Suga has his own Studio called Genius Labs, he has a dog called Min Holly whom he loves very much and in his spare time he likes to sleep, play basketball and games on his phone and photography.
“Life is tough, and things don’t always work out well, but we should br brave and go on with our lives.”
Min Yoongi, BTS.
Kim SeokJin aka Jin, World-wide Handsome, World-wide Cutie Guy, Soekjinnie, Jinnie, Car Door Guy, Third Guy from the Left and Shoulder Guy.
“Your presence can give happiness. I hope you remember that.”
Kim Seokjin, BTS.
Kim Namjoon, aka RM, previously Rap Monster and Runch Randa.
“I’m Kim NamJoon, and also, RM of BTS. I’m an idol, and I’m an artist from a small town in Korea,”
Kim Namjoon, UN Speech at the United Nations.
I have to send you guys my apologies…
But first some background:- Me and my friend have a term for when we are supposed to be chatting to them, texting or arranging something but we don’t as we forget or get distracted. We call it Hobi-tracked because were both Hobi bias and its usually because we’ve been sucked into a Pinterest / Youtube session of watching all things Hobi.
A big shout out to Kala – who is part of the reason I get so Hobi-tracked, we both feed each others obsessions! 😂 Come on who wouldn’t be side tracked by his adorable-ness.
I have started to write some posts on BTS member profiles, a few more drama reviews, and introductions to some of the other kpop groups I have been discovering. But whilst discovering these other groups has been amazing and I’ve loved falling deeper into the Kpop hole, it also means I have a lot of content I can feast upon.
Which leads me back to the apology, I have fallen into a well of music videos, VLives, interviews, live performances for so many new groups, I haven’t actually done much writing, but I have down plenty of research for my posts. 😂
Last week I was Monsta X -tracked, I may have watched their cover of Bruno Mars Versace on the Floor an unhealthy amount. I loved that tune anyway, but seeing Kiyhun, Minhyuk, Jooheon and the others perform it, was just …😍 wow! Monsta X are still quite new for me so I have been having fun listening to new music and watching new videos, but because of all this research, I haven’t had much chance to write.
The week before I had a very SHINee week as I was missing the guys, as all but one member is currently serving in the military – just leaving Taemin to fly solo and carry the SHINee torch. He is rocking it and I am loving some of his solo stuff, but I still miss the guys so I had a very SHINee youtube session and ended up watching videos all night and didn’t have chance to write again. You might be noticing a pattern soon. 😂😂😂
This weekend seems to be a GOT7 and BtoB weekend as we’ve had a lot of playlists on this weekend with both groups on and I’ve been buying myself some new albums of theirs. Also, with GOT7 hopefully (fingers crossed we heres something soon) coming to London in October, I’ve been getting very excited by this.
Basically I am so sorry I haven’t had much chance to write my journey in to the Kpop hole, I really want to share it with you, but I’ve just been having so much fun actually enjoying falling into it. I will write more soon I promise. I have started my BTS profiles and I have some fun Top 10 blog posts to put up soon. And I have some exciting news regarding contributors to my blog soon too, so please keep an eye out for that.
I hope you guys are all enjoying your own journey whether it be into Kpop, music in general or anything else you have discovered recently. Embrace your likes and obsessions and show your weird! It will make your life more interesting and exciting and once you open up to allow yourself to enjoy more things, I hope you will become a happier and more confident version of you. I know I definitely have, I have also discovered some amazing new friends and become part of a huge family which is amazing in itself. Please share your wonderful stories about discovering Kpop or discovering something you love in the comments, I really want to hear all about it.
If you’ve ever been scared to share your loves/ obsessions etc, or you find people roll their eyes at you, or if you just want to feel connected to people. This is a safe place, we embrace everybody here. Whatever you love or like whether it be BTS, GOT7, TWICE or any other kpop or Kdrama, but if youre massive Harry Potter or Enid Blyton fan, come say hi and share your weird. We are a very accepting fandom over here and just love to see peoples passion and interests. Say hi and drop me a comment. 💜💜💜💜
Hopefully I will have more posts for you soon.
See you later guys!
Tina T – Butterfly Child 🦋
Welcome to my first Drama review – I have been watching Kdramas for a few years now but never thought to review them but I love them so much I want to share my insight. I am going to have to go back and watch my favourites again so I can review them, oh what a nightmare 😂 Kidding, I rewatch my faves all the time.
Warning for you all – I don’t like “spoilers” in a review so there won’t be heavy content on the whole recap/synopsis side of things, I may give you some insight to parts I like, the characters etc but if you want a run of what happens or a play by play, this is probably not the place for you. I just would like to share my opinion and if you’ve been considering watching a kdrama and haven’t been sure, I’m hoping my reviews will encourage you to give them a go. I will talk about some parts of the shows, but not heavy on the spoilers.
I know some people are put off by the subtitles, but if you watch enough, it really does become second nature to watch and read at the same time. K-dramas can be dramatic, fluffy, cute, sweet, sensitive, dramatic and exciting and are totally worth the watch if you can get past the subtitles.
