[Honey’s Anime Interview] Author Tamar Herman for BTS: Blood, Sweat & Tears

12:50 PM August 13, 2020

Hello everyone, and welcome to Honey’s Anime! We are here with a wonderful interview we conducted with the author of BTS: Blood, Sweat & Tears, Tamar Herman. BTS: Blood, Sweat & Tears is a biography of the global phenomenon K-Pop group, BTS. We read through the biography and got to learn more about the group and their rise to almost immediate fame. In BTS: Blood, Sweat & Tears, BTS’s success has matched that of the very influential, globally famous, and extremely talented band, The Beatles.

We got to ask some questions for Tamar Herman to get to know her a little better and also about her journey working on this project, as she has worked with many media outlets as a writer, editor, and consultant. Tamar specializes in K-pop, international music, all things fandom, and changes in media in the 21st century that she has been covering BTS’s career throughout their years together. Hailed as a K-pop enthusiast and expert, Tamar has written a book about BTS to help shed light on the wonderful group of talented men and their inspirational story of life together and as individuals themselves.

So, without further ado, we present you with Tamar’s answers to our burning questions. We hope you enjoy it!

Tamar Herman

Honey-Chan

Interview with Tamar Herman for BTS: Blood, Sweat & Tears

We at Honey’s Anime wanted to know how long BTS: Blood, Sweat, & Tears took to complete from beginning to end?

I first began talking to my editor in mid-2018, and we were editing it up until recently to try to keep it as up-to-date as possible.

We wanted to know what sort of processes did you go through to completing this wonderful project?

I've been covering BTS for Billboard and other outlets since 2016, so I drew on my reporting and observation, plus research and interviews specifically for this book, to explore BTS's story.

Is there a collaboration that you would like to see BTS be a part of personally?

From the U.S., Normani or Rihanna or Ariana Grande. I just think those collabs could really offer something cool and unique. From Korea, I think Epik High or Sunmi would be pretty cool. Some BTS members have worked with members of Epik High before so I think it'd be really interesting to see what they come up with altogether, and I just think Sunmi's creative concepts meshing with BTS's would be so fun.

With K-Pop groups and K-Pop stans being proud activists in the world, what sort of impact does BTS bring to returning and new fans about activism?

BTS inspires fans from across the world with their words, music, and actions. They recently donated $1 million to Black Lives Matters and their fans, who often rally for charitable events, matched them for $1 million in a day. I think it says a lot about an artist to inspire that sort of dedication, and it's so wonderful.

Regarding the BTS stans, what is your personal takeaway about their involvement with BTS, looking up to them for guidance and comfort?

I think fans love artists who reflect their worldview and what they value, and that's what BTS gives ARMY through their music that's full of depth and meaning.

These next questions might be a bit personal, but what does it take to be a BTS stan?

Love and passion.

If there was a song you could recommend to someone during these trying times we are all facing to pick them up, or at least bring joy and hope to their souls, which one would it be?

I once danced through Times Square in the rain to "I'm Fine" while having a really shitty day and it cheered me up so it may sound cheesy but "I'm Fine" is my go-to pick me up.

Were there any hurdles you may have faced while researching/writing for this project?

Not necessarily while writing, since I'm very familiar with BTS and have been covering them for a while now. But I was working as a full-time freelancer at the same time as writing this book, so I'd have to wake up, do my work covering news stories and features for a bunch of outlets, and then only around 10 PM begin writing most days. I don't sleep a lot generally and it's not like the content of this book was hard for me to write, so it was fine, but there were some days where I was like "why is there more news, ALL I WANNA DO IS FINISH THAT CHAPTER ON LOVE YOURSELF: TEAR!!!!!" I was a mess some days, but my roommate gave me chocolate a lot when I was stressed so it was okay and I powered through and I'm really excited to share this book with the world.

What personal takeaway do you cherish the most about this project?

You can really achieve the impossible just with sheer will and the desire to bring something you love to more people.

What moral message did you want readers to feel when they experience your book?

That BTS is a group whose music, lives, and careers will resonate within you if you give them the chance.

What are the future plans for Tamar Herman, if any? Let us know what you got going in your life (new projects, events, etc.).

Right now I'm really focusing on the book, including an event with The Korea Society on August 12. I'm also freelancing for a few outlets, so if you're interested in my work you can keep updated at TamarHerman.com.

Final Thoughts

And with that, another great interview for the record books here at Honey’s Anime. Tamar Herman is a wonderful individual who is passionate about what she does and cares about her to spread the good joy of K-Pop and BTS! We thank Tamar Herman from the bottom of our hearts and VIZ Media for arranging this interview for us! Tamar has an amazing career where it almost seems like she is living her very own Shoujo reverse-harem life with many beautiful men surrounding her. We want to make sure that you all go and check out BTS: Blood, Sweat, & Tears out now on VIZ Media and other participating retailers. Visit the link below for more information and make sure to keep coming back to Honey’s Anime for more great content about anime, manga, gaming, and the otaku world!

https://www.viz.com/bts-blood-sweat-tears

If you have any questions or comments for Tamar Herman or Honey’s Anime, make sure to sound off in the comments below!

Take care!

Editor in Chief

Author: Alfonso "Fonzy" Ortiz

I'm a Geek, Nerd, Writer, and lover of all video games, anime, science, technology and the internet. I previously worked for STFUandPlay.com, a contributing writer as the Japanese Corespondent at TheKoalition.com and founded a website called Transcend-Gaming.com! I currently live in Japan as Editor in Chief of Honey's Anime and its very talented writers! I'm down for anything! What do you want to do?