A Global Online Connection: The BTS & ARMY Experience
By Nicole Santero
Nicole at a BTS concert in 2019. Photo/Nicole Santero.
*Note: For each section, a song recommendation is provided. For an auditory experience, play each song as background music as you read through the piece.
Music has always been an important part of my life, and many of my happiest moments involve standing in the crowd of an arena or stadium as I watch my favorite artists perform on stage.
In May 2019, I was at the Rose Bowl stadium for the Love Yourself: Speak Yourself concert watching BTS, the global music sensation from South Korea.
If you have never experienced BTS live, you are missing out on a euphoric experience that defines true human connection.
I can’t forget my heart beating so loudly, in sync with the booming of the music that got my adrenaline pumping. The excitement from beginning to end, and the energy of the crowd is like no other.
Sometimes I feel like a walking contradiction. There is something ironic about being an introvert who often feels anxiety when having to meet with small groups of new people, but then feeling most comfortable and on top of the world when walking into a stadium filled with tens of thousands of strangers.
For me, that feels like home—people coming together in one place because of a common love, dancing around and together singing along with every word. For a night, it’s just us and the music.
As the new year rolled around and the next BTS tour was announced, I couldn't wait to be back at my happy place, in the stadium with BTS and ARMY—the name of the group’s fandom.
In February 2020, I was lucky enough to get tickets to multiple dates for the upcoming Map of the Soul Tour. This time, it was going to be even more special as I wanted to make this a family outing. As a gift for my parents and sister—who have become BTS fans as well—I also bought tickets for them so they can share this experience with me for the first time.
The concerts I planned on attending were set for April and May. It was frankly the only thing I was looking forward to for the rest of the year.
Finding a New Connection Online
Unfortunately, these tour dates would not come amidst the global pandemic, which would bring incredible uncertainty in the foreseeable future.
As the public health crisis of COVID-19 increased, so did my anger, sadness, and confusion.
What happens when the thing that brings you most joy is suddenly taken away from you? It’s almost like being stripped of your basic senses as a human being.
In 2020, no longer would I see BTS perform in person with my own eyes.
No longer would I hear the sound of ARMY’s voices echoing throughout the stadium.
No longer would I feel my heart beating and feeling alive through the sensation of the speakers.
I so badly craved this connection to the music and performance, and now it seemed like we and the whole world were forced to disconnect from what gave us a sense of solace.
But if anyone has ever underestimated BTS and ARMY in the past, 2020 was not the year to do so.
As most were now forced to stay at home and live life through a screen, BTS fans thrived in this environment and found new ways to strengthen and deepen their connection.
Something to know about the ARMY fandom—this isn’t just a bunch of fans sitting around the computer and simply staring googly-eyed at photos of the band members.
On top of regular, fan-driven activities to promote the band, this is a passionate community that is highly aware of the power they have to create positive change—driven by BTS’s lead-by-example nature that empowers others to do good in the world. For instance, ARMY regularly contributes to philanthropic and charitable efforts, most notably matching BTS’s $1 million donation to Black Lives Matter in just over 24 hours in June. The fandom even has an academics unit that provides free tutoring services to students around the world.
My favorite aspect of ARMY is how they’ve created a unique culture in which they don’t just support BTS, but they support each other—something that has strengthened during COVID-19. You will find ARMY groups, known as “fanbases,” focused on common interests beyond the music. Whether you’re a researcher (like myself), lawyer, writer, graphic designer, teacher, engineer, foodie, artist, healthcare professional, and more, there is most certainly a place for you.
Although they sing and speak primarily in Korean, BTS revolutionized the meaning of global connection as they have transcended language and cultural barriers. Since 2013, they have brought people of all ages, gender identities, and backgrounds together through their music. They are known for their ability to resonate deeply with a wide audience because of lyrics that touch on themes like mental health, finding self-love, dealing with pressures in society, and overcoming life’s obstacles.
Persevering Amidst Challenges
Talking about things that make us human is perhaps the biggest part of BTS’s appeal. In November, the group released a new album born out of the pandemic titled BE (bts-be.com). With songs like Life Goes On, they shared the story of their own journey as they navigate this “new normal.” It was a heartfelt letter to their fans, letting them know that they understood exactly what they were going through and that we will all continue moving forward together.
