Go to contents

BTS performs at 2017 American Music Awards

Posted November. 22, 2017 08:09,   

Updated November. 22, 2017 08:47

한국어

“They have completely overturned the concept of the appropriate audience participation the Western people think from the fundamentals.”

On Sunday (local time), the Billboard Chart focused on the unique cheering culture of ARMY (the fans of BTS). The Billboard Chart eval‎uated that the performance of “DNA” by BTS was amazing too, but the audience’s reaction was also noticeable.

The Billboard Chart said that it could not be very audible on TV, but when “DNA” started playing, Microsoft Theater was filled with the screams of their fans, shouting the names of BTS members, and added that this is called the “fan chant,” which Korean fans of idol singers chant together to cheer for the performance of the artist they love.

It is not difficult to find the videos of ARMY’s fan chants recorded on-site and the “amazed” reactions on Instagram. The Billboard Chart said that in Korea, the louder the fans’ cheers are, the more popular the artist is, and analyzed that it seemed that the local fans were doing the fan chant so BTS would feel like being cheered like if they were in Korea.

It is true that fans of K-Pop idol singers absorb the fandom culture of Korean fans. The overseas fans also do the “sming (repetitive streaming)” like the Korean fans, which makes the song of the artist they love to rank higher in the chart. English comments on the music video of “DNA” on YouTube write, “We’ve almost reached 100 million views, so don’t stop streaming,” or “I’ve achieved my goal, so I need to take a break.” Thanks to the fans’ efforts, the video posted in September has obtained more than 160 million views.

As if they were repaying the fans for their “loyalty,” BTS met their fans through a mobile live video at the accommodation, right after they finished their performance at the 2017 American Music Awards (AMA). ARMY was impressed, saying, “BTS even gave up on going to the after party to meet their fans.”



Min Kim kimmin@donga.com