a deep dive into bts predebut history - how bts became who they are today

[@maddisenmanu]

OMG - I only just noticed that my editing programme removed some of the clips and there’s just a blank screen 😭 I’m so embarrassed. I’ll make sure to triple check next time!!! Also - I'm not sure if people have skipped the intro but I just wanted to reiterate that I'm aware I would have missed a lot of information about the members and their history and pre-debut information. As I mentioned in the intro - It's near impossible to watch every single video and read every single interview especially as someone who (at the time of making this video) was studying full time and working part time. This video was purely for fun and was a personal project for myself to learn more about the members - the aim wasn't to cover every single minute detail but rather to share information that maybe wasn't super common to fans/army and also as a way for those who are wanting to get into BTS to have a bit more information 💜 If I have left out a fact or some fun information please comment it below - let's learn more about bangtan! Like I said in the outro - please be kind, this truly was something I did for fun to share more about my favourite band 😸

[@marinal.]

did u watch Rise of Bangtan? i am curious. Also, Boracitry Magazine did a vid on BTS discography in the early stages. Not sure if u checked it out. ty.

[@maddisenmanu]

@ I haven’t! Some reason it didn’t come up in my research but other commenters have pointed it out 🥰

[@user-mc3qv4pw1p]

this is so needed bc so many people are rewriting history

[@maddisenmanu]

Thank you for your comment! ❤

[@MOI-rt5zi]

In this era where antis are getting way too comfortable re-writing BTS's history and spreading misinformation about the members, this video was very much needed. Thank you for your hardwork.

[@maddisenmanu]

Thank you for your kind words ❤

[@jenniferluquette5285]

They didn't ride the wave they created it. Love it!

[@maddisenmanu]

thank you so much!

[@senu.]

for some reason pre debut bts is not that wildly discussed and well documented so thank you for putting this all together in a video essay format!

[@maddisenmanu]

Thank you for your kind words!

[@MewDenise]

It is VERY interesting hearing the members say that Bighit had no trainee system when they joined, so everything was shaped and put into place thanks to them. It warms my heart that Namjoon's method of telling the members to listen to a playlist with a big range of music genres, stayed within the company.

[@maddisenmanu]

Thank you for your comment!

[@user-nh5iz8xu7y]

Yeah, but sadly hybe after the success of bts went back to training idols like the big 3 not even looking for already talented producers and composers but training idols to perfection. They stopped helping artist grow with txt, but maybe it’s just a bighit standard.😅

[@JinJuneOut-ld1jn]

Tip... never trust anything being said when their name starts with 'user'. These are usually fake short lived accounts created for no good purpose.

[@amoulate1]

People should also don't forget army, army was clever fandom they made a wave of translating bts content to each other, army made the wave of respecting bts, army helped bts to get to america, army streams parties....... Alot of things initiated by bts and army so nowadays kpop fandoms and group try to ride on and follow yet its really not genuine they are following a trend by bts and army created a trend

[@maddisenmanu]

for sure!! I’m hoping to mention that in part 2/3 🥰

[@crushedflora2696]

Another honorable mention for me- Rise of Bangtan series. Been Army since 2019 and its great to see images and hear new really deep researched info and the way the timeline flows into each piece. Like 24:15 about JK's dad encouraging to audition for BH and 28:06 Tae knew about BTS before the audition. Enjoyed your unique way of doing a BTS history guide. Keep going if this is a project you're passionate about 💜

[@maddisenmanu]

Thank you so much for your kind words! 🩷

[@thv_rgh]

I really liked the video so please complete the rest of the series what happened to bts after the First appearance 💜💜💜💜💜💜

[@maddisenmanu]

@@thv_rgh thank you! I really appreciate your comment and kind words 🩷

[@BTSISMYHAPPYPLACE4VER]

Yes, 2nd part. Please and thank you. Put links too. Awesome job.

[@maddisenmanu]

Thank you for your comment! ❤

[@sanidhyamahajan7079]

This is actually so informative, i have been a fan for almost 9 years and i still found out new things through this video. The research for this video must have been insanely hard!!!! Loved the video!!!!

