meta-scriptBTS Drop Juice WRLD Collab, "All Night," In Lead Up To BTS World Release | GRAMMY.com
BTS Drop Juice WRLD Collab, "All Night," In Lead Up To BTS World Release

BTS

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BTS Drop Juice WRLD Collab, "All Night," In Lead Up To BTS World Release

"All Night" marks the third week of releases for BTS, following last week's Mura Masa-produced summer-ready jam, "A Brand New Day," led by J-Hope and V, along with Swedish pop songstress Zara Larsson

GRAMMYs/Jun 21, 2019 - 11:23 pm

New music Friday is always a good day, especially when your favorite artist drops a hot new bop you can't stop playing.

Well, K-pop heartthrobs BTS are always ones to warm their fans' hearts, and today they did just that, with a smooth new song, "All Night," featuring rising Chicago rapper Juice WRLD. The song features just RM and Suga of BTS, two of the group's rappers, and was produced by RM and Powers Pleasant.

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The new single is the third release from the band's forthcoming BTS World Soundtrack, the musical accompaniment to their new mobile game of the same name. Both the soundtrack and game, where you can play the role of young Jin, V, Jungkook, Jimin, J-Hope, Suga and RM's manager, back when they formed the fab 7 squad, are due out next week. The game will be available to download in the U.S. on June 25 and the soundtrack drops June 28.

Related: BTS Shine At GRAMMY U SoundChecks In Chicago

"All Night" marks the third week of releases for BTS, following last week's Mura Masa-produced summer-ready jam, "A Brand New Day," led by J-Hope and V, along with Swedish pop songstress Zara Larsson. The group tapped British alt-pop queen Charli XCX for the first BTS World song, the anthemic "Dream Glow," released June 7.

BTS have had a big year so far, taking over their first GRAMMYs, being named one of the "100 most influential people" by Time, channeling the Beatles on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, launching a crowd-sourced database dedicated to their fans, continually breaking records, and more.

K-Pop Phenoms BTS Keep Breaking Records: Here's Why

J-Hope's Road To 'Hope On The Street Vol.1,' From Falling Back In Love With Dance To Tying Together His Global Influences
J-Hope performs during the Times Square New Year's Eve 2023 Celebration in New York City.

Photo: Roy Rochlin/Getty Images

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J-Hope's Road To 'Hope On The Street Vol.1,' From Falling Back In Love With Dance To Tying Together His Global Influences

After 11 years in BTS, j-hope revisits the passion that started it all: dancing. Ahead of his new docuseries and special album, 'Hope on the Street Vol.1,' discover the full-circle journey that brought him back to his roots.

GRAMMYs/Mar 28, 2024 - 04:28 pm

"Just dance," j-hope commands on his 2018 BTS solo track.

For the international sensation, that's what it's always been about: expressing himself through movement. Now, 11 years after the launch of the seven-piece group, j-hope takes a U-turn to where it all began, before his K-pop idol days, street dancing between his hometown, Gwangju, and Seoul, South Korea.

Out March 29, j-hope's new special album, Hope on the Street Vol.1, is a musical ode to dancing that boasts a "vibrant collection of six tracks spanning a diverse array of sounds and moods that showcase j-hope's musical prowess and depth." Like j-hope's global perspective of dance, the EP expands borders and sounds, featuring appearances from HYBE labelmate HUH YUNJIN of LE SSERAFIM as well as American stars Nile Rodgers and Benny Blanco.

The mini-album will also be accompanied by a docuseries of the same name, premiering on Amazon Prime Video on March 28. According to a press statement, the six-part project will "highlight j-hope's story and love for dancing as he begins a new journey."

Ahead of Hope on the Street Vol.1's arrival, take a look at how j-hope's origins inspired the project — from his enrollment in a local dance academy to songwriting with J. Cole on their 2023 single, "on the street."

Finding Purpose In Dance

Long before becoming a global superstar, j-hope (born Jung Ho-seok) first discovered his love for dancing on the playground.

"The school I went to had a dance lesson for 30 minutes in the morning. They would play a dance video, and we would copy it as exercise," j-hope recalled in a 2013 interview for the BTS Japan Fanclub magazine. "My friends around me would praise me, saying, 'You're really good!'"

Eventually, those recess workouts turned into a passion. J-hope began practicing moves at home and freestyling at local talent shows. By the sixth grade, he told his parents he was serious about it, enrolling him in Gwangju's Joy Dance Academy.