Anywho, onto my first Drama Review:
Drama in one sentence: A highly Intelligent but lonely business man suffering from an allergy to humans meets and falls in love with a Robot which is actually a human pretending to be a Robot.
Honestly though, this synopsis does not give enough credit to how beautiful and emotional this series was. I wasn’t sure how I felt about a drama based around a robot at first, especially a human pretending to be a robot and another human falling in love with it. But the cast and the storyline in I’m not a robot make it so much more than that.
The human allergy aspect played remarkably by leading man Yoo Seung-ho helped make the storyline much more believable. The whole thing could have been unbelievable, unrealistic and silly, but seeing how Kim Min-kyu had not had physical human contact for years and had closed himself off from the world, the whole thing became much easier to believe. I absolutely love Yoo Seung-ho, he brings a beautiful smile, an innocence and beauty to this role. If the character had been played by anyone else, I think I would have struggled to dispel all the things that could have gone wrong with a human being tricked into thinking a robot did all the things Aji 3 did, but as he is so adorable, innocent and unspoilt by human contact, it’s totally believable.
The story itself is what I’ve stated above mixed in with the usual drama trope of man meeting woman, falling for her, betrayal, anguish, hope and finally happiness all rolled into a very unique story, as we have the robot aspect to take into account. Overall, I think the plot could have been a nightmare but the leading cast made it a beautiful story, that I fell in love with.
There may be slight spoilers ahead as I do a run down of the cast / characters but only from the initial episodes as I think you should decide if you want to find out more about the series yourselves and watch the episodes. If you have seen any k-dramas before, you will undoubtedly be able to figure out how this series might go, so without many spoilers here but a little hint, here is the good, the bad and the on the fence characters in my opinion, it doesn’t mean they are always good/ bad or on the fence. This is just my opinion from the get go.
Yoo Seung-ho as Kim Min-kyu
Leading man Min-kyu is a highly intelligent business who has suffered with a terrible debilitating human allergy for the last 15 years. He has lived on his own, with only a butler for company. He is the son of one of the founding members, a majority shareholder in the company and I want to say Financial director (?), he has earned a lot of money for the company, but has a unique way of doing business as he can’t really interact with people, although I don’t think anyone knows his issues, so people just think he is weird.
He wants to perform his military duty but cannot as his illness can cause him to die, so he is struggling internally with this. Also, within his business there is some angst, as there is always someone trying to take over businesses and using someone else to do this.
In his personal life, he is an avid collector, which is how he originally meets our leading lady. And he has been in love with an old family friend for a long time but has never made a move.
The company he owns is also in the process of buying into a small AI company, the Santa Maria team, whom have built a robot – Aji 3. A very human like Artificial Intelligent robot. He wants to test the robot and asks if he can see how she works, which is how the story begins.
If you do not fall in love with his beautiful smile and cute little ways, then well, I don’t know what, because he is fricking adorable. Every time he looks and smiles at Aji-3, oh my heart!😍
Leading lady Chae Soo-bin plays not one but two very exciting and interesting characters. She brings a real spark and sassiness to the robot Aji 3 – which does take a bit of suspended belief to accept that Min-kyu falls for the ruse – but if you can get over this then Soo-bin plays the part beautifully. In her main role as Ji-ah, I love her, I really do. She has this unique quality which makes her a perfect combination of adorable, sassy, interesting, hardworking and passionate.
Ji-ah lives with her brother, his heavily pregnant wife and niece as she lost her dad in her teens. She is an aspiring inventor and entrepreneur. She has made a fair few inventions but unfortunately none of them has ever taken off. Her brother at first does not seem very supportive and seems to heavily criticise her life choices. She seems to have a few various part time jobs but is on the whole a really happy and kind character. If you don’t fall for her, almost instantly you may be watching the wrong series.
One of her part time jobs, is buying rare and collectible items for people. This is how she first runs into Min-kyu, and their first meeting although memorable in some ways, is not a great start.
She is also linked to the Santa Maria team through the head professor, as he is her ex boyfriend, and he is how she is pulled into pretending to be a robot.
consists of:
Um Ki-joon as Hong Baek-kyun. Ji-ah’s ex boyfriend and world renowned but shamed robotics professor and leader of the team. At first, I couldn’t see any potential in his character and was a little bored of him, but as the series got going, I loved how they didn’t necessarily go for the straight forward lead / second lead fights for girl. Baek-kyun genuinely wants to know how and why things went wrong with his relationship. He’s also very sweet and the more I watched, the more i realised my initial opinion of him was off.
Park Se-wan as “Pi” Angela Jin. I think she is the second in command in the team, she is highly intelligent and appears to have a lot of control over the team, making sure they stay on point and focused etc. Blatantly, and this isn’t really a spoiler as you’d have to be blind not to see it straight away, she is in love with Baek-hyun. The best part is she knows he still has feelings for Ji-ah, but she doesn’t act jealous, she doesn’t dislike Ji-ah or Baek-hyun for this though, she accepts this and does her best at work and is there for the professor regardless. She’s a really good feminine but in control of her life character.