[@maddisenmanu]

Thank you so much!!! I really appreciate it 🥰

[@shockofthenew]

This is such a cool video, thanks for putting so much work into it! As a 10+ year ARMY who's done some research myself over the years, I wanted to add a few things. This topic is so huge and overwhelming it's impossible to get everything in one go... it's kind of fascinating how documenting Bangtan's history is like this kind of endless oral history collaborative project. ➡ I noticed you sometimes mixed up Korean and international ages, which is easy to do since it's a confusing issue! Until very recently Korean age was measured differently, so you'll find BTS being referred to as 1-2 years older than they actually are in a lot of sources. For example Namjoon was likely around 15-16 international age when he made his pre-debut mixtape (which as far as I know was just a collection of his various underground rap songs), and 16 when he signed to Big Hit. Jungkook was 13 when he auditioned for Superstar K in early 2011, and he joined Big Hit shortly after. He was 15 at debut. The easiest thing to do is ignore what age an article says, instead look at the date in question and calculate based on their date of birth. ➡ Just a small thing, but you said Big Hit "built their first dorm" for BTS to move into, but I think maybe you just misspoke because it was quick. They lived together in a small apartment in an existing Nonhyeon-dong apartment complex. Random extra details: Yoongi said in an interview with You Quiz in 2021 that as many as 11 trainees would share that tiny bedroom, and since they didn't have enough beds some of them would sleep on the floor. Namjoon mentioned they also shared a bathroom, which wasn't enough for all of them, so sometimes they would have to run down the street to a local public bathroom. ➡ Yoongi has definitely confirmed his parents didn't support him early on. I remember him talking about it a few times, but the only source I actually have saved is a brief mention from the LA Times in 2023. The interviewer brought it up and he just acknowledged it and said "things are good with us [now]." As for the full backstory of that, I unfortunately can't remember a specific source so take this with a grain of salt, but I clearly remember him talking about it years ago, telling a story where after increasing arguments he came home one day to find all his lyric notebooks had been destroyed, and that spurred his decision to move away from home. Again, I can't confirm this since I don't remember the source, but I have a memory of hearing him talk about it! ➡ Not a correction just a query - I know Seokjin was street casted, but I don't think that necessarily means he didn't audition. As far as I know it just means he was approached on the street and invited to a private audition, rather than applying to a public audition (this is a relatively common practice in k-pop). He likes to jokingly tell a simplified story where he was just signed for his looks, but I don't think it's necessarily true that he actually skipped the process of auditioning with his voice and other talents. ➡ About why BTS changed from a hip hop group to an idol group and changed the members. Again I can't remember the exact source for this, but a couple of years ago Bang Shihyuk wrote a lengthy essay which I think was for an academic institution(?) where he described a lot of things about the formation of BTS... sorry my memory is vague, can anyone remember what this was? It's possible I have a link saved somewhere deep in my archives. I remember him explaining in that essay how after the first year of building a hip hop group, Big Hit (at the time a very tiny company) was essentially looking at their financial prospects and realising things looked bad. They felt that debuting a straight-forward hip hop group at that time was not likely to be successful enough for the company to survive. They decided to pause their plans (perhaps this is when the 2011 debut was postponed?) and do a research project looking at global industry trends. This research indicated that while straight-up hip hop wasn't a strong market for Koreans, an idol group with hip hop elements and strong dance performances, who still wrote their own music and had an authentic message, had potential to be successful. He also said he felt the songwriting talents of rap line had potential to reach people all over the world, but if they stayed as a hip hop group they wouldn't have that kind of mass-audience appeal. Furthermore this change of direction brought in a new investor, which gave them extra money they needed for BTS to debut. This next part is pure speculation - perhaps this investor was already interested, but wasn't willing to invest unless things moved in a more marketable direction? Because it seems like Big Hit really needed that money for the debut... but how could they have known someone would randomly invest after they shifted direction? It might make more sense that an investment offer was on the table, and they realised this change of direction was the only viable way forward... but as I said that's just speculation, based on my slightly hazy memory of the essay! Another story comes to mind, which is from Hoseok's episode of Suchwita. He and Yoongi talked about a time pre-debut when the company realised the finances weren't going to work, so they came to rap line and told them BTS was over and they had to pack up and go home. Apparently they basically staged a protest and refused to leave the apartment (looking back they said "how did we dare??") and it seemed like this show of commitment inspired the company to go out and do one last search for new investors. So... putting the timeline together with this apparently being before vocal line joined(?) all these finance-related incidents would line up in early 2011, which is when the debut was delayed, some of the other rappers left, and they shifted direction to k-pop. One final detail I wanted to add is that rap line didn't really come into Big Hit as 'k-pop trainees' in the traditional sense. It seems like they spent their first few months or so with a minimal amount of training, and just making music together. In an interview with Esquire in November 2020 they referred to this as their 'season 1' of trainee life, with Namjoon saying "At that time [2010-11] I don’t think our label exactly knew what to do with us. They just basically let us be and we had some lessons, but we also just chilled and made music sometimes." Then Hoseok talked about moving on to 'season 2' at some point after vocal line members started joining, saying "[that was] when we officially underwent hard training. We started dancing, and that’s how I would say our team building started." ➡ Tiny extra detail: Not only is Jimin in the MV for GLAM's song Party XXO, but the song was actually written by Namjoon. This is particularly cool because the lyrics are openly about queer love, which was (and still is) incredibly rare in k-pop! Even with all that there's so much else I could have added... which isn't to say you didn't do a great job of covering the story, you did! It's just that (as you know) there's far too much to this story to fit into one video. Honestly someday it would be great to try putting together a complete comprehensive virtual timeline of BTS, adding sources for every story. It would be vast!!

