BTS make history with the all-English smash 'Dynamite'
The K-pop juggernaut scored their first US number one, a landmark moment for Korean music on the global stage.
BTS, the South Korean group that had become a global phenomenon, made history this year with "Dynamite," a buoyant, disco-inflected single that became their first number one on the main US singles chart and marked a landmark moment for Korean pop music on the world stage.
Sung entirely in English, a departure for the group, "Dynamite" was a deliberately upbeat, feel-good song released to lift spirits during the pandemic, and its infectious retro-pop sound and joyful video propelled it to the top of the charts in the United States and around the world.
The achievement was a watershed. BTS had already built one of the largest and most devoted fan bases in the world, known as ARMY, and had sold out stadiums globally, but topping the US singles chart represented a breakthrough into the very centre of the Western pop mainstream, long difficult terrain for non-English-language acts.
The group's success reflected the broader global rise of K-pop, a genre built on meticulous production, dazzling choreography, striking visuals and intense fan engagement, and BTS had become its most prominent ambassadors, breaking down barriers of language and geography.
"Dynamite" was followed by further chart-topping hits, cementing BTS's status as one of the biggest acts in the world and demonstrating the growing power and reach of music from outside the traditional English-language pop centres. Their rise signalled a more global, interconnected music culture, in which a group from Seoul could sit atop the American charts and command a worldwide audience.