“RESPECT BTS” — ARMYs Are Calling Out Billboard For Sabotaging The Success Of Jimin’s Track “Like Crazy”

Phrases such as “BILLBOARD CORRUPT” and “BILLBOARD RACIST” also trended worldwide!

BTS‘s Jimin made history after becoming the first Korean soloist to get a number-one song on the Billboard charts. Yet, ARMYs have raised anger online, trending several strong phrases after calling out Billboard for their lack of respect towards the group and Jimin.

BTS’s Jimin | @j.m/Instagram

In March, BTS’s Jimin shocked fans after releasing his new album FACE. Along with some amazing tracks, The title track, “Like Crazy,” captured the hearts of fans with its unique sound and beautiful music video.

BTS Jimin’s “LIke Crazy” music video | HYBE LABELS/YouTube
| HYBE LABELS/YouTube   

It was so popular that ARMYs couldn’t hide their excitement when Jimin was announced as the first Korean soloist to get a Billboard #1 with the track.

On April 11 (KST), the phrase “RESPECT BTS” started trending on social media along with several other phrases, including “RESPECT JIMIN” and other phrases specifically targeting Billboard, such as “BILLBOARD CORRUPT.” For many, recent figures from Jimin’s sales were seemingly suspicious to fans after a huge differentiation in numbers.

After being number one on Billboard’s first week of release, ARMYs were shocked that “Like Crazy” didn’t even make the top ten in the second week. Yet, it remained consistently high on the other charts, including the global charts.

If that wasn’t enough for ARMYs, there seemed to be some huge discrepancies in the figures for Jimin’s sales.

According to one website, the song was meant to have sold around 120,000 units, but Forbes released figures (the source of sales information for the Billboard music charts) saying it had sold less than 15,000 units. It had fans unsurprisingly wondering where the other 100,000 units had gone.

ARMYs quickly noticed how Billboard had seemingly changed the rules when it came to artists charting and found it odd how it happened just as Jimin released his album. While the charts had implemented changes earlier about bulk buying, it was only focused per week rather than as a whole.

When the information was released, ARMYs shared their anger online with hashtags. For many, they believed that it was blatant disrespect towards BTS once again, with a change being implemented to impact the group’s success.

In particular, many also pointed out that there should have been an announcement if there was a change to how Billboard measured success. ARMYs also pointed out that, in the past, Billboard has given a period of time before a new criterion is made applicable.

While BTS is known worldwide and still gaining success, ARMYs believe that many are still out to discredit or tear down the members’ success. ARMYs want answers and Western outlets to be honest with them, as they believe the rules are constantly being changed to impact BTS’s success.

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