[@maddisenmanu]

Thank you so much for your comment and for all those facts!! I really appreciate it. like you said there’s wayyy too much information to put into one video but I’m so glad we can all learn from each other in these comments! ❤

[@ТетянаОніпко-е1ф]

yes, BSHH said that they did the calculations and realized that a hip-hop group would not be commercially successful, and it was decided to add vocalists and debut an idol group. And also because of financial difficulties (he had a debt of about 1 million) he wanted to cancel BTS's debut, but someone told him that if your debt increases a little more, it will not change anything.

[@ТетянаОніпко-е1ф]

I think they were counting on the profit from Glam to debut their next group. But since Glam was a fiasco, the company ended up in such a difficult situation.

[@JinJuneOut-ld1jn]

Really enjoyed your comment. It's a great addendum to the information in the video. It would be amazing if multiple people could get together and put forth a complete video essay on BTS and ARMY. I realize what a big undertaking that would be but it would also be just as amazing to consume.

[@shockofthenew]

​@@ТетянаОніпко-е1ф I think the situation with GLAM was a bit more complex. It's true they weren't very successful, but they weren't a complete flop either - and their big scandal didn't happen until 2014, so they were still active before and after BTS debuted. I don't think Big Hit could have made their whole business plan rest on GLAM being successful, since they were just a rookie group themselves. Also they weren't even a Big Hit group, they were signed with Source Music, so Big Hit would presumably only have a portion of earnings from them. The main GLAM fiasco happened in 2014, and I believe that's when Big Hit nearly went bankrupt. I think that's partly why BTS talk about 2014 as being a very difficult year for them, and why they felt this huge pressure for their albums to be successful, and were incredibly stressed when they didn't sell as much as hoped - because at that point they were suddenly the only active artist at a company on the verge of bankruptcy, which had just been through a massive scandal. GLAM were never coming back, and Homme were on hiatus, so Baby Bangtan were suddenly the sole breadwinners for an entire company that was deep in debt!

[@lonelytokki.-_-.]

I’d love a second part!

[@maddisenmanu]

thank you!

[@6pades]

as a longtime army (knew about them in 2017, huge fan from 2018 on) this is such a great video! lots of my predebut knowledge feels like old wives tales or legends or hearsay so it was so cool getting lots of info on stuff i already knew + learning new stuff! thanks for this!

[@maddisenmanu]

@@6pades thank you for your comment! 🩷

[@jaimeburkin2723]

Love this girl!!! I found the tannies in Feb 2012 on youtube seeing their BigHit Showcase at noise basement so this is super exciting to watch!!!! ❤❤❤ thankyou so much!!

