BTS Used The Grammy-Nominated ‘Dynamite’ As Their Trojan Horse To Conquer The Western Music Industry

The Grammys unveiled their 2021 nominees today, and while the full list boasted plenty of the usual snubs and missteps, it also contained a piece of incredible news for the BTS ARMY: The South Korean pop septet had earned its first Grammy nomination, clinching a nod for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance with its chart-topping single “Dynamite.” 

In case you weren’t on Twitter this afternoon, here was the general sentiment: 

In three years, BTS went from being the first Korean presenters at the Grammys, to the first Korean performers, to the first Korean group nominated in a major category. It’s fitting that BTS received their first Grammy nomination for “Dynamite,” their first No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and their first song performed entirely in English. The infectious disco-pop anthem smashed YouTube viewership records, topped Billboard’s Digital Song Sales chart for months and has already sold more than 2 million units in the United States. The song catapulted the biggest band in the world to the next level of global superstardom and shattered the ceiling for what an all-Korean group could achieve in the United States. 

MORE FROM FORBESWith Their New No. 1 Hit ‘Dynamite,’ BTS Has Crossed The Final Frontier Of Pop Superstardom

Depending on whom you ask, the success of “Dynamite” is also a double-edged sword. While the song’s success is staggering, it also reinforces the Western music industry’s resistance to progress and refusal to embrace artists who don’t fit a specific—that is, white—mold. Case in point: In their 62-year history, the Grammys have only awarded the Album of the Year award to 10 Black artists, while frequently bestowing the highest honors on mediocre works by white artists and relegating artists of color to genre-specific categories. These decisions are culturally out of touch at best, racist and xenophobic at worst—and they explain why it took a made-for-radio pop smash performed entirely in English for BTS to earn their first Grammy nomination.

MORE FROM FORBESBTS’s ‘Dynamite’ Has Now Sold Over 2 Million Units In The U.S.

It is not particularly controversial to argue that “Dynamite” lacks the musical nuance and lyrical introspection of BTS’s best songs. Its lyrics are algorithmic by design, and the song itself is a linear nu-disco bop that’s optimized for TikTok videos and sweaty clubs, coronavirus pandemic notwithstanding. Some fans have lamented the fact that “Dynamite” achieved a level of success that eluded former BTS mini-epics such as “Black Swan” and “ON”; these complaints imply that “Dynamite” lacks integrity or panders to Western listeners. But it’s important to frame “Dynamite” not as a song that BTS had to perform in English to succeed in the U.S., but as a song they chose to perform in English to demolish every last barrier in the Western music industry.

MORE FROM FORBESBTS’s Achievements And Massive Global Fan Base Speak Much Louder Than Their Racist Critics

To chalk “Dynamite” up to a mere ploy to earn a No. 1 hit negates the years of meticulous career planning and artistic growth that BTS has experienced to reach this point. It also grossly underestimates how difficult (and impressive) it is for a Korean group to earn a No. 1 hit on the Hot 100, regardless of whether it’s performed in English. Over the last seven years, BTS has grown from a non-entity in the U.S. to the biggest band in the world, selling out stadiums across the globe and racking up a slew of No. 1 albums and Top 10 singles. With every release, BTS grew their stature in the United States and abroad: The tours kept getting bigger, the albums kept outselling their predecessors and the videos kept racking up more views.

MORE FROM FORBESBTS Didn’t ‘Cheat’ Their Way To No. 1 On The Hot 100. They Just Beat Other Artists At Their Own Game.

Earlier this year, BTS reached No. 4 on the Hot 100 with “ON,” a Korean-language track that received virtually no airplay but still rocketed up the chart thanks to its robust digital sales. It marked a career high at the time, surpassing the 2019 Halsey collaboration “Boy with Luv,” which peaked at No. 8. By sheer force of will, the BTS ARMY pushed the group to unprecedented heights on the Hot 100; if BTS played by the Western music industry’s rules just once, they could harness that momentum to cross the final frontier of pop superstardom.

MORE FROM FORBESBTS’s ‘Dynamite’ Holds Steady At No. 1, Proving That Chart-Topping Hits Are Their New Normal

So they did—but only after years of honing their craft, mapping their career and growing their fan base. If BTS had released “Dynamite” as a blatant chart grab before they were ready, all the streaming parties and download sprees in the world wouldn’t have gotten them a No. 1 hit. Instead, they spent years conquering the music industry and dropped the song strategically to help them clear the final hurdle. When they were finally ready to play the game, they beat all their peers at it. Sound familiar?

MORE FROM FORBESBTS Used To Benefit From Western Pop Stars Featuring On Their Songs. Now The Tables Have Turned.

In hindsight, a No. 1 hit on the Hot 100 wasn’t actually the final hurdle. BTS has made history once more with their “Dynamite” Grammy nomination; it remains to be seen whether they’ll do so again in January by winning. In the meantime, BTS has already expressed grander ambitions and pulled off arguably more impressive feats than “Dynamite.” Last month, they earned their second consecutive No. 1 hit on the Hot 100—and their first featuring Korean lyrics—with the remix of Jawsh685 and Jason Derulo’s “Savage Love (Laxed – Siren Beat)” and their brand-new album BE could spawn the group’s first solo No. 1 hit in Korean (while also becoming their fifth No. 1 album in the U.S.).

MORE FROM FORBESBTS’s ‘BE’ Is On Track To Become The Group’s Fifth No. 1 Album On The Billboard 200

BTS used “Dynamite” as their Trojan horse to fully conquer the Western music industry, and their Grammy nomination was years in the making. Ultimately, Grammy nominations are a vanity metric for a group as staggeringly successful as BTS, and the Recording Academy still made plenty of egregious mistakes with this year’s nominees, including the Weeknd’s baffling shutout and the exclusion of Fiona Apple’s universally adored Fetch the Bolt Cutters from the Album of the Year category. But the BTS ARMY can take solace in the fact that for one year, in one category, the Recording Academy made the right decision. Better late than never.

Speak Your Mind

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Get in Touch

350FansLike
100FollowersFollow
281FollowersFollow
150FollowersFollow

Recommend for You

Oh hi there 👋
It’s nice to meet you.

Subscribe and receive our weekly newsletter packed with awesome articles that really matters to you!

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

You might also like

Oatly short seller says stock worth less than $10...

Short seller Ben Axler said Thursday that Oatly's stock is worth less than $10...

IOC President ‘Very Confident’ Tokyo Olympics Will Allow Spectators,...

A man wearing a face mask, amid concerns over...

George Floyd And Racism: 5 Conversations Credible Leaders Must...

NEW YORK, NY - JUNE 03: Demonstrators denouncing systemic...

New York Giants Trade Markus Golden For Sixth-Round Draft...

LANDOVER, MD - DECEMBER 22: Markus Golden #44 of...