THE VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS WITH BTS” (pt. 1/2)
KKUL FM 06.13: “THE VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS WITH BTS” (pt. 2/2)
“PERFECT CHRISTMAS” - JUNGKOOK & RAP MONSTER (W/OTHER BIGHIT ARTISTS)
“SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN” - JK & RM (W/OTHER BIGHIT ARTISTS)
BANGTAN BOMB: BE THE BEST NEW ARTIST 2013 (as shown)
BEST NEW ARTIST ACCEPTANCE SPEECH (not in video playlist)
MELON MUSIC AWARDS PERFORMANCE (as shown)
Bangtan Bubble: What was your New Year’s wish for yourself this year?
Let us know your answer in the comments below, or on one of our social media accounts (include the hashtag #BangtanBubble)!
FINAL THOUGHTS:
As we finish up O!RUL8,2? and continue our journey forward into BTS’s second year, what was your most important takeaway from their first six months after debut? It’s easy, with the knowledge we have of them now, to look back and think, “Well of course they’re going to be big stars!” But they didn’t know that then. Every comeback could have been their last.
Stay tuned! Next week, we’ll see the Bangtan Boys explore young romance more in depth for the first time with their next comeback, Skool Luv Affair, and finally get to the song that makes all of us fluent in Korean…
CREDITS:
YouTube/Web
BANGTANTV, Bangtan Subs, HYBE, DKDKTV, SBS NOW / SBS 공식 채널, MBCkpop, KBS Kpop, Channel Bangtan, Madboyjeffy, @minamochi, A.R.M.Y. Base Subs, Lil Cutie, Enjoy BTS More, Kpop Vews, Snow Ball, K.EScoop _ATJ, Bangtan Turkey, bwiyomi, JVJ_95z, 방탄 짱짱, dheslovesbts, Vic Tory, nochu gguk, dailymotion.com, aminoapps.com, distractify.com, usbtsarmy.com
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