With a week full of record breaking moments, BTS are making their presence felt among the general public of the United States, with the latter, in turn, trying to leverage the moment to learn about the seven men who have taken the world by the storm. Today, another opportunity presented itself in front of the people when they saw a South Korean boy group on a show they and their older generation have been watching for over four decades.
Today, BTS made an appearance on Saturday Night Live as a musical guest alongside Emma Stone who returned to the show as a host as and as a cast member. The moment was historic for not just the members as they became the first South Korean group to make the appearance but also for the Asian community who finally found their due representation on the show.
Saturday Night Live has been significant for the viewers as well as the people featured on the show. With sketches that touch upon and comment on the contemporary sociopolitical issues, the show has helped its cast and writers make it big in the industry. Running since the year 1975, SNL has provided itself as space where the “freedom of speech” is upheld and the topics that don’t find their way in the media due to power politics are discussed in the form of satirical sketches.
BTS are known for creating socially conscious art and their presence on a show that primarily focuses on holding a mirror to the society provide a powerful validation of their significance as artists.
After their attendance at the United Nations for the Generation Unlimited campaign, the septet has been able to shift the narrative in the mainstream media from being a mere “KPOP” band with visually attractive members to a group that is becoming a voice of their generation. SNL has only helped further the new narrative.
Performing “Boy With Luv” and “MIC DROP”, BTS showed two different aspects of their work to the audience. The choice of songs seems deliberate. To the audience who might not know anything about BTS, these songs showcased the variety BTS seem to offer.
The performance as expected, was on point, both musically and visually. Managing to adjust their powerful moves and larger than life performances within a small stage, BTS not only combined dancing with the live vocals but also made brilliant use of the live instrumentation to showcase their artistic prowess. A lot of commentators on YouTube praised the members for their “stable” voices even after putting forth an intensive dance routine. Well received by the audience within the studio and on the social media, BTS cemented their place as the highlight of the show.
Either by watching through their TV sets or via the live streaming links available online, fans made a point of supporting the group on its historic day.
Since the day of its release, BTS’ new single “Boy With Luv” is breaking records after records. Becoming one of the fastest Korean group MVs to reach 100 million views on YouTube in just 37 hours and 38 minutes and getting the highest debut on US pop radio, it does not seem like the fans are going to stop anytime soon.
What do you think? Share your thoughts about BTS’ performance on the SNL via tweet @CelebMix. Check out our detailed track-by-track analysis of the new mini album here.