Song Jae-ryong as “Hoktal” Kang Dong-won and Kim Min-kyu as “Ssanip” Eddie Park. I feel like these two definitely need to be talked about together, there is definite bromance going on here, and I am here for it. They’re super geeky, but super adorable. I believe they are the “comedy relief” in the series, although later on they do have some beautiful scenes, that may or may not have made me cry, a little bit. Both single, hardworking professors in robotics, they have their own little quirks they have “input” into Aji-3, which make her more human, and make these two so sweet and cute.
Secondary Characters:
Son Byong-ho as Hwang Do-wonPresident of KM financial, the company Min-Kyu is director of. He is the father of the CEO of the company Yoo-chul, whom was also the best friend of Min-kyu growing up. in think the families all would have been close growing up. As with all dramas, he isn’t happy with what he has and inevitably wants more.
Lee Hae-young as Mr. Yoon.KM groups maaging director. He is definitely up to something, You can tell from the get go! All I need to say. He just looks suspicious. 🙂
Kang Ki-young as Hwang Yoo-chul.KM groups CEO, childhood best friend of Min-Kyu. He doesn’t look like a bad guy, and I get the feeling he doesn’t want to be part of the bad guy team, but you never know in a Kdrama, they can surprise you. You will have to watch to find out. Surprisingly, he is a second male lead so will he get the girl??
Lee Byung-joon as Ye Sung-tae.Founder of the KM group. Father to Re-il, Min-Kyu’s childhood friend, crush and first love. He looks like he could be a bad guy, but seems to get along with Min-Kyu from the beginning.
Hwang Seung-eon as Ye Ri-el.Re-il is the second leading lady. She is Min-kyus first love, childhood friend and crush and was best friends with both Min-Kyu and Yoo-chul growing up. Second leading ladies often get brushed with the scary, angry, jealous characteristics, but I don’t want to believe she is like this. Again, you will have to watch it to find out. She doesn’t look bad, but as with everything, you never know.
Don’t worry I am not about to spoil the ending for you. I think this series is well worth a watch even if you’re not into k-dramas as its a really lovely storyline. It takes a little to accept the robot side of things, and to dispel reality for a bit and accept that anyone would be lonely enough to believe the decidedly human attributes Ji-ah brings to AJi-3 are in fact a robot, but if you can get past this, and accept it all. It is a truly beautiful, romantic and wonderful story. Its all about the characters for me and the chemistry they bring. All the characters in this drama bring something new and different and I absolutely loved following all their little stories, and that is why this is a good drama. the business side of the story, doesn’t really do it for me, but its tolerable when you get to see the excitement, happiness and chemistry between the characters. Especially the two lead characters, their chemistry and relationship is truly wonderful. I love the actors playing the leads and to see them act together is beautiful.
I hope you give this drama, or any drama a go. You will probably lose sleep as it is a common side affect of getting into Kdramas, that you will inevitably try to fit whole series into one night of viewing or you will try to talk yourself into thinking you can fit two more hour ling episodes into the next half an hour and still wake up at 7am to go to work. But k-dramas are just a really enjoyable way to spend some spare time.
5/5 finger hearts
I am giving it 5 finger hearts because its a really cute drama and the leads make it even more compelling viewing! They are definitely one of OTP’s!
Enjoy! Drop your comments below, have you watched I’m not a Robot? what’s your thoughts? Any recommendations?
See you soon, K-Drama fans!
Butterfly Child (Tina T)
Granted this is a slippery slope, and if you are standing on the edge of the hole, becoming ARMY (name for fans of BTS) can be tiring and hard on your wallet but it is exciting, exhilarating, and one of the best parts, you meet so many other ARMY’s who are wonderful, generous and beautiful people. Ready to fall in, I am warning you now – I am prepared to give you a little nudge.
If you’re new to this Bangtan Sonyeondan life and you are getting your J’s confused, or you’re getting V confused with Jungkook, or stage names are all in a tangle with real names, the next few posts might be helpful.
So where do we start? Well, I believe all 7 members are as important as each other, but originally they all did have specific roles, although as time has gone on, they all do get to show various talents across all roles. If you ever have ever been to a concert or seen their live stages on tv, you will undoubtably will have heard the fan chant. I am going to follow the fan chant and natural progression, by starting with our leader, Kim Namjoon, aka RM on the next post.
Before I start here is a little breakdown of some kpop basics, as this will help understand the different roles later on.
Every member in a kpop group has a role (or sometimes more than one role). They all still do the dancing, singing etc, but originally they all have a role to help the groups establish themselves. Every group is different, and has a different spread of roles, and often all members of the group do excel at more than one thing, but from debut, they would all have been assigned a role to work with.
Leader – Usually but not always the oldest member of the group. It might also be the one trained for the longest, the most talented or some or other characteristic which makes them a leader. Normally, an able speaker, mature and able to control, comfort and generally lead the group.
Main – This covers all disciplines, there will be a main rapper, singer and dancer. Generally considered to be the best of the group in that certain discipline. They will either have the best vocals, range etc, or have the best technique in rapping or dancing etc. Often main singers/dancers will be the centre to showcase the talent, although not always the case. Main singers will often have the most stable voice and will take on the chorus.
