performers vs artists | bts, the kpop framework and the mainstream music industry

Theyve exceeded all the western artists ive ever followed.

WOW! Boracity does it again!💜

A very good explanation!

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My hero boracity!!❤

Exacto, son artistas indiscutibles. Cada uno con su personalidad única, con su talento, con sus habilidades, pero unidos en un grupo de personitas que se respetan, se quieren, se admiran y se apoyan para crear música juntos, sin dejar su propia música. Eso está muy difícil que se dé en esta industria. Claro, podrá haber otros grupos, vendrán más artistas únicos, pero no habrá otro BTS 😊💜

I hope one day Bts watches your videos. I’ll be even more delusional and hope you become their personal journalist, due to your incredible professionalism 😌✍️

Esto es exactamente lo que pienso de Bangtan, por qué decidí seguirlos y por qué no pude interesarme en ningún otro grupo, incluso si lo intenté. Los chicos son realmente talentosos, carismáticos, amables, increíbles cantantes, bailarines e infinitas cosas más, pero lo que para mí los hace únicos y los pone en un escalón por encima, es la forma en que realmente quieren transmitir algo con su música. El que quieren participar en ella e involucrarse. El que es importante para ellos.

Por eso hacer un repaso por su discografía, sus conciertos, presentaciones y las letras de sus canciones, es una gran experiencia; porque incluso si uno no estuvo en ese tiempo, los sentimientos, conflictos, vulnerabilidades y anécdotas de lo que ellos vivieron en ese entonces, se ven reflejados ahí, en su música.

Al menos en el kpop, es raro ver eso. A veces, la música se siente como algo muy aislado de los idols que la interpretan, y personalmente, esa desconexión es la que me frena de seguir a otros grupos.

I’ve been a fan of BoraCity when I was deep in the BTS rabbit hole. I do agree BTS is far from what “Kpop” is today & even from their debut days. I’ve seen some performances from other groups but it doesn’t ignite me to further look into to their music the way BTS did. I have to agree they sound & perform the same not like that but the “gist” of it all. It’s sad because you can see the talent these groups have but I think the freedom BTS had from the beginning to write, produce, compose & create their own music style is what sets them apart from the rest of K-Pop. Thank you BoraCity for another well put together video 💜💜💜

🔥💜

Boracity has done it again

I have come to the conclusion that the iron control that companies put on the lives and careers of idols prevents them from being artists, the level of sadism and need for possession that they have over them Young people are there to study, I suppose that BTS had, has and will have pressures of all kinds, but even in the corset of the K-POP industry, they had people with an artistic vision that shaped them in another way shape is that its producers, arrangers and music video directors are still mostly the same...

LOL THIS IS TOO technical.

I think you summed it up perfectly.. the 'what' & 'how' of BTS that they're studying to reproduce BTs. The kicker is.. they'll never be able to duplicate them. They, themselves, with the openness and foresight of Bang PD, grew this band of brothers and family into something more.. something you can not 'factory replicate'. They clawed their way to the top cause they were kicked out and away from any and every 'popular', 'have to do it this way', or just plain meanness because they were thought of as less than. Who the hell is less than now?
Borahae BTS & ARMY .. borahae 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💗

Girl the noise i made after seeing that you posted a new video was pure happiness. I think your videos put me at ease, I'm not biased, bts is really on another lever and it can't be pleaded in a courtroom

I feel that BTS members' ultimate goal was to become artists while the rest of kpop remained in the idol bubble. As you said it may be related to the freedom to create the company has given instead of being controlled.

You are incredibly articulate Bora💜💜💜
I already knew once I got into BTS that they were it for me. My forever artists ✨️

Respecting what Namjoon said on "K" being a premium label, while also acknowledging that BTS is frm a kpop industry, then I think we should start making it a distinction of K-pop idols vs K-pop artists. As you put it, the mainstream gp expect an artist's music to be the artists's own self-expression (singing/performing their own artistic work) or self-intepretation (singing/performing other people's work w the artist own unique take).

Kpop grps could be said to fulfill the category of self-interpretation performers. But, as you said, individual voices is hidden in a kpop grp n even more hidden in the kpop industry. So, to me, when they're performing, they're not performing a self-interpretation, but a general standardised performance per the kpop framework.

For me then, kpop grps that don't do self-expression or self-interpretation are KPOP IDOL , while kpop grps that actually do self-expression n self-interpretation should be distinctly identified as KPOP ARTIST.

Completely and Strongly Agree!!

