BTS Talks About The Possibility Of Topping Billboard's Hot 100 In Entertainment Weekly Interview

Entertainment Weekly recently featured BTS on the cover of their April double issue, accompanied by an exclusive interview inside.

In the interview, which took place in English (a translator was present), the members talked about the practical downsides of fame, their musical influences, and their music production process.

About their process, RM said, “With seven members we have seven different tastes, of course. So when it comes to songwriting, it’s like a big competition.”

J-Hope then added, “[Occasionally] we’ll write a lyric and decide, ‘This sort of reflects me [more], who I am and my own color,’ so we’ll want to keep that for a solo song.”

The group was also cagey when it came to questions about their upcoming album, “Map of the Soul: Persona.” At the time of the interview, the album’s track list was not yet finalized, though the members used words like “therapeutic” and “refreshing crispness” to describe it.

The interviewer, Leah Greenblatt, also asked what they thought about their chances for topping the “holy grail” of American pop music, Billboard’s Hot 100 singles chart. BTS was the first K-pop group to reach the Top 10 on the Hot 100 and the second Korean artist behind PSY.

Suga shared that cracking the No. 1 spot would require a great song, but also “a whole strategy” and “a measure of luck.” He concluded, “So what’s important for us is just to make good music and good performances and have those elements come together.”

RM spoke about comparisons with Latin pop – the Spanish-language “Despacito” spent 16 weeks at No. 1 – and said that while the Hot 100 and a Grammy nomination were their goals, they did not intend to change their identity to achieve number one. “Like if we sing suddenly in full English, and change all these other things, then that’s not BTS,” he said. “We’ll do everything, we’ll try. But if we couldn’t get number one or number five, that’s okay.”

Steve Aoki, who has previously collaborated with BTS, also shared his thoughts in the interview. “I think it’s 100 percent possible that a song sung entirely in Korean could crack the top of the Hot 100,” he said. “I firmly believe that, and I really firmly believe that BTS can be the group that can do that.”

You can read more of EW’s interview on their website or pick up the issue when it hits stands on Friday, March 29.

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