BTS' Jimin continues to inspire younger idols with his iconic stages

Jimin has popularly become known as the 'Rookies' Bible' for the high level of admiration and respect he gets from rookie idols, prompted by his mesmerizing and iconic stage performances that leave a lasting impression on every audience. His end-of-year stage performances are always a factor to look forward to during the awards season, and this is the kind of impact that every idol hopes to have in the highly competitive industry. In fact, one cultural critic Kang Myung-seok, who served as a judge at the MAMAs, has previously praised Jimin's stages and asserted that "Jimin is a symbolic artist who is the flower of the awards ceremony" and that "he is the reason why people should watch MAMA," as reported by Korean media. 

For this reason, most rookie idols have covered Jimin's solo stages as a way to relay their respect and admiration for him and also to challenge themselves and prove that they can step up to the set standard of performing in the industry. One of the most covered songs in K-pop, if not the most covered song, is  'Lie' by Jimin, which was released in 2016 but still gets attention to date.

On February 23rd, ENHYPHEN's Park Sung-hoon expressed his wish to cover Jimin's 'Lie' during a fan call. This would make him the second member in the group after the group's main dancer, 'Ni-Ki,' to cover the song. Ni-Ki specifically loves the song a lot, and he said in a Weverse interview that he covered it during his audition at BELIFT LAB, and it shows how much weight the song carries, not just for him but for the industry. Other members like 'Jay' have also shown their admiration for Jimin, saying that he is their role model.

Other idols who have covered 'Lie' over the years include Milo from ROMEO, Taeyoung of Seven O'clock, Boun of Target, Hyunmin of Rainz, So Jung Hwan and Choi Hyunsuk as YG trainees, Dongheon of VERIVERY, Gwon Huijun as a Creker Entertainment trainee, ENOi's J-Kid and Dojin, Jeon Doyum of 1THE9, Kim Byeongkwan of A.C.E, Choi of EBOYZ, Cuong Bach of D1verse, Yoojung of OnlyOneOf, Kim Kookheon of B.O.Y, Woochul of Newkidd, Yuri of JXR, Yoo Yong Ha of WEi, and many others. 

Jimin's serendipity has also been covered extensively, which is proof of his highly revered status as a top performer in the industry.

Apart from dance covers, idols also constantly mention Jimin during interviews or during their VLIVE broadcasts, saying he is their role model and that they want to be just like him. K-media recently reported on yet another idol, Louis, mentioning Jimin as his role model. Louis from KINGDOM becomes the third member of the group after Dann and Arthur, to name Jimin as his role model. Arthur says Jimin is part of the 'Elite King Dance Line' in K-pop, which is a group of only three idols considered to be the best dancers in the industry.

There are also idols such as Im Joo-an of T.A.N. and Ryuhei from Japan who have expressed their love and admiration for Jimin repeatedly [read here and here].

Here is a compilation of Jimin's stages at the end of year award shows that have earned him the respect and admiration that he has today, such as the MMA 2018, 2019, and 2020, MAMA 2015, KBS Gayo stages, and MBC 2016, among others. Such stages have become sources of inspiration for many idols, such as Wonjin from Cravity and Jang KyungJun from Jannabi, to mention a few. Below is a thread compilation of all of these events.

Will all these mentions and dance covers, there is no doubt that Jimin really is the 'Rookies' Bible' and 'Idol of Idols.' His dance and performance are second to none. It is not surprising that he has won almost every dance poll over the past few years, such as those organized by highly popular voting sites internationally like Dabeme, Netlab, King Choice, and KPOP VOTE [read here], as well as the most recent Master of Dance Contest 2022 on FanPlus.