Loud and happy screams erupt in unison from the seven-member pop stars BTS when they hear they have notched their first No 1 hit on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 chart.
“Dream,” yells band member RM. “It still doesn’t feel real,” adds Suga, speaking in Korean through a translator. “We’re really happy.”
Dynamite, the group's first all-English song, debuted at No 1 on the US music charts this week, making BTS the first Korean pop act to top the chart. The upbeat song even supplanted WAP, the smash hit by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion, to claim the No 1 position.
"Never expected it," RM says of beating WAP for the top spot. "Never! It's like the song of the year."
But getting their first chart-topping track seemed inevitable for the K-pop boy band, who have continued to find major success in the US in the past few years. They've had four albums top Billboard's 200 albums chart, they've achieved Top 10 successes on the Hot 100 with Boy With Luv, On and Fake Love, and in just minutes they've sold out US football stadiums that some pop stars need to join forces to perform at.
And even at US awards shows, they've gone from winning honours such as "top social artist" to being named best group and best pop act, beating out Maroon 5, Imagine Dragons, Twenty One pilots, Jonas Brothers and others. At Sunday's MTV Video Music Awards, they won all four prizes they were nominated for.
When asked if BTS — who released their debut single in 2013 — felt like they've begun to earn more respect from the US, RM says: "We definitely feel that."
"I think in the perspective of culture, I think it's really important to be familiar. So first, we think ... that many Americans [were] not familiar with [us] — we look different, we [sing] different, we got some different choreography, music videos, like everything, even lifestyle. But I think as time goes by, we're doing these shows and songs and concerts and awards, I think quite a lot of people in the American music market is getting, like, kind of close [to us]," he says. "I think it's very good and that's what we wanted actually."
It could also be time for BTS's first Grammy nomination.
"When we see [western] artists ... get nominated for Grammys, they would go: 'Yeah! Yeah!'" says J-hope, standing up from his chair and throwing a small punch in the air.
"Like Travis Scott," he continues. "The nomination is meaningful to even [famous] people like that and to imagine that we could be nominated for Grammy, again, it would be such an honour and a great feeling."
Nominees for the 2021 Grammy Awards will be announced later this year. The show doesn’t have a K-pop category, and while there is a best world music album award, there isn’t a song category for world and international music. Those songs, then, would compete for best pop duo / group performance – a highly competitive award reserved for big hits or collaborations featuring uber-popular performers.
We've matured musically, as well as in the way we think. We've also developed a higher sense of responsibility. This has refined us and these developments are really being reflected in our music and our dance
But the success of Dynamite could explode into a Grammy nomination for BTS.
"The sheer thought of a nomination is thrilling," says J-hope.
"I mean, we hope. We hope so," adds RM. "No one knows about the Grammys ... but we're just doing our best."
Though Dynamite has charted new territory for BTS, the song wasn't even supposed to be released, RM explains. BTS had plans to tour but that changed due to the coronavirus: "The pandemic blew everything away."
So they recorded Dynamite to give their die-hard fans, the BTS Army, "hope, positive energy," RM reveals.
“And we think that it really touched their hearts.”
The group, which includes Jin, V, Jimin and Jungkook, says they're busy recording a new album. They feel they have grown in the seven years they've been a musical group.
"We've matured musically, as well as in the way we think. We've also developed a higher sense of responsibility. This has refined us and these developments are really being reflected in our music and our dance," J-hope says.
The band members range from ages 23 to 27, and the youngest of clan, Jungkook, celebrated his birthday this week with some special news.
"I received the news of our No 1 on the Hot 100 chart on the day of my birthday, so it was really one celebration over another," he says. "It was incredible."
Scroll through the gallery below to see BTS through the years:
The biogs
Name: Zinah Madi
Occupation: Co-founder of Dots and links
Nationality: Syrian
Family: Married, Mother of Tala, 18, Sharif, 14, Kareem, 2
Favourite Quote: “There is only one way to succeed in anything, and that is to give it everything.”
Name: Razan Nabulsi
Occupation: Co-founder of Dots and Links
Nationality: Jordanian
Family: Married, Mother of Yahya, 3.5
Favourite Quote: A Chinese proverb that says: “Be not afraid of moving slowly, be afraid only of standing still.”
THE DETAILS
Director: Milan Jhaveri
Producer: Emmay Entertainment and T-Series
Cast: John Abraham, Manoj Bajpayee
Rating: 2/5
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
ENGLAND TEAM
England (15-1)
George Furbank; Jonny May, Manu Tuilagi, Owen Farrell (capt), Elliot Daly; George Ford, Ben Youngs; Tom Curry, Sam Underhill, Courtney Lawes; Charlie Ewels, Maro Itoje; Kyle Sinckler, Jamie George, Joe Marler
Replacements: Luke Cowan-Dickie, Ellis Genge, Will Stuart, George Kruis, Lewis Ludlam, Willi Heinz, Ollie Devoto, Jonathan Joseph
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Read more about the coronavirus
Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
Torbal Rayeh Wa Jayeh
Starring: Ali El Ghoureir, Khalil El Roumeithy, Mostafa Abo Seria
Stars: 3
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Results
6.30pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (Dirt) 1,400m. Winner: Rio Angie, Pat Dobbs (jockey), Doug Watson (trainer).
7.05pm: Handicap Dh170,000 (D) 1,600m. Winner: Trenchard, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
7.40pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (D) 1,600m. Winner: Mulfit, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
8.15pm: Handicap Dh210,000 (D) 1,200m. Winner: Waady, Dane O’Neill, Doug Watson.
8.50pm: Handicap Dh210,000 (D) 2,000m. Winner: Tried And True, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
9.25pm:Handicap Dh185,000 (D) 1,400m. Winner: Midnight Sands, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
In Search of Mary Shelley: The Girl Who Wrote Frankenstein
By Fiona Sampson
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How to volunteer
The UAE volunteers campaign can be reached at www.volunteers.ae , or by calling 800-VOLAE (80086523), or emailing info@volunteers.ae.
Rafael Nadal's record at the MWTC
2009 Finalist
2010 Champion
Jan 2011 Champion
Dec 2011 Semi-finalist
Dec 2012 Did not play
Dec 2013 Semi-finalist
2015 Semi-finalist
Jan 2016 Champion
Dec 2016 Champion
2017 Did not play
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
- Tourism industry knowledge.
- Professional ethics.
'The Lost Daughter'
Director: Maggie Gyllenhaal
Starring: Olivia Colman, Jessie Buckley, Dakota Johnson
Rating: 4/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
