At first they weren’t mainstream enough. Weren’t global enough.
Then bts became the most successful global act across the board, breaking barriers, records, claiming longevity and relevance and still they weren’t “enough”. They were instead used for their reach, used for their name and their global fandom.
Now with Arirang, an album that has yet to reach its peak bc it’s quite literally peaking every single day, an album that has world-renowned producers who worked on it singing praises months after its release, an album about roots, identity, separation, overcoming adversity, resilience, reunion and legacy, an album only 3 months into its existence demanding the level of recognition that can’t be ignored.
So, what do they do to acknowledge it?
They create ridiculous categories in the name of diversity which to me feels like just a fancy word for exclusion.