BTS Hits No. 1 AGAIN with “Butter”

By Jae-Ha Kim
KOCOWA
June 8, 2021

BTS has done it again! Proving that the septet does indeed have the Midas touch when it comes to making hit records, the group hit the top with their summer bop, “Butter.” With its catchy beat and smooth (like butter) vocals, the charming single debuted on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart at No. 1 — a position that’s not foreign to the Korean group — and remained there for a second consecutive week.

Their second all-English track, “Butter” was an instant hit with their fans — known as ARMY — who gave it more than 32 million streams in just a few days. The song reached 18 million people (via radio) and sold nearly 243,000 copies within a week — which, to date, ranks as the most sold song of 2021. And let’s be realistic. The next song to break that record will probably be another BTS track from an upcoming album the group is working on. As V said in a press interview to promote their McDonald’s BTS Meals, “Recently we’ve been working on some songs. We are producing tracks, prepping an album and getting ready to approach ARMY with better music.”

For now, let’s take a quick look at the past nine months. In September 2020, BTS had enormous success with “Dynamite” (their first all English-language song), which also debuted in the top position. This was a historic honor for Korean artists, since BTS became the first all-Korean group to hit No. 1 on the Hot 100. But they weren’t done yet. A month later, their collaboration with Jawsh 685 and Jason Derulo on “Savage Love (Laxed – Siren Beat)” also hit No. 1.

And in December of 2020, BTS hit No. 1 again with “Life Goes On,” which had the distinction of being the first song to hit the top of the Billboard Hot 100 that was sung predominantly in Korean. (For those keeping track, some of BTS’ previous hits that didn’t hit No. 1 but made it into the Top 10 include “Boy With Luv,” “On” and “Fake Love.”)

To put things into perspective, the last group to have such a quick succession of four No. 1 hit singles was the Jackson 5 in 1970 — more than five decades ago.

BTS will celebrate its 8th anniversary with BTS 2021 MUSTER SOWOOZOO. A two-day live-streaming fan event, SOWOOZOO will be held on June 13 and 14.

As a long-time supporter and fan of BTS, I’m so happy to share some BTS content that’s available on KOCOWA.

From this past March: BTS starred in their own chat show, “2021 Special Talk Show – Let’s BTS.” This was just four days after RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook appeared on the variety show, “You Quiz On the Block.” Jin talked about how RM pointed out that their Grammy performance would be a historic moment not just for South Korea, but also for their respective future children and grandchildren. One of the things that endears BTS to so many people is their honesty. They admitted they were disappointed they didn’t win an award. However, they looked at it this way: There were hundreds of nominations. But only a couple dozen artists were allowed to perform. As Suga pointed out, they felt like winners, because they got to showcase their own song, “Dynamite.”

You can see baby Bangtan on the eight-episode series, “Rookie King: Channel BTS,” where their humor, talent and charm are on full display. And did I mention their sassiness? Suga jokingly said their manager tricked him into joining BTS by ensuring that he wouldn’t have to dance much. (Ha!) V lightheartedly said he hoped that their manager, Bang Si-Hyuk, would remember his very simple name and stop referring to him as the boy next to Nam Joon (aka RM). Several of the members talked about how they wanted to attend band meetings where they’re fed expensive beef. You may have already seen bootlegged grainy versions of “Rookie King” on YouTube, but I’m telling you: Seeing them in high definition is a treat!

“The SHOW Play with BTS” has a little bit of everything. Song, dance, sewing (that’s right! Suga was tasked with sewing a soft doll as a prize to be won by a TV viewer) and acting. As many of you know, eldest member Jin studied acting when he was a university student. But he hasn’t had the opportunity to test his thespian skills on film or in a K-drama yet. As anyone who has seen him in BTS’ music videos, clearly he can act. But he was put to the test on the third episode of this show, when he was asked to compete with RM and V, to see who could cry on command the quickest. They were to emote just like Kim Soo Hyun did in “My Love from the Star.”

Jung Kook made Jin laugh initially, by saying it looked like Jin was going to sneeze.

But within 42 seconds, Jin had tears flowing down his face as he recited some of Soo Hyun’s longing lines from the K-drama.

And though he wasn’t in the official crying competition, Suga spoke for all of them when he answered that the people who made him tear up with gratitude was ARMY.

Have you seen any of these BTS specials on KOCOWA? Which is your favorite? I plan on rewatching all of these while I await the release of their next full-length album. Have a great summer, everyone!