Lead – The lead is the second best singer/rapper/dancer of the group. They would usually join in singing most of the verses.
Other singers, rappers dancers may not be as talented as the lead or main, although again not always the case, as it is very well known, all idols work ridiculously hard to train to become idols. But usually sub vocals, dancers etc will support the lead and main.
Visual – The visual of the group is chosen as they are considered to be the most attractive of the group. They would basically fit the ideal beauty standards for k-pop idols. Often they are out front and centre to show off their beauty,
Not necessarily a role but is often a leading characteristic;
Face – Usually the face of the group is the most popular or famous member of the group. Whether it be due to looks, personality or talent, this member will stand out to the fans and will often be the member that defines the group. This often links in with the visual or centre of the group, it not always.
Maknae – Not really a role, but as with the leader usually being the eldest, obviously there will be a youngest. Maknae means youngest. Usually but not always expected to have a good amount of Aeygo, will often be the centre/face of the group as the youngest often gets a lot of attention.
In my humble opinion, all the members of BTS are dancers, singers, rappers and visuals. I believe they are all talented across the board, yes they’re members who excel more in one discipline than another as with anything in life.
A good place to get to know them and their songs is always going to be the official Music Videos, you are going to get a steady camera and a good view of each member as they sing and dance. This way you can decide which songs are your favourites, if you like the rap line, vocal line or the dancers or a mix of all of them.
Secondly, I would say to watch their live performances at award shows, concerts, musters etc, either professionally recorded or fancams – videos recorded by fan bases or fans. Fancams can be the whole of BTS or solo focus. Essentially you can pick to concentrate on each member as they’re so many fancam focuses, which focus just on one member. This will hopefully help you distinguish each member.
Finally, if like me you want to see more than just the performance side of things, there is a huge array of content out there. BTS are performers first and foremost but they also have a huge social media presence and they have give so much content sharing other aspects with ARMY, including but not limited to RUN BTS episodes, which are a bit like a variety show, except only BTS focussed. Also, past programs like American Hustle Life, Rookie King and Bon Voyages. These are also good to see the members doing more than just performing a bit of a warning, they are hugely professional on stage but when they are all together playing games etc, they can be competitive, silly, funny and adorable. You may spend many hours trying to catch up on all the online content. It’s not a bad thing, in fact its amazing they have given ARMY so much, but you will feel like you will never watch it all and will never catch up, but that’s ok too!
Right now, we have the initial introduction over and done with I will be moving onto individual members in the next posts. As we know the guys like playing games such as UNO, I have chosen to introduce you to the members in a Top Trump style.
It is only a fun look at each member and does not contain everything you will ever need to know about each member, but hopefully is a small introduction, to give you the little nudge you need to fall down the hole properly. 🙂
Please do introduce yourself in the comments and let me know if you struggled to remember their names at the beginning. Or how you found BTS or entered the fandom.
I hope you enjoy my round up of the Bangtan Boys – Top Trumps style.
See you soon,
Butterfly Child (Tina)
Following on from where Part 1 left off – we can dive straight into part 2. At this point BTS have been around for 3 years, they have successfully cracked the kpop market with a wide variety of songs, music videos and even won some awards. They have appeared on tv shows, VLive went active and they created their own show Run BTS! This year also took them on their first holiday travelling in Bon Voyage. The social aspect of being a fan and content received in those first few years, really helped to grow their fan base exponentially, and so the next few years started to really show their popularity world wide. For me, 2016 is where their popularity started to rise and was an amazing year for BTS:
This was just the start, and they could only go up from here! Some people might say this could be the peak of their fame but I don’t think so. I think they are still rising and no one really knows how far their popularity will take them. I can not express in words what it is exactly that makes them popular. I am not sure why they have cracked US and UK charts. I don’t believe that other k-pop artists are less talented, I actually love quite a lot fo different Kpop groups. I have many favourites across other groups who I love for their singing and dancing talent, but something about BTS have definitely pushed them into world wide fame.
For me specifically, I like a lot of other Kpop groups, but not in the same way as BTS. I fell down the hole and embraced BTS at a time when I needed something for myself. I wanted to take back some control for myself, rebuild my confidence and enjoy life and be happy. I love being a mum and my life is amazing, so no complaints there but mum guilt can cause a lot of confidence issues and you can take a back seat in life making sure everyone else is happy before yourself, but this isn’t always for the best – a happy mum means a happy family. I am not going to say it is completely down to BTS as it wasn’t – a whole lot of other things have helped me gain some perspective, and start living a healthier life, but they definitely reminded me to love the person I am, the old me (pre-parenting) and the new me – neither is better but I have to accept and embrace all parts of me.
