Crystal Bell is the Culture Editor at Mashable. She oversees the site's coverage of the creator economy, digital spaces, and internet trends, focusing on how young people engage with others and themselves online. She is particularly interested in how social media platforms shape our online and offline identities.
Some things can feel so specific, so perfectly engineered in a lab to appeal directly to me. Today, that thing is the members of BTS singing "Butter-Fly" by Kōji Wada, the iconic opening theme to Digimon Adventure, during an appearance on Hot Ones.
The members approached the hot wings challenge with wildly different strategies. V called it quits a few wings in — smart! — and spent the rest of the episode slamming pints of milk. Jin attempted to expel the chili demons from his body through a series of guttural screams, while j-hope tried to walk it off. RM kept his tears hidden behind his sunglasses, while Jimin and Jung Kook mostly played it cool, rallying themselves every round with an enthusiastic "come on, wing!" And then there was Suga: the silent wing assassin, who only showed his weakness at the very end.
As the wings got hotter, the conversation only got more charming. Jin talked about his love of fishing, Jung Kook shared his perfect tteokbokki recipe, and the group reflected on their latest album, Arirang, and the world tour that just kicked off in Seoul.
Even through sweat dabbing, milk chugging, and increasingly desperate reactions to the wings, the episode doubled as a reminder of why spending time with BTS is always such a delight: No matter how chaotic things get, they never stop being deeply themselves — especially when it comes to their favorite anime OSTs.
Digital Culture Editor
Crystal Bell is the Culture Editor at Mashable. She oversees the site's coverage of the creator economy, digital spaces, and internet trends, focusing on how young people engage with others and themselves online. She is particularly interested in how social media platforms shape our online and offline identities.
She was formerly the entertainment director at MTV News, where she helped the brand expand its coverage of extremely online fan culture and K-pop across its platforms. You can find her work in Teen Vogue, PAPER, NYLON, ELLE, Glamour, NME, W, The FADER, and elsewhere on the internet.
She's exceptionally fluent in fandom and will gladly make you a K-pop playlist and/or provide anime recommendations upon request. Crystal lives in New York City with her two black cats, Howl and Sophie.
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