How I got into Kpop aka how BTS became my bias group

BlackPink "Playing with Fire" photoshoot

Thanks to BlackPink.

I am fairly new to this whole Kpop thing but I must say I am very impressed and don’t regret anything (well, apart from the fact that I love so many groups and have so many biases and spend so much time streaming their comebacks and whatnot). It’s been only six or seven months, I guess, that I began to love this whole new world. Let me warn you newcomers, though. It’s an addicting world. So, enter on your own accord. Anyways, here’s the detailed story of how I got myself into this amazing mess.

BTS? Fire? What is this?

So, I was watching Superwoman videos on YouTube one day and like every other unicorns, I was skimming through the comments. And oh my Lord! The comment section was crazy! About 90% of the comments were something like “Lilly, please react to BTS-Fire!” or “OMG! Please make your parents react to Fire by BTS.” Even some usernames were like “React to BTS-Fire.” This got me really interested to see what the hype was all about. So, I made the best decision (or worst mistake) of my life.

This is LIT!

So, I searched for BTS-Fire on YouTube and my first impression of the boys were “Wow! This song is great.” But not great enough for me to actually change my thoughts about Kpop. I was still not into this genre (please don’t hate me, BTS is now my ultimate bias group). Out of the seven, Jin stood out the most to me. He had blonde hair that time and for some reason he really looked majestic. I thought he was the leader or something (I was not totally wrong; he may not be the leader but he’s the eldest hyung). Another person that stood out to me was RapMonster (NamJin, anyone?). When I saw him, my first thought was, “He’s straight out of an anime!” *insert wow emoji here*

Anyways, I saw a pair of twins (Sandy Mandy from YouTube) made a cover of it on my recommendation panel. Curious, I clicked on their video. The next song – right after Fire – was Whistle by BlackPink. So…yep, you guessed it…I clicked it.

And my life was suddenly awesome!

The song was so good that I was instantly invested into it. There you go, guys. Whistle by BlackPink was the very first Korean Pop song that I absolutely loved and adored and this group made me take Kpop seriously. Especially Jisoo – I was so enamored and enchanted by her beauty, style and charms that I wanted to watch the music video over and over again just to see her. And the other girls – Rose, Jennie and Lisa – made amazing combination with Jisoo. But mind you, though. Whistle was not the song that made me an official YouTuber.

Taeyang from Bigbang

It was Ringa Linga by Taeyang.

While jamming to Whistle (and Fire as well), I remembered that ages ago, I saw a video by WatchMojo.com on top 10 iconic kpop songs and as far as I remembered, Ringa Linga by Taeyang was ranked number 2 by them. The name got me curious and so, I looked for it on YouTube and became an official Kpopper. Ringa Linga was so brilliant (they did use phosphorescence in the MV) that I decided to find out more about this amazing Pop world that was hidden to me for so long. In fact, I actually felt bad for depriving myself of all that awesomeness.

One thing led to another and I saw Fantastic Baby by Bigbang (the group Taeyang belongs to) and was invested into them more. YouTube recommended me variety shows this group went to and I found myself enjoying Korean humor a lot. Thus, I became an official VIP.

I need you, BTS.

I watched so much of Bigbang from variety shows to popular Kdrama recreations that at one point YouTube failed me to supply more. I’ve watched it all. So, I thought of looking for other things Kpop has to offer. At that time, I remembered that once I listened to Fire by this group called BTS (Bangtan Sonyeondan). So, I decided to see more of their MVs and the first song YouTube recommended me was “I need you”. This song immediately became by favorite BTS song and I felt that it was so much better than Fire. In fact, I had this wonderful emotional connection to “I need you”.

Suga (BTS), my love, my life
How can anyone not love him?

One song led to another and before I knew it, I have already watched Run, No, Boy in Luv, War of Hormones etc. I saw their fan made bloopers and vines, all episodes of Rookie King and American Hustle Life, their interviews, Bangtan Bombs and more. I absolutely loved how they are so serious and energetic on stage and so dorky and playful off it. It was something new to me.

Compared to American Pop, where most of the actors/musicians need to be animated on screen, seeing a bunch of popular idols acting so natural and genuine on camera was something very much new to me and I believe that is what attracted me to Kpop (especially BTS) the most. I loved their personalities and all their videos gave the feeling of an actual hangout with friends instead of making me feel vulnerable or intimidated as a fan. And to this day, I remained a faithful ARMY.

I’m discovering more talents.

Just because I am in love with BTS does not mean I don’t like other groups. I love and enjoy Got7, Exo, Super Junior, Twice and many more (do I have to repeat BlackPink and Bigbang?). And this year, I found more groups – like Shinee and Btob. And I know there will be many more boy groups and girl groups in the future that will fill in the places when BTS takes a rest. And I'm ready to stan more groups.

Well, that’s all, guys. That’s the complete history of how I got into Kpop and how I’m thriving in it. If you enjoyed reading this, don’t forget to comment and let me know how you guys learned about Kpop.