I spent a day with BTS ARMY (K-POP IDOLS)

BTS short for bangtan sonyeondan or bulletproof Boy Scouts in English is a seven-member boyband hailing from South Korea whose music style spans pop hip-hop R&B and EDM the band is so wildly popular that in 2018 BTS brought in more than 4.6 billion dollars accounting for 0.3% of South Korea's entire GDP it's no surprise a band this successful captivates its own diehard dedicated fanbase officially known as the BTS army an acronym for adorable representative MC for you since BTS is formation in 2013 the Army has established themselves as one of if not V most devoted loyal and diverse fan bases and music today with at least 90 million fans worldwide my name is anthony padilla and today i'm gonna be sitting down with the BTS army to learn the truth behind this massive elusive fandom does the BTS army consist of a diverse group of level-headed people who find comfort in the core values of BTS or are they millions of superficial screaming teenage girls obsessing over the most recent boyband craze who will turn their back once the next hit boyband emerges into the scene are these fans harmlessly showing their unwavering support for a band that resonates with them or are they nothing more than deeply disturbed obsessive stalkers who crave celebrity interaction to fill a void in their own lives [Music] I Candace low mainly Anthony hey Megan thank you so much for coming out and teach me about the wondrous world of the BTS army happy to do what do you consider yourself part of the BTS army a BTS Stan army army yeah everybody knows me I think would say I'm a fan but I don't want to use that word because I am NOT a psycho so I mean boy do I talk about them every day yes do I wake up in the morning check my Twitter for news about them yes do I go to bed looking at a funny video so I can just like laugh yes I think your worst and what does being part of the BTS army entail loving on the guys and loving on them yes even got sure with her with them what it says love love as long as you love their music as long as you're a fan of you know this group of seven guys kind of making their own way I think you can call yourself a BTS army I think it doesn't have to entail anything other than something as simple as that I feel like my day is not complete until I watched I can at least an hour BTS and our beats yesterday yes whoa 365 hours of beauty yes a year yeah how long have you been part of the BTS army two years to any 18 I became a fan in 2017 I was actually going to see a movie at LA Live and they were performing at Staples Center I like walked through this crowd of just like its felt like thousands of people with like BTS gear and I was like what is going on what is happening I have to know about this and after the movie wash the AMAs watch their performance of DNA and like literally it was downhill from there like life-changing whatever I literally have defined it as like before bangtan and after a bank like were you a fan from the moment you first heard a BTS song or did it take you a while to kind of warm up I had this one friend she was like crazy about them yeah and then she was like trying to get me into them and like she just showed me videos and pictures so you bonded with friends over beats yeah yeah and then that kind of got you in yeah I made a lot of friends through BTS I already have a soft spot for like kpop bands and you know in Korea like all the males have to go to the army to the actual army so the boys that were in the band that I used to like kind of had to leave take that break yeah and so I was like well I need to fill this void with another band and I was like I'll give BTS a chance and I went to their concert and I was like okay yeah like sign me up in this army because this is amazing just how big of a BTS band are you I've seen them eight times in two years well basically in one year when the dolls at Mattel doll those BTS dolls came out so I started recreating their outfits for their dolls whole ways you can recreate looks at the guys they're in your life and you make little versions of them for the doll yes whoa being very active on social media like a fan fans to Graham you run a fan BTS account yes and what do you put on I just like post updates like whether they're going to attend a music show or just like memes or just funny pose and you have a lot of people that follow that account for that stuff [Applause] what is it about BTS that draws you to devote so much of your life to showing support for them I think it's their message when it's like telling all the army to love themselves and speak yourself especially now in this generation how like people can feel really bad about themselves and like there's a lot of bullying so like BTS is there to tell you that it's okay like to just love yourself it doesn't matter about your flaws or anything I may sound dramatic but I do think that they make me like a better person in the sense that at least I'm thinking about it you know at least I'm thinking about loving oneself at least I'm thinking about like their UNICEF campaign none their end violence campaign at least I'm thinking about these things and trying to incorporate they teach you to be more positive in real life exactly do you ever find that people judge you for your devotion to BTS the judgment comes from this very normative place of like looking down upon fee connotated interest as opposed to a sports team or you know anything with an ALICE ism is just as strong right but there's one that's been normalized and is seen as exactly askew yeah I think it's a cultural thing I don't know for whatever reason the way that bands over there percent present themselves they've been judged because oh they were makeup or look at what they're wearing or they look too feminine bah bah bah and societal judgments expected of a man yes yes I don't know to be honest I really don't understand where they're coming from I got in a fight because they their logic just did not work and it's just like hate they had no reason behind it so I just had to I feel they need to say something did you did you spread any hate in defending them hey I don't think it was necessarily considered hey I was just telling them facts how do you feel the BTS Army is different than other fan bases out there well one big family and like BTS are like our parents if you were to say and let me just all look out for each other we all care for each other and it's just amazing to be a part of it so you're just a big happy family with seven dads that's progressive the fact that we are so big I mean obviously there's bad apples sort of in any yeah in anything like that but I think there becomes more bad apples I gather together to create like some systemic issues bigger any any type of group whether it's a subculture or fandom the bigger those are the more bad apples that are going to be yeah why do you think so many people do have harsh judgments about the BTS army what we've been