If you were to ask any unbiased K-pop fan who the most popular act is in the industry today, all of them will easily bring up BTS. Also known as Bangtan Boys, Bulletproof Boy Scouts, and Beyond The Scene, the seven member boy band consisting of Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Rap Monster, Jimin, V, and Jungkook have brought not only K-pop but Korean entertainment culture to monumental heights.
Presently, K-pop fans, both domestically in South Korea and internationally, are anticipating BTS' upcoming K-pop comeback, "Love Yourself: Her." We still have about two weeks left until it drops but it already has made an impact.
"Love Yourself: Her" has over one million pre-orders. This makes it the most anticipated comeback in K-pop history.
"Love Yourself: Her" breaks a major record for K-pop sales!
Numerous K-pop news outlets recently reported that "Love Yourself: Her" has surpassed over 1,051,546 in pre-ordered copies as of last Thursday, August 31, 2017. Just in pre-orders alone, it outsold BTS' last album to hold the record for most copies sold, "WINGS: You Never Walk Alone," by more than 350,000 copies. On top of that, no other K-pop acts have ever surpassed one million copies in pre-orders alone.
With about two more weeks until "Love Yourself: Her," releases, BTS has plenty of time to promote it through pre-release promotions to further increase their presales.
So far, Big Hit Entertainment and BTS released numerous highlight reels and more recently a "Love" teaser featuring Jimin.
Did other factors help BTS reach one million in pre-orders?
Many K-pop fans probably think that BTS reaching over one million pre-orders is a direct result of their growing popularity as K-pop idols. However, it can be more associated to the fact they most likely surpassed the typical moniker of K-pop idols to international artists.
Please take note BTS was not recognized as an international phenomenon or a K-pop act with a huge international fan base, but international artists. This was realized back when BTS won the Top Social Artist Award at the 2017 Billboard Music Awards. Since then, BTS has dominated many western events and music awards including winning at the 2017 Teen Choice Music Awards and 2017 Kids Choice Awards Mexico.
They even lead in a poll to be the featured performing artist for the Super Bowl LII Halftime Show. The sudden surge of exposure, especially in the U.S. music industry, is sure to have a positive effect on BTS' popularity.
BTS will make their upcoming K-pop comeback with "Love Yourself: Her" on Monday, September 18, 2017. U.S. K-pop fans can pre-order the mini-album on YesAsia.
