BTS Make History And Shatter Cultural Barriers With Rousing Saturday Night Live Performances

Saturday Night Live is a notoriously tricky stage to master. It's small — in case you think Studio 8H looks small on television, it's even smaller in real life — and the sound mix is routinely slightly off. And most importantly, it's live, which means anything can happen. Still, performing on SNL is a crucial test for an artist, and for those who can transcend the stage's shortcomings and create a truly memorable efficiency it's a defining moment in their career.


For Korean artists BTS, the stakes were even higher on Saturday night (April 13). Because the opening K-pop group to perform as musical visitors on SNL, it was a chance to be taken seriously by the industry at large. Yet if they were nervous, BTS didn't show it.


In fact, there was a general sense of ease as BTS performed their latest single "Boy With Luv." The septet — consisting of members RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook — charmed crowds with their boundless energy, on-stage charisma, playful choreography, and slick precision. They did not have to do anything added with the stage, or try and turn it into three-minute efficiency art to prepare something visually arresting. Just purple lights — the signature color of the categorize and their fans, referred to ARMY — and also a live musical group, thereby putting Western perceptions of the "manufactured K-pop machine" to rest. (They even invited songwriter Melanie Fontana, who co-wrote "Boy With Luv," to sing backup vocals for them on stage.)


History aside, perhaps their most miraculous feat was just how well it all worked in that tiny, hallowed studio. With seven members, BTS somehow made the SNL stage feel larger than life.


If "Boy With Luv" was a feel-good celebration — an introduction to the world's biggest boy musical group — then their second efficiency, "Mic Drop," was a fiery coronation. Because the group's first certified platinum hit in the U.S., The hip-hop track "Mic Drop" (released first in 2017, then again with a Steve Aoki remix in 2018) was a sensible choice for the sort. Although in back of it being one of their most well-known songs in the U.S., It's also a choice display of the group's duality: Sure, they can be playful, however they're also fierce and so they have swagger — and so they can dance.


For Western crowds longing for the days of actual boy musical group choreography (and if so, you've got to maybe get into Korean pop music), BTS brought an epic, electrifying dance break to Studio 8H:


Of course, SNL is only the latest stop on the group's history-making journey. They were the opening Korean act to have a No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 — a feat so impressive they did it again — and they're also the opening Korean sort to hold a stadium concert in the U.S. — Again, they broke their own record by announcing a full-on global stadium tour, selling out dates in England, France, and the U.S.


Although there's something remarkable about the sort of visibility SNL affords an artist. And for Korean Residents of the United States watching at residence — who have never grown up with a full-time Asian cast member on Saturday Night Live — seeing seven Korean boys joyously sing in Korean and symbolize their culture was a milestone you can't start to quantify with records and charts.


There's a lot to be mentioned about where BTS goes from here, how they channel this fame and visibility into tangible results. Their goals are ambitious, yet not unlikely: a No. 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 ("Boy With Luv" will arguably get them closer than ever before); a chance to perform on the Grammy stage; as well as a coveted Grammy nomination for their music.


However what of Korean music overall? Right now that BTS have busted down barriers that previously prevented Korean artists from making it big in the U.S. — And changed Western perceptions about K-pop in the process — there's no telling who or what will break through next as BTS continue their quest for total world domination. Nevertheless one thing is certain: The musical landscape is better for it.


BTS are the firsts, nevertheless their SNL performances ensured they won't be the lasts.