KUALA LUMPUR: Fans of international K-Pop sensation BTS had a pleasant surprise when their favourite music group was “name-checked” in a recent episode of the long-running American animated sitcom, The Simpsons.
What made it even more special was the addition of a “shout-out” to the fans themselves, dubbed Army, in the same episode.
According to Soompi, excited fans went on social media to highlight the milestone. One fan uploaded a short clip of the special scene with the caption: “190317 ‘The Simpsons’ season 30 episode 17 @bts_twt.”
The episode, which aired last Sunday and was named E My Sports, saw the titular family travels to Seoul for Bart to participate in an E-Games championship after the boy develops a strong interest in playing video games.
While walking down a street in the capital of South Korea they pass a couple of sign boards. One on a window read “BTS here today!”, while the other on the street said “Recruitment centre for BTS ARMY.”
Another fan expressed why The Simpsons’ BTS reference was a significant moment with a Tweet that read: “The show is the longest running US sitcom and is still popular enough for a primetime spot after 30 years. The show earned its own star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame and is an American pop culture icon. We really have arrived y’all.”
On another note, BTS, which is set to make a comeback on April 12 with the release of a new album titled Map Of The Soul: Persona, is certainly off to a very promising start.
Koreaboo reported that the anticipation for the seven-member music outfit’s latest material was so intense that pre-orders for the new album had skyrocketed immensely.
In just five days after pre-ordering was made available for Map Of The Soul: Persona, fans wasted no time and the number quickly climbed up to a staggering 2,685,030 pre-orders.
This marked a new milestone for the South Korean K-Pop phenomenon as its previous album, Love Yourself: Answer, recorded about 1.5 million pre-orders.
Apparently, Map Of The Soul: Persona has now become the most pre-ordered Korean album of all time.
It’s an enviable feat as BTS continues to grow and exert its influence around the world and an amazing one as well, since the whopping number of pre-orders came about even before any concept photos or teaser images were released.
Fans can also look forward to catch the music group making it’s debut performance on another long-running iconic American show, Saturday Night Live, on April 13.