I was successful on Billboard, but… Why didn’t BTS get a Grammy Award?

Born in 1970, my father listened to’American TOP 40′ hosted by DJ Casey Casem (1932~2014) on the socialite USFK Broadcasting (AFKN) radio. This was the only opportunity to listen to all 40’new songs’ on the Billboard singles chart at 4 hours on Saturday afternoon. He said, “On domestic radio in the 1980s, there were times when several pop songs were released in a circumvention style, and I listened to the same song two or three times a day.”

My daughter, born in 2000, is also looking for a billboard. The reason I became interested in Billboard is because of BTS (BTS). BTS”Dynamite’ climbed to number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 (single). My daughter’s friends also watch the Billboard Hot 100, which is updated every Wednesday night. However, unlike her father, her daughter listens to Billboard hits on YouTube. He said, “I choose the song I want and find it on the fly.”

The Billboard Chart, which created the 4050 generation’Billboard Kids’, is attracting the attention of the 2030 generation through the Internet and social media (SNS).

Of the recorded music sales of 20.2 billion dollars (about 22.700 billion won) in 2019 announced by the International Music Industry Association (IFPI), streaming sales were 11.4 billion dollars (about 12.8 trillion won). It occupies the first place in recorded music sales with 56.1%. It overwhelms downloads (7.2%).

KBS PD, who wrote 『365 Days of Pop Music History』 said, “If downloading is the concept of holding music, streaming is about borrowing books from the library.” The daughter is also eager to download. BTS”Dynamite’ ranks 43rd as of the 20th after three weeks on the Billboard Hot 100’s 1st place. It is in the top 50 for the 29th week. BTS’ fandom’Ami’ is supporting it. Lee Dae-hwa, a popular music critic, said, “Ami pursues a strategy that focuses on downloads and physical (records).” Billboard is known to put more weight on downloads and physical than streaming when calculating rankings.

Billboard this week shows that’Dynamite’ had the highest number of downloads during the week. It is also number one in the separate Billboard download chart. Critic Lee Dae-hwa said, “It seems to have maintained the 43rd place this week due to fan downloads.”

The BTS did not make it to the list of winners at the 63rd Grammy Awards held on the 14th (current time). ‘Dynamite’ was nominated for the’Best Pop Duo Group Performance’ category, but the trophy went back to Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande’s’Rain on Me’. Billboard Hot 100’s annual ranking was 38th in’Dynamite’ and 48th in’Rain on Me’.

# Classical hymns are also at the top of the billboard

Billboard is a symbol of American popular music. The United States is the world’s largest music market. According to IFPI, sales of recorded music in the United States in 2017 were $5.9 billion (about 6.6 trillion won). It is more than twice that of Japan (2.7 billion dollars), the second place. That is why the US market is said to be the stage that judges the success of musicians.

In February 1964, the Beatles, establishing their presence in England, knocked on the door of the American market. ‘British Invasion (British musicians invade the US market)’ opened the door. The Beatles are breathing in February of that year. ‘I want to hold your hand’ will rise to the top of the billboard on the 1st. On the 7th, he arrived in New York, USA, and two days later, he appeared on the most popular talk show at the time,’The Ed Sullivan Show’. On the 14th of that year, the single charts from No. 1 to No. 5 were Beatles songs.

Advancing to the billboard was a story of another planet in Korea. In the early 80’s, there was a story that some Korean singer’s song entered the billboard. It was a popular rumor that the aspirations of’Billboard Kids’ toward Billboard were sung.

In May 2019, BTS appeared on the American talk show’Like the Beatles’. The foreign media first compared BTS to the Beatles. It was a stage to announce K-pop’s full-fledged advance into the US market. Im Jin-mo, a popular music critic, said, “Overseas, BTS is regarded as the Beatles of the YouTube era.” “BTS is similar to the Beatles in that it can change the flow of the music industry and become a cultural code,” said Kim Jakga, a popular music critic.

The difference between the Beatles and BTS is two generations, or nearly 60 years. It is wider than a generation of father and daughter. The billboard has also changed. Music users (users) have also changed. In the past, the Billboard Hot 100 featured classics (Love is Blue, No. 1) and hymns (Roads Prayer, No. 4).

Since 1958, Billboard has ranked in consideration of the number of jukebox usage, album sales, and radio transmissions. Considering the importance of the ranking, record companies and DJs exchanged back money and played songs to increase the amount of radio broadcasts (Payola hearing case). Michael Jackson, Madonna, Eminem, Bruno Mars, Maroon 5, Taylor Swift and others made their names with the billboard as a foothold.

Popular music has entered the era of streaming. ‘Dreams’ of the famous rock group Flywood Mac in the 70s and 80s re-appeared in 21st place on the Billboard Hot 100 in September last year. It has been 42 years since it reached No. 1 in 1978. This is the result of an explosion in music streaming after an SNS influencer uploaded a scene singing this song on TikTok. PD Jung Il-seo said, “This is a case that shows how important the viral (propagation) through SNS on the Billboard is.”

According to the 『2020 Music Industry White Paper』, the Korea Creative Content Agency said, “The increase in streaming is a phenomenon that occurs when playlists that users configure themselves become the main channels of music distribution. In the environment, hit songs and hidden masterpieces of the past become more important.” Korean idol groups, including BTS, are active based on social media.

# Billboard’s annual No. 1 song, Grammy Sun
Is Billboard’s performance related to the Grammy? Experts’ reactions are subtle. Critic Lim Jin-mo argued that “Taylor Swift, who was selected for this year’s album by Grammy, was not a remarkable achievement on Billboard.” Critic Kim Jae-ga also said, “Billboard grades are symbolic, not absolute.” Weekend, who sang’Blinding Lights’, which is in the top 10 of the Hot 100 for 53 weeks as of the 20th, has not even been nominated for Grammy. ‘Blinding Lights’ is also the #1 song on the Billboard Annual Chart.

However, critic Lee Dae-hwa analyzed that “Billboard is a dimension to settle sales volume,” and “because it is important as a process because it greatly raises awareness when it is ranked No. 1 on the Billboard.” PD Jung Il-seo said, “Billboard performance does not guarantee the Grammy award,” and “There are many cases where musicians who stand out on the Billboard win the Grammy.”

Apart from the relationship with Billboard, why did BTS fail to win the Grammy this time? Critic Lim Jin-mo said, “In the case of BTS, competitors (Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, etc.) were very strong.” It was dominant from the beginning,” he insisted. Critic Lee Dae-hwa analyzed that “as strong competitors scattered Grammy’s votes, the number of votes returned to BTS seems to be relatively small.”

The Beatles won a Grammy Rookie of the Year award. After advancing to the United States in 1964, until disbandment in 70 years, the number of Grammy awards for seven years was four times (including Rookie Award, excluding awards after dissolution). Critic Lee Dae-hwa said, “BTS’ failure to win the Grammy shows that K-pop has not yet taken root in the United States.” did. Billboard is a stepping stone to the Grammy.

Reporter Kim Hong-jun [email protected]