20 Things You Didn't Know About BTS
13. They're Officially Influential
Time Magazine started taking notice of the global phenomenon rising around BTS in 2018. The magazine chose the band as part of their Next Generation Leaders for their social responsibility and the ARMY that follows their every move. Featuring on the cover of the magazine, they were described inside as "young trailblazers who are reshaping music" as, despite their songs being in Korean, they have achieved a worldwide success that proves music doesn't have to be in English to succeed.
In 2019, when they were already on Time's radar, the ARMY propelled the group to even greater levels of success than before. BTS debuted three number 1 albums on the Billboard chart. Their video for Boy With Luv logged a record-breaking 75 million views in its first 24 hours. The release of a mobile game that saw fans playing the role of the band's manager topped the Apple App Store charts in numerous countries.
With such reach, it was no surprise that Time listed the band as one of the 25 Most Influential People On The Internet for the list's fifth year. Evaluated by looking at "their global impact on social media and their overall ability to drive news", 2019's list also includes those schoolchildren who began striking on schooldays to protest the inaction surrounding climate change, the first male ambassador for CoverGirl, the Hong Kong protesters, and the creator of that egg photo that went super-viral last year.