Written by Thais Jacomassi
Illustration by Kaelen Felix
The wait is over. BTS’ fifth studio album, Be, is out now featuring the record-breaking, hit single “Dynamite.” This is the band’s second album release of 2020 – following their release of Map of the Soul: 7 in February — marking the latest comeback for their already historic career. While live concerts and events came to a halt and BTS’ Map of the Soul Tour was canceled due to the pandemic, the band took this opportunity to spur their creativity. The end result was a sentimental and thoughtful eight-track album, including a spoken skit, that reflected on what the past year has been like for them.
As many sections in the US are entering a new state of crisis with rising Covid-19 cases, Be sends a reassuring message for fans to stay upbeat and hopeful with good-humored, singalongs to keep us afloat from the stress and fear that the pandemic has brought out of everyone.
Be opens with the band’s newest single, “Life Goes On.” The song’s theme revolved around the pandemic which is made clear in its music video — directed by band member Jeon Jungkook — that features various shots of the members reminiscing on their lives prior to Covid-19 beginning with the line “One day the world stopped.” Despite its melancholic tone, the lyrics are sweet with the promise that one day life will return back to normal, but until then it is important to find positivity among other things. Watch/Listen to “Life Goes On” Here.
Accompanying the single are more somber and vulnerable songs like “Blue & Grey” and “Fly To My Room” which explore the loneliness that many people have claimed to experience from the confinement of quarantine, especially in the beginning months of the pandemic. In an article by Time Magazine, public health experts stated that coronavirus has amplified the already rising problem of loneliness in the US and across the globe. These two songs not only demonstrate how these negative thoughts have been plaguing so many of us, but it also shows the close and understanding relationship between the band and its millions of fans worldwide.
“Skit” is a spoken word interlude placed right in the middle of the album which was originally recorded at the same moment that the group was celebrating becoming the first all-Korean group to rise to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in August with their single “Dynamite.” It serves as the perfect tool to transition the mood of the album from emotional to cheerful with songs like “Telepathy” and “Dis-ease.”
Tracklist:
- Life Goes On
- Fly To My Room
- Blue & Grey
- Skit
- Telepathy
- Dis-ease
- Stay
- Dynamite
Listen to Be Here.
Listen/Watch “Life Goes On” Here.
Listen/Watch “Dynamite” Here.
About BTS:
Otherwise known as Bangtan Boys, BTS is a South Korean boy band that was originally formed in 2010 but only debuted in 2013 under Big Hit Entertainment. The seven members — RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook– co-write and co-produce their own music whose style ranges over a wide variety of genres including pop, R&B, hip-hop, and rap.
BTS crossed borders into the global market by becoming the first Korean group to receive an RIAA for their single, “Mic Drop,” as well as the first Korean group to top the US Billboard 200 chart with their album, Love Yourself: Tear. Since then, they have continued to lead K-pop’s global phenomenon and break records by being the first all-South Korean group to reach number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 with their single “Dynamite” and their remix of Jason Derulo’s “Savage Love.”
More on BTS:
About Big Hit Entertainment:
Big Hit Entertainment is a South Korean entertainment company that was founded on February 1, 2005, by Bang Si-hyuk. It currently manages idol groups like BTS and TXT and soloists like Lee Hyun. Big Hit Entertainment continues to make new innovations to the music industry business model and according to their website, “Big Hit strives to become the world’s best music-based entertainment lifestyle platform company.”
More on Big Hit Entertainment:
