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'BTS really stood out': Grammy-winning mentor reveals THIS music video made him work with rookies despite SM Ent's sabotage attempts
Nate Walka recalled his working experience with BTS during their rookie days and revealed what made him say yes to help them with a past project. Know more.
BTS, one of the biggest boy bands of the world, had overcome significant struggles to achieve their current stardom. The chart-topping artists faced numerous challenges during their rookie days, including small fandom and limited industry support. Among the people who showcased belief in them, was the Grammy-winning artist, Nate Walka, who was offered to mentor BTS for a show. The artist opened up about the same on Frankie Briggz's YouTube show on April 21.
During the interview, the American artist recalled his experience of mentoring K-pop stars BTS for the 2014 reality show, Bangtan Boys American Hustle Life. The show, a pivotal project in BTS' early days, focused on the group as they traveled to Los Angeles to explore hip-hop culture and receive artist development training from Nate Walka and Tony Jones. The program helps the then-rookies to develop a global appeal, needed for international success. Fans believe that the knowledge BTS gained from the show proved useful for them.
As Nate Walka recalled those days during an interview with Frankie Briggz, he mentioned his reason for saying yes to working with BTS being their music type. He stated, "Among everything I had encountered in the K-pop scene, BTS really stood out", even during their non-global era. He mentioned being fond of their songs even before planning to work with them and there was one particular music video that caught his attention most. "The first interaction of their music was (We are) Bulletproof and just watching that one video got me onboard to do this," Nate Walka said.
He was even more convinced to work with BTS after allegedly another K-pop boy band tried to sabotage BTS' project by asking him to work with them. As per Nate Walka, SM Entertainment wanted him to reject BIGHIT MUSIC's offer and work with EXO instead. “It was interesting because at that time, there was this writing camp for EXO going on and their camp was trying to get me to not work with BTS,” he shared. His accusations regarding SM downplaying BTS right from their rookie days created a huge buzz online.