[@maddisenmanu]

Thank u girl 🥹🩷

[@pogchamp6940]

Bro this video is AMAZING. I love how you were VERY thorough on your research. Please make a part 2🔥🔥

[@maddisenmanu]

@@pogchamp6940 thank you so much! 🩷

[@christinamarie9377]

I love this video! I love that you went into detail about pre-debut, there aren't many videos doing that! This is interesting for ARMY too! I did know many of these things but that is because i am obsessive and watched/read everything i could find on pre-debut, but you had some details that i didn't know that were so interesting, like the other trainees and the speculation about the group change on 2011. also, i like the chill format, it feels like we are just talking bangtan and the casual atmosphere for some reason makes the information easier for me to absorb. great job!

[@maddisenmanu]

Thank you so much for your comment!! Also that’s the biggest compliment that my vid feels casual and like we’re just chatting - thanks again!! ❤

[@tinavu823]

Wow I'm army and I never knew a lot of these things! So cool! Subscribed and hoping you move forward with pt 2 💜

[@maddisenmanu]

@@tinavu823 thank you so much!

[@wongpauline22]

Thank you for this! You did a good job! What’s very interesting side by side with pre debut bts, is a deep dive into into Army’s beginnings, who they mostly were, what they did, how they felt, etc. You did mention that there were already international fans then! This is amazing!

[@maddisenmanu]

Thank you so much for your comment! ❤

[@lsanders48]

Great job! This is the most inclusive set of information about the pre-debut period that I've seen. Thanks so much for compiling and presenting the info so well.

[@maddisenmanu]

Thank you so much for your kind words! ❤

[@Lu-nj9ec]

Woooow even though I am an Army since their debut, I didn't know about much of this! Awesome video, thank you so much for doing all this research ❤ we definitely neeeeed a part 2!!

[@maddisenmanu]

@@Lu-nj9ec thank you so much for your kind words 🥹🩷

[@MK-f7s]

Thank you. I am looking forward to seeing more of you covering all aspects of BTS. 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜

[@maddisenmanu]

Thank you so much! ❤

[@fifia4618]

ugh love this its just what i needed. v entertaining deepdive. also u look sm like jihyo 😍

[@maddisenmanu]

thank u!! and omg that’s the biggest compliment ever 😭

[@ellieb179]

I love this video!! I always wanted a deep dive like this on BTS and my fav song is louder than bombs or pied piper

[@maddisenmanu]

@@ellieb179 thank you so much for your kind words! I love pied piper too! 🤍🤍

[@sdrazel]

This is THE best video i've seen on BTS history, pleaase keep going!!

[@maddisenmanu]

Thank you so much!

[@antoblondet7839]

OMG I LOVE THIS. Even though I had looked into predebut content when i was a baby army, there’s so much info in this video that I didn’t know

[@maddisenmanu]

Thank you so much for your comment!! 🩷

[@Louffydances4life]

the fact they are the only group that you can make so many books about their achievement

[@maddisenmanu]

yesssss! ❤

[@AnaMaria-wq9sx]

really enjoyed it and even learned some new things even though i've been army for 7 years 💜 please do continue the series 🙂‍↕️

[@maddisenmanu]

Thank you so much for your comment! ❤

[@MicDrow7]

As a somehow still baby army I keep on searching for well researched information on our tannies and your video is wonderfully made. Looking forward to part two and subscribed. Would also not mind if you would upload this video a second time with all the footage included. 😊

[@maddisenmanu]

thank you for your kind words 🥰

[@lavenderozdragon]

This was so informative. I am always happy to learn more about BTS and hope you keep going with your videos. 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜

[@maddisenmanu]

Thank you so much! ❤

[@lalaking7974]

For some reason, I didn't think there was anything new I could learn about BTS, but clearly I was wrong! LOL I loved the focus on pre-debut. And I had only seen the one "almost BTS member" who posted his story but knew nothing about the others (except Supreme Boy, of course). So that was really neat to see along with other tidbits. - Great job; great information.

[@maddisenmanu]

@@lalaking7974 thank you for your comment! 🩷

[@aquamermaid222]

have i lived through all of this in realtime: yes did i still watch this whole thing: yes

[@maddisenmanu]

hahahaha thank you for watching!

[@denisetenny4529]

You please continue. I'll be watching!

[@maddisenmanu]

@@denisetenny4529 thank you for your comment! 🩷

[@laureenlaurelm]

This is a great video for new army. Thank you and yes, please do 2nd video.

[@maddisenmanu]

Thank you for your comment! ❤

[@lonelytokki.-_-.]

