Benny Blanco led the BTS Army on a new music scavenger hunt

Benny Blanco has pulled out all the stops to market Bad Decisions, his latest collaboration with global superstars BTS and Snoop Dogg. After seeing the devotion and loyalty of BTS’ die-hard fan ARMY at several of their US concerts, Blanco gave the producer a chance to find the song before anyone else in the world.

Two days before the song’s release, Blanco posted a video on social media telling fans he had hidden a USB stick with the song in a random spot in the woods outside of Los Angeles, a camera at the hidden location set it up and streamed it for 24 hours on Twitch hoping ARMY would find it. Despite best efforts, ARMY could not locate it. Rather than recovering the drive themselves, however, Blanco and his team decided at the last minute to tweet the location of the USB, revealing that he would be there that evening to celebrate the song’s release with everyone who turned up .

Several ARMY arrived that evening at a park in the gorges of La Cãnada Flintridge, where Blanco and his team were waiting with the precious USB. Blanco was surprised by the participation of around thirty ARMY – some drove over an hour to be part of this moment.

“I can’t believe you’re here,” said a stunned Blanco as he watched more and more ARMY arrive with ARMY bombs (BTS glowsticks) in tow. Fans were just as shocked; “We can’t believe it you are here!” an ARMY replied at the sight of the famous producer.

While the venture may seem like a spontaneous social media stunt at first, the collaboration has actually lasted for over a year. After seeing BTS in concert last year, Blanco knew he had the perfect song for them.

“First of all, I’ve worked with every single person you could ever work with,” says Blanco The AV Club. “I’ve never seen anyone say, ‘Okay, so let’s sing like this,’ and then they said ‘okay,’ and it was just perfect the first time. Obviously and honestly I wanted to see one [BTS] Show. I was very interested in working with them. I would know [producer] Bang PD and [manager] Scooter Braun and went to a show. I was just overwhelmed. it was crazy It was the best live performance I’ve ever seen in my entire life. And then I just kept going to all the shows, and I couldn’t stop going to all of them.”

Blanco then learned that BTS would be singing “Love Yourself,” a collaboration between Blanco, Justin Bieber, and Ed Sheeran, before taking the stage. Back then, BTS suggested making a song with the award-winning producer. “They just said, ‘Oh my god, yes! We’re going to do a song’” Blanco recalls. “I almost didn’t believe it. It was crazy.”

Blanco had been working on Bad Decisions for over a year. The vocal line – Jin, Jimin, V and Jungkook – recorded their part via Zoom back in Korea in March. As for Snoop Dogg, BTS itself requested that the legendary rapper be featured in the song. Coincidentally, Blanco had been working with Snoop Dogg on Katy Perry’s California Girls and just gave him a call. Snoop, who confirmed the collaboration back in March, agreed.

Blanco has received nothing but love from BTS fans for promoting the song. “The BTS ARMY are the best fans in the world,” he says. “You know more than anything else. You study more than anyone else. And they are the most loyal fans in the world.”

After realizing how adept ARMY was at finding every little detail when it came to BTS, Blanco decided a scavenger hunt would be fun to find the most obscure location for the coveted USB.

“I think if we had left it there for six hours you would have found it,” says Blanco. “It was getting close. I’m glad you didn’t find it and [now] we will be able to hear it [together].”

During the meeting, Blanco was patient with the fans, taking time for selfies and personal video messages to ARMY who couldn’t make it, and answering many questions. As the lights from the ARMY bombs lit up the dark forest, he was open about working with BTS and how much he was enjoying the experience. Blanco admitted he was hoping for more opportunities with them, but when asked if there would be further collaborations, Blanco was shy: “Now the I will not answer.”

As more and more fans gathered and the time for the song’s release drew near, Blanco decided to give away the USB to a lucky fan. He thanked the crowd for coming and all their support, but had to go to a live stream before the song was released, leaving ARMY to celebrate together. Unfortunately, the moment was cut short when police appeared to disperse the large crowd, but fans were ecstatic for the opportunity to celebrate the release of their favorite group’s song with the very producer who made it possible. For her, it was anything but a bad decision.

Bad Decisions is available now on all streaming platforms and in stores.