\n<\/p>\n
When seven young men from Seoul released their debut EP in June 2013, few could have predicted what would follow.<\/p>\n
RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jung Kook \u2014 most of whom started out in the group as teenagers \u2014 spent years grinding through late nights in practice studios and live venues to build a global fan base, the BTS Army, that would eventually help them rewrite the rules of global pop.<\/p>\n
By the late 2010s, they were selling out stadiums worldwide and topping the Billboard charts. After a period of solo releases and mandatory military service, the group is reuniting this week with \u201cArirang.\u201d Here\u2019s a guide to key releases that came before it.<\/p>\n
2013<\/p>\n
A record scratch, boom-bap beats and a then-18-year-old RM introduce the group\u2019s rebellious opening statement. BTS\u2019s debut single, \u201cNo More Dream,\u201d set the tone: Here were young men challenging societal expectations over call-and-response hip-hop production that felt contrarian and urgent to an increasingly internationally focused K-pop industry.<\/p>\n
\u25b6 Listen on <\/em>Spotify<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>Apple Music<\/em><\/a> or <\/em>YouTube<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n 2013<\/p>\n Less than three months after BTS\u2019s debut, a quick follow-up expanded the concept with \u201cN.O,\u201d urging listeners to question authority and South Korea\u2019s rigorous education system. The EP includes the first \u201cBTS Cypher\u201d \u2014 a chest-thumping tradition in the rap world \u2014 as a response to detractors.<\/p>\n \u25b6 Listen on <\/em>Spotify<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>Apple Music<\/em><\/a> or <\/em>YouTube<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n 2014<\/p>\n The group donned school uniforms in promotional photos for \u201cSkool Luv Affair,\u201d which centers on raging teenage heartache. It connected with listeners in a big way: The EP was the group\u2019s first to enter Billboard\u2019s World Albums chart.<\/p>\n \u25b6 Listen on <\/em>Spotify<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>Apple Music<\/em><\/a> or <\/em>YouTube<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n 2014<\/p>\n A limited-edition repackaged edition added \u201cMiss Right\u201d and sold out its initial pressing. In 2020, BTS\u2019s BigHit Music label announced a reprint thanks to fan demand, sending the 6-year-old record to No. 12 on the Billboard 200.<\/p>\n \u25b6 Listen on <\/em>Spotify<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>Apple Music<\/em><\/a> or <\/em>YouTube<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n 2014<\/p>\n BTS\u2019s first full-length pivoted to darker, more emotionally complex themes like jealousy and rage, heard in the singles \u201cDanger\u201d and \u201cWar of Hormone,\u201d which incorporated harder electric guitars and booming percussion.<\/p>\n \u25b6 Listen on <\/em>Spotify<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>Apple Music<\/em><\/a> or <\/em>YouTube<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n 2015<\/p>\n The opening chapter to a new era capturing the fragile joy of youth. Sporting a noticeably more singalong pop sound, \u201cI Need U\u201d kicked off a turning point for BTS, earning the group its first No. 1 ranking on Korea\u2019s weekly music shows \u2014 indicating one\u2019s arrival on the K-pop scene \u2014 with all seven members participating across songwriting and producing.<\/p>\n \u25b6 Listen on <\/em>Spotify<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>Apple Music<\/em><\/a> or <\/em>YouTube<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n 2015<\/p>\n Deepening the era\u2019s narrative themes while tackling subjects of loneliness and privilege, \u201cPt. 2\u201d marked BTS\u2019s debut entry on the Billboard 200. At No. 171, it was the first release outside Korea\u2019s three major agencies to chart stateside. Thanks largely to BTS\u2019s success, their label soon became the fourth contender, reshaping the country\u2019s music industry.<\/p>\n \u25b6 Listen on <\/em>Spotify<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>Apple Music<\/em><\/a> or <\/em>YouTube<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n 2016<\/p>\n BTS\u2019s first compilation album combined \u201cPt. 1,\u201d \u201cPt. 2,\u201d three new songs and a series of remixes into a 23-track package. The singles \u201cFire\u201d and \u201cSave Me\u201d were accompanied by the cinematic music videos and intricate group choreography that have become fan-favorite staples of their live shows.<\/p>\n \u25b6 Listen on <\/em>Spotify<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>Apple Music<\/em><\/a> or <\/em>YouTube<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n 2016<\/p>\n This thematic LP drew from Hermann Hesse\u2019s coming-of-age novel \u201cDemian\u201d to explore temptation and individuality. For the first time, BTS\u2019s members recorded their own solo tracks. \u201cWings\u201d debuted at No. 26 on the Billboard 200, becoming the highest-charting K-pop album in America.<\/p>\n \u25b6 Listen on <\/em>Spotify<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>Apple Music<\/em><\/a> or <\/em>YouTube<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n 2017<\/p>\n A repackage of \u201cWings\u201d offered four new tracks including \u201cSpring Day,\u201d a sentimental, noticeably slower-tempoed single about loss and grief.<\/p>\n \u25b6 Listen on <\/em>Spotify<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>Apple Music<\/em><\/a> or <\/em>YouTube<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n 2017<\/p>\n \u200b\u200bWhile \u201cDNA\u201d became BTS\u2019s first song to chart on Billboard\u2019s Hot 100, reaching No. 67, the EP it appeared on peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard 200, in part thanks to a distribution deal with Sony\u2019s indie arm the Orchard. The mini-album also got a boost from its embrace of more gender-neutral lyrics, heard in Jimin\u2019s \u201cIntro: Serendipity,\u201d which opted for a universal \u201cyou\u201d and \u201cme.