While at the Academy, j-hope also joined the underground dance crew, NEURON, building a reputation under the name "Smile Hoya." Though he hasn't participated in the troupe since his pre-BTS days, he still recognizes it as one of the most influential parts of his career.

He'll even honor the crew with Hope on the Street, which includes a track called "NEURON," featuring Gaeko and yoonmirae. He will also return to Gwangju in the closing chapter of the docuseries.

It's not the first time j-hope shouted out Gwangju, either. His 2019 collab with Becky G, "Chicken Noodle Soup," paid tribute to his beloved upbringing: "From Gwangju, one gang of you-know-what/ Geumnam Chungjang Street, that's my Harlem." (The same track also foreshadowed his latest release: "Hope on the street, now it's my own way.")

Forging A New Life In Music With BTS

J-hope continued to have a diligent mindset as a trainee at Big Hit Entertainment. But as revealed in BTS' 2018 docuseries, Burn the Stage, training and dieting became emotionally and physically tolling. At one point, j-hope even considered leaving the group.

"I couldn't do things I wanted to do," he revealed during a 2021 You Quiz on the Block segment. "To be honest, I wanted to play games. I want to go out and hang out. I wanted to stay with my family. I had to give up a lot of things from that perspective."

The stress became so intense that he bought a one-way ticket to Gwangju. But ultimately, the brotherhood and love of music he formed with BTS gave him the courage to return: "I came back because I trusted you," j-hope recounted.

And they trusted him, too: "I told [Big Hit] that we needed Jung Ho-seok. We couldn't debut without him," RM responded. Meanwhile, Jung Kook delivered a tearful speech to encourage him to stay with the band.

The longer he stayed, the more j-hope began to love other sides of music, like producing and songwriting. Now, he has become one of the main writers for the group's tracks, alongside RM and Suga, and has co-penned all of his solo projects, including Hope on the Street.

Spreading His Wings With Two Full-Length Solo Projects

After nearly 10 projects with BTS, j-hope delivered his debut mixtape, Hope World, in March 2018.

"My fantasy had always been making a music video and performing with the music I had created. I wanted to put my own story to music and share it with the world," he told Time magazine upon Hope World’s release.

It's an introduction to j-hope the artist, inviting listeners to step into Hope World, a colorful kaleidoscope of different cultures and styles — something that has also been a key part of his dance journey.

Though, j-hope still wanted to dig deeper into his artistry. He developed his sound, becoming more vulnerable in his lyricism on tracks like 2020's "Outro: Ego." By 2022, he was ready to drop his first studio album, Jack in the Box.

Where Hope World showcases j-hope's dance performance, Jack in the Box highlights "my artistry in music." But Hope on the Street paints the full image of the phenom — part musician, part dancer.

Laying The Groundwork With "On The Street," Featuring J. Cole

One of j-hope's earliest musical influences was J. Cole. The rapper inspired j-hope's stage name and the title of his mixtape, which pays homage to 2011's Cole World. In 2022, j-hope honored Cole with "Born Singer," the BTS re-write of Cole's "Born Sinner." So, a celebratory meeting was in order when they were both scheduled to perform at Lollapalooza (where j-hope made history as the first Korean soloist to headline).

"[He's] my idol," j-hope said to Variety in 2023. Since they met, he "couldn't stop thinking about how great it would be if we could make music together." He reached out to J. Cole, and "on the street" was born.

As j-hope told Variety, the "street" concept became a metaphor for life: "The street is a place where people can actually encounter and feel real lives of people: a child's innocent mind; first encounter with someone and falling in love; someone in an urgent moment;" and so much more. It's the place where he learned to love dance — and where he grew a love for music and artists like J. Cole, who called their collab "a blessing" in the behind-the-scenes footage.

And thus, "on the street" became the springboard for his forthcoming project, Hope on the Street.

Unveiling A Docuseries And A Multi-Part Project

By the tail end of 2023, each member of BTS had enlisted in mandatory military service. But even during the septet's hiatus, j-hope managed to serve up a surprise announcement of Hope on the Street on Feb. 17 with a fitting montage of dance videos.

The joint docuseries and album follows j-hope's journey of self-discovery, accompanying his former instructor, Boogaloo Kin, as they dance their way through the streets of Osaka, Seoul, Paris, New York, and his hometown while meeting other dancers.