seeing with their specific meteoric rise is this sort of xenophobic undertone that comes with Western media covering BTS there was a profile done by them recently where the author got a lot of ire from the fandom because he basically treated BTS as this thing that needed to be unveiled to the Western eye and it has this underlying xenophobic comin over the West as the center specifically American culture as the center a Dittus wants to know if you're aware of all the mess up things that goes on in the kpop industry I think that there becomes this narrative around the kpop industry as being this sort of all bad industry that abuses its artists I'm not saying that there haven't been abuses in the kpop industry entertainment industry here has its own set of issues so I think to sort of latch on to a criticism of kpop it belies a little bit of a narrative of like I'm ignoring what's happening in my own backyard um so I think that unfortunately that narrative comes from a more xenophobic place than people would be willing to admit mm-hmm what is one BTS song you feel everyone should listen to before having any judgement about BTS honestly Jen solo to me the lyrics are so powerful and it's like the courses I'm the one I should love yeah in this world like it's like about loving yourself before loving others and it's just so powerful and like his vocals what is one thing you would say two beats yes if they end up somehow watching this video thank you really thank you so much for all your hard work and thank you so much for your message because it really helped me through a lot and like sometimes I'll just like if I'm sad I'll just listen to their music my mood would instantly change and it's just amazing I love it you've said that if if you make us just like one percent happy that you guys feel accomplished well you have you have you guys have made my life very happy I think you guys are the cure to loneliness and also the inspiration for creativity and positivity that this world needs is it customary for BTS army to have their own specific favorite band members the term is bias like it's not a favorite it's a bias yeah like if you meet somebody you'll be like oh hey who's your bias and like bla bla bla group then there's this thing called bias wrecker we record yes bias record is like okay you have your bias which is the guy that you like the weather you're dreaming of but then all of a sudden you start noticing another one and that's the bias record what are your parents and family think about your obsession with beats yes my mom actually I got hurt eventually to like it do you like it now a concert buddy so my parents don't get it my brother loves it so the insular nuclear family were half-and-half okay okay we've got half that are absolutely army all the way BTS and then they don't get it and that's fine I think deep down inside they just think oh my she's gonna be single forever because since there's a certain level of guy that I express my your expectations for guys is now BTS or nothing or at least a BTS fanboy okay there's anyone out there are we gonna chance to get yourself someone if you want to say something out there to someone what would you say if you love BTS we can get along so hit me up do you hope to be a BTS Dan until the day you die I see myself liking them for a long time I don't see myself stopping anytime soon because there's just not it's just so much to like about them and it's just like so amazing to watch them am I always gonna be a fan yes am I am I gonna like look back when I'm like old and gray and be like man I can't believe that I lived through that time it's like almost being alive when you were into the Beatles back then right but it's like now it's like wow I was part of history well I like BTS when I die yeah I think a BTS really helps me with my own personal journey both through law school through mental health all of that just giving me sort of I don't want to call them a coping mechanism but like I think you know they are a little bit and so it becomes a part of you what is it about being a BTS fan that brings you the most joy I would really boil it down to a sense of belonging that you know if we're all trying to find it somewhere why is it bad if some people have found it in a Korean pop group people always ask me Oh what do you do you know cuz I work a lot you know I work in production so long hours and and then it's like okay I go home and I could either be sad that I don't have a social life or I can just like spend hours watching the boys do it being funny and doing their own things and it's just it brings me joy what do you think the biggest misconception about the BTS army is so the stereotype about maybe Oh why are you you're you're latina why are you into like Korean music we go through that a lot so some people think that you have to be the same race maybe because and I guess it goes back to the language thing they're like can you understand what they're saying you don't have to hear them saying the words I know what it means exactly you just enjoy the music performance time was there anything you could teach me or show me thank you oh yeah I can it's called fire the music video fire the music video yeah their choreography is very interesting but yeah and then you I do a little hop oh yeah do a little hop and then you go one one two three four and then you go like this you have to move your arms oh shoot man there's no body parts yeah you make Oh [Music] my part of the army now yeah you are yeah I actually have a parting gift for you a best interviewer shirts that you could get at padilha shop calm and you know what I think this would look great in your next meeting yes fan photo well you know what it's gonna say if I ever get to interview them I'm gonna make sure to subscribe to Antony Padilla - love yourself like BTS would want you to a purple you all right five seconds a shout out to promote anything you want directly in a camera go high you can follow me on instagram and youtube at bps fashionista shout out to mr. Jones at sixth period class history and follow me on instagram at correct gen follow me at Meg underscore Allen register to vote and read Edward Syed's 1978 book Orientalism thank you so much Megan I feel like I fully understand the wondrous world of the BTS army happy to help after spending the day with these BTS fans I've come to understand just how strong of a positive impact BTS has made in their lives when music and art have always cultivated such strong emotional responses in people who are we to judge a fan base like the BTS army for finding ways to unite and create a community in which love and acceptance are at the forefront of their values see you later bye guys all right I was dating one guy that we had broken up and but then you know three months later hey Lee how you been I'm like well I mean - BTS oh but they don't kiss you then I'll hug you and like well they kiss and hug my soul more than you ever did exactly