BTS have a way of speaking to masses without even realising they are doing it. There message originally was intended for young, for the youth of today facing similar issues to themselves. Whether it be in the Skool trilogy where issues of societal pressures to conform or fit in the boxes prescribed for them, The Most Beautiful Moment in Life encouraged the youth to fight back, not to be discouraged, pursue their own dreams and also began to move onto the ever pressing issue that adulthood was on the horizon. Love yourself began this movement from youth to adulthood and recognising that to pursue happiness and love of others, we must first begin to love ourselves. But these ideas/ philosophies actually ring true for so many not just the young. I for one, didn’t find BTS until 2018 – I was 32 years old. Not a young person by any means but also not feeling like a “proper” grown up either. My path is still being decided and I often get caught up in societies views of where I should be, what I should be doing etc. The battle cries BTS provided for the youth, can equally be as fulfilling and inspirational for the older generations of fans too.
As I stated, a really important year for BTS. The fanbase is growing, they are starting to gain recognition and win awards across the globe.
I love everything about this video. The choreography is a killer and I think truly shows how much they have grown as dancers. Jhope, Jimin and Jungkook always stand out as they are amazing dancers, but it would be stupid not to acknowledge the rest of the group as dancers – all of them have more dancing talent in their little toe than I do in my whole body. I would never criticise as other than dancing around my living room, I am not a dancer and wouldn’t claim to be, and yes there might be better dancers out there, but singing/composing/rapping/producing and dancing – and dancing/singing at the same time to a very technical choreographed routine is an incredible skill and all 7 members are incredibly talented.
Secondly, the absolutely randomness of this video, showcasing some of their most ridiculousness moments and crackhead personalities in this video is all appealing. I love watching a video that shows the group having fun, as well as showing their talents.
“When I wake up in my room 난 뭣도 없지
해가 지고 난 후 비틀대며 걷지
다 만신창이로 취했어 취했어
막 욕해 길에서 길에서
나 맛이 갔지 미친놈 같지
다 엉망진창, livin’ like 삐-이-“
(English Translation from Genius.com):
“When I wake up in my room, I have nothing
After the sun sets, I sway as I walk
I’m completely drunk, drunk
I’m swearing on the streets
I’ve lost it, I’m like a crazy guy
Everything’s a mess, livin’ like beep“
BTS Fire (2016) Suga and Jhope (Min Yoongi and Jung Hoseok)
Jungkook looks ridiculously cute throughout this entire video and don’t get me started on Suga. It might be the mint hair or the playful nature he has in this video but this was the video in which I noticed him properly for the first time. My children also really love this video and even though the choreo is a little extreme even for my dancing daughter, they still give it a go every single time its played! This is my favourite thing about BTS songs, we hear one and we instantly want to get up to sing and dance. They are motivating and inspirational.
DNA and Not Today are both amazing songs – both equally good in the dance/choreography section and I love the fighting talking in Not Today! It is a battle cry if ever I heard one and if I want motivation, I know where I can find it. However, for 2017 I have to choose Spring Day – it was the second video I ever discovered by BTS and it is the song that properly pushed me over the edge. I truly believe that this song will be the tune that stands the test of time. If you’ve made it this far, well done… bit of warning, I think I’ve I’ve written a little love letter to Spring Day below. 😛
I don’t know what it is about the song; the vocals, the lyrics, the rap sections and then the beautiful piece of artwork that is the video, altogether makes this a song that will stand the test of time and has proven that BTS are a force to be reckoned with and are here to stay. Every time a new song is released, a resurgence of Spring Day will undoubtably follow. This is the power of Spring Day.
First, the vocals in this are beautiful from the get go, whether it be RM singing the intro or Jhope performing the intro live, it is stunning. As soon as the tune starts, it has me in its claws. My mother (who is also a massive ARMY) listened to Spring Day the other day whilst ironing and ending up in tears and she couldn’t explain why. So many people ask why we like the music when it is sang in Korean, how can we understand it? But music is a feeling, it is an emotion you feel in your gut, in your heart and soul. And Spring Day proves this. She hadn’t thought to google the lyrics or see what the song was about, but she got this feeling from it and it pulled at her heart strings and made her emotional, and surfice it to say, it is now one of her favourites. I have also found myself crying along to Spring Day – this is the Power of Spring Day.
Secondly, the whole video is visually stunning. It is a beautiful piece of art. From the very beginning with V walking towards the train lines, Jungkook and RM on the train, to the beach scenes with Jimin and everywhere in between, the music video plays out like a wonderfully romantic but sad tale. I would love to to watch the movies and read the book that inspired Spring Day. Anything that created the inspiration to create this masterpiece is something I would love to see. The glorious backdrops with the snow scenes, the abandoned fair ground and the silent movie vibe give it an eerie stillness quality. The piles of washing which make us all think of the baggage we carry around with us. The solemn yet beautiful expression of all the members, Spring Day is a feast for the eyes. This is the power of Spring Day.
Finally, the overall feeling in this song is one that evokes so many different feelings and emotions, I cannot begin to express how it makes me feel let alone anyone else. The song itself is about missing someone dearly and trying to reach out for them. Spring Day is acknowledging that with growing up often comes a feeling of loss, loneliness and despair especially if we grow apart from or lose people. Spring Day however sombre it is, does also provide a silver lining. Growing up and accepting this feeling of loss also comes with the silver lining that as grown ups we can make our own decisions and choose to pursue to fix relationships, chase dreams and look for a brighter future if we choose too. The idea that Spring Day will eventually come – the winter may be long and hard but if we look forward – good things can also come to pass.
