BTS may be the biggest band in the world, but its seven members didn’t even have their own (public) personal Instagram accounts until this month. Naturally, fans were excited when RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook debuted their profiles, and their follower counts blew up immediately. Today Guinness World Records revealed that V (born Kim Taehyung), in fact, broke the record for the fastest person to reach both one and 10 million Instagram followers.
The South Korean artists opened their accounts to the public on December 6th, and while all seven received a mind-boggling amount of attention — they each now have over 20 million followers — 25-year-old V lead the group in initial traction. The singer racked up one million followers 43 minutes after debuting his account, and in 4 hours and 52 minutes, he’d reached 10 million.
According to Guinness, the world record holder for the fastest person to reach one million Instagram followers changes often as more celebrities join the app. NCT’s Taeil Moon broke the record earlier this year, and Jennifer Aniston and Rupert Grint won the title themselves when they first made profiles.
BTS have broken over 20 world records as a group. “Butter,” our Song of the Year, holds the title for the most streamed track on Spotify in 24 hours, the most viewed music video premiere on YouTube, and the most viewed YouTube music video in 24 hours. The group also holds the record for the most streamed act on Spotify, the most Nickelodeon Kid’s Choice Awards won by a group, and the most weeks spent on Billboard’s Digital Song Sales Chart (for “Dynamite”). In September, they were added to the Guinness World Records Hall of Fame.
Earlier this month, BTS announced that they’d soon be going on an “extended period of rest” to recharge before their next album. Watch them celebrate James Corden’s 1000th episode of Late Late Show — in one of their last performances before the vacation — here, and read why we named their “Permission to Dance on Stage” concert one of the best live shows of the year here.