Channel: AnthonyPadilla

Views: 1,403,662

Rating: 4.9402566 out of 5

Keywords: anthony padilla, padilla, anthony, smosh anthony, anthony padilla smosh, i spent a day with, interview, bts, bulletproof boy scouts, bulletproof boy bts, army, A.R.M.Y., fan, stan, bts army, bts v, korean music

Id: QX2M-yPVEeg

Length: 15min 53sec (953 seconds)

Published: Tue Jan 07 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/EmOmIm]

I’ve watched a few videos from his interview series, and I love the conversation it starts in the comments. People come in with an expectation about a community, but end up realizing people with different lifestyles and hobbies are just doing what makes them happy, and who are we to judge them for that?

Like a comment under this video, someone said the part of the video pointing out judgement towards things women tend to enjoy more really made them think. It’s “normal” to like a football team, going to all their games across the country, wear their merchandise, decorate your home with it, etc. But the commenter said they judged BTS fans for doing similar things. and they said the video gave them some new perspective.

[u/MasterOfConcrete]

I really liked this video. He asked really nice questions, and the ARMY were really well spoken!

[u/Eriskay]

I found the 3 ARMYs in the interview did a fantastic job conveying our fandom and Bangtan as a whole :)

[u/LovelyVidel]

I used to watch Smosh all the time back in the day so it’s cool to see him do this. Really good questions asked by him and armys answered well too 🥺💜

[u/nonasina]

I am so happy when I got the notification from Anthony! I like how he he keeps the interview focused to the important but also kept it fun. The short haired girl is great at speaking. Also lol-ed at the girl who tried to explain bias wrecker haha. I purple you Anthony!

[u/Aoki_Ranmaru]

Good chance to train my listening skills: useful and pleasurable.