BTS ‘Dynamite’ Billboard History: BTS released “Dynamite” on August 21, 2020. The song quickly became one of the biggest moments in the group’s career. It was BTS’ first song released fully in English and it gave the group its first No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. In its first U.S. chart week, “Dynamite” sold 300,000 copies and also collected 33.9 million streams.
The song also stayed successful for a long time. It spent 32 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 and remained inside the top 10 for 13 weeks. Its 32-week run passed the previous record for a Korean act, which had been held by PSY’s “Gangnam Style” with 31 weeks.
The music video broke records almost immediately too. “Dynamite” received 101.1 million YouTube views within its first 24 hours. More than three million people also watched the video premiere at the same time. This made it one of the biggest music video launches on YouTube at that time.
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“Dynamite” Takes BTS to the Grammys
The song brought BTS another major milestone when it earned a nomination for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at the 63rd GRAMMY Awards. It was the group’s first GRAMMY nomination and also the first GRAMMY nomination for a K-pop act. The award eventually went to Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande for “Rain on Me.”
BTS later performed “Dynamite” during the 2021 GRAMMY Awards. The members performed from Seoul and created a stage that looked like the real GRAMMY venue in Los Angeles. Their performance moved from a decorated indoor set to a red carpet and then to a rooftop.
The song was written by David Stewart and Jessica Agombar, with Stewart also handling production. Stewart said the two writers sent the song only three or four days after getting the request for an upbeat track. The final recording reportedly contained a very large number of vocal layers. Stewart estimated there may have been around 200 to 250 vocal tracks, while he received 173 separate vocal stems from BTS.
The “Dynamite” Outfits Also Made News
The colorful pastel clothes worn by BTS in the “Dynamite” video later became valuable collectibles. The outfits were donated to the MusiCares Charity Relief Auction and sold for $162,500 in January 2021. The auction estimate had been only $20,000 to $40,000, so the final price was far higher than expected. The money supported MusiCares and its work helping people in the music industry.
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ALLKPOP described the song by writing, “The disco-pop track quickly became a bright spot for listeners worldwide, offering a sense of joy and optimism.”
Even years after its release, “Dynamite” remains one of BTS’ most important songs. It helped the group reach the top of the U.S. charts, brought its first GRAMMY nomination and created several major records during the group’s rise as a global pop act.
