--- title: BTS Explains Why They Don't Plan to Sing in English description: In an Entertainment Weekly interview, BTS explained why they have no plans to sing in English just to get a hit song. canonical: https://time.com/5560818/bts-singing-english/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-03-28T20:55:07.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:47:08.401Z og:title: BTS Explains Why They Don't Plan to Sing in English og:description: BTS explains why they aren't looking to sing in English just to get a hit song og:url: https://time.com/5560818/bts-singing-english/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4c88dc8a2aa0b2a0/6989477ae76ad2c20763466e/bts-grammys-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: 61st Annual GRAMMY Awards - Arrivals og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: BTS Explains Why They Don't Plan to Sing in English twitter:description: BTS explains why they aren't looking to sing in English just to get a hit song twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt4c88dc8a2aa0b2a0/6989477ae76ad2c20763466e/bts-grammys-1.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # BTS Explains Why They're Not Going to Start Singing in English > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. ## Video: Stars Walk the 2019 Grammy Awards Red Carpet [Watch (HLS stream): Stars Walk the 2019 Grammy Awards Red Carpet](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/oyXSMHIn.m3u8) (2:10)  _Published 2019-02-11. Stars Walk the 2019 Grammy Awards Red Carpet_  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Mar 28, 2019 8:55 PM UTC  BTS attends the 61st Annual GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on February 10, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. BTS attends the 61st Annual GRAMMY Awards at Staples Center on February 10, 2019 in Los Angeles, California. Dan MacMedan—Getty Images  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Mar 28, 2019 8:55 PM UTC To the surprise of many, [K-pop group BTS](http://time.com/collection-post/5414052/bts-next-generation-leaders/) has managed to become one of the [biggest musical acts](http://time.com/5525746/grammys-2019-bts/) in the world without making an English-language song, instead sticking to Korean and Japanese. In a new interview for [_Entertainment Weekly_](https://ew.com/music/2019/03/28/bts-exclusive-cover-story/), the [members of BTS](http://time.com/collection-post/5418827/bts-members/) discussed why they’ve chosen to remain true to their K-pop roots instead of looking to cross over with an English hit. “We don’t want to change our identity or our genuineness to get the number one,” [RM](http://time.com/4833807/rap-monster-bts-interview/), [the group’s leader](http://time.com/5559673/bts-comeback-trailer/), explained. “Like if we sing suddenly in full English, and change all these other things, then that’s not BTS. We’ll do everything, we’ll try. But if we couldn’t get number one or number five, that’s okay.” (RM is also the only of the seven who speaks fluent English.) “So what’s important for us is just to make good music and good performances and have those elements come together,” added rapper Suga. While the group’s album and song titles are mostly in English, and they incorporate a few English words or phrases into songs, the bulk of their lyrical content is in Korean. Recently, non-English music — in particular Latin pop and hip-hop — has found its way to the top of the mainstream charts. (The best example is [most likely “Despacito,”](http://time.com/4913699/the-new-science-of-the-truly-unstoppable-impossible-to-resist-summer-jam/) the Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee hit given a boost with a Justin Bieber remix, which ascended to song of the summer status in 2017.) Industry insiders like international DJ Steve Aoki [have told TIME](http://time.com/collection-post/5414052/bts-next-generation-leaders/) that “\[music\] doesn’t have to be English to be a global phenomenon.” But BTS believes they could still face an uphill battle by choosing to stick to Korean. “You know, Latin pop has its own Grammys in America, and it’s quite different,” RM told EW. “I don’t want to compare, but I think it’s even harder as an Asian group. A Hot 100 and a Grammy nomination, these are our goals.” The last big Hot 100 hit from an Asian artist was [PSY’s “Gangnam Style,”](http://time.com/3619615/gangnam-style-youtube-2/) the 2012 viral track boosted by its comic aspects, which reached number two. BTS’s [Hot 100 peak](https://www.billboard.com/music/bts) was last summer’s “Fake Love,” which came in at the tenth spot. Then again, overcoming challenges and breaking records [is not new territory](http://time.com/5405422/bts-k-pop-united-nations-address/) for the group. Their new album, [_Map of the Soul: Persona_](http://time.com/5560451/bts-persona-challenge/), will be released April 12. ## Transcript [00:00] Jump. Jump, jump. Can we get [00:04] a jump? On three. One, two, [00:08] three here we go. [ INAUDIBLE ] Alicia [00:12] [ INAUDIBLE ]. [ CROSSTALK ] Dolly straight ahead. [00:15] [ CROSSTALK ] Miley can we get the [00:19] tongue. Miley tongue. [ CROSSTALK ] [ BLANK_AUDIO ] [00:23] Straight ahead with that gorgeous smile. [00:27] [ CROSSTALK ] Turn your head Ashlee point [01:01] your eyes [01:31] right here. Let me see the front of your dress Kacey. [01:31] Kacey straight ahead. Kacey the dress, the dress. [01:31] [ CROSSTALK ] Matteo real quick. Give me a high five. [01:31] Thank you. [ CROSSTALK ] Thank you. Camila! How [01:31] about a kiss? Beautiful. Beautiful. [ INAUDIBLE ] [01:31] [ BLANK_AUDIO ] Over here. 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