I have never been a BTS fan. I think it’s probably because I took a short break on kpop around late 2013-early 2014. I thought I was finally moving on from what I thought was a random stage in my life- Sorta like that pre-teen alternative rock/punk/emo phase everyone experiences in middle to highschool. But even though I have not kept up with BTS’s music over the years, I did notice their growth from We Are Bulletproof pt. 2 to DNA.
From what I remember, BTS got popular from their underdog position of being from a small company, yet voicing out problems in Korean society. A lot of their earlier songs dealt with school pressure, constant studying, and an overly linear life without dreams. With new-gain fame and popularity, of course means that people have to keep up with what’s trending. BTS’s music is more mainstream and experimental compared to their more hip-hop roots, but I still listen to them sometimes anyway.
Anywayyyyy, J-Hope released his first mixtape “Hopeworld”. I listened to “Daydream” by chance when I had Youtube on autoplay.
This song features a nice mix of bass and percussion with a catchy beat. The slight percussion mid-song, for some reason, reminds me of Final Fantasy X-2’s Zanarkand Ruins’ piano part. The random alarm clock parts is kinda off-putting because it legit sounds just like one of my alarms. Overall, the song is a nice listen.
What I like about the song:
- The jingles at the beginning (very 3OH!3- Doublevision)
- chorus is catchy
- 1:28 and 2:58 sounds xylophone-y
- The wordplay
- husky monotone voice
In a lot of BTS songs that I listen to, J-Hope has the “wack lines”. Often times there are designated members in groups that are assigned these lines that can sound either annoying or weird: Dara from 2NE1 (r.i.p), Jiae from Lovelyz, Hyuk from Vixx, and Sehun from EXO to name a few. J-hope usually sounds very whiny, nasally, or plain weird. I guess either Bighit forces him to sound like that, or the song calls for a change of pace in vocals.
His hoarse voice throughout the song can actually sound irritating as it has this forced, rough texture most Korean rappers tend to adopt. But I actually like it here, and it is reminiscent of that dry throat/huskiness in our voices we get when we wake up. I know my throat sounds itchy when I wake up from my 4 year naps.
This song in general sounds like an extension to BTS’ old image of being trapped by societal norms/expectations, and breaking from them. J-Hope is instead trapped by his fame, his career- the career that ironically set him “free”.
I love the wide and spacious angle shots here. J-Hope looks so small in these rooms, yet he stands out so much. These parts in the video engender a lonely solitude that J-hope might be experiencing. Who knows?? Although it does feel like he’s in a theater, watching things and keeping track of his emotions through colors.
What’s up with kpop videos having Western pop culture and literature references? Not that it’s a bad thing, but is it not a thing for Koreans to include Korean lit stuff? Actually, there 100% are Korean pop culture references in videos, I’m just not getting them because I’m American.
The “wish on a scar” part got me confused when I searched up the lyrics. There’s wordplay in the chorus with daydream and they dream. Wish on a star or wish on a scar??? I need answers.
I really like this song, and I will go ahead and listen to the rest of the songs in the mixtape. Daydream was released 25 days ago on Youtube, and I’m late to the game!!
