BTS and Lilly Singh redefine "influence"

24th September was a momentous day for young people around the world. By putting youngsters at the fore front, the United Nations announced a major change in their strategy (and launched the program titled “GenUnlimited”) and gave a chance to young representatives from different countries to share their ideas and vision for the world.

The objective was pretty simple – if the world is being developed for today’s youth and tomorrow’s generation, then, the major decision making power should lie with these people who are going to be affected by the changes.

BTS and Lilly Singh have been the active Goodwill Ambassadors who in a partnership with UNICEF have worked hard to spread awareness about “self love” and “individual potential” amongst young fans. As reported earlier on CelebMix, RM in an emotionally powerful speech shared his own struggles that he faced when he was young and how it took him some time to accept his own self. He also shared the impact music had on him and how BTS is trying to create that same impact with their work, the evidences of which lie in their songs including “Tomorrow”, “Not Today”, “Love Myself”, “Wings”, and “You Never Walk Alone”.

BTS continues to focus on youth with their new album

Last year, BTS partnered with UNICEF to launch “Love Myself” campaign in a bid to draw attention to the violence young kids are exposed to and offer solutions that could help them overcome their adversities. Below is the impact of their aggressive promotion of this social campaign:

Lilly Singh too shared her story and how the use of technology and platforms like YouTube helped her talk about different issues and eventually, carve a niche for herself.

Keeping her enthusiasm intact, Lilly Singh aka Superwoman took the center stage several times to share different stories and aspects of her own journey. Last year, Lilly Singh was announced as the Goodwill Ambassador by UNICEF and since then, the YouTuber has been trying to shed a light on issues involving young children and the problems they face while working on their dreams. Her impact is quite evident from her rank on the Forbes Magazine Top Influencers List in the entertainment category. Singh has been using her power to talk about women’s rights, girl’s education, LGBTQ+ community, and much more.

With their attendance at the United Nations, Lilly Singh and BTS have redefined what it means to be a “social celebrity”.

Through their contribution to the society, they have put accountability as the core principle of being influencial.

In our earlier article “BTS are not a social media accident. They are here to stay”, we shared how the group need to be understood and perceived beyond their social media following.

BTS are not a social media accident. They are here to stay.

The same goes for Lilly Singh too. The YouTuber has really lived up to her name.

The fans of both have come forth with their stories, explaining how these celebrities have been a positive influence on them. The best part is that neither BTS nor Lilly Singh have ever tried to show a glossy picture of life. Instead, by talking about their own hardships (unacceptance and depression for instance), they have normalised the conversation around the “not so positive” aspects of life. This normalisation is one of the significant consequences of BTS and Singh’s efforts.

While commercialism and promotion are some of the aspects of a celebrity’s life, one need to identify how the transition from being a celebrity to an influencer can be made. Harry Styles is one of the best examples of how this can be done. “Influencer” as a term might be a buzz word but more than a trendy word, it is a signifier of a huge responsibility that one has to be accountable for, if one becomes an influencer.

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