I love your views and takes on everything. It is so well thought out and through. And being an old musical and opera singer myself, I hole heartedly agree with your take on that.

I really like how you describe it. I’m an opera singer, and I’ve trained like crazy to do my job, but I don’t write my own music. That doesn’t mean I don’t have artistic expression and connect to my characters and music. But my genre isn’t for that. It’s a “Performance” genre. All very well said!

Nice video, now I gotta watch it

Okay, I'm saying this as someone who got into kpop through bts (yes, i still consider them kpop, that's where they came from), but I'm seeing a lack of nuance in the comments and generally in the discussion around bts and other kpop acts. All I see is people talking about how bts are the only ones to certain things and that's why they are better than others and I just don't think it's true. I listen to so many kpop groups that I know what they are saying is not true.

For example, people who say that bts is the only group who has members writing and producing songs, making choreos, etc., that's absolute crap. Yes, they do do that but other groups like seventeen, stray kids, ateez, g-idle and so many more, are now more involved in the process of creating music because their companies let them. They figured out that that's something people like and so they lean more into that. To say that only bts are doing it discredits the artists even more.

And generally the reason I have distanced myself from armys as a fandom is just the superiority complex so many of them have. They can never give credit where credit is due because they cannot fathom other artists doing the same thing as their favorites. It's quite disheartening as a fan of multiple groups to be told that the other groups you love and support aren't good because some armys are just so delusional. Like babe, snap out of it, bts are not the one and only people to do shit and just because you don't like my other groups, doesn't mean they are automatically worse than bts.

Sure, bts were able to achieve a certain level of success outside of the kpop industry but other groups/companies might not even be focussing on conquering the american industry because they are successful enough in korea and the international kpop spaces. Just because bts did it doesn't mean it's now a way to meassure how good or successful a kpop act is.

Unfortunately, that is often the sentiment I am met with, hence why I only listen to bts now without engaging with people who are only armys. I actually prefer my multi-stan friends over any of the army-only people I've come across. Now, that is not to say that I don't like armys as a whole, I was once a hardcore army myself, but I certainly have no desire to associate with people who are so narrow-minded and blinded by their own delusions that they can't give proper credit to other artists.

If anyone wants to start a fight over this, then please don't. This is purely my experience and perception of things and you don't have to agree. If you feel offended by this, then you're most likely exactly the type of army I'm talking about, so do yourself a favor and read my comment again and reflect a little bit.

Now I also understand why armys are so hated by other fadoms, because the people with their superiority complex are the only ones always starting fights with other fandoms and being super loud. All the nice armys and multi-stans get overpowered by the loud minority.

Edit to add a final thought: I actually don't think that any of the points mentioned are entirely unique to bts, they just happened to be super successful with those outside of kpop more so than others. It's not fully true to say other kpop acts haven't evolved from being only dancers to also good singer, rappers, etc. That again discredits the hard work of all the artists who have grown and evolved and have managed build a big audience and stay successfully in such an oversaturated industry. If you look at it closely, most of the bigger and popula artists in korea right now aren't super rigid in their group structures anymore because they have figured out that switching it up is what keeps people interested. And if kpop companies are good at one thing, then it's knowing how to get the most money out of their artists.

As for bts being the only ones to incorporate their own ideas and concepts that aren't typically found in kpop, I would like to once again point to other artists doing the same thing, specifically ateez. They have an entire lore that connects all their albums and close to every song is co-written and produced by two of their members, sometimes more of them are involved as well. This means the lore directly incorporates the members ideas into the songs, the mvs and the backstory and the group are so much more than just manufactured idols. It shows in the way they are still so passioante about their work after 6 years. Them being from a much smaller company than bts and not being super popular in korea does hinder their growth, unfortunately. But making it sound like bts are the only ones doing that once again does not give the credit that others deserve and is not truly what makes bts different.

I'm sorry for the super long rant but it's been on my mind for a while now. As someone who started out as an army and then found so many other great artists, I've been quiet frustrated with this whole discussion and people not listening to other voices outside of their little bts bubble. Like someone else in the comments said, many of the statements in this video over-generalize kpop and overall a bit more nuance would have been nice when disussing the industry.