“You know it all
You’re my best friend
아침은 다시 올 거야
어떤 어둠도 어떤 계절도
영원할 순 없으니까”
(english translations from Genius.com)
“You know it all
You’re my best friend
The morning will come again
No darkness, no season is eternal”
BTS Spring Day (2017) V and Jungkook (Kim Taehyung and Jeon Jungkook)
Within the song, we go along this journey with the members and in its most simplest form its message is that yes we miss certain people, but if we search for them, or wait for them, we may see them again but within this journey we are not alone. We have each other to rely on.
With its rock/pop instrumental and eerie quality, it appeals to a broad audience and we can all take something from it and seek comfort in it, as we all interpret it differently. This is the power of Spring Day.
All of these things come together to make it a song which I personally feel should make it a classic that will live forever, and hopefully will appeal to many generations to come. For me it is the gift that keeps on giving, to remind me that I am not alone and there is a silver lining if you look for it. No matter what I am going through, time will pass quickly, winter will end and Spring will eventually come.
Compared to other years, I only had Fake Love and Idol to choose from. It was a tough choice as I actually love both songs and music videos. Originally I wasn’t keen on Fake Love, but I don’t know what happened or when, but I watched the video one day and that all changed. Idol was the very first song I saw them perform on Graham Nortons show, I have to admit I didn’t immediately love it, but it stuck in my mind enough that a week or so later, I found myself googling the Korean group I had seen on Graham Norton. It was only a matter of time before I made the fatal mistake of “just wanting to know their names…” and here I am. So for me Idol will always be special as it introduced me to BTS, and after seeing it perform live at Wembley – it will always stay as one of my favourites. This is why I have chosen to spotlight Idol for 2018.
Also if you watched it and didn’t fall in love with Jimin just a little – either you’re lying to yourself or, no … in fact, just go watch again until you do?! And I am not even Jimin biased! 😍😂
For now – what else happened in 2018? 2016 – 2017 started the momentum but 2018 was THE year, BTS became international celebrities. From a small management/entertainment company in South Korea, they have risen. They broke records, won awards and as always worked incredibly hard.
One moment in 2018 that would have been extremely sad for me as I had only just discovered them, but I can understand why they felt this way was from earlier in the year but only mentioned in a speech at the MMA’s, Jin spoke about how they had considered disbanding. If they had been worn out and needed the break, I would hope everyone would understand give them the space they needed. But it would have been a sad day if they had disbanded. I am glad they worked through and hopefully addressed any issues they had so they can continue to do something they so obviously love: to perform and make music. But I wouldn’t want anyones health, mental or physical to be harmed. So I hope they are resting and taking breaks when they need too. Thankfully, they didn’t disband and 2018 turned out to be an amazing year.
This year was all about their first world tour: Love Yourself, covering a numerous amount of countries they had never previously visited from Seoul, to the US, Netherlands, Taiwan, France and the UK. This was also the first year they attended the Billboard Music Awards, here they won the Top Social Artist Award for the second year running and they also performed their new title song Fake Love. It was a powerful performance and wowed everyone attending the BBMA’s.
But the biggest global achievement for BTS in 2018 wasn’t a music award or a show stopping tour, it was the fact that people were noticing them and appreciating the message they were trying to tell.
BTS were invited to give a speech at the United Nations General Assembly as a representative of Global Youth. This was the first time a Korean Idol group had been invited. It was a huge responsibility and honour for the guys and Kim Namjoon (RM) addressed the UN admirably and proudly. They stood in front of the world and told their story, they spoke of their troubles, mistakes and life, they addressed everything that is important to them and encouraged others to speak for themselves.
“Find your name and find your voice by speaking yourself.”
BTS member RM (Kim Namjoon)
“I know what I am,
I know what I want,
I never gon’ change,
I never gon’ trade”
BTS Idol 2018 (RM – Kim Namjoon)
I love the music, the dancing and the personalities of all the members. I never worried about the fact that they sing mainly in Korean with smattering of English. It has never bothered me and I enjoy singing along even in Korean. But I have since discovered, not everyone thinks this and the idea of liking a band that sings in Korean gets me a lot of eye rolls and scoffs. I don’t care though! I love them and I appreciate their talent and I think music breaks language / age and cultural barriers.
Idol for me is a perfect balance of korean and mainstream pop that I think would appeal to the masses if people gave it a chance. BTS have said on many occasions that they would never release whole albums in English and I for one, wouldn’t want them too. I love everything about them, just the way they are. BTS wouldn’t be the same if they changed themselves to gian more popularity or be accepted by the masses. I think ARMY far and wide love them regardless of the language they sing in and I love they always stay true to themselves, which is also one the many reasons I fell down the BTS hole. Idol is a perfect example of BTS showing a little bit of themselves, showing a lot of their culture, putting on an entertaining performance and amazing choreography.
