K-pop supergroup BTS have rapidly become one of the most popular boybands in the world, but it looks like the members have a lot of star power as individuals too.
The band are used to breaking records: they have dozens under their belt, including the fastest time to reach one million followers on TikTok and becoming the first K-pop group to perform on a major US awards show, and now one of its seven members Jungkook has broken a record of his own.
Thanks to his 2018 solo single Euphoria re-entering the US charts this week, he has just become the longest-charting K-pop solo artist, racking up an impressive 26 weeks near the top of the pops.
The record was previously held by Jennie with track Solo.
In total, Euphoria has sold more than four million international copies, making it the best-selling B-side in K-pop history, too.
Check out this photo gallery of BTS through the years:
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BTS through the years: the K-pop band at the Korean Culture Convention (K-Con), held at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena on August 10, 2014. AFP -
Members of BTS arrive on the red carpet for K-Con 2014. AFP -
BTS on the red carpet for the Asia Artist Awards in Seoul on November 16, 2016. AFP -
Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V and JungKook of BTS at Music Choice in New York City on March 22, 2017. Getty -
BTS perform Fake Love at the Billboard Music Awards at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on May 20, 2018. AP -
BTS accept the Top Social Artist award at the Billboard Music Awards on May 20, 2018. Reuters -
BTS attend the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly on September 24, 2018. AP -
BTS perform during a Korean cultural event in Paris as part of the South Korean president's official visit to France on October 14, 2018. AFP -
BTS on the red carpet at the Mnet Asian Music Awards in Hong Kong on December 14, 2018. AP -
BTS at the Seoul Music Awards on January 15, 2019. Getty -
BTS present the award for Best R&B Album during the 61st Grammy Awards on February 10, 2019, in Los Angeles. AFP -
BTS perform on Saturday Night Live on April 11, 2019. Getty -
BTS before rehearsals for KBS 2TV's Music Bank in Yeouido, Seoul, on April 19, 2019. Getty -
BTS perform at concert to promote 18th Fina World Championships at a stadium in Gwangju, South Korea on April 28, 2019. EPA -
BTS and Halsey performing Boy With Luv at the Billboard Music Awards on May 1, 2019. Reuters -
BTS attend Youth Day at the Presidential Blue House in Seoul on September 19, 2020. Reuters -
BTS present a purple gift box to President Moon Jae-in during the inaugural Youth Day event in Seoul on September 19, 2020. EPA -
BTS on the red carpet during the annual Mama Awards at Nagoya Dome in Nagoya, Japan, on December 4, 2019. Reuters -
BTS at the 34st annual Golden Disk Awards ceremony in Seoul on January 4, 2020. EPA -
BTS arrive at the 62nd annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on January 26, 2020. AP -
BTS visit the Today Show at Rockefeller Plaza in New York City on February 21, 2020. AFP -
BTS give an address as part of the YouTube Originals Dear Class of 2020 speeches. YouTube Originals -
BTS performing as part of the YouTube Originals Dear Class of 2020 speeches. YouTube Originals -
BTS perform 'Dynamite' during the MTV Video Music Awards on August 30, 2020. Reuters -
BTS accept the award for Best Pop Video for 'On' during the MTV Video Music Awards on August 30, 2020. AP -
BTS arrives to security check-in at the United Nations headquarters during the 76th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York on September 20, 2021. AFP -
V, Suga, Jin, Jungkook, RM, Jimin and J-Hope of BTS arrive at the 2021 American Music Awards at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California on November 21, 2021. Reuters -
BTS accepts the award for artist of the year at the American Music Awards in 2021 at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. AP -
Jin, Suga, V, Jungkook, RM, Jimin, and J-Hope of BTS hold their award for the Favourite Pop Song, Favourite Duo or Group and Artist of the Year awards during the 2021 American Music Awards. Reuters -
BTS pose on red carpet of iHeartRadio Jingle Ball concert in California on December 3, 2021. Reuters -
BTS perform at Jamsil Olympic Park in southern Seoul, South Korea on March 10, 2022. EPA -
BTS pose on red carpet of 64th Annual Grammy Awards at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada on April 3, 2022. Reuters -
BTS perform Butter during 64th Annual Grammy Awards show in Las Vegas, Nevada on April 3, 2022. Reuters -
BTS Permission to Dance concert in Las Vegas on April 10, 2022. Photo: Big Hit Music -
Members of BTS join Karine Jean-Pierre, White House press secretary, centre, during a news conference at the White House in Washington DC on May 31, 2022. Photo: Oliver Contreras / Sipa / Bloomberg
Euphoria’s new record isn’t the only accolade Jungkook has achieved.
Just this month he broke the record for becoming the only person to receive more than two million likes on five of his Twitter posts, showing that his powers extend far beyond music.
And it looks as though it will continue to be a record-breaking year for him, as he was also named the most-searched Idol on Google and YouTube for 2020 so far, a title he also held in 2019.
K-pop is incredibly popular in the GCC, and so Jungkook has many fans in the Gulf.
It’s hard to pinpoint exactly how the K-pop craze first arrived in the UAE. But it’s been around for a while – K-pop bands such as Super Junior, Big Bang, 2ne1, SHINee and TVXQ were big in the mid-2000s, after becoming popular on YouTube.
One of the first major K-pop performances in the UAE was in 2011, when pop star Seo In-young and girl group Nine Muses performed as part of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix celebrations. Five years later, there was the game-changing KCON held at du Arena.
Inside Abu Dhabi's K-pop academy:
The event brought big names to town, such as BTS (who were less famous then but still a big deal) and solo artists Taeyeon (formerly of Girls Generation) and Kyuhyun (a former member of Super Junior). It was also the same year the Korean Cultural Centre opened in the capital.
