TikTok gets users grooving to BTS' new song with exclusive clip

TikTok is exclusively pre-releasing a clip of the title song "ON" from K-pop boy band BTS' highly anticipated new album titled "MAP OF THE SOUL: 7". Besides enjoying a 30-second clip of the song 12 hours ahead of the album's release, users can also create TikTok videos with the music.

BTS' popularity on TikTok is evident. Slightly more than three hours after joining the platform on 25 September last year, the K-pop group's account had a million followers. During that same week, TikTok launched the "Chicken Noodle Soup" challenge by BTS member J-Hope in more than 40 countries and regions, reaching over 480 million views. Marketing has reached out to TikTok for comment.

Last month, TikTok tied up with video streaming platform iflix to bring short-form videos to audiences in 13 countries across Asia. Through the partnership, iflix users can access TikTok's collection of short-form viral videos worldwide via a dedicated TikTok channel. Meanwhile late last year, it is also reportedly offering a social commerce option for creators. A tweet by Fabien Bern, founder and growth director of UPLAB, a Chinese influencer agency specialising in TikTok, said the platform has allegedly rolled out a “link in bio” and “social commerce URLs” in videos. Bern added in a subsequent tweet that the function is currently in public beta and is offered to selected creators, such as the best performing one

Separately, Samsung Electronics also tied up with BTS to market its new smartphones, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported, adding that the smartphone brand will also partner with BTS for the band's art initiative "CONNECT, BTS". "CONNECT, BTS" is done in partnership with curators from Seoul, New York, London, Berlin, and Buenos Aires, in an effort to connect individuals worldwide through art.

As part of the collaboration, BTS members will appear and explain art pieces during the exhibition via Samsung's AR system. The smartphone company also installed a media facade showing its Galaxy devices for the art initiative in Seoul and New York.