"Hope on the Street, my roots, the most important part of my life. This is how j-hope danced. I wanted to share this story with you," he said in an interview for the documentary.

After years of breaking records and making history as a member of BTS, it was "a chance to look back on my life," he explained in another trailer. "I realized the answer was in song and dance."

Culminating j-hope's skills in both art forms, Hope on the Street is a love letter to everything that's made him who he is today — and proof he'll never forget it.

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9 Essential K-Pop/Western Collabs: From BTS And Megan Thee Stallion, To IVE And Saweetie
Megan Thee Stallion (Center) and (from L to R:) J-Hope, Jin, Jungkook, V, RM, Suga, and Jimin of BTS attend the 64th Annual GRAMMY Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on April 03, 2022.

Photo: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

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9 Essential K-Pop/Western Collabs: From BTS And Megan Thee Stallion, To IVE And Saweetie

From Jungkook and Usher's tribute to their shared musical idol, to BLACKPINK and Selena Gomez' sugary sweet collab, K-pop and Western artists of all genres are joining forces to create killer hits.

GRAMMYs/Feb 27, 2024 - 02:12 pm

It’s impossible to ignore the growing global popularity of K-pop. Although Korean pop has been around for decades, the genre's meteoric worldwide success over the past 10 years is reminiscent of Beatlemania and the early 2000s American boy band craze. With a steady increase year-over-year in album sales and K-pop groups touring the U.S. and Europe, interest in K-pop shows no signs of slowing down.

Initially launched in South Korea as a music subgenre with Western pop, R&B and hip-hop influences in the '90s, the K-pop industry is valued at around $10 billion.

Given the worldwide appetite for K-pop, several Western musicians are keen to partner with K-pop acts crossing over into more international markets, often with songs sung partially or entirely in English. While K-pop artists do not need Western artists to be successful — BTS sold out London’s Wembley stadium in under 90 minutes back in 2019, and BLACKPINK made Coachella history twice with performances in 2019 and 2023 — K-pop's massive fanbase and multi-genre influence make it an ideal collaboration for everyone from rappers and singers to electronic DJs.

But don’t take our word for it. Here are nine of the most iconic K-Pop/Western collaborations (not in any order; they are all great songs!).

Usher and Jungkook - "Standing Next to You (Usher Remix)" (2024)

The maknae (the youngest member of the group) of global K-pop superstars BTS and the King of R&B are both having banner years: Jungkook released his debut solo album, and Usher just performed at the Super Bowl

The Bangtan Boys have cited Usher as a significant influence (even singing a callback to his 2001 hit "U Got It Bad" in their No. 1 song, "Butter"), so BTS fans were delighted when the Jungkook tapped Usher for a remix of "Standing Next to You." The song marks the fourth single from his Billboard 200 chart-topping debut album, Golden

Both singers count Michael Jackson as a major influence. In their collaboration video, Usher and Jungkook pay tribute to the King of Pop as they slide, pop, and lock across the slick floor of an abandoned warehouse. 

John Legend and Wendy of Red Velvet - "Written in the Stars" (2018)

R&B singer/pianist John Legend was the perfect choice for an R&B ballad with Wendy, the main vocalist of K-pop quintet Red Velvet. The final song on the five-track SM Station x 0, a digital music project, "Written in the Stars," is a beautiful, mid-tempo love song. A bit of a departure from K-pop’s typical upbeat sound, Wendy and Legend are in perfect harmony over a warm yet melancholic rhythm.

As Red Velvet’s main vocalist, Wendy was the ideal voice for this collaboration. Additionally, she split her childhood between Canada and the U.S., and has been comfortable singing in English since Red Velvet debuted in 2014. This wasn't her first collab with a Western artist: In 2017, she released an English-language version of the pop ballad "Vente Pa’Ca" with Ricky Martin

BLACKPINK and Selena Gomez - "Ice Cream" (2020)

A powerhouse debut single, BLACKPINK collaborated with pop royalty Selena Gomez on the massive 2020 hit "Ice Cream."

An electropop-bubblegum fusion filled with dairy double entendres, "Ice Cream" was an enormous success for both Gomez and the BLACKPINK girls. The track peaked at No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and has racked up nearly 900 million YouTube views to date. 

