- BTS on hiatus
This past week, K-pop group BTS, quite possibly the biggest boy band in the world right now, announced that they were going on an indefinite hiatus. The K-pop sensation that once added five billion dollars a year to South Korea’s economy annually, shared the news themselves on their social media channels announcing that the group now wished to focus more on solo projects and really find their groove as individuals.
Known for being one of the most dramatic followings in the world, the BTS fandom, also known as the ‘BTS Army’ has flooded all social media platforms to convey how distraught they are by this new development. As soon as the news dropped earlier this week, Brunch reached out to a few fans to share their thoughts. Is this breakup really temporary or is this just delaying the inevitable?
Saasha Karunarathne shared that the news had been incredibly surprising, especially considering where BTS were at right now.
“They are at the top right now, and they are working towards a Grammy which they are yet to receive,” she explained. “So I don’t know why they would announce a hiatus at this time. But I guess as they’ve mentioned, they felt that the K-pop system kept them incredibly busy and unable to explore their own passions, and some members even said that they’ve struggled to blend musically as a unit. I think one solace for fans is that because they are such a huge band and they generate so much revenue it is likely that the company may be incentivised to bring them back. However, considering what they’ve said and looking at bands like One Direction who cited similar reasons when breaking up, it is a little uncertain whether they plan to come back or not, but we never know.”
While BTS may be going on a “temporary hiatus,” as the band has put it, conditional with a promise to still work together but just not make new music, we wondered whether breaking up was simply an inevitability of boy bands.
Take One Direction, for example. Previously one of the world’s biggest boy bands until they announced their hiatus in 2015, the band recently made news when one of its members, Liam Payne, spoke quite candidly about his own experiences being in the band during its heyday. One Direction was a household name at one point and the band was at the top of it all when they too announced a hiatus. This was in 2015 after just five years of being a band. It is 2022 now, and some of the band’s members have gone on to have successful solo careers. Although, with Liam recently spilling all this tea on what’s been happening behind the scenes, it’s looking more and more likely that One Direction may not actually be on a hiatus and that they’ve simply just broken up. The last couple of weeks have been sad for delusional boy band fans of all ages.
Boy bands doomed to break up
So, are all boy bands really doomed to break up? The question often gets asked because of the bigger names that have come and gone – the Beatles, NSYNC, Boyzone, Backstreet Boys – and then there are the other bands that were technically not ‘boy bands’ but caused pop culture rifts as they announced their breakups – Daft Punk, Oasis, Pink Floyd, ABBA and even the Spice Girls.
It’s always heartbreaking for fans when their musical heroes decide they need a break or want to explore other options musically. Considering it is the fans who are affected most severely by these decisions, we reached out to a few K-pop fans who shared with us their thoughts on the BTS hiatus and also the nature of boy bands and whether they are in fact doomed to eventually break up.
Pujanee Galappaththi shared: “BTS is currently the biggest pop culture sensation in the world and this ‘break up’ may seem like it is coming at the worst possible time. However, it has to be understood that K-pop culture is all-consuming and single-minded. The BTS boys have done nothing but write, make music, practice and repeat since they were teenagers, thus allowing very little room for self-improvement. Certain other bands like Blackpink and Big Bang are all known to take years where they do not release music or take breaks when the members can do their own thing and eventually come back when they feel ready to be a part of their idol group again. So I actually think maybe taking breaks will be helpful for the longevity of the band in the long run.”
Chethana Ketagoda also shared her thoughts on boy bands in general and the longevity of bands: “It is a group activity, just like any sport – after a lot of time you get exhausted, you get jealous, maybe insecure because different members may get different levels of attention. So, if everyone is giving their best and only some members are getting their deserved response from the audience, then obviously it leads to issues,” she noted. However, she added: “I think the main thing, however, is exhaustion. It is not easy to remain in sync for nearly a decade, and of course, after a while, each of these artists who have different tastes in music will want to explore their interests. You cannot suppress your inner voice forever,” she noted.
Longevity of bands
To stay together is not an easy thing. Even relationships, no matter how special, sometimes run their course. However, there are plenty of examples where baands have stayed together for years and continued to tour and grow together. Bands like U2, Aerosmith, and Red Hot Chilli Peppers are touring to this day, and then there are others who survived their respective hiatuses and actually had successful comebacks like Fall Out Boy, Backstreet Boys and Blink-182.
Even in Sri Lanka, we have a perfect example of a band that has stood the test of time going on their 22nd year as a band – Stigmata has thrived for the past two decades. Suresh de Silva, the frontman of the iconic Sri Lankan rock band Stigmata, shared that while there is no ultimate secret to success, it all boils down to respect; respect for your craft, to your members and respect for your fans.
He referred to the incredibly interdependent ecosystem that exists when you are a performing artist, and shared: “When you play together as a band, it is not just the chemistry of how you play but also about creating lasting relationships with human beings – those who grow and change and those who may have started off sharing the same vision but over time begin to differ,” he said. “It is like playing a team sport – we must respect each other and not lose sight of why we do what we do and learn to evolve together,” he concluded.
There are plenty of examples where brands have survived their hiatus’ and plenty who haven’t. However, one thing that BTS fans can find comfort in, is the fact that the band has left behind a massive body of work and endless content which we can all revisit anytime that we want. In the meantime, BTS will go out into the world, explore their individual interests and perhaps from time to time they will come back to being seven again.