Thank you for your amaJin work, Bora💜 greetings from Austria

Well-spoken 👏👏👏

Hi bora, I hope you're doing well 💜
I'm here to ask you something: Could you please make a video about the Hybe/Mhj/Bts situation? 🙏🏼
'Cause I'm very lost, and I don't know who to trust. People/ Armys are talking and choosing sides, but nothing is making sense 💔

what i also think made them who they are and pushed them to explore themselves not just as human beings but also as musicians and artists who tell their own stories is the fact that they have been doing SOLO music since before the debut and only improved and increased the quality and quantity of their solo songs over time. for example, bts had 7 solo songs in their album only 3 YEARS into their career with no daesang yet, no recognition no huge popularity or extreme recognition, ever since 2016 they started exploring themselves as an artist who actually HAVE a story to tell, a lesson to teach, or just express their feeling artistically. they continued with loveyourself trilogy and also had solo songs, just like mots:7, they all had at least 1 solo song in these albums, and also a unit song (rap/vocals line) in these albums. whether it was Bighit who pushed them to do this or they reached for this themselves, I think it was one of the most crucial factors in them becoming artists, because whatever they were doing after that, kpop activities, western promotions, new albums or tours, they were not just people in a group doing music or kpop idols singing and dancing, they were human beings who pushed themselves to explore their inner worlds, and learn to express it through music, art, and dance, and who were becoming aware of what they can do and were learning more and more about what they could CREATE and were only progressing in it and multiplying their art.

I think the Kpop industry needs to realise we don't need more kpop groups we just want BTS. 7 Kings who light up the world. They have brought untold riches to the country they love, buy sadly their country doesn't love them back. The disrespect and bullying of BTS is despicable. South Korea we see you and its not great. Shame on you for the vicious witch hunt against Suga
For allowing haters to send funeral wreaths to HYBE and for the law that allows them to be protected. Shame on you for not standing up for BTS the biggest and best thing that has ever happened to yoir country. Fans of other groups need not reply I do not care what you think only BTS paved the way. Other groups will never ever replace BTS, when they decide to stop ARMY will too, that's 1 billion strong around the world with all that spending power gone. BTS have some extremely wealthy fans who buy anything the boys touch. All the tourists that visit Korea are mainly ARMY from around the world. All the trillions of won that BTS have contributed Will stop. Shame on you

wow…you describe these really well… I am a BTS stan because they have all those in their wings. I also randomly check other groups , and there are only maybe a handful few that I like however they do not have all the qualities (artist, performer, entertainer etc). One group may only be a singer, or are performer.But it’s okay….supergroups or superstars come only once in a lifetime. other kpop groups may have better “visuals” or “singers” ,but the difference is palpable in how BTS carry themselves on and off stage. What I love about them that sets them apart, is having a vision on what they want to become as an artist…and these past few years they have talked about the emphasis on “entertaining”. and for them to recognize that integral part to survive in the industry for a long time shows how they are passionate for their craft. They got passion in their eyes during debut, now they carry that passion in their soul.

I'm not hating but all the videos you release,are they all going to be about BTS

I'm just waiting for Arijit Singh × BTS

BTS es diferente sigamos apoyándolos nos espera 2025 FUL APOYO EN EL CAPÍTULO II sin descuidar lo grupal :)

That's why being 1st as a BTS fan, I'm also fan of JYP groups like Twice & Skz, but firstly & mostly I'm an BTS Army

Boracity!! Thank you for your effort. 👍👍💜💜💜

Honestly saying other k-pop groups have concepts more like cute, crush, love, but BTS concepts are more like their own personal, from their life struggles or personal problems

Artists is on another level. They personally create their music based on their taste on music, personality, and dress THAT IS WHY YOU INSTANTLY RECOGNIZE THEIR SIGNATURE. Example of artists are Michael Jackson, Bruno Mars,Lady Gaga ,Taylor Swift, Prince and other musical legends. THEY CREATE MUSIC NOT BASED ON WHAT THE COMPANY CREATE BUT BASED ON WHAT THE MUSICIANS LOVE. I SEE THAT ON 2NE1. ARTISTS MEANS CREATING SOMETHING THAT INSPIRED THEM AND ITS UP TO THE AUDIENCE IF YOU LIKE IT OR NOT .

BTS are true artists!! we can see that with the behind the scenes content they release regularly and the passion when they are being interviewed about their craft. I don’t see that with every kpop group most don’t even know how their music is made.

every boracity video about BTS makes me tear up... am I the only one??

Your comments about self-expression only being a BTS thing is ridiculous. People were drawn to groups and their individuals like SHINEE, Big Bang and BAP because of their relatable individuals. It's sad how you don't see your focus on the word 'personality' comes off as pretty xenophobic. And as for musical expression, all the big idols had very unique singing or rapping styles and genres which people were drawn to them for.

Jonghyun of SHINEE literally ran a radio show where he took requests from his fans and created song lyrics from them. He wrote an entire novel. His album 'She Is' is a cohesive album describing the journey from meeting someone to marriage and beyond.

