Music

BTS Fans Are Very Angry At Jason Derulo For Using Them To Get His Song To #1

"ARMYS won't let this go. Yes, Jason Derulo, we're the worst fandom when you messed up with our boys."

by Jared Richards  20 October 2020
BTS army angry at Jason Derulo for not thanking band for 'Savage Love' hitting #1

Want more Junkee in your life? Sign up to our newsletter, and follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook so you always know where to find us.

BTS fans are calling out Jason Derulo for using the band’s popularity for his own chart success after he neglected to thank them in a TikTok celebrating his song ‘Savage Love’, which recently got a BTS remix, reaching #1 on the US Billboard Charts.

In a video, Derulo showed off his celebrations at a restaurant, which included buying shots and eating cake: in the caption, he tagged his friends who were present but not his collaborators. The Army was pissed and accused him of ignoring the BTS remix, which they say scored Derulo the #1. They’re not wrong either, as the track shot up to the top spot after the group got involved.

After being inundated with messages and hate, Derulo tried to patch things up by retweeting the TikTok with a new caption that shouted out both BTS and Jawsh 685, the Kiwi teen behind the instrumentals:  “Wish @BTS_twt @jawsh_685 was here for the celebration! We did it! #1 on billboard chart! Savage Love”.

It was too little, too late for the Army, who are now comparing Derulo to Halsey and MAX, artists who they believe have respectfully collaborated with their idols.

It’s almost as if Derulo, who has leaned heavily into TikTok memes in the past year, is a shrewd marketer who follows a trend, or that not all pop collaborations are created out of artistic integrity.

In fact, ‘Savage Love’ started out as a TikTok meme: the instrumental, called ‘Laxed (Siren Beat)’ was created by Jawsh 685, a 17-year-old producer from New Zealand, and caught on as the backbeat to the ‘culture dance’ challenge.

Derulo then jumped on the track and made a ‘remix’ back in May without reaching out to Jawsh 685, essentially stealing the song and giving it a new name. After some back-and-forth, Jawsh was credited (and subsequently signed to Columbia Records), and the song was renamed ‘Savage Love (Laxed – Siren Beat)’.

It’s all pretty tacky, but it worked: as Slate notes in their history of the track, the song reached #10 by August. And then, it stalled, sitting around there since — until the BTS remix two weeks back.

With BTS fans as passionate as they are, the remix reached #1 shortly after, and deservedly: it’s easily the best version of the track, and the group suit the instrumental a lot more than Derulo, who reeks of desperation. But now that Derulo has slighted their heroes, the Army has moved their streaming attention away from ‘Savage Love’ and onto BTS member Suga’s collaboration with mononymous MAX, ‘Blueberry Eyes’.

Meanwhile, BTS also occupy the #2 spot on the Billboard 100 charts thanks to their first full English language song, ‘Dynamite’, which was released in August. Additionally, each member of BTS has reportedly raked in $15.4 million of wealth this month on shares alone, after their label Big Hit Entertainment went public.

Listen to BTS’ remix of ‘Savage Love’ below.