Written by a consortium of hitmakers, including Ariana Grande and BLACKPINK’s longtime songwriter and producer Teddy Park (a former K-pop idol himself), "Ice Cream" shows that YG Entertainment’s golden foursome and Gomez were the correct partnership for this track. The pop-trap bop marked the first time a K-pop girl group broke the Top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and immediately solidified BLACKPINK as global superstars. 

Snoop Dogg and Monsta X - "How We Do" (2022)

West Coast rap godfather Snoop Dogg has quietly become one of the go-to Western acts for K-pop collabs, working with Psy, BTS, Girls’ Generation and 2NE1. K-pop is the Dogg Father's "guilty pleasure," and he performed at the Mnet Asian Music Awards with Dr. Dre in 2011. Without Snoop's love of K-pop, the world might not have gotten this fun and energetic collaboration with Snoop and Monsta X, a five-member boy group under Starship Entertainment.

The song appears in The Spongebob Movie: Sponge On The Run in a dance segment where Snoop, decked out in a pink and purple Western suit, is accompanied by zombie dancers. Though we do not see the members of Monsta X, their harmonious crooning is the perfect accent to Snoop Dogg’s trademark casual West Coast flow.

BTS and Steven Aoki - "MIC Drop (Steve Aoki remix)" (2017)

No K-pop list is complete with a nod to the magnificent seven, and "MIC Drop" is one of their catchiest Western collabs to date. 

"Mic Drop" is quintessential BTS: a nod to hip-hop with a heavy bass line and fun choreography. While the original version of "MIC Drop" is excellent, the remix with EDM superstar DJ Steve Aoki and rapper Desiigner cracked the Top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 — the first of many hits for the Bulletproof Boy Scouts. 

Released at a time when BTS were just starting their ascent to chart-topping Western dominance, the track's boastful lyrics and tension-building electro-trap production offered an excellent introduction to the group that would soon become international superstars. 

JYJ, Kanye West and Malik Yusef - "Ayyy Girl" (2010)

A truly deep K-pop cut, you’d be hard-pressed to find many people who know that Kanye West collaborated with a first-generation K-pop group over 13 years ago. Released as the lead single on JYJ’s English-language album The Beginning, West’s signature bravado and wordplay are on full display over a track that sounds like the Neptunes produced it.

The song garnered attention in the U.S., but after a string of bad luck (including a severely delayed U.S. visa process and issues with their management company, SM Entertainment), JYJ could not capitalize on their American success. The group continued to see success in Korea and Japan in the early 2010s but never made a splash in the Western market again.

IVE and Saweetie - "All Night" (2024)

A reimagining of Icona Pop’s 2013 song of the same name, "All Night," sees fourth-generation K-pop girl group IVE partner with rap’s resident glamor girl Saweetie for a funky, electronic-infused pop song that’s perfect for dancing from dusk till dawn. 

"All Night" is the first English song for the Starship Entertainment-backed group. Interestingly, none of the members of IVE have individual lines in the song, choosing instead to sing the lyrics in a six-part harmony. This choice is exciting but fun, giving listeners the feeling that they are more than welcome to sing along. 

The girl group embarked on their first 24-date world tour in January 2024, with stops in the U.S., Asia, Europe and South America. Given their quest for global dominance, there’s a good chance "All Night" won’t be IVE's last English-language release.

BTS and Megan Thee Stallion - "Butter (Remix)" (2021)

BTS’ "Butter" had already spent three weeks atop the Billboard charts and was declared the "song of the summer" when the group’s label announced Houston rapper Megan Thee Stallion as the guest star for the song’s remix in late August 2021. The GRAMMY-nominated septet is no stranger to collaborating with Western musicians, having worked with Halsey, Jason Derulo, and Coldplay

Though only slightly altered from the original (Megan’s verse was added in place of the song’s second original verse, along with several ad-libs), the remix was praised by both fans and critics alike, catapulting the song’s return back to the No. 1. Although the collaborators did not release a new music video featuring the group and the self-proclaimed "Hot Girl Coach," three members of BTS’ "dance line" (members J-Hope, Jungkook and Jimin) released a specially choreographed dance video. Additionally, Megan was a surprise guest during BTS’ record-breaking Permission to Dance LA concert in November of the same year.

LE SSERAFIM and Niles Rodgers - "Unforgiven" (2023)

GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Nile Rodgers' first foray into K-pop was a partnership with LE SSERAFIM, a fourth-gen girl group from the same parent company behind BTS. "Unforgiven" was released earlier this year as the lead single from the group’s debut album of the same name. 