Thanks for all your research!

[@maddisenmanu]

thank you for your comment! 💜

[@Imme_begin]

I just watched your intro… excited to watch the rest. Thanks for all the research.

[@maddisenmanu]

@@Imme_begin thank you so much 🥰 I really appreciate it!

[@DrawPotatoes]

Loved the video, would love to have more content like this!!❤❤ As an old ARMY it's just so nice to hear familiar and also new information all together and chronologically like this, helps to see everything in a better perspective and was really enjoyable to have it in the background while I was crafting

[@maddisenmanu]

Thank you so much for your kind words! ❤

[@zoejnobaptiste3332]

Great video. I'm looking forward to the next. You did great with the research.

[@maddisenmanu]

Thank you so much for your kind words! ❤

[@KD-fv8mp]

I'm glad that they recorded so much content early on. Who could have foreseen that fans would be looking for even more footage and info years later?? LOL. Thanks for all your research. I'm looking forward to more!

[@maddisenmanu]

Thank you so much! ❤

[@Yeonkimin_]

So happy I stumbled across this

[@maddisenmanu]

thank you so much! ❤

[@monicababirima2065]

Thank you for the deep dive into BTS debuted history.

[@maddisenmanu]

thank you for your kind words! ❤

[@Department_of_Justice]

U have details I had never heard... and that's saying something!

[@maddisenmanu]

@@Department_of_Justice thank you for your comment! 🩷

[@PandoraGold]

Awesome! I love BTS Video Esays, and I agree so many just skim over the trainee days. I knew they had like up to 15 (maybe?) sleeping in one room at one point, but I didn't know we knew anything about the guys who didn't make it, so that whole part of your vido was news to me. Thank you very much for the time you put into this! My fave song... how does anyone pick? but if I had to, it is probably "Louder than Bombs" or "Stay Gold"... or, or, or "Run BTS" or "House of Cards"... but, but, but I also love the Cyphers... Okay, I can't choose 😅. Anyway. Thank you very much for the vido! I look forward to your next one. 😊

[@maddisenmanu]

Thank you so much for your comment! I’m the same too - can’t actually pick a favourite, too many good songs to pick from 🫣

[@teamworksevents938]

Great job! I like the format :) and yes, learned a lot! Cant wait for part two. Though maybe u can talk a little slowly or have breathing breaks? Haha😂 Thank you for such a good addition to the bts rabbit hole! 😊🎉

[@maddisenmanu]

Thank you for your comment! and yes! Sorry! Everyone I know tells me I talk way too fast 😭🩷

[@stormkive4356]

@@maddisenmanuthis is cracking me up bc i watched it sped up lol great video!

[@briancampos6496]

This was amazing. Thank you!!!

[@maddisenmanu]

thank you for your kind words! :)

[@tyrastjernfelt8082]

Thank you soooo much for this video. It is really apreciated❤. It was really fun and intresting to get to know about their pre-debut days.

[@maddisenmanu]

Thank you so much 🥰

[@mbnm]

Thank you for the great content. I enjoyed learning more about BTS

[@maddisenmanu]

@@mbnm thank you so much for your kind words! 🩷

[@MewDenise]

Oh, what a unique format for speaking about BTS history

[@maddisenmanu]

Thank you!! ❤

[@Louffydances4life]

We are finally talking!

[@maddisenmanu]

🥰🥰

[@giovannabenso1754]

Your video is really good! I wish you will add cc also in other languages: I am Italian and most of my Army friends do not speak english....

[@maddisenmanu]

Thank you for your comment! It’s definitely something I can look into ❤

[@MicDrow7]

If you click on CC and automated subtitles you can choose many other languages. It translates very well.

[@maddisenmanu]

@@MicDrow7 thank you for that!!

[@Brooklyn-iu7cn]

Loved this vid and can’t wait for part two!!

