After the Success of ‘Dynamite,’ What’s Next For BTS?

It’s been an eventful couple of weeks for South Korean boy band BTS. After breaking the YouTube record for most views in 24 hours for their first full-English track “Dynamite,” Billboard announced on Tuesday, Sept. 1 that the single also debuted at the top of the Hot 100 list, a first for a K-pop group.

During an online press conference on Wednesday, Sept. 2, group leader RM thanked the band’s supporters known as ARMY.

“I think my contribution to this accomplishment is really small. I think this was an achievement from all of your contributions,” he said.

With Billboard’s coveted top spot now under their belts, what’s next for BTS? The band has some ideas.

Lead rapper Suga, who is known for voicing out the group’s dreams during interviews, said he wants the band to perform during the Grammys but this time, as a solo act. BTS debuted on the Grammy stage in January but as part of an ensemble performance featuring renditions of Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road.”

They took this a notch higher, saying that they’d like to take home an award too.

“It would be great to be nominated. The Grammy Awards is something we really dream of. It would be great to receive an award too. That is the direction we should be going for. We grew up watching the performances,” RM said.

Despite the ongoing pandemic, the Recording Academy, which presents the Grammys, said that the show will not be postponed and will push through on Jan. 31, 2021, rain or shine, with or without a COVID-19 vaccine. However, it has not specified whether the event will include a live audience and red carpet, or be produced remotely like the VMAs earlier this week.

But BTS is in no hurry to achieve their next goal, with member Jimin saying that he just wishes for the pandemic to come to an end.

“I think people try to do what is within their reach. The situation isn’t very good and the situation is very dire. I know everyone is doing their best to crack down COVID-19. We still need a lot more time and energy for this situation to come to an end,” he said.

“I know we can’t do anything about all the hurt that has occurred, but what we can do is to heal these people to the best of our abilities. We will do our very best in order to make this happen.”

BTS had to cancel its Map of the Soul World Tour in April following the World Health Organization’s (WHO) protocols against mass gatherings. In the meantime, they said they’ve been keeping busy during quarantine with new hobbies. Suga started drawing on large canvases and learning to play the guitar, while RM has been working out, joking that his arms have been swelling up. They’re also working on new music but did not reveal a specific release date.

“We really like our song (“Dynamite”), but we really like our next one too, so I hope you look forward to it,” Jimin said.

Despite the pandemic’s restrictions, RM said that they have not stopped planning for live shows.

“We would like to put on a festival, a really big performance to bring everyone together. That itself seems pretty unrealistic at the moment. That itself feels like a really big dream in itself. Putting a show outdoors, this is our dream,” he said.

“I would like to say in the future that it was a tough year but I would like to remember 2020 as a year wherein we tried our best.”