But They Shouldn’t.
KPop giants BTS have announced they are taking a hiatus — meaning, it’s over — to do solo projects.
This announcement caused a seismic wave of news in South Korea last night. BTS there is like the Beatles used to be in the West. The band’s company, Hybe, is publicly traded in South Korea. The stock immediately plummeted by 28% when the news broke last night according to Bloomberg, wiping out as much as $1.7 billion dollars.
This is an issue that reverberates here in America. Hybe bought Scooter Braun’s management company last year, the one that houses Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, and Demi Lovato.
Last week, BTS released a compilation album with three new tracks. Hitsdailydouble.com says the opening week numbers, which will be counted on Friday, should come to 259,000. That’s a lot less than usual, a signal that the group’s audience is aging out. This happened to NSync, Backstreet Boys, and One Direction. News of the breakup, however, could cause a spike in sales today and tomorrow as fans will want physical copies as souvenirs.
In a video, BTS member RM said: “I felt like I needed time to spend on my own.” Another, Suga, said “It’s not like we’re disbanding.”
Which BTS member will become Justin Timberlake or Harry Styles? Back when those groups were in their prime, everyone knew those singers’ names while they were still in their ensembles. Right now, no one from BTS has that name recognition in the US. That may be an issue. Geffen Records/Universal Music will be among those labels trying to determine which solo member to sign up. Remember, when One Direction split, Styles was not yet a superstar. Other members like Zayn Malik and Niall Horan got contracts and released music right away. Neither of the latter two did much, with Malik completely imploding.
So stay tuned.
