People always mention admiring the more than a decade of friendship between BTS members but forget that there are also people with whom BTS has collaborated for that long. Two of the people I want to mention here are HYBE's president - Bang Shi Hyuk and the group's veteran producer - Pdogg.
Throughout BTS's career, they were the two people who laid the first foundations and accompanied them to create great achievements and records like the present. Also on that journey, their relationship was formed and tightened beyond the relationship between a producer and an idol or colleague.
In an interview with both looking back on more than a decade of traveling with BTS, Bang PD and Pdogg shared a lot about their relationship with the group as well as past memories:
When it comes to BTS and president Bang Shi Hyuk, fans soon realized that their relationship is more of a family relationship than a working relationship. The initial starting points of both Bang PD and BTS were from zero and only through belief did they create the current HYBE empire. It can be said that Bang PD is the creator of BTS, but it is also BTS that helps Bang PD surpäṩṩ all giants in the entertainment industry to become the most successful producer.
Looking back on this journey, it has truly been a long journey and many impressive moments. In particular, at a time when the group is temporarily suspending activities to perform m̷i̷l̷i̷t̷a̷r̷y̷ service, when looking back on this journey, Bang PD feels it is even more meaningful. He is not afraid to mention BTS as the people closest to him and has a different relationship with the new generation artists in the company.
He pointed out the difference between BTS and other idol groups under HYBE: "It goes the same for all artists under HYBE labels in kσrєα. Other than BTS, who have shared a lot of intimate memories with me ever since they were young, I only sit down or meet artists upon their requests since all of them have a strong, trusting relationship with the leaders of each respective label". The difference comes from the distance that BTS and Bang PD have traveled together!
Along with that, Bang PD even directly thanked BTS and ARMY for their important contributions to the development of HYBE as well as his career. He continued, “I would like to say we were able to reach this far thanks to BTS. They were our starting point and the driving force throughout the way. We, including BTS, think that we couldn’t take a single step without ARMY. We’ve went through everything together in the process.”
Meanwhile, similar to Bang PD, music producer Pdogg, the creative force behind BTS' chart-topping h̾i̾t ̾s also share a close attachment to the group's growth path. Pdogg is known for being the main producer of BTS from their debut songs "No More Dream" to the pinnacle of 2022 - "Yet To Come". In the future, when BTS returns in 2025, Pdogg still promises to be the main producer of the members, continuing to create a new definition of Kpop with them.
Looking back on the decade of accompanying BTS until they enlisted, Pdogg expressed emotion, calling them his "musical companions". He also shared his perspective on the relationship with the group members saying, "I'm in a sort of mutually complementary relationship with them of conveying their messages to the public through my role as a producer".
Looking back on the past decade, Pdogg pointed to two major milestones in BTS's career that he remembers deeply. The first is the group's historic 2019 Wembley Stadium concert in the UK, which is also the first time a kσrєαn artist has performed there, showing the breaking of borders in BTS's music. confirm.
However, he chose the most challenging time of BTS that impressed him, the year before the release of the album series The Most Beautiful Moment in Life. He recalled, “The time around when we worked on the first full-length album before the 'The Most Beautiful Moment in Life' series was the most challenging," he recalled. "The band faced uncertainties in appealing to their dedicated fan base in the competitive idol music market".
He then also pointed out that BTS' music has changed a lot since the first album. If you listen to the first songs, the structure is somewhat different from the h̾i̾t ̾ songs that are familiar to the public at the present time, and that process is the result of maturity. Pdogg said, “When a friend named RM (Rap Monster at the time) came to be a trainee, Bang Shi Hyuk PD-nim said, 'This friend plays music very well, so let's try to form a hip-hop group like One Time with RM as the center of BTS… In the beginning, there was more rapping than vocals, and main vocalist Jungkook also rapped as well. It was not an easy song for the public to listen to….At that time, only Jin was in his 20s and the rest were all in their teens, so I tried to capture from a student's perspective and childhood emotions that only people of that age can feel through music.”
BTS succeeded in impressing K-pop fans with those initial strong messages, but it took a long time for them to rise to the top. The group took a leap forward with the 'The Most Beautiful Moment in Life' series and became world superstars with the 'Love Yourself' and 'Map of the Soul' series. Pdogg continued, "From that point onward, the members gradually turned into young adults in their early 20s, leaving behind school-centric narratives. They recognized the need to evolve musically by channeling the emotions unique to their peers. It was imperative to incorporate the growth narratives of the members, leading BTS to expand their musical horizons beyond the confines of hip-hop".
Since then, BTS has released h̾i̾t ̾s that are familiar to us like 'Fire', 'Blood Sweat & Tears', 'Spring Day', 'DNA', 'Fake Love' and 'IDOL' as they are today. It's really been a long process that Bang PD, Pdogg and BTS have found the answer to their musical path. And it's great that they always find the right path and develop it with päṩṩionate music.
Looking back on the 10-year journey with many difficulties but also full of amazing achievements, both Bang PD and Pdogg are proud to accompany BTS. In the future, this companionship is sure to last as Pdogg calls out ARMYs' expectations for chapter 2 of the group: "When the members regroup, (most) members will be in their 30s. Please anticipate the perspectives on the world that these members will bring in the second chapter of their career".
