By Eloisa Milet
Part 4 of a series of posts- you can check part 1 here.
BTS is globally known for spreading the message of self-love, self-acceptance and kindness to oneself. Ever since the very beginning of their career, when the members were still singing hip-hop-ish songs and criticizing the system and society, we could capitate that the boys were not fond of the idea of pursuing growth through self-hate and damage, although they have put at risk their own mental and physical health for the sake of their music and fanbase.
Now, even though we could see from the start that BTS wished their fans a healthy, happy life, it was only in September of 2017 that we got not only a few songs or an album dedicated to this idea, but a whole entire trilogy.
With the 'Love Yourself' era, composed of the 'Her', 'Tear' and 'Answer' albums, BTS has really let the love for their listeners shine through the art they so devotedly work on. Addressing different stages of self-love and dividing the trilogy itself into different types of love, the group delivered a true masterpiece to the world, being acknowledged not only by their fans but also by countless professionals in the music industry, from writers and producers all the way to vocal coaches and famous choreographers
Love Yourself: Her
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| " Serendipity"© HYBE Ent. |
The first album of the trilogy, 'Love Yourself: Her' starts with an intro sung by Jimin's lovely voice, covering huge love and devotion but also the group's own success and achievements.
The very intro, 'Serendipity', is memorable already. With the line "Just let me love you" being one of the most famous of the group, the entire song sits in our ears like angels caressing our skin in an adorable devotion for the love declaration.
The following songs are just as iconic, especially 'DNA' and 'MIC Drop' -the first one having more than 1.3 billion views thus far and the second holding a historical line for the fandom:
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| "Mic Drop"© HYBE Ent. |
The album also includes a track with the group's speech at the Billboard Music Awards, one of the most famous musical premiation from which BTS came back with a Top Social Artist trophy after being nominated for the first time, and other titles such as 'Dimple', 'Go Go', 'Best of Me' and 'Pied Piper', the last one even having a warning for the portion of the fanbase that is still in school:
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| "Pied Piper"© HYBE Ent. |
The album comes to an awesome end with 'Outro: Her', a song filled with young passion and contradiction, just like we love. In this track we are told the story of a person whom's desire for love and a relationship is habitual, but who later realizes that not all love is beautiful and flawless. And after that, there are moments of pretending to be fine, that everything's okay; and moments in which one's own fate and path have to be taken.
Most fans believe the 'Her' album, with emphasis on the first three titles, is like the beginning of a self-love journey, starting with love for someone else and making it possible for the songs to address the nonlinear process of loving yourself and not giving up on growth but learning to accept your flaws and ugly sides in the process.
Love Yourself: Tear
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| "Singularity"© HYBE Ent. |
While it is true that the song is beautiful, it's also heartbreaking. With V's touching voice and amazing writing skills, the solo really moves your heart. Each person feels more inclined to a part of the song, but I personally think this is a great verse to demonstrate the track's tragic beauty:
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| "Singularity"© HYBE Ent. |
As painful as it sounds, 'Singularity' can -and is- still be interpreted as part of a journey to self-love. You see, one can't love oneself without having been through trials and sadness, just like there can't be light without darkness existing side by side with it.
The title is a great beginning to the album, indeed, and the length of it is just as delightfully emotional.
In 'Fake Love', perhaps the most well known song of the album's tracklist, we hear the narrative of a love so strong and present that the teller is capable of sacrificing their own happiness for their loved one and the relationship, even though they know it is bound to fail.
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| "Fake Love"© HYBE Ent. |
I'm sorry, can we take a moment to appreciate how heavenly BTS' songs are? Just look at this… okay… simp moment's over, back we go.
The entirety of the album is magnificent and it would be a dream to discuss all tracks one by one, but we still have another album to analyze so let's keep ourselves to one of the most important songs to BTS' fanbase: 'Magic Shop', and the outro.
