Exclusive: “We want to see our fans in India,” BTS says

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BTS, the korean boy band who have beaten the charts and won hearts around the world, spoke exclusively with Rohit Khilnani from GalacticGaming about Music, India, BTS Army (as their fans collectively refer to themselves) and much more. BTS, who counts music maestro A R Rahman among his fans, will release his new album BE November 20. They became the first Asian and non-English speaking music group to sell Wembley Stadium last year and made the cover of TIME magazine in 2018 as ‘Next Generation Leaders’. Here is the full transcript of GalacticGaming’s interview with BTS members Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V and Jungkook.

GalacticGaming: Hello and welcome to GalacticGaming. I am Rohit Khilnani. It’s a very special show because we have very special guests. For the first time, BTS on GalacticGaming. Hi guys, annyeonghaseyo

BTS: Namaste, we are BTS. Namaste. What’s up.

GalacticGaming: So good to see you all. I would have liked to be there to see you in person. You have a lot of fans in India. There are BTS armies in India, that’s what your fans call themselves. What do you mean to the BTS army in India? They’re watching this interview right now.

BTS: We miss you, the Indian army.

We know that many fans in India send us a lot of support and love. Thank you for listening and connecting to our music. We believe we connect on a deeper level through music that transcends language and barriers. Even though we can’t see each other at the moment, we want to tell you how grateful we are.

GalacticGaming: Awesome. Your fans in India created your song ‘Dynamitenumber 1. It was on a music app in India for weeks at number 1, for 50 days. They are the ones who make it possible. What do you want to tell them? What does BTS want to convey to the world through their music?

BTS: First of all, thank you for the love and support, even though we didn’t go. It’s crazy days these days then. I don’t think we can say a single thing. If time goes by, and when all these crazy things end then we want to be there and see all the armies in India, and having that energy together, dancing together, singing together. So we really mean Namaste, to really be there and just give our voice in person.

GalacticGaming: Awesome. You have a special connection with your fans, through your music. Especially at a time like this, during the pandemic, lockdown, music has been a really good healer, hasn’t it? Do you agree? Do you think music heals the most difficult times?

BTS: I think that more than ever, during this global pandemic, music transcends barriers, nationalities and age. It is encouraging for us to hear how our music has energized through a difficult time. And I think the way to get over that is for all of us to pull ourselves together.

GalacticGaming: Right. And during this pandemic, you did concerts, you contributed to so many charities, it’s wonderful. I want to ask you, I watched your concert and really enjoyed it, online. How do you motivate yourself for a virtual concert, for an online concert, where the crowd is not really in front of you?

BTS: Our fans are of course the driving force that motivates us. We are here today because of them. For this concert, we got to see our fans through screens and we got to hear their voices as well. It has been so long since we last saw them, so it was a very moving and overwhelming experience. We were also grateful that so many fans joined us to enjoy the concert. With the help of technology, we could close the gap between us and our fans, which makes us comfortable with online gigs.

GalacticGaming: Awesome. Guys, you made the cover of Time magazine. You spoke to the UN. You’ve been on the biggest talk shows in the world. You had four number 1 albums on Billboard. Since the Beatles, this has never happened. And you are all young. How do you stay anchored? Because the fans are screaming all the time.

BTS: These are all amazing things that we still can’t figure out. There could be various factors that helped us get this far, maybe it’s our effort or our timing, but we truly believe that the love and support of ARMY made it all possible. It’s the most important thing that keeps us grounded.

GalacticGaming: Fantastic. Guys, over the last few months you’ve left clues about your next album BE. Do you want to explain to the watching audience, what is your band’s process for making music? Who in this group does what exactly?

BTS: It depends on track by track, and on a case by case basis. For this album, I can’t say a lot of things. But each member did their part, even the lyrics, the songs, the ideas. Or even fashion, blankets, whatever.

Our members have expressed their opinions while working on this album. So we talked about different themes and emotions, and incorporated all of that into this album. We are investing a lot in this project.

GalacticGaming: Right. And the second part of the question was: are there defined roles, who does what?

BTS: It is quite difficult to say who did what. It was a collective effort where we all did our best. There’s no fixed role, and for this one in particular we’ve all had a lot of input, so it’s hard to say who did what.

GalacticGaming: Right. This may be the secret to your success. I also want to ask you, you have filled stadiums in different countries where people don’t understand the language of the music you make. Have you ever wondered how you connect so well, even if the language is a barrier? Music clearly has no language.

BTS: There is no language barrier when it comes to music. We also listen to songs from different languages ​​that we don’t understand. Music is a medium that connects people. And we thank ARMY for enjoying our songs even though they don’t speak the language.

GalacticGaming: The most important question for the BTS army in India, when are you coming here? Give us an idea of ​​when they’ll see you playing live, in front of their eyes.

BTS: We want to see our fans in India and show them our performance. We hope that day will come soon when this pandemic ends.

GalacticGaming: Awesome. You know we can’t wait for this and I speak on behalf of all BTS fans. Before I go, I have a little video that your fans made for you with a few posts.

BTS: I love you. so sweet

BTS: We have heard that the ARMY in India has shown us a lot of love and support. We want to tell them that we can’t wait to see you too and hope that day comes soon enough.

GalacticGaming: Thank you very much. We hope you keep making this amazing music that you make and continue to greet the world with your beautiful music. Annyeonghaseyo. Thank you so much.

BTS: Thank you very much. See you in India.