BTS vs BLACKPINK: Which Band Will Last Longer in the US?

BTS or Blackpink?

Let's be clear: none of these musical groups is losing. Both BTS and Blackpink are selling out stadiums and albums worldwide, including the United States. If you have been living in a cave and have not heard of them, here's a primer.

BTS (방탄소년단) is a South Korean boy group that consists of 7 members: RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook. They debuted back in 2013. BLACKPINK (블랙핑크) consists of 4 members: Jisoo, Jennie, Rosé, and Lisa. The band debuted on August 8th, 2016.

Both have already penetrated the US music scene.

Which of the brands will last longer though, in the US, at least? That's a great question to ponder. Here's our take and three simple reasons why we say so!

BTS and Blackpink Collaborated With US Greatest Singers

BTS is actually already in the DNA of American music lovers.

BTS is the first K-Pop group to present at the US Grammys, and their performance blew everyone away. They've been to several US talk shows and frankly, sometimes, can even be considered the country's own. BTS also collaborated Cold Play already, entitled "My Universe."

But that's not to say Blackpink has not seeped through the bloodstream of Americans. It also had collaborated with great artists such as Dua Lipa, Cardi B, Selena Gomez, and Lady Gaga! Jisoo had fond memories of working with Lady Gaga, saying ""I was really happy that our sounds blended so well in the song." She added, "I was surprised to see the kind of synergy we made with Lady Gaga and our colors."

BTS Has Greater Social Media Presence

BTS has 31.6 million Instagram followers compared to Blackpink's 30.5 million, although BTS has a three year lead on its female rivals.

Social media is fickle, and while a good testament to popularity, the number of followers simply is not everything.

Also fun fact.. for now, In terms of YouTube views, Blackpink is actually beating BTS. Many of their subsequent releases are outpacing BTS' online, which makes sense but the numbers can quickly change, given how fast they churn out chart-topping hits and music videos.

While BTS has a greater social media following, Blackpink has a far higher video following - 51.3 million subscribers to BTS' 38.6 million. So who wins in this criteria? No one, we suppose.

But What About YouTube? Blackpink Wins.

The two are tied with regard to videos with at least one billion views. Both vocal ensembles have had half a dozen images reach that milestone, and when one passes the other, it isn't long before they are again even.

"Kill This Love," "Boombayah," and "As If It's Your Last" have all surpassed one billion views on YouTube. One of their most successful videos, "Ddu-Du Ddu-Du," may be the first by a K-pop female group to reach two billion views.

BTS also says six music videos have surpassed one billion views. "Boy With Luv" with Halsey, "DNA," "Dynamite," the Steve Aoki remix of "Mic Drop," "Idol," and most recently, "Fake Love" have all surpassed one billion views on YouTube. BTS appears to be the next group to reach billion-view status, as their song "Blood Sweat & Tears" has surpassed 850 million plays.

"Butter" officially had the biggest YouTube Premiere of all time. When it dropped, 3.89 million viewers actually watched the song launch live. The band also got the record for the fastest music video in YouTube history to hit 10 million views, a feat the brand actually achieved in less than 15 minutes (just 13 minutes to be exact).

International Charisma- It's a Tie?

However, while BTS isn't the "OG" K-Pop boy band, many would argue that they helped promote the genre and take it global.

Technically though, Blackpink does more with fewer personnel in less time since they're merely composed of four talented girls to BTS' 7 talented guys. One might argue that they already outperform BTS pound for pound. If you think that does not matter - well, we do! Each of these members have their own respective fans, so if you are going to combine them all, naturally the brand with more members is going to win.

There's no bad blood between the two phenomenal groups though. We just like to sometimes compare them.

Frankly, your guess as to who between the BTS or Blackpink is going to last longer in the US is as good as ours.