The GOAT Debate: BTS, Faker, and the Legacy of Greatness
Published February 14, 2025
Lately, it feels like the BTS fandom has been caught up in so many distractions that we’re losing sight of what made BTS great in the first place. Their success wasn’t just about popularity; it was built on the foundation of quality—quality in music, performances, music videos, and even their expansion beyond K-pop into a global cultural force. That’s something we need to bring the focus back to.
Lately, I’ve been thinking about what it really means to be the Greatest of All Time—the GOAT. Is it about talent, influence, or something more? To dig into this idea, let’s look at some historical figures who truly set the standard for greatness.
Defining the GOAT
When we talk about the greatest of all time, we immediately think of people who have dominated their fields. Tom Brady in football, Michael Jackson in music, William Shakespeare in literature, and Faker in esports.
Each of them revolutionized their industry, setting records that are hard—if not impossible—to surpass.
Take Faker, for example. He’s the only five-time League of Legends World Champion, a title equivalent to winning five Super Bowls. He’s so good at the game that he’s called the “Unkillable Demon King.” His ability to predict his opponent’s moves before they even make them is almost supernatural—akin to Michael Jordan knowing exactly how a defender will react to his every movement.
The Emotional Weight of Being the GOAT
What struck me most was a statement made by a Chinese esports broadcaster after Faker’s recent victory. He said:
“We once called Faker the highest mountain and the longest river, believing that mountains and seas have limits… But today, at the age of 28, through his perfect performance, Faker demonstrated what it means when we say: where the sea ends, the sky becomes the shore. When the mountain reaches the top, I am the peak. He has no end.”
Source: TikTok | @_rxsemxe
That hit differently. Because if you really think about it, BTS might have felt the same way at some point. The joy of being at the top also comes with loneliness. No one else in K-pop has experienced what they have. No other group has reached their level of global success. It’s both a privilege and a burden.
BTS: The GOAT of K-pop?
This brings us to the question: how do we measure BTS’s greatness? Is it about charts, concerts, or innovation?
Charts – Many groups have charted, but no one has dominated like BTS. Even their solo projects break records.
Concerts – Some groups have done stadium tours, but not at the scale BTS has.
Innovation – This is where BTS truly shines. But how do we define their innovation?
The Legacy of Innovation
Every GOAT has an innovation that changed their industry forever.
So what did BTS do?
I’d argue that their biggest achievement is breaking the Asian racial barrier in Western pop culture. Unlike viral moments like Gangnam Style, which reinforced stereotypes, BTS changed the narrative. They weren’t just “the biggest Asian act” in Western media; they became one of the biggest acts, period.
And just like Michael Jackson or The Beatles, their true impact might not be fully realized until decades from now. That’s the nature of being a GOAT—you don’t just break records; you redefine the game itself.
The Future of BTS and K-pop
As we look at the current state of K-pop, data shows a decline in sales for the first half of 2024. While other groups like Blackpink, Stray Kids, and TXT are finding success, no one has yet picked up where BTS left off. The industry needs its GOATs to come in clutch, just like Faker did in his championship match.
The greatness of BTS isn’t just in what they’ve done—it’s in how they continue to shape the future of music. And maybe, just maybe, their real legacy is still being written.
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