Journalist, Author & Syndicated Columnist
Boy bands generally don’t get a lot of respect from journalists regardless of what language they speak. But if BTS was a white boy band singing in English, I’m positive their songs would get more attention and radio play.
I’m most grateful that Asian American children today have pop culture role models who look like them. It’s so important for children to see themselves represented. When I was my son’s age, there were no famous artists in the U.S. who were talented, young, handsome, great role models AND Korean! I’m so happy that he has BTS to listen to, laugh with and look up to.
Did luck and timing play a part in BTS’ success. It’s important to remember that luck isn’t just something that happens while you’re sitting around doing nothing. As Jungkook said in an episode of “Burn the Stage,” “We’ve been lucky, but we worked hard for that luck.”
BTS will appear for two consecutive nights on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.” They last visited the talk show in September 2020.
BTS approaches their music as art, because that’s what they want to create – something beautiful and meaningful that withstands the test of time.
BTS has the Midas touch when it comes to making hit records. “Butter” is their fourth chart topper (in less than nine months) to hit No. 1!
I never paid that much attention to McDonald’s previous celebrity collaborations (Travis Scott, J. Balvin). But when the hamburger chain announced that its latest celeb partnership would be with BTS, it made me happy. I know it’s easy to trash talk fast food. And while fast food usually is something we reserve for road trips, I will buy it on occasion for my son as a treat, just as my parents did for me.
In this essay, writer Jae-Ha Kim examines BTS’s recent statement calling attention to anti-Asian racism. Content warning for discussions of racism and use of a quoted slur.
Let’s get real. BTS doesn’t need to do much promotion these days. But knowing that their fans are missing them big time, the septet have gifted ARMY with a special talk show called “Let’s BTS.”
In this op-ed, writer Jae-Ha Kim unpacks the racist comments of German radio host Matthias Matuschik towards Korean band BTS in the larger context of the rise in violence toward Asian people globally. Content warning for discussions of racism and use of a quoted slur.