Korean boy band BTS are set to release Love Yourself: Tear on May 18, and then debut a yet-to-be-revealed single track the following Sunday (May 20) at the 2018 Billboard Music Awards. Currently the most popular boy band in the world, the septet has come a long way since releasing their first album in 2013.
Whether it’s through album releases, breaking records, or racking up accolades, the seven members — RM, Jin, Jungkook, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, and V– have continuously worked hard to climb atop the international music scene. Here’s a look back at some of the band’s biggest career milestones:
Oct. 26, 2010: First time “방탄소년단,” or Bulletproof Boy Scouts, is used in collaboration with RM featuring on then-labelmates 2AM’s “Love U, Hate U” off of the quartet’s Saint o’Clock album.
July 2011: BTS opens Twitter account. As of publishing, it has over 14.6 million followers, and is the most-followed Korean account.
Dec. 17, 2012: The group introduces themselves on Twitter with a message that reads: “Wassup! We’re BTS. Finally, the BTS Twitter account is officially open~ Clap clap clap! We will be uploading fun things beyond your imagination here until our debut.” The first selfie from a member was posted on Dec. 23, and features Jin showing off his lower lip. He was recognized at the BBMAs for his good looks.
June 13, 2013: Debut with the 2 Cool 4 Skool album, featuring their first single, “No More Dream.”
Sept. 11, 2013: Release of O!RUL8,2?
Nov. 13, 2013: Recognized as Best New Artist at South Korea’s Melon Music Awards, their first major award. They would go on to win several similar awards throughout the 2013-2014 award season.
Feb. 12, 2014: Release of Skool Luv Affair, the group’s first album to appear on the World Album chart, hitting No. 3.
March 29, 2014: First fanclub concert in Seoul.
July 14, 2014: Holds Show & Prove concert in Los Angeles, their first Stateside show.
July 27, 2014: Holds fan meeting in Berlin, their first European show.
Aug. 19, 2014: Release of Dark & Wild album.
Nov. 13, 2014: Performs in Kobe as part of their Live Trilogy Episode II: The Red Bullet Tour. It is their first Asian concert outside of South Korea.
Dec. 24, 2014: Releases Wake Up, their first Japanese album.
April 29, 2015: The Most Beautiful Moment In Life, Part 1 starts off a new era for BTS. It debuts on the Heatseekers Albums chart at No. 6.
May 5, 2015: “I Need U” wins on The Show, marking BTS’ first time taking first place on one of South Korea’s weekly music shows.
Nov. 30, 2015: The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 2 is released. It was the group’s first album to debut on the Billboard 200, at No. 171.
May 2, 2016: Release of The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: Young Forever. It peaked on the Billboard 200 at No. 107.
Sept. 7, 2016: Release of second Japanese album Youth. It debuts at No. 1 on the Oricon chart.
Oct. 10, 2016: Release Wings. It lands at No. 26 on the Billboard 200, the highest-charting K-pop album at the time. The act broke their own record with Love Yourself: Her last year.
Oct. 29, 2016: Week in which BTS top the Social 50 chart for the first time. As of publishing, they have been No. 1 82 times.
Nov. 20, 2016: Wins album of the year at South Korea’s Melon Music awards for Young Forever, their first time being recognized for the honor. Throughout the 2016 and 2017 South Korean award show seasons, they received numerous accolades.
Feb. 13, 2017: Release of Wings’ extended version, You Never Walk Alone. The single “Spring Day” appears on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart at No. 15.
Feb. 18, 2017: The Wings Tour kicks off in Seoul. It runs through Dec. 10 and includes 40 shows in total. Much of the tour is documented in the YouTube Red series Burn The Stage.
March 11, 2017: Wings tour heads to Chile for first of four South American concerts, two there and another two in Brazil.
March 17, 2017: Performs in Mexico City at KCON Mexico.
March 19, 2017: Wale and RM release the collaboration “Change.”
May 21, 2017: Appears at the Billboard Music Awards, where they receive the top social artist award.
May 26, 2017: Brings Wings tour to Sydney.
Sept. 18, 2017: Love Yourself: Her released. It becomes the highest-charting Korean album ever on the Billboard 200 albums chart when it hits No. 7; it is the only K-pop album to have broken into the top 10.
Oct. 2, 2017: “DNA” peaks at No. 67 on the Hot 100, the highest-ever K-pop song at the time.
Oct. 31, 2017: UNICEF Korea launches Love Myself campaign in collaboration with BTS and Big Hit Entertainment.
Nov. 15, 2017: Appears on Jimmy Kimmel Live, one of several television show appearances the act makes throughout November while Stateside for the AMAs.
Nov. 19, 2017: Performs “DNA” at the AMAs, the first time a K-pop group has performed during a major U.S. award show.
Nov. 24, 2017: “Mic Drop (Remix)” produced by Steve Aoki and featuring Desiigner is released. It debuts at No. 28 on the Hot 100 chart, and is currently the group’s highest ranking song on the chart.
Dec. 5, 2017: Twitter announces that BTS was the most tweeted-about celebrity of the year.
Dec. 11, 2017: Appears at No. 10 on the Billboard Year-End Artists chart.
Feb. 12, 2018: “DNA” and “Mic Drop (Remix)” are certified Gold by RIAA, the first songs by a Korean group to be recognized as such.
Feb. 27, 2018: A video of Jungkook singing Park Won’s “All of My Life” is posted to the band’s Twitter account. It goes on to become one of Twitter’s most-liked tweets. As of publishing, it has over 1.16 million likes.
