The Incredible Rise of BTS (방탄소년단)
The 7-member boy group from South Korea has made waves in both their home country and in the United States. In the past week alone, they have been invited to numerous interviews, performed at the American Music Awards and will make an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. While currently leaders of the rapidly growing hallyu wave, BTS only rose to the top very recently; in past years, they were neophytes in a super cutthroat music industry. Their road to international renown can be explained by the idea of rich-get-richer and information cascades.
On November 12, 2017, the group reached 10 million followers on Twitter. Their account was first created on December 17, 2012; it took them little under five years to garner 10 million followers. However, most likely their follower count did not follow a positive, linear model. From the available data, it took them until November 7, 2015 to finally reach just 1 million followers; on May 19, 2017 they reached 5 million and then just 5 months later they doubled that. That it took them almost 3 years to get 1 million and then 9 million in the next two is astonishing. If we take these data points, we can get a rough idea of how suddenly they rose to fame.
It took them 36 months to gain 1 million followers when they started with 0. When they had 9 million followers, it took them only one more month to reach 10 million. Clearly, it is obvious that when they had more followers, it was much easier to get more. I would say that this rich-get-richer model is bolstered by information cascades. Social media has made it easier for people to share and find information and because of this Americans were able to find their way into the Kpop realm. It seems that in the beginning maybe a few fans discovered BTS during their debut with “No More Dream” and kept on sharing. Without even understanding the lyrics, fans came in hoards simply because people have an inclination to like things others enjoy too. Some even take the time to practice Korean just so they are able to follow along with live concert fan chants.
As a fan myself, I’d say their major breakthrough single was definitely “Dope”. This was the video that many began “reacting” to on Youtube (such videos are created by channels such as TheFineBros). As other internet influencers like TheFineBros took notice of this boy group, publicity only grew. After “Fire”, “Blood Sweat and Tears” and their astonishing win at the Billboard Music Awards, BTS became a juggernaut not in just Kpop but the music industry as a whole. Their most recent album, Love Yourself topped numerous countries’ iTunes charts, a feat that most artists cannot even accomplish. If this trend continues, 10 million followers is just the beginning.
Source: https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/k-town/8031440/bts-twitter-10-million-followers-third-emoji