A darker take on the familiar K-pop formula with A Western feel and look (the young quintuplet dons cowboy hats, boots and bolo ties in the song’s accompanying music video), "Unforgiven" is about rebellion and being a fierce, strong and independent risk taker. That riskiness drew Rodgers' ear. 

"It seems like a lot of the K-pop that I'm hearing lately, the…chord changes are a lot more interesting than what's been happening [in other music fields] over the last few years," he told GRAMMY.com in 2023. "I come from a jazz background, so to hear chord changes like that is really cool. They’re not afraid, which is great to me."

15 K-Pop Songs That Took 2023 By Storm: From Seventeen’s "Super (손오공)" to NewJeans' "Super Shy"

How 'Venus' Helped Zara Larsson Find Joy In Her Journey: "I Have Cemented Myself As An Artist"
Zara Larsson

Photo: Paul Edwards

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How 'Venus' Helped Zara Larsson Find Joy In Her Journey: "I Have Cemented Myself As An Artist"

Nearly 10 years into her career, Zara Larsson feels like she's starting over with her fourth studio album, 'Venus' — and she's ready for the world to truly get to know her.

GRAMMYs/Feb 13, 2024 - 03:50 pm

For international artists, making it in America can feel like a pipe dream — something only reserved for a handful of pop stars every few years. For Swedish pop singer Zara Larsson, it's a dream that is coming true slowly but surely.

In 2015, Larsson released "Lush Life" and "Never Forget You," two singles that both hit No. 1 in her home country. A year later, and America eventually caught on: both singles hit the Billboard Hot 100 — with the latter reaching No. 13 — and helped make 2016 Larsson's breakthrough year. In 2017, her second album (and first to be released internationally), So Good, went platinum in America; since then, she's collaborated with a wide array of stars, from Kygo and Young Thug to BTS and David Guetta.

Yet, it feels as though Larsson has remained her fan's best kept secret. As she's continued to see massive success in Europe, headlined several tours, and opened for the likes of Clean Bandit and Ed Sheeran, she's also continued bubbling under the surface — landing a fair share of Top 40 hits on U.S. pop radio, but ultimately waiting for the stateside success to stick. 

One thing that's kept Larsson going, though, is knowing that she has always remained true to what matters most: her music and her artistry. Rather than succumbing to the pressure to hop on a music trend or create a viral sound, Larsson opts to look to the future, thinking positively that her moment will come. Venus, her fourth studio album, will hopefully help that moment come true.

The 12-track album is an ode to the various types of love Larsson has experienced over her life so far — the most prominent, of course, being the love for her music career. In the music videos for Venus tracks "On My Love" and "End of Time,"  Larsson revisits versions of herself from her past, which served as a visual representation that she's still following the right path. 

"Looking back at a lot of video material from when I was editing, I see who I was as a baby and a kid back then, and it's so clear that I was always meant to do this," Larsson tells GRAMMY.com. "[Venus] is the essence of me and who I am and always have been." 

Venus is pop at its finest, with Larsson crafting an album that juxtaposes infectious floor-fillers like "Escape" with more introspective tracks like "Healing." The through line between her previous work and Venus is obvious: Larsson just wants to make people feel as deeply as possible. What's different is that now, she sounds confident and in control; she's not trying to chase anything except her own happiness and uses music to soundtrack those emotions.

In between a much-needed trip to Thailand and the release of Venus, Larsson chats with GRAMMY.com about staying true to her artistry, working with female producers, and more.

This year marks 10 years since your debut album. How would you describe the way you've grown and developed as an artist between then and now?

Ten years is a long time. I just turned 15 when I released my first song. It's hard to say what exactly grew in my music [or] in me as a person because I think they do intertwine. 

What's interesting about this album is that I feel like, in a lot of ways, it goes back to my very first album, 1. It wasn't released internationally and a lot of people think So Good is my first album. Venus has the essence of me — it's fun, not that serious, and a little sassy. 

I've been lucky enough to always have people around me who listened to what I wanted to do and say. It's tricky because you feel like you need to reinvent yourself but, at the same time, you want to stay true to yourself. I'm really excited to let the world hear Venus because I do feel like it reminds me of my very first album. 

You mention having a team around you that supports you. I read a previous interview you did and you essentially talked about how the industry was full of men and you scared them by being 15 years old and saying no. How has that mindset carried you over your career so far?

