For both K-pop idol groups and their fans, hitting anniversary milestones are often times to celebrate. It was surely a big deal for the K-pop community, specifically SM Entertainment and E.L.F. (dedicated fans of Super Junior), when Super Junior celebrated their 10th Anniversary. As a matter of fact, SM Entertainment gave Super Junior a humongous gift, something that none of their other K-pop acts have, their very own label to take care of all Super Junior business responsibilities called Label SJ . And just so it is known, August 19 of this year will be a very important date for V.I.P. (dedicated fans of Big Bang) because Big Bang will be celebrating their 10th Anniversary.
On the other hand, anniversaries may not be such a jovial moment for certain K-pop idol groups. F.T. Island recently celebrated their 7th Anniversary on the Naver V App, but all what Hongki and Jaejin had to say showed that F.T. Island is very disappointed in the label to the point they cannot wait to leave them.
Eventually, anniversaries comes down to how K-pop idol groups personally feel at the moment, their relationship with their label, their fans, and where they are in their careers. For BTS, it is nothing but smiles as the popular K-pop idol group, also known as Bangtan Boys and Bulletproof Boy Scouts, celebrate their 3rd Anniversary by releasing an unplugged version of their song “Young Forever.”
https://www.facebook.com/bangtan.official/photos/a.1308053172543275.1073741987.561348433880423/1308053552543237/?type=3&permPage=1
The release of the unplugged version of their song “Young Forever” happened on the last day of the “ BTS FESTA 2016 ” schedule, as reported by AllKpop . For those who do not know, especially new members of the A.R.M.Y. (dedicated fans of BTS), the “BTS FESTA” is a schedule of events in celebration leading up to their anniversary. The festivities started with a song titled “ I Know ” performed by Rap Monster and Jungkook. This was followed up with entertaining dance practice videos, a 3rd Anniversary photo album, BTS Party Day, self-written profiles, and even a live birthday meal.
“Young Forever” unplugged version, as mentioned earlier, was the last thing done for the “BTS FESTA 2016.” It was remixed by Slow Rabbit and uploaded to Soundcloud for everyone to listen for free.
Of course, the rest of the A.R.M.Y. celebrated alongside BTS for their 3rd Anniversary. As a matter of fact, A.R.M.Y. made it one of the most popular worldwide trends on social media, with the hashtag #3YearsWithBTS.
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Though BTS is one of the most popular K-pop acts today, they are truly the definition of a successful underdog story. For starters, they made their debut under Big Hit Entertainment, a very small entertainment label in Korea. Just one year after their debut, all the other artists signed under Big Hit Entertainment started to jump ship. First was 2AM and 8Eight in 2014 followed by GLAM and Lim Jeonghee in 2015. Eventually, they along with Homme (both members also work as soloists) and soloist David Oh would be the only artists left.
BTS really needed to step up their game if they wanted to compete against other K-pop acts, and fortunately for them, they did. Their large social media presence and the full support of Big Hit Entertainment catapulted them into stardom proven by numerous “New Artist of the Year” awards. Ultimately, BTS would become one of the new examples of what a K-pop idol group signed to a small entertainment label needs to do to make it big.
Now that the “BTS FESTA 2016” is now over, it is expected that BTS will continue with their current Korean and Asian tour, The Most Beautiful Moment in Life On Stage: Epilogue . Also, V will be acting a part in an upcoming K-drama, Hwarang: The Beginning by KBS, which is about seven young men growing through passion and love during the Kingdom of Silla. V will play the supporting cast role of Han Sung.
[Image via BTS Official Facebook Photo Album “ BTS 3rd Anniversary “]