BTS

The Bulletproof Boy Scouts name was used for the first time on J-Lim's "Ashes" with RM and rapper Iron, and later on tracks by other artists.

BTS debuted on June 13 with the album 2 Cool 4 Skool and the single "No More Dream." The O!RUL8,2? EP followed on September 11, and they won Best New Artist at the Melon Music Awards on November 13, their first major award.

Skool Luv Affair (February) became their first album on the World Albums chart, peaking at No. 3. They held a first fan club concert in Seoul in March, their first U.S. show (Show & Prove, Los Angeles) in July, and a Berlin fan meeting, their first European show. Dark & Wild arrived in August, the Red Bullet tour reached Kobe in November, and the Japanese album Wake Up came out in December.

BTS won Top Social Artist at the Billboard Music Awards in their first nomination, ending Justin Bieber's six-year streak in the category. Releases that year included Wings: You Never Walk Alone and Love Yourself: Her.

BTS became the only K-pop group to win Top Duo/Group at the Billboard Music Awards, a category they would win three times in total.

The singles "Butter" and "Permission to Dance" both reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100, alongside "Dynamite."

The anthology Proof arrived in 2022. BTS played Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas in April 2022, their last U.S. concert as a full group for four years. By October 2022 the group went on hiatus to complete mandatory military service and pursue solo work. Their Billboard Music Awards total reached 12 wins from 17 nominations, the most for any group.

During the hiatus members released solo projects, including Jungkook's debut album GOLDEN, with solo debut dated July 14, 2023. Jungkook began military service in December 2023.

Jin, Suga, J-Hope and others headlined solo tours, and Jin played Tampa on his #RUNSEOKJIN_EP.TOUR. In July the group said it was back in the studio and planning a new album plus a world tour.

All seven members completed service, and the album ARIRANG was released March 20, debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with 641,000 equivalent units, and lead single "SWIM" debuted at No. 1 on the Hot 100. It sold 3.98 million copies on day one and set a K-pop record of over 110 million first-day Spotify streams. A free comeback show at Gwanghwamun Square followed on March 21, and the ARIRANG world tour began April 9 in Goyang, with an 85-date, 34-city run reaching Tampa on April 25.