I've just always been a very opinionated person and determined in what I want to do. For me, it was so clear what I was feeling [when recording] — it was "No, I don't like this song" or "Yes, I like this song."

I have a lot of good people around me. At 15, I had a small team, and although they were men, I trusted them. They allowed me to release what I wanted to release. I wasn't signed to a major label at that point, but after I got signed to a major with lots of budget for styling and choreography, I have to ask myself if I like what I'm doing or making. 

I think that it is so important [to stick up for yourself] because I don't think it would feel good to release something that I don't like… even if it probably would feel great to have a hit. But, again, you can't guarantee a hit and when you release something that you really, really like, you can't lose. 

I've had to stand up for myself a lot of the time. I've never been truly alone in going up against the bigger dogs at the bigger company — I've either had my indie label, my manager, or my mom telling me that I know what I want. I think now, having my fourth album on the way, it feels like I have cemented myself as an artist. I don't feel the pressure of having to live up to other people's standards or expectations.

Touching on that, something that I love about your work is that you always stay true to who you are. Has ensuring your artistic integrity stays intact and keeping true to yourself rather than 'selling out' to try and get a huge hit always been a no-brainer for you?

I think so. It is hard because, at the end of the day, I can't lie — one of my biggest dreams is to have a sold-out stadium world tour. I would love to see lots of faces in the crowd and to have as many people as possible to connect with my music. But I don't [want to release] stuff that I don't like just because someone else thinks it's a good song. I don't want to hate the song when I perform it at shows. 

How did the creation of Venus differ from creating previous albums?

I wanted to make an album that felt like the first one I wrote [2014's 1]. The beauty of pop is that it's so broad, it allows you to dip your toe in anything. Venus is a step up in the quality of songs. The Goddess of love and beauty is Venus, so this album focuses on different types of love — platonic love, romantic love, healing from love, and just love from different perspectives. 

I think love rules my world, in a sense, and Venus captures where I am in life. I have so much love for my career and I'm in a very good place. I'm glad Venus is coming out in the first quarter of the year because everyone is excited and everyone has this new, refreshed energy. It feels inspiring.

In the "End of Time" video, we see you revisiting yourself as a kid. Did you feel like you were healing your inner child while creating that video?

Yeah. The story turned out exactly how I wanted it to. For me, it was about expressing a feeling of being a young girl and wanting so badly to be a singer and then being visited by an older version of myself. 

In the video, young Zara is going through a lot and she uses music as an escape into her own world. I feel like I have always done that. That's the beauty of pop and why putting on a fun song to dance to is one of the most important things you can do for yourself. You just enter a different world where no one can bother you. That was my childhood — me dancing in front of my mirror dreaming about one day being an artist. 

Arguably the most important love to ever feel is to believe in your dreams and your goals, so [the music video] was my way of saying to little Zara that we did it. 

Vulnerability is a thread that connects your songs together — do you see songwriting as a form of therapy, to get your thoughts and feelings out and make them tangible?

Yeah, definitely. The older I get and the more I do it, the better I get. It's just a really good way of putting your emotions into the world because the beauty of music and any type of art is to feel like people can relate to it. You feel like you're not alone and you feel understood. It's why we listen to happy songs when we are happy and sad songs when we are sad — we want to feel like we're not alone in what we are experiencing. 

Compared to your past albums, did the writing process for Venus change at all? 

For Venus, I worked with a small group of people. Sometimes, when you go from one session to another, it can be difficult to open up your soul. It does get easier when you've been working consistently with the same group of people, though. It's important for me to feel safe in a room and know that I can say whatever. 

I think a couple of years ago when I was in sessions, I would also be with nine people in the room or something, and they'd mostly be men, and that was really intimidating for me. I had to stand up for myself in those writing rooms. Now, I don't want to be the only girl in the room. I want other women in there. 

At the end of last year, I released an EP called Honor The Light and one of my favourite songs, "Memory Lane," was made with one of my favorite producers, Elvira Anderfjärd. 

With there being so many male producers, it's easy for them to lift each other and so much harder for women to get in the door. 

Exactly! I want to work more on having more women in these rooms in the future. Venus is my essence. Looking back at videos of me as a baby, it was so clear who I was even back then. That's the purest version of me. I want it to be very female-driven and empowering. So, now I have an all-female band because I want to play with other women. 

