BTS Named TIME 's 2020 Entertainer of the Year: 'They Have Become the Biggest Band in the World'
On Thursday, TIME announced that the mega-hit, K-pop band BTS is the 2020 Entertainer of the Year.
Revealing the news in an extensive op-ed, TIME said: "They’ve become the biggest band in the world — full stop."
"Between releasing multiple albums, breaking every type of record and appearing in these extemporaneous livestreams in 2020, BTS ascended to the zenith of pop stardom," the publication added. "And they did it in a year defined by setbacks, one in which the world hit pause and everyone struggled to maintain their connections. Other celebrities tried to leverage this year’s challenges; most failed."
Members Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V and Jungkook are proud to receive such recognition. "There are times when I’m still taken aback by all the unimaginable things that are happening," Suga, 27, told the outlet. "But I ask myself, 'Who’s going to do this, if not us?' "
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In addition to creating mega-hit singles including "Dynamite" and "Fire," the members of BTS have also been huge supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement. The group donated $1 million dollars to the activist network and urged fans to match their massive contribution, TIME reports.
BTS first rose to fame in 2010 after Big Hit Entertainment signed member RM, 26, who had already established a name for himself within Korea's then-budding underground rap scene.
Soon after, his fellow bandmates joined him to create the internationally successful septet. Each member was hand-picked for their individual musical abilities. BTS' continually record-breaking accomplishments include their virtual concert, which was watched by 1 million viewers for a two-night show, according to TIME.
Earlier this month — and less than two weeks before the release of their latest album, BE — the group debuted in the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 album list, having sold 242,000 equivalent album units in the week that ended on Nov. 26.
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BE is BTS' fifth Korean-language album — it has resulted in the group's fifth debut in No. 1 spot on Billboard's chart. BTS' previous album, Map of the Soul: 7, premiered earlier this year and landed the No. 1 spot in February.
Not only did their smash hit "Dynamite" make BTS the first-ever Korean musicians to top the American music charts — it was dethroned by their own remix of "Savage Love" by Jason Derulo, which made them the first Korean group to have songs in the No. 1 and No. 2 Billboard chart position simultaneously.
BTS continue to deliver exciting performances at some of the biggest events in the industry. Last month, they lit up the stage at the 2020 American Music Awards. In October, they put on an action-packed show at the Billboard Music Awards. In recent years, the Korean pop music genre has become a multibillion-dollar business, TIME reports.
