I Read Billboard's BTS Article...

(...so you don't have to.)

So, I tried-- I really, really tried to ignore it, but after stewing on it for two days I don't think I'll have piece of mind until I vent.

So, as I'm sure you all are aware, Billboard featured BTS on the cover of their magazine (but not just one version— no, there’s EIGHT which they’re selling as a bundle). And, as I’m sure you’re also aware, ARMY has a few complaints.

To put it bluntly: F*ck that article.

So strap in because do I have an essay to write about this monstrosity.

I feel like this is me being nit-picky, but I think that maybe there are other ways to make celebrities seem relatable that doesn’t involve talking about them having hangovers. I find nothing wrong with them drinking— they’re grown ass men who I have enjoyed watching get buzzed on a live or Festa on more than one occasion. But to lead your professional article with that? Not to mention using language to suggest that they were dressed poorly.

This was my first clue that this article was going to be everything I hoped it wouldn’t be.

Let’s get into the blatantly obvious. The thing that really set ARMY’s rage alight: the inaccurate and backless accusations against ARMY and HYBE/BTS about chart manipulation, which they wasted TEN (10) paragraphs of a so-called 'interview' piece on.

A new word to properly describe the idiocy of the allegations that Billboard proposed needs to be created for my own sanity because I’ve run out of civilized vocabulary. How Billboard could have the absolute AUDACITY to ask BTS and HYBE about the manipulation of THEIR charts using the rules that THEY put in place is beyond me— and thanks, thank you for reopening the 2014-2015 sajaegi accusation wounds that had finally begun healing. For interviewing a band that has broken so many of their records, Billboard really doesn’t seem happy about it.

In fact, they seem as bitter as the tweets they used from accounts of other artists’ fans (without permission, I might add). I really wish I had known Twitter was a citable source while I was in college because my life would have been so much easier. It’s not a secret that other fandoms accuse BTS and ARMY of all sorts of ridiculous things— they have since BTS debuted in 2013. Thankfully, Namjoon has the eloquence and patience of a saint;

“…if there is a conversation inside Billboard about what being No. 1 should represent, then it’s up to them to change the rules and make streaming weigh more on the ranking. Slamming us or our fans for getting to No. 1 with physical sales and downloads, I don’t know if that’s right ... It just feels like we’re easy targets because we’re a boy band, a K-pop act, and we have this high fan loyalty.” —KNJ

I’d like to say that that’s where the article stopped with the accusations, but my mother told me it was wrong to lie. They then flipped the question and asked HYBE if they organized the fans to mass-buy albums and singles to inflate numbers that would assist in charting better. Because for some reason it’s hard to believe that the millions of fans could have organized themselves to combat the inequality we’ve experienced in music charts, not only in the US but in BTS’ home country as well.

Even after HYBE’s refusal of orchestrating ARMY’s movements, the article moved on with a maddening sentence:

“Still, HYBE appears to be doing its best to keep the BTS fandom close.”

The insinuation that Billboard plans not to listen to what HYBE and BTS tell them on the matter is obvious, which undermines the entire point of having an interview. The then continue on to talk about Weverse and it’s possible connection to inflated album sales.

We can assume that in the near future, Billboard will be taking another look at their rule book to make the changes necessary to put a halt to BTS and ARMY’s success. After all, the biases within the western music scene are geared towards specific artists and companies who are clearly unhappy that BTS has been dominating their charts. If you find this sounds familiar to what BTS and BigHit experienced in the South Korean music scene, you get a cookie!

Beyond that obviously ridiculous attack, the entire article was riddled with underhanded aggressive language. From using "it" to describe the group of boys multiple times, to adding in unnecessary content such as this gem:

"That status pushed it (BTS) to the front of the line for C*VID-19 vaccinations — a real privilege in a country that has struggled with shortages."

This lovely little tidbit was taken out of the paragraph talking about BTS becoming Presidential Envoys and being invited back to the UNGA for a third time, which could have been a significant part of the article since it was SUPPOSED to be about the business side of BTS's career. However, instead of the multitude of questions they could have asked about this particular subject, they write about how the group will be getting vaccinations while highlighting that the country is struggling with a shortage.

More or less, this one statement is saying "Look at the plush and privileged lifestyles these people are living while the rest of their country suffers."

BTS never asked for that privilege, but of course they would have to get vaccinated since they'll be participating in international travel and will have prolonged exposure in a room full of dozens of people during a pandemic-- in the USA no less, where we are doing such a stand-up job controlling it's C-19 cases (read: sarcasm).

The article starts off with describing them to have "humble charisma" and descends into villanization of the group, the company, and their fans.

I can forgive certain things— such as discussing their military enlistments— since this was supposed to be a piece on the business side of their careers. However, prudent questions that could/should have been asked were instead replaced by speculation, rumors, and Twitter gossip. It was more an opinion piece than an interview, which is truly disappointing-- can you imagine the content that was purposefully left out to make room for baseless accusations? The whole article is littered with subtle aggressive language-- it's clear that whomever wrote the article did not want to, or had a particular vendetta against BTS/kpop. I’m about to take a red pen to that article…

I’m gonna go ahead and stop here before I have an aneurysm trying to further analyze this ridiculous nonsense.

To end on a happy note, here are the boys looking fine as hell: