How BTS Took Over the World: A Timeline of the Group’s Biggest Career Moments

The first time the name Bulletproof Boy Scouts is used in collaboration with features from RM and rapper Iron on Lim Jeong-hee’s (J-Lim) “Ashes.” The name would be used on pre-debut tracks on several occasions, including songs by 2AM, Lee Seung Gi, and Kan Mi Youn.

BTS opens Twitter account. As of publishing, it has over 48.4 million followers, and is the most-followed Korean account.

The group introduces themselves on Twitter with a message that reads: “Wassup! We’re BTS. Finally, the BTS Twitter account is officially open~ Clap clap clap! We will be uploading fun things beyond your imagination here until our debut.” The first selfie from a member was posted on Dec. 23, and features Jin showing off his lower lip. He was recognized at the BBMAs for his good looks.

Debut with the 2 Cool 4 Skool album, featuring their first single, “No More Dream.”

Release of BTS’ O!RUL8,2? EP.

Recognized as Best New Artist at South Korea’s Melon Music Awards, their first major award. They would go on to win several similar awards throughout the 2013-2014 award season.

Release of Skool Luv Affair, the group’s first album to appear on the World Albums chart, hitting No. 3.

First fanclub concert in Seoul.

Holds Show & Prove concert in Los Angeles, their first Stateside show.

Holds fan meeting in Berlin, their first European show.

Release of Dark & Wild album.

Performs in Kobe as part of their Live Trilogy Episode II: The Red Bullet Tour. It is their first Asian concert outside of South Korea.

Releases Wake Up, their first Japanese album.

The Most Beautiful Moment In Life, Part 1 starts off a new era for BTS. It debuts on the Heatseekers Albums chart at No. 6.

“I Need U” wins on The Show, marking BTS’ first time taking first place on one of South Korea’s weekly music shows.

The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 2 is released. It was the group’s first album to debut on the Billboard 200, at No. 171.

Release of The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: Young Forever. It peaked on the Billboard 200 at No. 107.

 Release of second Japanese album Youth. It debuts at No. 1 on the Oricon chart.

Release Wings. It lands at No. 26 on the Billboard 200, the highest-charting K-pop album at the time. The act broke their own record with Love Yourself: Her in 2017.

Week in which BTS top the Social 50 chart for the first time. Before the chart became inactive in 2020, the group spent 210 weeks at No. 1.

Wins album of the year at South Korea’s Melon Music awards for Young Forever, their first time being recognized for the honor.

Release of Wings’ extended version, You Never Walk Alone. The single “Spring Day” appears on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart at No. 15.

The Wings Tour kicks off in Seoul. It runs through Dec. 10 and includes 40 shows in total. Much of the tour is documented in the YouTube Red series Burn The Stage.

Wings tour heads to Chile for first of four South American concerts, two there and another two in Brazil.

Performs in Mexico City at KCON Mexico.

Appears at the Billboard Music Awards, where they receive the top social artist award.

Brings Wings tour to Sydney.

Love Yourself: Her released. It becomes the highest-charting Korean album ever on the Billboard 200 albums chart when it hits No. 7 and is the first K-pop album to have broken into the top 10 of the chart.

“DNA” peaks at No. 67 on the Hot 100, the highest charting K-pop song ever at the time. 

UNICEF Korea launches Love Myself campaign in collaboration with BTS and Big Hit Entertainment. 

Performs “DNA” at the AMAs, the first time a K-pop group has performed during a major U.S. award show.

“Mic Drop (Remix)” produced by Steve Aoki and featuring Desiigner is released. It debuts at No. 28 on the Hot 100 chart, then the group’s highest-ranking song on the chart.

Twitter announces that BTS was the most tweeted-about celebrity of the year.

“DNA” and “Mic Drop (Remix)” are certified Gold by RIAA, the first songs by a Korean group to be recognized as such.

A video of Jungkook singing Park Won’s “All of My Life” is posted to the band’s Twitter account. It goes on to become one of Twitter’s most-liked tweets.

Release of Face Yourself. The Japanese album breaks into the Billboard 200 at No. 43 and was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Japan.  

Release of Love Yourself: Tear, the group’s third LP.

Performance of “Fake Love” at the Billboard Music Awards. The group was nominated for top social artist for the second year, and they won twice in a row.

BTS officially scores its first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 with Love Yourself: Tear (released May 18). “Fake Love” also charts at No. 10 on the Hot 100 following the album release, giving BTS the highest-ever position for a South Korean group to that point as well as the highest-debuting Korean song.

Nicki Minaj hops on the remix for “Idol,” and it becomes another chart success for the Bangtan Boys, peaking at No. 11 on the Hot 100. Two days later, Love Yourself: Answer debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 (and spends a total of 100 weeks on the chart).

The group makes its first ever visit to the United Nations and gives a speech at the general assembly for the launch of “Generation Unlimited,” a program to increase youth education and empowerment. RM speaks on behalf of the group on not succumbing to social pressures.

“Even after making the decision to join BTS, there were a lot of hurdles. Some people might not believe but, most people thought we were hopeless, and sometimes I just wanted to quit. I was very lucky that I didn’t give it all up,” he tells the audience.

BTS is named TIME‘s Next Generation Leaders, and in an interview with the magazine, Suga lets slip one major aspiration he has for the group. “I’m just throwing it out there,” Suga says, “but maybe we could perform at the Super Bowl someday.”

BTS wins a total of seven awards at South Korea’s Melon Music Awards, including album of the year (Love Yourself: Tear) and artist of the year. (Two weeks later, on Dec. 14, the group wins nine out of 12 of its nominated categories at the Mnet Asian Music Awards.)

The septet makes their debut on the Grammy Awards stage, presenting H.E.R with best R&B album of the year for her self-titled EP.

RM speaks for the group and says, “Growing up in South Korea, we always dreamed about standing on the Grammy stage. Thank you for all our fans for making this dream come true. And we’ll be back.”

BTS releases Map of the Soul: Persona, and the set hits No. 1 on the Billboard 200 — the group’s third effort to do so. The music video for “Boy With Luv” featuring Halsey is also released and breaks the record for most-viewed video on YouTube in 24 hours. The track peaks at No. 8 on the Hot 100.

BTS is named one of TIME 100’s most influential people. “Boy With Luv” collaborator Halsey writes about the boys’ dedication to their craft.

“I have known ‘the boys’—as I and other fans affectionately call them—for years and had the pleasure of traveling to Korea to hang with them on multiple occasions,” she writes. “Outwardly, they are polished and professional, but hours of laughter, secret handshakes and gifts exchanged show those around them that underneath this showstopping, neatly groomed movement are just some guys who love music, one another and their fans.”

BTS takes over the 2019 Billboard Music Award with a rousing performance of “Boy With Luv,” with Halsey taking the stage for an assist. The group wins the top social artist award for the third year in a row as well as the top duo/group award.

At the 2019 MMA, BTS win eight awards, including a daesang “all kill” — winning all awards in the major categories — making the group the first to ever do so.

BTS finishes off the year with yet another clean sweep. The group has another daesang “all kill” — the first group to do so — at the 2019 MAMA Awards.

BTS releases Map of the Soul: 7. The set debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and lead single “ON” debuts at No. 4 on the Hot 100.

BTS land among the world’s highest paid celebrities on Forbes‘ Celebrity 100 list, ranking at No. 47 with $50 million.

The group gives an inspiring commencement speech to the Class of 2020 in Korean and English, in which they spoke about their past graduations and performed singles “Boy With Luv” and “Spring Day” from the National Museum of Korea.

BTS hosts Bang Bang Con: The Live — a virtual concert — for the first time, which allowed fans to watch the septet perform tracks from Map of the Soul: 7. Big Hit reports 756,600 fans from 107 regions tuned in to watch, and as a result, earns the event “the biggest audience for a paid virtual concert” honor on the Guinness World Record list.

Map of the Soul: 7 ~ The Journey ~, BTS’ Japanese album consisting of several of the group’s hits throughout the years, is released.

“Dynamite,” BTS’ first single in English, is released. The track debuts atop the Hot 100 and becomes their first No. 1 single on the chart.

And just like that, BTS breaks yet another YouTube record. The video streaming platform confirms that the video for “Dynamite” earned 101.1 million views within its first 24 hours, making it the video with the biggest first day debut.

BTS takes the stage at the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards, and dazzles the crowd with a high energy performance of “Dynamite.” The septet also takes home the award for best group, while their single “ON” takes home best K-pop, best pop and best choreography.

BTS returns to the United Nations a second time for the 75th General Assembly to give a speech about how the COVID-19 generation will be affected by the pandemic in the future, as well as to give fans watching hope.

“Some people might not believe, but most people thought we were hopeless, and sometimes, I just wanted to quit,” RM says on behalf of the group. “But I think I was very lucky that I didn’t give it all up. And I’m sure that I, and we, will keep stumbling and falling like this. BTS has become artists performing in those huge stadiums and selling millions of albums right now, but I am still an ordinary 24-year-old guy. If there’s anything I’ve achieved, it was only possible that I have my other BTS members right by my side, and because of the love and the support that our ARMY fans all over the world make for us.”

BTS holds its second virtual concert, Map of the Soul: ON:E, for ARMY. The event is a smash — per Big Hit, the online concert draws 993,000 viewers from 191 countries over a two-day span.

BTS nets another No. 1 single, this time, thanks to their “Savage Love (Laxed – Siren Beat)” collaboration with Jawsh 685 and Jason Derulo.

BTS releases its fifth studio album, Be, which features “Dynamite” and lead single “Life Goes On.”

It finally happens: BTS gets its first ever Grammy nomination in the best pop duo/group category for “Dynamite.” The nomination marks the first South Korean pop act to ever be nominated for a Grammy.

“Life Goes On” debuts on the Hot 100 — the track becomes BTS’ third No. 1 on the chart in a whopping three months, and also marks the first Hot 100 No. 1 in the chart’s 62-year history sung predominantly in Korean.

BTS closes out the year with another major accolade: The group is crowned TIME‘s Entertainer of the Year. The feature says BTS is “the biggest band in the world” and “ascended to the zenith of pop stardom” despite “a year defined by setbacks.”

IFPI names BTS its Global Recording Artist of the Year for 2020, making the group the first Asian and first non-English speaking act to top the ranking.

Though BTS does not take home the Grammy award for best pop duo/group performance for “Dynamite,” the group takes the stage from Seoul to deliver a high energy performance of the track and is the first Korean nominated artist to grace the Grammy stage.

“Dynamite” becomes BTS” first double platinum single, as certified by RIAA.

“Butter” is released as BTS’ second English-language single. The track debuts at No. 1 on the Hot 100 and becomes the group’s fourth No. 1 in nine months. BTS becomes the first act since Justin Timberlake to accumulate their first four No. 1s so quickly. Among groups, they’re the fastest to land their first four No. 1s since the Jackson 5 in 1970.

“Butter” breaks a series of Guinness World Records across YouTube and Spotify. The video for “Butter” earned 3.8 million viewers for its countdown, earning it the most viewers for the premiere of a video on YouTube.

“Butter” also becomes the most-viewed YouTube music video in 24 hours, with 108.200 million views. On Spotify, the track becomes the most-streamed track in 24 hours on the platform.

“Permission to Dance” is released, and marks the group’s third single in English. Like “Butter” and “Dynamite” before it, “Dance” debuts at No. 1. on the Hot 100 and becomes the group’s fifth leader on the chart.

BTS is inducted into the Guinness World Records Hall of Fame for breaking a total of 13 records in 2021 alone. The institution states “ever since rising to international fame in 2018,” BTS “collected a jaw-dropping 23 Guinness World Records titles across music and social media – an amazing result achieved also thanks to enthusiasm of their fans, the ARMY.” (See their full list of records here.)

“Butter” gets certified double platinum in the United States by RIAA, tying with “Dynamite” as their most certified single.

BTS release their “My Universe” collaboration with Coldplay, which becomes the first single featuring two groups to debut at No. 1 on the Hot 100. The track also becomes BTS’ sixth No. 1 hit on the chart.

BTS takes over the AMAs and performs “Butter.” The group, in addition to winning favorite pop duo or group and favorite pop song for “Butter,” wins the coveted artist of the year award and becomes the first Asian artist to do so.

“Butter” is nominated for best pop duo/group performance for the 64th GRAMMY Awards. It marks the group’s second nomination.

BTS heads to Inglewood, Calif., for the Permission to Dance On Stage — L.A. concerts. The series of shows grosses $33.3 million from 214,000 tickets sold, making it one of the highest-grossing events of 2021 following venues’ reopening in the pandemic.

BTS sets another three Guinness World Records for being the most-followed group on TikTok, Twitter and Instagram.

The septet holds three limited capacity concerts titled Permission to Dance—Seoul at Seoul’s Olympic Stadium. The event draws 45,000 attendees, one of the largest music gatherings the South Korean government approved since pandemic restrictions.

The boys grace the Grammys once more for a James Bond-inspired performance of “Butter.” BTS was nominated once again in the best pop duo/group performance category for “Butter,” but did not take home the award.

BTS earns a whopping seven Billboard Music Awards nominations, including the top duo/group award (fourth year in a row), top song sales artist, top selling song (“Butter” and “Permission to Dance”), top Billboard global artist (excluding U.S.), top Billboard global song (excluding U.S.) ( “Butter”) and top rock song (“My Universe” with Coldplay) categories.

The group also kicks off two of its four Permission to Dance—Las Vegas concerts April 8-9, with the latter two happening April 15-16. The four shows earn $35.9 million and sell nearly 200,000 tickets, giving them the biggest box office of the group’s career and the only artist not from the U.S. or the U.K. to gross as much at a single venue.

The Bangtan Boys adds another feat to their roster. Following the BBMAs — during which the group performed “Butter” — BTS becomes the most awarded group in the show’s history after nabbing its 12th win.

BTS heads to the White House to meet with President Biden to discuss the uptick in anti-Asian hate crimes during the pandemic.

BTS release Proof, an anthology of hits, fan favorite tracks and previously unreleased demos scattered throughout the group’s discography. “Yet to Come” is released as a new single for the project, and debuts/peaks at No. 13 on the Hot 100. The compilation LP later debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.

BTS announce that they’re pausing group activities to give each member time to release their own solo music and complete their required military time.

BTS wins group of the year — again — at the VMAs for the fourth consecutive year, the first time any group has achieved the feat.

BTS earns its sixth platinum single certification from RIAA with “My Universe” alongside Coldplay. “MIC DROP,” “Boy With Luv,” “Idol,” “Butter,” and “Dynamite” received the honor in prior years.

BTS becomes the first group to surpass 30 billion streams on Spotify.

BTS earns another three Grammy nominations, this time in the album of the year (Music of the Spheres) best music video (“Yet to Come (The Most Beautiful Moment)”) and best pop duo/group performance (“My Universe”) categories.