The album also included the band’s biggest hit to-date, Dynamite, which was the most viewed YouTube video in 24 hours with 101.1 million views. A song that was created to help lift people’s spirits during this time, it earned BTS lots of new fans, their first number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and their first Grammy nomination.
As the entertainment industry was hit hard by COVID-19, with concerts and shows around the world being cancelled or rescheduled indefinitely, BTS was recognized for overcoming these challenges and becoming even more popular than anyone could have imagined.
TIME Magazine named BTS Entertainer of the Year in 2020 and perfectly summed it up: “In a year when live music went quiet, they became the biggest band in the world.”
BTS has been focused on finding effective ways to engage with fans virtually. The group often speaks about the energy they get when performing for ARMY and how this piece of them that is now missing, has affected them.
Last year, BTS hosted several online concerts and unsurprisingly found success through this medium. Their two-night Map of the Soul ON:E online concert in October garnered nearly one million viewers from 191 different countries and regions—an audience that can fill about 20 stadiums that seat 50,000 people.
During the show, in which many lucky fans were also displayed on a special screen for the band members to see, BTS spread messages of hope for ARMY. The band’s leader, “RM” (Kim Namjoon), talked about their bond with fans and maintaining this connection even during COVID-19:
“I thank God that we’re living in 2020 [and] that we have this technology so we could be connected with no latency [and] see each other’s faces… It feels like you’re here, and I hope you guys feel the same too.
[...] At this kind of stage, it is no one’s fault… We are humans. We’re just doing our best and doing what we can do… We have those six, seven years… We’ve been everywhere. We saw [each other’s] faces. We felt our energy. We charged each other’s batteries… and I believe in those years and the time… The energy that we built together will never betray us.”
Coming to My (Human) Senses
Both as a researcher and member of the fandom, a fire ignited inside me in the last few years and I found purpose, especially in helping to tell BTS and ARMY’s story in unique ways that showcase their impact on the world.
I run a Twitter account called ResearchBTS where I share different types of news, insights, and information related to the group and its fandom. A special feature on my account is the posting of Trendsmap visualizations that highlight fans’ online interactions and showcase their global connectivity through conversations centered around BTS. What was initially a fun side project I started in 2019 on top of my normal work, took on a new and profound meaning during the pandemic.
Trendsmap visualization data created to display BTS ARMY’s global Twitter power (People around the world tweeting about the release of their album ‘BE’ in November 2020). Image/Nicole Santero.
While life may have stopped for many, it kept going and grew stronger for BTS and ARMY, and there is no sign of slowing down just yet—as evident through their continued achievements and seen through many maps I’ve created.
And with every burst of purple light (BTS and ARMY’s official color) I saw shining around the world, I found my heart beating again—a feeling I desperately longed for in the absence of BTS’s concerts.
There’s something so endearing and moving when watching these maps and seeing people light up for BTS in literally every corner of the world. They are a visual representation of comfort and hope for brighter days to come—exactly what BTS themselves wanted to convey for their fans.
Just as BTS’s hearts beat for ARMY, ARMY’s hearts beat the same for BTS. Example visualization map that resembles heartbeats as fans around the globe interact with BTS’ posts in the span of a week. Image/Nicole Santero.
Image credit: BTS/Big Hit Entertainment
Explore the BTS World
While BTS is known for being a pop group, their music fits within a wide range of genres and provides something for everyone. If you’re new to BTS, here are some of my personal favorites and recommendations, in addition to the songs listed in the article:
Photo/Nicole Santero.
Nicole Santero is a PhD student in sociology at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), currently doing research related to the culture and social structure of the BTS ARMY fandom. She runs the Twitter account @ResearchBTS and is a member of ARMY herself. Nicole and her work have been highlighted in media outlets such as TIME, The New York Times, BBC Radio, NBC News, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, Aljazeera, NowThis, The Ringer, and more. She is also a managing editor for The Rhizomatic Revolution Review (R3 Journal), the first-ever peer-reviewed journal focused on the impact of BTS and ARMY.
On top of her academic work, Nicole has worked professionally in the communications/PR field for nearly the last decade. She currently serves as the director of communications for the UNLV School of Public Health and is active in the community, sitting on boards such as OCA Las Vegas, the Nevada Minority Health and Equity Coalition, and the UNLV Urban Affairs Alumni Chapter.
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