240724 Rolling Stone: How BTS Became an International Pop Phenomenon

Listening to this on Spotify. At about 8 min in Rob Sheffield who wrote the article on Muse shared here a few days ago talked about the Beatles comparison and Colbert skit again. Even though most of us didn’t think much of it, It almost feels like he is offended on their behalf 😅 he is putting it in context of how late night shows etc. could only understand them in the context of the Beatles even though their sound is so different and they are their own thing, and I think that is a fair point. 

 Edit: At 8min on Spotify cuz of ads, about 7 min in the video

Edit2: Bringing in the (ARMY) journalist later on in the podcast elevated this discussion. Definitely worth a listen and watch. It’s also a great one to send to anybody asking what is BTS’ deal and what are they up to now.

I just watched this as it was on my feed when I opened YouTube earlier. I was slightly worried when I saw the focus was on Dynamite – which is because it’s in Rolling Stone’s best songs of all time list.

But this discussion is really insightful. I particularly like that both presenters make it very clear that BTS was already big, they had already broken international pop and were selling out stadiums. They didn’t need Dynamite as a cynical business push. But they tried it and it only enhanced the base they had already built. And they are really strong on the power of Army loyalty and how BTS built that community. And what it means for music.

They also include an Army, who is also a music journalist in the second half and it’s a really warm, inclusive conversation.

Worth a watch I’d say!

Because they are a great and entertaining group!!