GD was toasted by the press for writing his songs. There was a petition for him to end his career. His songs contain self-loathing and pain, like Crooked, or Loser. He presents himself as flawed.

Taemin joined the industry at age 13 and SHINEE fans have long been concerned about his treatment. His music contains sultry themes, strong religious themes (pertaining to his real life), stories of guilt, being the abuser and the abused.

These are all individuals. They are all personalities. They are expressing themselves, whether a stripped down version, or exaggerated version. It is just them. Do your research, please.

Boracity you are soooo good and breaking this down! There is no shade at other groups because there is so much to admire of their hard work and talents. But BTS really is just different.

ate as always!!!!

I wonder if this channel will ever stop assuming things about other idols without doing research first. You say 'BTS expresses their artistry in a different way from the rest of K-pop. Even the most rebellious K-pop acts maintain the status quo'. Yes, BTS express their true selves in a different way to Blackpink, for example. But they aren't the only ones BY FAR.

Timely example. Big Bang's G-Dragon just released his song 'Power', after years of being hunted by media for drugs offences. He explained this about the song: "For me, music is my power. During my seven-year break, I realized the profound influence of media. This song carries multiple meanings, including a satirical take on media power and a call for harmony among different types of power."

How is this not an artist just telling their own story? How is this 'performing' as opposed to being an authentic artist?

Big Bang has been doing this since way before BTS debuted. GD's 'Middle finger up' EXPLICITLY makes mention of a contentious political topic by mentioned the 'eastern slave country' scandal - a reference to the Park Geun-hye-Choi Soon-sil scandal. He goes on to talk about his suspicions of Seungri in the Burning Sun scandal years before the scandal even came to light (even naming Seungri in the song), by talking about not wanting to entertain these 'pretty girls': 'But why should I give you my number? Who the hell are you?'. I will point out, not to downgrade BTS, but to put things in perspective; these lyrics are much more rebellious, much more contentious, and much more strongly breaking the 'status quo' than BTS's mention of societal issues, like in 'Am I Wrong?'.

Big Bang's authenticity is not 'another outlier' like BTS, but rather a defining feature of them which made them and similar groups popular amongst fandom and GP in 2nd gen. Why do you continue to deny that there are groups expressing themselves like BTS?

Taeyang of Big Bang straight up revealed a portrait of his girlfriend/fiancee in the music video of the love song dedicated explicitly to her name, 'Eyes, Nose, Lips'. BTS are not ALLOWED to reveal who they're dating. A Big Bang member, at the height of his fame, broke the 'no dating' rules in the most rebellious and bombastic way possible. BTS... can't do that. They must keep up the attainable BF image. They've never named anyone or given details in any of their songs. They have to keep their love songs abstract and non-specific.

Bravo great video ! For me there's no substance and zero sincerity in kpop, it's all about pretty visuals and noise and I don't care about that 🤷🏻‍♀ and.. I'm sorry but once you've listened 2 or 3 groups, you've seen them all, they all look the same, they all do the same thing 🥱 that's why I'm not a kpop fan but only a BTS fan.

Another element you almost touched on is intent. The standard KPop training framework theoretically attracts people who want to be famous more than they necessarily want to express themselves. Of course each company is different, and because people are people groups will build deep and meaningful connections with their fans. Seventeen and TXT are examples of groups who have deeply loyal and connected fanbases, and that element makes their performances amazing. All I’m saying is, I think the vibe of “why you want to be there” comes through and is an element of whether people can be considered artists or performers. BTS never seems to be there because they just want your attention and praise. Everything they do comes from a desire for connection through expression.

Very well articulated. You are not "simply" (not meant pejoratively) core army. You are a scholar of the business of popular music. Thank you for helping me understand the difference between the kpop and western music industries. BTS was my first introduction to kpop and I love them. I am from the west and my all-time favourite artist was Freddie Mercury of Queen, so it is not surprising that I am drawn to the creativity, talent, diligence and artistic performance that is BTS.

About Kpop choreographies, I want to add that even western choreographies can be very technical and intense, especially if the singer has an obvious dance background (ex. Tate McRae) and purposefully want a harder dance routine. The thing is that western artists have the luxury to stop and have long enough breaks to breath while leaving the rest of the choreography to the backup dancers; Kpop idols on the other hand dance for ~3 minutes straight with seconds long breaks.

gracias boracity por tu excelente trabajo

LOVED the semiotic analysis of kpop practices in this essay!!