Culture

The Unexpected Journey to ARMY

How a simple camera test turned into a BTS deep-dive.

It all came about as a bit of a surprise to DJ and MCA, the father/son-in-law duo behind the GetSideways YouTube channel. Despite posting videos regularly since their channel’s inception 18 months ago, it was only when they posted their reaction to BTS’ Ugh! that they started gaining traction. That video, however, was unplanned, and its success was wholly unexpected…

With the launch of their main GetSideways channel postponed due to the COVID restrictions of 2020, MCA came up with the idea of the ‘react’ channel where he would share his favourite music (that DJ had never heard) with his son-in-law. Needing something to test out a new camera with without potentially ruining their schedule, they needed a song — and artist — that neither had heard. Enter BTS. Aware of their mega-stardom, but not knowing any of their discography, the group was perfect for their need. So, they typed ‘BTS’ into Spotify and randomly chose Ugh! to test the new camera with. What ensued was sheer confusion:

… “BTS is rap?” …

… “There are only three members?” …

… And so the journey down the rabbit hole began.