BTS Spreads Joy, Solidarity, and Hope with New Album BE
In a seemingly endless cocoon of quarantine, music lovers rejoiced when the beloved South-Korean boy band BTS (RM, Jin, J-Hope, Suga, Jimin, V, and Jungkook) released their 9th studio album, BE. After much anticipation, it looks like the Bangtan Boys delivered a thoughtful album with the right mix of soulful ballads along with delicious bops that we can expect from BTS.
The album opens with their second single, Life Goes On. This track starts off with a comforting guitar strum over a steady beat that engulfs its listeners in a warm musical safe space. The lyrics touch on feelings of despair during this dark time we’re globally experiencing, but inspire its listeners to continue on. The only way through this pain is out. Life will gradually move us forward. Life Goes On creates a special listening experience with its encouraging melodies and sentimental lyrics.
The second track Fly To My Room immediately takes us into a playful mood. Jimin’s angelic voice in contrast with V’s soulfulness takes center stage with help from Suga and J-Hope. The steady rhythmic beat acts as another strong presence on the track. Fly To My Room talks about the woes of being quarantined and being stuck inside. BTS shares their frustration of putting life on pause and canceling their world tour. On a smaller scale, it’s something we can all relate to; being robbed of opportunities this past year. But the silver lining is the connection that exists between the boys and their listeners through music. They invite us to metaphorically fly to their room for a show.
Blue and Grey is the album’s resident tearjerker. V intimately opens up about the loneliness and burnout he experiences as an artist. Although V leads the narrative in this song, every member’s perspective is crucial in conveying the necessary emotions. Like the respective colors, Blue and Grey is a ballad about the sorrows and emptiness in life. This powerhouse song gives us satisfaction as the sadness grows and grows, eventually releasing the emotion at the end.
Skit is a special peek into the 7 member’s bond, revealing a phone call where they celebrate news of their #1 single Dynamite on the Billboard Hot 100, cementing them further into history as the first Korean artist to achieve this. ARMYs knows that the boy’s bond with each other plays a huge role in their success. All 7 people have different personalities and when mixed together, become explosive energy. The genuine brotherhood between the members is something to marvel at and borderline obsess over (just me? Okay). It’s the unbreakable solidity they’ve created that organically creates very funny content for us Internet scroungers. Skit is a snapshot of the unique dynamic between all the members.
Kicking off the more up-tempo second half of the album, Telepathy is a fully certified BOP. It’s a dance anthem with funk that begs you to get on your feet and groove. It is so catchy it sneaks up in your brain and stays there. When I tell you my partner and I danced upon the first listening to this song, oh we danced. This song exudes unadulterated joy about a special person in your life. This is the song you will play over and over. And over. And strangely, will never get enough of it.
In the J-Hope-produced track, Dis-Ease, BTS returns to their old school hip-hop days. Rappers RM, Suga, and J-Hope shine in their verses with their distinctive flows. Singers, Jimin, V, and Jungkook bring balance with a dramatic chorus. This song celebrates the group’s diversity in its purest form. Dis-Ease is a solid track with instrumentals riddled with double entendre and deeper meanings for lucky native Korean speakers. The lyrics are more hopeful, shedding some of the heaviness from the earlier tracks. The catchy song encourages listeners to work through our own uneasiness and discomforts while making us want to dance.
Stay rewards its listener for sticking around with an upbeat EDM song. This track makes us feel alive, renewed, and excited. Jin and Jungkook’s voices are ringing in our ears as we yearn to connect in person again. With help from RM, Stay invokes electric, buzzing energy. This song would undoubtedly be a club smash hit in an alternative post-covid19 universe… until then, we can blast it in our homes when we want a musical escape.
Dynamite brings us home with its infectious disco beats. The #1 single off the album earned the group their first Grammy-nod. But if you ask me, that accolade isn’t nearly as impressive as their other feat: delivering light and hope to fans through music. BTS’s true power is connecting their global audiences with one another in a historically unjust time.
On BE, BTS is humbly aware of their solidified place in music. As a result, they gave listeners a poignant album reflecting that. Each song has a fitting place on the album that moves listeners from one state of mind to the next, eventually leaving us happier than they found us. BE is a wonderful concoction of BTS’s musical abilities. They remind listeners of their strengths in songwriting, music composition, and uplifting impact. In other words, the anticipation was well worth it. The Bangtan Boys give us solidarity to persevere through this difficult year, however that may look for you. That is enough. Surviving 2020 is enough.