\u201d<\/p>\n \u25b6 Listen on <\/em>Spotify<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>Apple Music<\/em><\/a> or <\/em>YouTube<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n 2018<\/p>\n The first Korean-language album to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. The emotional lead single \u201cFake Love\u201d premiered live at the Billboard Music Awards in a sign of BTS\u2019s swelling American appeal.<\/p>\n \u25b6 Listen on <\/em>Spotify<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>Apple Music<\/em><\/a> or <\/em>YouTube<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n 2018<\/p>\n The era concluded with a meditation on self-acceptance. The group\u2019s United Nations General Assembly speech a month after release \u2014 in which RM urged listeners to \u201cSpeak yourself\u201d \u2014 helped the album\u2019s message resonate globally.<\/p>\n \u25b6 Listen on <\/em>Spotify<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>Apple Music<\/em><\/a> or <\/em>YouTube<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n 2019<\/p>\n Inspired by Carl Jung\u2019s psychology, this EP became BTS\u2019s fourth No. 1 album, and third in less than a year, making them the first band since the Beatles to accomplish such a feat so quickly. \u201cBoy With Luv\u201d featuring Halsey answered the group\u2019s 2014 single \u201cBoy in Luv\u201d with a message of self-acceptance.<\/p>\n \u25b6 Listen on <\/em>Spotify<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>Apple Music<\/em><\/a> or <\/em>YouTube<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n 2020<\/p>\n \u201cOn\u201d uses a militaristic marching beat to discuss the price of achieving one\u2019s dreams, contrasting with 2013\u2019s \u201cN.O.\u201d The LP reaped 422,000 units in its first week, easily earning a fifth No. 1 and setting a K-pop sales record that BTS still holds in the United States today.<\/p>\n \u25b6 Listen on <\/em>Spotify<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>Apple Music<\/em><\/a> or <\/em>YouTube<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n 2020<\/p>\n Conceived by the members during the pandemic, the intimate record included encouraging messages like the group\u2019s first original English single, \u201cDynamite\u201d (BTS\u2019s first No. 1 single), and \u201cLife Goes On\u201d (the first Korean-language song to debut at No. 1 on the Hot 100).<\/p>\n \u25b6 Listen on <\/em>Spotify<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>Apple Music<\/em><\/a> or <\/em>YouTube<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n 2021<\/p>\n Building on the Grammy-nominated success of \u201cDynamite,\u201d BTS unleashed the original English tracks \u201cButter\u201d (which spent 10 weeks at No. 1 on the Hot 100) and \u201cPermission to Dance.\u201d<\/p>\n \u25b6 Listen on <\/em>Spotify<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>Apple Music<\/em><\/a> or <\/em>YouTube<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n 2022<\/p>\n A three-disc retrospective collecting BTS\u2019s career with singles, the members\u2019 favorite cuts and new tracks like \u201cYet to Come,\u201d \u201cProof\u201d was released as they announced a group hiatus to pursue solo projects and complete their mandatory South Korean military service.<\/p>\n \u25b6 Listen on <\/em>Spotify<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>Apple Music<\/em><\/a> or <\/em>YouTube<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n 2022<\/p>\n Released ahead of J-Hope\u2019s slot as the first member to headline a major U.S. festival solo at Lollapalooza, the album showcased experimental hip-hop while honoring its inspirations. (See: the production of \u201cWhat If \u2026\u201d, which borrows from Ol\u2019 Dirty Bastard\u2019s \u201cShimmy Shimmy Ya.\u201d)<\/p>\n \u25b6 Listen on <\/em>Spotify<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>Apple Music<\/em><\/a> or <\/em>YouTube<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n 2022<\/p>\n RM\u2019s first full solo album was a genre-hopping journey through his late 20s with collaborators like Erykah Badu, Anderson .Paak and Youjeen, the frontwoman of the Korean punk act Cherry Filter.<\/p>\n
\n\u2018O!RUL8,2?’<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
\n\u2018Skool Luv Affair\u2019<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
\n‘Skool Luv Affair Special Addition\u2019<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
\n\u2018Dark & Wild’<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
\n\u2018The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Pt. 1\u2019<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
\n\u2018The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Pt. 2′<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
\n\u2018The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: Young Forever\u2019<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
\n\u2018Wings’<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
\n\u2018You Never Walk Alone\u2019<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
\n\u2018Love Yourself: Her’<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
\n\u2018Love Yourself: Tear\u2019<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
\n\u2018Love Yourself: Answer\u2019<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
\n\u2018Map of the Soul: Persona\u2019<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
\n\u2018Map of the Soul: 7′<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
\n\u2018Be\u2019<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
\n\u2018Butter\u2019<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
\n\u2018Proof’<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
\nJ-Hope, \u2018Jack in the Box\u2019<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
\nRM, \u2018Indigo\u2019<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n