In particular, the performance at the Melon Music Awards 2018 in Hong Kong truly highlighted how proud they are of their identity and Korean heritage with an amazing introduction from Jimin, Jungkook and Jhope, but also gave an extremely entertaining performance which would have gone down well at any music awards the world over.
The interesting part of the Idol video for me is how bright and colourful everything it is. From the choice of outfits, to the stunning but chaotic backdrops to the video and everything in between. As with all of the videos, I love that each member shines in different ways from being silly to showing wonderful vocals or getting placed centre in the dance section. I think this video looks like they had a lot of fun with it, whether it be the design of the video, with all the quirky hand drawn sections, the traditional Korean I want to say “lions” but I am not sure, and I am not even sure where to start researching (so if anyone knows please let me know) or just in the way they look like they are having fun.
If you aren’t entranced by Jimin’s “you can’t stop me loving myself”;
and if you aren’t impressed with Jin’s dance (as he is not normally placed front and centre);
and if you really aren’t impressed with the amazing choreography and stunning performance, are you sure we are even watching the same music video?
So thats every year up to now! I haven’t included 2019 as we only have Boy with Luv music video currently for this year, so I will relook at music videos from 2019 later in the year!
As a final thought on BTS and celebrating 6 years, I just want to take a moment to talk about why BTS are important to me. I may not have been here for the whole six years, but I believe I am now an ARMY for life, and to finish up my celebration of BTS and the last six years, I wanted to share my thoughts. I said at the beginning of this post, I couldn’t explain how they got to be successful or why they have such a wide fan base, all I can tell you is why I am a fan, my thoughts and why they are important to me.💜💜💜
I know it sounds so cheesy but I do think I found BTS at a time when I needed find them, to rediscover myself and take some time for me. I think the Love Myself theme helped me, I do think it’s important to love and appreciate yourself before giving a part of yourself to someone else but for me the message was more about taking time to take care of myself, and being Tina not just mummy, appreciating that I am allowed a life outside of my family and to enjoy things for myself without feeling guilty. The fact that I can relate to them, the lyrics, the dancing, the talent and their message are all appealing. Although, it is undoubtedly hard for them living an Idol life, we can all appreciate they work hard, and obviously have a persona they have to keep up all the time, carrying the name of BTS must be so hard but I am thankful for them for doing it. I am thankful they share their music, their passion – they obviously love what they do – and I am thankful they let us see even a small portion of themselves. We get to see them learn, grow and be a part of this amazing family. I think this all adds to their appeal and this is what makes them popular and will keep them popular for years to come.
I am veering away from music videos for just a moment. In 2018, they sang Anpanman which might be one of my favourite songs from BTS. It is inspiring and beautiful and I think truly reflects the message they want to portray.
“Anpanman is a red bean bread man and the world’s weakest hero. He doesn’t have any superpowers like Batman or Superman, but is a kind hero who helps those in need and gives to hungry people pieces of his face, which is made out of red bean bread. If Batman and Superman are star heroes that can fly anywhere in a flash, Anpanman is a bourgeoisie hero who is always nearby and stays by your side for a long time.
BTS compare themselves to the character Anpanman. The artists said they wanted to convey their desire to give people hope through their music and performances in the song. By comparing themselves to not the world’s strongest hero, but the world’s weakest hero, BTS stays true to their message with the idea that rather than being a hero just because you’re strong, you can be a hero even if you’re weak. “
Excerpt taken from https://www.soompi.com/article/1179329wpp/closer-look-inspiring-message-behind-btss-anpanman. Please click on the link for the full article, it is beautifully written and goes into more detail of the message from Anpanman.
The idea behind Anpanman is about being a hero with no powers to speak of, but by being someone who is always by your side, through all the little troubles in life, not just showing up to save the day in majors way as you would have with a super-hero with super powers. BTS want their music to be there for their fans through the ordinary parts of life, the troubles, the mishaps, the happy times and every little part of life. And in turn ARMY are there to cheer BTS on through hard times, the good and the bad, to cheer for them to love them and equally be a hero for each other when needed. How wonderful is it to be a part of a fandom where you get to feel close to a group even though you are worlds apart in distance, talent, language, culture and race. I have this wonderful ready made family to turn to whenever I feel sad, lonely or scared, and even better when I want to celebrate my successes and achievements. I have only been ARMY for a short while but I have already made some wonderful friends because the positivity and warmth that BTS have created is easily spread amongst their fans.
I hope you enjoyed my Music Video celebration of BTS. What is your favourite? Did it get a mention?
I obviously felt a little more emotional and sentimental in this second part of my celebration. I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know what is your favourite music video from 2016, 2017 and 2018. I don’t think i have songs and music videos I dislike, I have just chosen ones that stand out to me. Drop me a comment with your opinions, I honestly would love to hear from fellow ARMY’s.
I held off on writing a blog post to celebrate the 6th anniversary of BTS until after their day of Muster in Busan, for two reasons:
So to show my appreciation and to celebrate BTS’s 6th year, I wanted to highlight singles with a music video released each year which I have enjoyed/ loved for whatever reason. Obviously I like BTS for many reasons, let’s be fair though the main reason I have fallen head over for them, is their crazy, quirky, randomness and nutter personalities! It’s really hard to pick one thing I like about BTS, I could talk about their personalities, discography, message or a thousand other things. But for me, it will always come back to a love for music and also music videos! I love a good tune to dance and sing along too, but sometimes I really appreciate a good music video too.