[@maddisenmanu]

Thank you! 🥹

[@czak598]

Very well done and researched. I learned a lot

[@maddisenmanu]

@@czak598 thank you for your kind words 🥰

[@thv_rgh]

My favorite song always changes but these days I listen to it a lot. "tomorrow " "Just one day" pied Piper" But I'm really with you because I loved the album "right place wrong person" and jin album"happy"

[@maddisenmanu]

@@thv_rgh just one day is forever one of my top songs!! I’ve also been loving happy too 🥰

[@marilynfishel3843]

hello! i love and appreciate your passion for researching and deep diving and sharing with fellow Armys. (if you mentioned it, i missed it; but, how long was j-hope gone from the trainees? i know they wanted him back; just curious. Yep, RPWP, for me, too! actually stream them all; but NamJoon, he's my cup of tea. I'm more inclined to books and poetry. hope your year is a good one! Congratulations on graduating from Uni!

[@maddisenmanu]

Thank you for your comment! I personally couldn’t find out how long hobi was gone for unfortunately :( all I knew was that he did disappear for a bit! But thank you for your kind words!

[@LynnHermione]

He was never actually gone. He was thinking of leaving. It's all in their book, Beyond the Story

[@maddisenmanu]

@@LynnHermione in burn the stage he talks about leaving pre-debut ☺️

[@JinJuneOut-ld1jn]

JHOPE did actually leave for a short time. In Burn The Stage the guys are sitting around talking about RM convincing the company to take him back and JHOPE saying he only came back because he trusted the guys. On the other hand RM was thinking about quitting earlier on but his father convinced him to stay. It's possible you confused JHope's story with RM's.

[@thv_rgh]

it's so good

[@maddisenmanu]

@@thv_rgh thank you so much 🥰

[@thv_rgh]

@@maddisenmanu you nice keep going💜

[@art3mis202]

FINALLY

[@maddisenmanu]

@@art3mis202 ILYYYY 😭😭🤍

[@art3mis202]

@ I loved it, so grateful for you’re research give me 12 more episodes x

[@maddisenmanu]

@@art3mis202omg baeeeee 🥺

[@MK-f7s]

You talked about not knowing why V didn't appear I some group functions. V was hidden and was kept as a secret before a short while prior to the BTS debut. He made blogs and clips for social platforms, just like the other members, but those were never released. To the outside world, BTS was a six-member group. In Rise of Bangtan, he doesn't appear until the second episode. He hid in the corner watching his fellow members during online postings. Some said it was to prevent other agencies from stealing V, which could happen before the official debut. As a result, V did all the training and preparations for the debut with the other members without being known. I feel bad for him and what he had to put up with at such a young age.

[@maddisenmanu]

Thank you so much for adding this information!!! I’m so glad we can all learn from each other ❤

[@leastnext-uf6rt]

Actually Bang PD said in an interview that it was a marketing strategy.

[@jimin585]

wow too much research....thanks!!!

[@maddisenmanu]

thank you for your comment!

[@secretyidentity2833]

RPWP AOTY

[@maddisenmanu]

yes!!!

[@naimahal-azeez1728]

You should do Blackpink, Psy, and 2ne1 next.

[@senu.]

girl.....

[@maddisenmanu]

I’d love to do other groups/artists in the future but I’d have to be a big fan of them already or I’d get bored researching 😅

[@naimahal-azeez1728]

@@maddisenmanu I understand. I'm a fan of BTS myself, but I also like Blackpink and 2ne1, especially after the horrible way YG entertainment treated them (the latter much worse).

[@LynnHermione]

Rise of Bangtan are antis. Their videos are NOT to be recommended, the owner attacked BTS when it was announced they were releasing their own documentary about their story, as if BTS's own lives belonged to her. She is only making RoB for money. She is also kpoppi who refuses to admit BTS are the best idol group .

[@maddisenmanu]

Thank you for this! I haven’t watched any of their videos and didn’t come across their channel when doing my research - it was just pointed out by a commenter 🩷

[@JinJuneOut-ld1jn]

I'm sorry but I have to disagree. The Rise Of Bangtan is the best docuseries there is. It was made with love and knowledge from someone who was along for the journey since pre debut. She also did not make the series for money as I myself was one of many who convinced her to start a patreon to support her in its making. She had been working on the series for 3 years and focused all her attention to it during the pandemic. The things you are repeating are negative rumors that are twisted versions of facts. Some of which were spread by antis who were mad because she wouldn't or couldn't make the same kind of series for their favs. And some were started just to try to discredit the creator and the series itself.

[@Mbella354]

Your incorrect about Rise Of Bangtan! It was made out of love for Bts...💜 Please do your research before spewing lies!