'Magic Shop' is the comfort song of a lot of people, and not by lack of reasons. We are talking about 04:35 minutes of pure love and devotion poured into a song as pretty as the hearts we are exposed to in the group's discography. The whole song is just chef's kiss, but this one part in specific has the fandom's eternal worship:
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| "Magic Shop"© HYBE Ent. |
It is in lines like these that the members' adoration for the ARMY really shines through, and let me assure you, the fans feel it. Numberless are the times I've heard things such as "BTS has saved my life" and "they are the reason why I'm still here today". In fact, BTS has been told to mean "Born To Save" many times, and lots of fans believe that the group enters one's life when they most need comfort, love and the safety of knowing that everything's going to be alright and there's always hope for better times; always love to be found, both in themselves and in the relationship between BTS and the ARMY.
Now, as promised, let's talk about the outro and move on.
The album comes to an end with 'Outro: Tear', and it's not a light ending. The song is intense and full of emotion, just like we're used to. In fact, BTS has spoiled us too much: no bad song is ever released and, in consequence, one track is always just as good or a bit better than the last one, proving the group's constant evolution and search for growth when many artists would stay stagnant, proud of their current success and too afraid to change.
The last title has some sort of conclusive tone, like an era's coming to an end:
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| "Outro: Tear"© HYBE Ent. |
But the 'Love Yourself' era is not over; not yet.
Love Yourself: Answer
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| "Euphoria"© HYBE Ent. |
'Euphoria', written not only by JungKook but also by RM and having received finishing touches by a lot of people, as RM told the fans on a VLive public video call. And that has definitely had a positive outcome, because what we were left with is an amazing tune.
JK's voice frequently reminds of the lovely singing of a hummingbird, and I for sure get why. It is light but impactant; soft but strong and touching. It's perfect for such a graceful song; and the lyrics only make it more powerful. A great verse is:
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| "Euphoria"© HYBE Ent. |
Later, the solo has received a eight minute Music Video, in which JungKook appears alongside his group mates and presents us with lots of aesthetically pleasing scenes.
Besides JungKook's, the album still gives us not one, not two, not three but four solos: J-Hope's, Suga's, RM's and Jin's; along with remixes of previous releases.
J-Hope's 'Trivia: Just Dance' has been credited for "describing the fresh feelings of the start of love and comparing it to dance" by Naver, and I think this description does it great justice. In one of his greatest creations, J-Hope makes an allusion to his biggest passion outside of music: the art of dancing. And all of that while delivering us a song about love, which makes it relatable for nearly everybody.
There are still two other trivias: RM's and Suga's respectively receiving the titles of 'Trivia: Love' and 'Trivia: Seesaw' and being just as good as our Sunshine's.
And while J-Hope talks about love and dancing on his part, RM talks about writing on his own -and love, of course. That's because, as we all know, he does not only write his own raps but is also the main writer amongst the members, having huge participation on nearly all of BTS' tracks.
Suga, on the other hand, chooses a style quite different from his rapline mates when writing his 'Seesaw' solo. Comparing the emotional rollercoaster of a tiring relationship to a playground seesaw, finishing the song saying that: "Just like the beginning when you weren't here, I walk on this seesaw without you".
Not a rapline member but a vocalist with endless talent, Jin also gives us a delightful gift: 'Epiphany', a song about self-love and learning to accept that we are "not so perfect but so beautiful". It is truly a great track that leaves us feeling like it's not just one more empty speech about self-acceptance like so many other celebrities insist on forcing down our throats, but rather an honest testimony from someone who has been on our shoes and knows what it feels like to be afraid but "keep going forward".
The three other new releases in the album ('I'm Fine', 'IDOL' and 'Answer: Love Myself') are not solos but still gold to hear. The last one, 'Answer', is especially important to a huge part of the fanbase for its memorable lines and having a more "to: you" style. There are countless iconic verses on this single song, but the parts that receive the biggest love are: "Even all the scars from your mistakes make up your constellation" and: "You’ve shown me I have reasons,I should love myself".
Seeing and listening to all of these wonderful songs, filled with love and care for their supporters, it's not hard to understand all the hype about BTS and this particular period of their discography and career. Innovating with so many beautiful concepts and mixing sweet melodies with unique choreographies and Music Videos, the 'Love Yourself' era has been a truly iconic one that keeps being recalled and remembered -and will continue being so for a really long time.
Click here to check part 5.
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