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'Trust BTS': 7 moments that show it is BTS and ARMY vs Rest of the World

ARMYs trend 'Trust BTS' after RM clears clarifies the recent misinterpretation of BTS' words. Here are more instances showing the BTS-ARMY connection

The last few years have been exceptionally good for BTS members but the boys truly come from struggle. BTS may have made its debut in the Korean music industry as a K-pop boy group in 2013 but it took a lot more than having well-written songs and a dedicated lineup of talented members for the boy group to succeed in South Korea. Starting from their first concert for 250-300 fans to selling out gigantic stadiums with a 50,000-strong audience, the boy group has come a very long way and have cultivated a rock-solid fanbase on their way to the top.

Years ago, before BTS was recognized internationally, veteran South Korean ARMYs (fans that have been with BTS since their debut days) have shared tales about how BTS albums were not kept for sale in music stores only because they were not 'popular enough' or when BTS was openly disrespected at award shows. Now, as BTS has grown to become the biggest boy group in the world, their albums sell like hot cakes around the world — they have sold a total of 23 million copies of their albums since their debut according to the Hanteo chart. On the other hand, music shows and award shows are waiting for the day when BTS will return to their events and make them a hit again.

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It is BTS and ARMYs against the World

Over the years, fans have put their trust in BTS and BTS alone and as it would turn out, BTS are only doing what they are doing for their love for ARMYs. After BTS announced that they would take a short break from group activities and focus on solo projects, the media started reporting the event as if BTS was over and the group was gone for good but V (Kim Taehyung), Jungkook and RM (Kim Namjoon) the leader of BTS took to VLive and Weverse to reassure fans that they were being misinterpreted and clearly stated that BTS was not disbanding. This led to fans talking about how the world is trying to manipulate the boy group by misconstruing their words and they could truly trust only the words of the BTS members themselves. 

Here are seven past instances that prove why ARMYs can only trust BTS and how their worlds only revolved around BTS members and BTS' world revolves around ARMY

1. Jin being honest about their discussion to disband in 2018

Before the glory days of BTS, the boy group was having the worst time of their lives when they took their 2018 Daesang (Grand Prize) at Mnet Asian Music Awards - MAMA. At the show, BTS' oldest member made a shocking revelation that shook their fandom as well as other artists at the show. Jin revealed that in the beginning of 2018, the boy group was having a hard time so much so that the members had considered disbanding for good. The revelation had all the BTS members break down on stage with V sobbing incessantly and Jugkook consoling him.

2. RM and Jin get candid about chart manipulation

With BTS rising to global fame, suddenly the records being broken by the boy group did not seem possible to many of its critics. The boy group was accused of chart 'manipulations' and RM gave a prompt response to Billboard back in 2021. But it was not the first time the group has had to deal with such accusations. In 2015, BTS was accused of chart manipulation by fans of other groups when they started outselling well-established idols, such as Big Bang, but these accusations were later proven to be completely false in court. Later, during the 2018 MAMA - Mnet Asian Music Awards, after BTS received the Song of the Year award for 'Boy With Luv', Jin asked that everyone should strive to make good music 'with honesty'. The oldest BTS member became the first K-pop idol to publicly call out the practice of chart manipulation on an awards stage and gave fans a moment to write about in the history books of BTS.   

3. ARMYs match BTS' $1 million donation to Black Lives Matter in 24 hours

After the Black Lives Matter movement started in the US, BTS made a $1 million donation by sharing its views against racial discrimination and violence. Following that, ARMYs too decided to pledge and raise the same amount in BTS' name and donate to the movement. The BTS ARMY began trending #MatchAMillion and was able to match the same amount as BTS within 24 hours.

4. RM 'appreciates' James Corden's apology 

Back in 2021, Talks show host, James Corden spoke badly about BTS for an easy joke at their expense. Not only that but the host also said that ARMYs were a bunch of 15-year-old girls. This infuriated ARMYs so much that they 'canceled' the host for his words. When BTS next arrived on his show, RM addressed the issue with James saying, "James, you're in some hot water with ARMYs, are you alright?" After the host finished explaining his joke, the leader calmly stated that he 'appreciated' James' apology even though the host had not given one. This had fans joking about how RM did not wait for an apology from the host but made his explanation seem like one.

5. 'Our fans are not BOTS'

Often times BTS fans were dubbed as 'crazy' or called bots (robots), especially for managing to stream, vote and buy in such large numbers that they propelled BTS to break chart-topping records and sales. RM seems to have noticed the comments against ARMYs when he talked to a reporter at the 2021 AMAs when he said, "We’re just here to have a good time. With #BTSARMY - with the actual people, not AIs, not the (ro)bots." He then also went on to brag about BTS constantly hosting concerts in sold-out stadiums.

6. Suga's response to reporters over 'plagiarism' remarks ft. Jungkook's smirk

Back in 2019, BTS was accused of plagiarising a French photographer's work and the company was dealing with the scandal but during their 'Map of the Soul: 7' press conference, a reporter brought the old issue up. BTS’s Suga shut down the reporter’s question by stating that the company was looking into the matter saying, "In regards to that, our company’s legal team is talking to the photographer." He said, "I believe that our official stance will be the same as our company’s. Our company is currently looking into it, so I’m sure we’ll know when the results come out. Thank you.” Alongside Suga's response, Jimin's fury and Jungkook's smirk towards the reporter had fans amused. 

7. ARMY's Purple Ribbon Movement

Back in 2018, ARMYs started a movement called the 'Purple Ribbon Movement'. The project had ARMYs creating barriers with purple ribbons to prevent the members from getting trampled on while traveling through airports. Here fans would volunteer to hold up a line barricade of purple ribbons to create a wide passageway for the members to safely check-in at the airport.