Despite military service, BTS's Jungkook breaks Weverse livestream record with 20.2 million views
BTS member Jungkook, currently serving in the military, set a record for the highest number of views on the fan community platform Weverse with his livestream on Wednesday.
The livestream garnered over 20.2 million views, surpassing the previous record of 16 million views, also set by Jungkook.
"I was told that I could do livestreams, so here I am with you during my vacation," Jungkook said in the video.
"I wanted to go live while on vacation, so I jogged daily and did weight training to keep fit.”
Fans requested a performance, and throughout the livestream, Jungkook sang around 30 songs.
He covered tracks from other K-pop artists, including Taeyeon’s "To.X" (2023), Rosé's "APT." and ILLIT’s "Magnetic." He also performed songs by fellow BTS members: Jin’s "I’ll Be There" and V’s "Winter Ahead."
Jungkook also sang some of his own hits, such as "Standing Next to You" (2023) and "3D (featuring Jack Harlow)" (2023).
"I hope you all stay well, and I will continue practicing until we meet again," Jungkook said.
At the 2024 Billboard Music Awards on Dec. 13, Jungkook took home the Top K-pop Album award for "Golden" (2023) and the Top Global K-pop Song award for the album's lead track, "Standing Next to You." He ranked No. 60 on Billboard's Year-end Charts, released Dec. 14, marking the highest position for a Korean artist.
Jungkook began his military service on Dec. 12 last year and is set to be discharged on June 11 next year.
BY YOON SEUNG-JIN [yoon.seungjin@joongang.co.kr]