I loved "Memory Lane," by the way. What was it like working with Elvira Anderfjärd and Klara Söderberg from First Aid Kit on it?

We had a couple of days in the studio and we were reminiscing and talking about old memories. I felt like I'd reached a point where I was starting to be nostalgic about my childhood. 

For me, it's hard sometimes to talk about memories or personal stuff without being too cheesy about it. But I feel like this one turned out to be very personal and beautiful. I think it's also quite relatable even though you might not have been experiencing everything that I sing about, but you can look back at what you've been through and be thankful for it. 

I was reading comments about the song and so many people love it. I know reading commentary online can be difficult at times, but is it gratifying to know when people take your songs and apply them to their own lives?

It's crazy. It's honestly so weird because you can so easily search for things. It's so easy to read what everybody thinks of me or this new song. It's like being a fly on the wall.  

It makes me so happy when people feel like they connect to a song and it makes them feel seen or makes them feel better. There was a point where I was searching and scrolling for the negative stuff because I was waiting for it. Like we talked about earlier, when I release something I want to feel like I don't give a damn, respectfully, what other people think. But, at the same time, I'm an artist so I care very much about what other people think. It's a weird tightrope that you balance on. 

Lastly, where do you hope Venus takes you next on your artist journey?

The GRAMMYs, baby! I've been doing this for a long time, over 10 years. I'm really living my dream life, I truly am. I just want to take it to the next level in terms of production with my show. Let's upgrade the venues and have fun! 

I want to be able to keep making albums, create projects, and go into a visual world. I want to keep directing music videos and have a Billboard number one. I could see myself on top of the world. 

I'd love for Venus to bring me around the globe and back again. I just want people to realize who I am and what I do, because I have a lot of ambition and drive. I was born to do this, and I'm excited about where that and Venus are going to take me. 

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6 Takeaways From 'BTS Monuments: Beyond The Star'
BTS (from left): V, Suga, Jin, Jung Kook, RM, Jimin and J-Hope

PHOTO: AXELLE/BAUER-GRIFFIN/FILMMAGIC

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6 Takeaways From 'BTS Monuments: Beyond The Star'

In honor of BTS' 10th anniversary, Disney+ released 'BTS Monuments: Beyond the Star.' Two of the eight episode docuseries are available to stream; read on for a deeper look at the septet's history, accomplishments, and behind-the-scenes moments.

GRAMMYs/Dec 22, 2023 - 08:38 pm

Today, it’s hard to avoid BTS. You might have heard their GRAMMY-nominated singles "Dynamite" and "Butter" playing at a random store. Maybe you learned about another record they broke in the news. Or, you probably know at least one person in their passionate, loyal fanbase, also known as Army.

But before there was BTS, the international sensation, there was Kim Seok-jin (Jin), Min Yoon-gi (Suga), Jung Ho-seok (J-Hope), Kim Nam-joon (RM), Park Ji-min (Jimin), Kim Tae-hyung (V), and Jeon Jung-kook (Jung Kook), seven hopefuls from across South Korea with one dream and thousands of hours of dedication to their craft.

A decade ago, it might have seemed impossible for a group like BTS to be at the top in their home country — let alone one of the biggest groups on the planet. In Korea, it was only likely to become successful if you had one of the legacy names, such as SM Entertainment, backing you, and they came from the virtually unknown Big Hit Entertainment (now Big Hit Music under conglomerate HYBE).

Year after year, the septet defied odds, from winning Best New Artist at the esteemed Melon Music Awards in 2013 to earning Top Social Artist across the globe at the Billboard Music Awards consecutively between 2017 and 2021. They have amassed 26 Guinness World Records and became the first Korean act to receive multiple nods from the GRAMMYs.

In honor of their 10th anniversary as BTS, Disney+ released BTS Monuments: Beyond the Star. The docuseries offers a deeper look at the septet's massive accomplishments, tracing back to their initial auditions in 2010. The first two of eight episodes are available to stream now.

Below, discover everything we learned thus far about the icons in their latest docuseries, BTS Monuments: Beyond the Star.

The BTS Grind Never Stops

You see their flawless choreography, calculated facial expressions and glamorous outfits, but you never know the amount of preparation it takes to get there.

