It’s been 10 years since BTS’ debut and we couldn’t be prouder of how much the group has achieved this decade. It’s bittersweet going through the moments that have written BTS’ history, there’s no doubt that they’ve gathered so many beautiful moments together, but at the same time they’ve been through a lot.
BTS was never part of a huge popular company, they didn’t have money or the support in the beginning. They were cut off live shows, performed concerts for free and so many people looked down on them because Big Hit had no name. But the way they overcame all those obstacles and became one of the biggest bands in the world, selling out stadiums, selling millions of albums, topping charts and breaking records is definitely legendary behaviour.
So to reminisce about the 10 years that we’ve been witnessing BTS ascending to the top, we chose 10 of our favourite memories in the group’s history.
1st Win in a Music Show
BTS’ first win happened on May 5, 2015, almost two years after their debut the group managed to win a music show in Korea with the song “I Need U”, from the album “The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Pt. 1”. The members have said before how they thought that this song and this album was going to be their last, so this day really marked the band’s history. The clear surprise on their face is priceless, you can see how much this meant to them. They were so grateful that BTS took some ARMYs to the cinema as a thank you for their first win.
BTS took armys to the movies to watch fantastic 4 when they won their first win for 'I need u' and they rented the whole theater !! https://t.co/ibwsOCBZVz pic.twitter.com/uBrVn89DKE
— Ri⁷ (@btsri7) January 26, 2023
1st Daesang
A Daesang is a Grand Prize, it’s the most important award on Korean Award Shows, it showcases if the artists’ effort is acknowledged or not. BTS won their first Daesang in 2016, at the Melon Music Awards. They took home “Album Of The Year” with “The Most Beautiful Moment In Life: Young Forever”. The members were so shocked and it shows in their reactions. Jin and J-hope cried as RM gave his speech and they profusely thanked ARMY who were the reason why they won all of those 70 Daesangs in their career so far.
2018 MAMA Speech
As I said before, not all the moments from this decade were easy and beautiful for BTS, and this moment right here at the 2018 MAMA Awards showed that despite their rising success, bad thoughts and difficult situations had to be dealt with. Jin disclosed through his speech while receiving the “Artist Of The Year” award that that year they’d talked about disbandment and most of the members started crying in an instant, V was sobbing through the whole thing and it’s definitely one of the most heartbreaking moments in the group’s history. Good thing they overcame this obstacle as well and now we get to celebrate 10 years with them.
Speech at United Nations
BTS joined forces with UNICEF a few years ago and created the campaign “Love Myself” and became partners with the end violence program to protect children and young people all over the world. BTS used their success to make a difference in the world and RM’s speech at the UN was remarkable that even years later people still feel inspired by it, like this ARMY who graduated and delivered a beautiful speech quoting RM’s. UNICEF extended the campaign with BTS and the group even had the chance to speak one more time at the UN, this time all the members had the chance to speak, not only their leader and it all became a beautiful memory in their history.
[ #TIKTOK ] 230529 #BTS ARMY GRADUATION SPEECH.
SOOO PROUD OF YOU ARMY 😭😭 💜💜💜@BTS_twt #BTS #방탄소년단 #BTSARMY #KimNamjoon #RM pic.twitter.com/d4V1hGHVOV
— RAMY (@RAMY_twts) May 29, 2023
Surprise at Wembley Stadium
Definitely one of the most wonderful moments of this decade! Big Hit teamed up with ARMY and planned a surprise for BTS members at their concert at the Wembley Stadium. Thousands of ARMYs sang “Young Forever” for BTS and created this beautiful memory that even made it to the band’s DVD and documentary. Jimin and Jungkook couldn’t stop crying and it was noticeable how the other members were feeling emotional.
1st Number 1 at the Hot 100 Billboard Chart
Pandemic was taking a toll on everybody in 2020 and in August that year BTS decided to release a song to improve people’s mood in those difficult times. “Dynamite” came as a surprise and stole everyone’s hearts, it broke records and took BTS to the top of the Hot 100 Billboard Chart on Jungkook’s birthday. From then on BTS managed to take a few other songs to top of the chart for consecutive weeks.
First Grammy Nomination
Following the success of “Dynamite”, this song gave BTS their first ever nomination to the Grammy Awards. RM, Jungkook, Jimin and V were together watching the announcements and seeing them so excited about being nominated is so heartwarming, they’d worked hard and deserved all the recognition they were getting for their hit. Now BTS has been nominated for the Grammy Award the last few years, gathering 5 nominations in total.
Butter Performance at the 64th Grammy Awards
This performance was not supposed to happen if we look back at it! So many things happened before the ceremony – the members were diagnosed with Covid and Jin injured his hand, Jungkook got a free pass to attend the awards a few hours prior to their performance, they barely rehearsed all together but still managed to deliver the most talked and best rated performance of the night. BTS received a standing ovation at the end, proving that they can deliver excellence even with obstacles on their way anytime.
BTS at the White House
Invited by President Biden themselves, the seven members of BTS attended a private meeting to discuss anti-Asian hate crimes. The members also spoke to the journalists at the White House about what was discussed. Once again BTS’ influence was being used for something bigger, to help make the world a better place.
Artists Of The Year Award at the AMA
American Music Awards 2021, BTS performed “Butter” and “My Universe” with Coldplay. They were the highlight of the night and took home the award of “Artist Of The Year” for the first time at an American award. You can tell by their speeches that they knew what was coming next for them with the pause for the military and the solo endevours of each member. Their happiness and gratefulness are so easy to read within their words. A special night for BTS without a doubt.
What a journey it’s been for BTS! This decade with them has been the most amazing, filled with unforgettable memories for the group and ARMY.
So ARMY, what’s your favourite moment in their history so far?