K-pop Megaband BTS Renews Grammy Challenge with ‘Butter’

K-pop boy band BTS member Jimin poses for photographs during a photo opportunity promoting their new single “Butter” in Seoul, South Korea, May 21, 2021. (Reuters)
K-pop boy band BTS member Jimin poses for photographs during a photo opportunity promoting their new single “Butter” in Seoul, South Korea, May 21, 2021. (Reuters)
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K-pop Megaband BTS Renews Grammy Challenge with ‘Butter’

K-pop boy band BTS member Jimin poses for photographs during a photo opportunity promoting their new single “Butter” in Seoul, South Korea, May 21, 2021. (Reuters)
K-pop boy band BTS member Jimin poses for photographs during a photo opportunity promoting their new single “Butter” in Seoul, South Korea, May 21, 2021. (Reuters)

South Korean megaband BTS said on Friday it was renewing its quest to win a Grammy Award with its new single “Butter”, building on its success last year, when it became the first Korean pop group to win a Grammy nomination.

In a breakthrough year in the United States in 2020, the seven-member boy band was nominated but did not win an award, and instead performed its hit song “Dynamite” at the Grammy ceremony.

“Of course we would like to win a Grammy. That’s still valid and we are aiming to work for it once again with ‘Butter,’ and hoping for good results,” songwriter and rapper Suga told a news conference in Seoul.

He said “Butter”, the group’s second English-language single following “Dynamite”, was a funky summer track.

BTS will perform the new song at the 2021 Billboard Music Awards set for Monday, for which it clinched nominations in four categories, the most yet for K-pop stars, including top duo/group and top selling song for “Dynamite”.

Vocalist Jimin said he regretted BTS could not meet fans for the eighth anniversary of the group’s debut next month, which will be celebrated virtually rather through a live concert because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I’ve felt somewhat isolated being unable to see fans due to the current situation, but we continue to think hard about how we can show our different aspects and satisfy them,” he said.

Leader and rapper RM said: “For us, the biggest topic is what function BTS can serve, why we exist and which values we should pursue under this new normal era and for the industry.”



Justin Bieber Releases 'Swag,' his Long-awaited Seventh Album

FILE - Justin Bieber attends The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute benefit gala on Sept. 13, 2021, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
FILE - Justin Bieber attends The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute benefit gala on Sept. 13, 2021, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
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Justin Bieber Releases 'Swag,' his Long-awaited Seventh Album

FILE - Justin Bieber attends The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute benefit gala on Sept. 13, 2021, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
FILE - Justin Bieber attends The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute benefit gala on Sept. 13, 2021, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

Never say never! Justin Bieber surprised fans Friday by releasing "Swag," his seventh studio album, hours after he teased it on billboards and social media posts.

It is his first album since 2021´s "Justice" and his first since becoming a father last year, The Associated Press reported.

"Inspired by his devotion as a husband and father, this new era of music has fueled a deeper perspective and more reflective sound, resulting in some of his most personal music yet," Def Jam Recordings said of the 21-track album.

Billboards depicting Bieber were found by fans Thursday in Reykjavik, Iceland, and Los Angeles. The singer also shared images of billboards on his official Instagram account along with a tracklist that included song names like "All I Can Take,Walking Away,Dadz Love" and "Forgiveness."

Bieber, the two-time Grammy Award winning singer and Canadian pop idol who revolutionized teen pop and social media fame, is best known for his silky R&B pop lyric tenor, demonstrated on the diamond-selling "Baby,Sorry," and "Stay" with the Kid Laroi. At the beginning of his career, and as a tween, Bieber began working with Usher and the influential music manager Scooter Braun.

In 2023, Bieber sold the rights to his music - all six of his albums, including hits like "Sorry" and "Baby" - to Hipgnosis, a UK-based music investment company. The deal´s financial details were not disclosed, but Billboard Magazine reports that the sale was worth an estimated $200 million.

In August 2024, Bieber and his wife, the model Hailey Bieber (nee Baldwin), announced the birth of their first child, Jack Blues Bieber.