For example, BTS rehearsed the lead single, "Danger," from their debut studio album, Dark & Wild, until the wee hours of the morning for weeks. They then traveled to Los Angeles to promote the single and, despite Big Hit’s unstable financial state, implemented a huge budget to produce the music video. The goal was to win the television competition "SBS Inkigayo."

"As expected, we didn’t place first and left the charts in a day," RM remarks in the episode.

The intense training and dieting caused them to question if their slow traction was worth the battle. "To be honest, I didn’t think this was fun in the past," Jin tearfully mentioned in a 2013 fan meeting. "There were a lot of things they couldn’t get started because they weren’t sure what path we were on."

Through their frustrations, BTS never gave up, and eventually, the perseverance led to their first mega-hits, "I Need U" and "Fire" in 2017. They obtained their desired results and still never decreased their work ethic, which skyrocketed their career to an even higher level. "We’ve always worked hard, whether there was a crisis or not," Jin explains.

Everyone Had Their Unique Strengths

What makes BTS a powerhouse is that each member had a clear-cut reason they joined, and as Suga notes, it took "countless" changes to perfect it into the current lineup.

According to HYBE chairman and the group’s creator, Bang Si-hyuk, he was impressed by RM’s "depth of character and base of knowledge"; Suga had a unique sarcastic, dark side; J-Hope was "the personification of diligence" and a strong dancer; Jin’s handsome features would easily attract a fandom; Jung Kook had "a lot" of potential; V was effortlessly charming; and Jimin was instantly talented and intrigued the team.

They’re More Than Colleagues — They’re Family

It’s common for manufactured groups not to bond beyond the stage. However, BTS see themselves more like family than co-workers.

Showing up for one another’s personal affairs was second nature. Without question, they watched Jung Kook enter high school, taking photos and teasing their younger brother, or maknae. The docuseries also flashes back to J-Hope’s surprise birthday party, where the six created a sentimental video of his family.

"I had found my place," J-Hope shares. "I believe that [joining BTS] was the most fateful moment of my life."

Being A K-Pop Idol Wasn’t Always Respected

For many aspiring musicians, especially those of Asian heritage, becoming an idol is the ultimate goal. You completely surrender to your art, spending nearly every waking hour doing what you love. If you’re lucky enough to debut at a company like HYBE, you will undoubtedly join the ranks of K-pop’s most influential. Better than anyone else, BTS knows that wasn’t always the case.

"There was a strong negative view of idols," Suga recounts of their breakthrough EP The Most Beautiful Moment in Life. "Nowadays, we are acknowledged for our achievements and performances overseas, but it was a really agonizing time for us back then. We had a lot of unreasonable controversies."

They became "desperate and spiteful," but because of the support from the Army, they overcame the rough patch and switched the narrative. As a thank you to their fans, they wrote "2! 3!" to say, "Let’s forget it all."

The United States Was A Turning Point In Their Career

By 2016, BTS knew they were stars in Korea. They performed in the biggest venue at the time, the Olympic Gymnastics Arena, with a capacity of 25,000 people. They won the Mnet Asian Music Awards' most coveted honor: Artist Of The Year.

"In a movie, the credits would start rolling. At that point, we’d done everything we could as Korean artists," Suga says with a laugh. So, what’s next? Conquer the rest of the world.

The following year, BTS performed at the Billboard Music Awards, certain that nothing would come of it. To their surprise, they won Top Social Artist, which had previously only been awarded to Justin Bieber.

"It was the start of raising people’s awareness of us as the group BTS," RM reveals. Things continued to snowball: they performed at the American Music Awards and dropped a remix with Steve Aoki.

By early 2022, BTS were making history. The group performed their smash hit "Butter" onstage at the 64th GRAMMY Awards.

They Believe In The Power Of Art

When the pandemic began in 2020, entertainment was the first sacrifice. "‘Concerts may never be held again. People are unable to gather,’" Suga recalls hearing on broadcasts. They began to wonder if there was a point in releasing music.

After two years of self-reflection and improvement, they knew COVID-19 could not be the end. Music gave them purpose. "That was the driving force," J-Hope says. "I wasn’t completely aware of how important music and dancing was to me. I realized that I shouldn’t take it all for granted."

The lockdown also showed them the impact Army had on their lives. They motivated them to keep going because they knew how much the band meant to their fans. They witnessed it constantly when they saw the fervent cheers and tears on tour. BTS has brought together millions of people. As Namjoon promises, "Art can change the world," and "Music transcends languages, nationalities and races."

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