What Does ‘RM’ Mean? Here’s Why This BTS Member Changed His Name for This K-Pop Group
Some call him the leader of BTS, others call him Joon, Joonie, or Kim Namjoon. However, this K-pop idolās stage name changed its original meaning. What does RM symbolize? Why did this rapper decide to change his stage name? Hereās what we know about Kim Namjoon and why he decided to adapt his original stage name, āRap Monster.ā
RM is one of the performers in BTS
Since debuting with BTS, Kim Namjoon became renowned for his rapping, his brain, and his English skills. As the leader of this award-winning K-pop group, RM often acts as the unofficial translator for the group, as well as a role model for fans worldwide.Ā
Alongside boy band members like V, J-Hope, and Suga, this performer adopted a stage name to use while performing with BTS. Originally, Kim Namjoon chose āRap Monsterā to use while performing.Ā
RMās original name was āRap Monsterā
Before BTS even debuted about seven years ago, this K-pop idol had a name lined up for himself. It was Rap Monster, inspired by his talent and passion for music. Around 2017, however, the artist decided that stage name didnāt represent who he is as a person.Ā
āIt was a stage name that I naturally came to be called among our company family members and my members, after a line in a song Iād made as a trainee, and I think I became very fond of it,ā RM said, according to a translation from Soompi.Ā
āBut once I started promoting, the name āBTSās Rap Monsterā was a bit long, and Iāve become keenly aware of the fact that itās become different from [what I want] to put at the front of the music Iāve made for the past five years, and the music I want to share in the future,ā he continued.
What does RM stand for now?Ā
Why RM and not a different stage name? During one interview with Entertainment Tonight Online, RM explained that this new stage name ācould symbolize many thingsā and thatās why he liked it. At the time, he explained that it stood for āreal me.āĀ
Since then, fans learned to adopt this new meaning to the stage name, using āRMā when referring to the artist. RM and the rest of the BTS members went on to perform at the Grammy Awards, becoming the first K-pop group to do so. RM also released music as a solo artist, under the name āRM.ā (Suga adopted a second stage name for performing as a solo artist: Agust D.)
Fans can hear RM rapping with BTS and on the remix of āOld Town Roadā by Lil Nas X. Music by BTS, including their recently released album, Map of the Soul: 7, is available for streaming on Spotify.Ā