BTS, the South Korean boy band, is flaming hot whether they perform together or as solo artists.

Suga, a member of BTS, marked the grand finale of his world tour in Seoul. He successfully completed his first solo world tour, 'D-DAY,' at the Jamsil Indoor Gymnasium in Songpa-gu, Seoul, on the 24th and 25th. The meeting between Suga and his local fans after a long time, and the show that concluded his approximately two-month-long world tour, received more heated attention than the summer heat exceeding 30 degrees Celsius.

The album 'D-DAY,' released last April, concludes Suga's trilogy presented under another pseudonym, Agust D. It is also his first personal album released about three years after his mixtape 'D-2' in 2020. With this album, Suga achieved his highest personal score on the US Billboard chart, entering the main album chart, 'Billboard 200,' at No. 2.

In this concert, Suga demonstrated his potential as a solo artist with performances of tracks from 'D-DAY,' as well as 'Daechwita,' 'Agust D,' 'Give It To Me,' and other stages not seen on the BTS stage. The world tour, which started at Belmont Park in the United States last April, met a total of 280,000 fans in the US, Indonesia, Thailand, Japan, etc., and communicated with nearly 300,000 fans, including 15,000 from the two-day concert in Seoul.

Particularly, Suga surprised fans by announcing plans for an encore concert at KSPO DOME (formerly Olympic Gymnastics Arena) in Songpa-gu from August 4 to 6. Suga promised, "When I stand on the stage again, I will stand as seven," foreshadowing the return of the complete group.

BTS continues to showcase its power as a team. On the 22nd, the group won the top trophy with their digital single 'Take Two,' released to commemorate the 10th anniversary of their debut, on Mnet's 'M! Countdown.' They achieved this without any broadcast appearances or special promotions. 'Take Two' entered the US Billboard's main singles chart 'Hot 100' at No. 48, and the OST 'The Planet' for the animation 'Bestians,' which BTS participated in, re-entered the 'Global (excluding the US)' at No. 118, proving their ongoing status.

Recently, BTS also achieved the feat of placing several works on the 'Best Songs and Albums of the First Half of the Year' selected by foreign media. The LA Times included 'Haegum,' the title song of Suga's solo album 'D-DAY,' in 'Best Songs of the First Half of 2023.' Rolling Stone and Consequence of Music also listed 'D-DAY' as one of the 'Best Albums of the First Half of 2023.'

Jimin's first solo album 'Face' also made it onto Rolling Stone's 'Best Albums of the First Half of 2023,' and the title song 'Like Crazy,' which topped the Billboard 'Hot 100,' was selected for Billboard's 'Staff Picks: Top 50 Songs of the First Half of 2023.' J-Hope, currently serving in the military, made it onto the 'Best 30 Songs of the First Half of 2023,' posted by US entertainment media Complex, with the song 'On The Street,' a collaboration with American rapper J. Cole.

The members continue to set new records. Jimin's solo album 'Face' broke the fastest record for a K-pop solo artist album with 650 million streams on Spotify as of the 21st (Korean time). Jungkook achieved a new record as the first solo artist worldwide to surpass 195 billion views on the global short video platform TikTok with a single hashtag '#jungkook.' J-Hope became the first Korean solo artist to surpass 15 million followers on Spotify.

The solo activities of BTS members will continue to attract attention in the second half of the year. Solo activities of Jungkook and V are planned. In the case of Jungkook, news has emerged that he will release a solo album in July. Jungkook has been setting new records even before his official solo activities, as 'Dreamers,' the official soundtrack of the 2022 Qatar World Cup, surpassed 1 billion streams on Spotify. The world's fans are focusing on the new records he will set with his solo album.

BTS, which celebrated its 10th anniversary this year, is always accompanied by the adjectives 'first' and 'best.' The saying "BTS's records are broken by BTS" is widely quoted for this reason. Despite the fact that the members are entering the military in succession, making full-group activities impossible, the achievements they are making through individual activities are encouraging. An industry insider said, "As the growth of BTS signifies the growth of K-pop, their achievements, undeterred by military service, can set a precedent for many K-pop boy groups in the future."

After branching out into seven different stems and bearing their own fruits, everyone is eagerly waiting for 'Take Two' of BTS, which will meet again as one stem and become even larger and stronger.

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