No More Dream was the single BTS debuted with, everyone remembers it as it was the first song anyone would have heard from them, if you were a fan from the beginning. If like me, you were late to the game, you would have found this video when searching for more content to feed your BTS habit. But I am not choosing this one, I personally really like We are Bulletproof pt. 2, coming from the same album 2 cool for skool. It was released on June 12th 2013, and promoted alongside No More Dream. Its music video was released on July 16th 2013.
As with No More Dream, it carries a heavy Hip Hop vibe but feels more raw. It features a really impressive choreography, which if you have been keeping up with the 5th Muster in Busan, you will see they have not lost a trick as they performed this outstandingly. Jhope, Jimin and Jungkook performed the dance break live again on stage and from the small clips I saw, it was just as impressive as the first time I googled the music video. The dance break is the part that stand out for me and why I highlighted it for 2013.
The outfits are stylised to match the video and I actually like them. They all look fun, quirky and very cute. If like me, you are new to BTS and didn’t catch some of their earlier videos, compared to seeing them in the usual fashion forward outfits they are seen in now, this video could come as quite a shock. When I get into something, I get into it in a big way, so I have watched every video from Debut, and although the songs have changed, evolved and grown, they still do have a hop hop vibe, and I really like this. I really like the earlier songs, even though I may not have been their target audience.
Following from my introduction profile of the group, I remarked how Jhope once said where their group name derived from (being bulletproof against words/actions), and so this song I think is just an all round introduction to how BTS wanted their careers to go. I like that they challenge the norm, labels and the trickier side of things. For now – here is Jimin:
“Oh! 나만치 해봤다면 돌을 던져
We go hard 우린 겁이 없어
(Click click, bang bang) we juss sing it like
(Click click, bang bang) we juss sing it like
Oh! 나만치 해봤다면 돌을 던져
We go hard 우린 겁이 없어
(Click click, bang bang) we juss sing it like
(Click click, bang bang) we juss sing it like”
(English Translation from Genius.com):
“OH! Throw a stone at me if you’ve done as much as I did,
We go hard, we have no fear,
Click Click Bang Bang! We just sing it like,
Click Click Bang Bang! We just sing it like!”
BTS War of Hormone (2014) Park Jimin (Jimin)
Now established as a Kpop group and starting to gain recognition, 2014 carried on with the Skool theme and finding their feet in the music industry.
2014 is a tricky year for me as I love the music videos for Boy in Luv and Danger, if I was just picking a song from 2014 though I would have picked 2nd Grade. I love that one! We stick in on in the car in the morning and it wakes us up and gets us ready for the day. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a single released and doesn’t come with a movie video.
So, instead I have chosen War of Hormone, a controversial choice I know. The video was released October 21st 2014, and the video itself is beautifully made. The black/white and red retro outfits, with all the member showing a different style was the first thing I noticed when watching, before I looked up the lyrics or saw the controversy surrounding it. The song itself is about the boys surge of “hormones” making them sing about their desire for women. The controversy came from the video and the lyrics, which yes can cause some offence. They are objectifying women as purely something attractive to look at and gain desire from. I can understand why some people might be offended, but I am not one of them, as they aren’t doing it in a creepy way. This song was released when they were all 18 – 22 year olds (-ish), and as Idols, I imagine their personal lives and dating scenes are somewhat limited but they are in fact all young men. I am in no way condoning mysogenistic behaviour, but I don’t think the video or the lyrics were meant that way. I think it was simply young men showing their appreciation for a woman’s beauty, and their desire for women.
Let’s be honest, we all do it, whether it be watching music videos, dramas, films or seeing some one walking down the street, we all often feel desire and/or sexual thoughts. I appreciate BTS for their music but I’d be lying if I said that was it. They are 7 very attractive guys and they know how to ramp up the sex appeal and dnace/sing/act in a way that they know women will like. So yes, I often watch the music videos and let’s just say my thoughts are not always on the innocent side. So I could never be offended by this song. I would be a hypocrite if I did. I can appreciate some would take offence though, so I am glad they did issue an apology, and they also do admit when they have made mistakes. I think this shows that this one song was not meant to be offensive, they do seem like genuinely nice men.
The lyrics in this video aren’t saying they expect anything from the woman in the video, they are simply pointing out that she makes them feel things, and they would happily quite like to get to know her, and yes they might even mean in the biblical sense. I don’t believe I need a man’s validation to know I look good, I don’t choose my outfits based on what my husbands opinion is. If i think I look good, I will wear it, but and this is a big BUT, if I am out, and I get looks from men or heaven forbid some gentleman approaches me, (I mean in a friendly, charming, not scary or provocative way) and was expressing desire, I wouldn’t be offended, it would make my night.
Yes I think they should choose their lyrics more wisely, and as Idols who are role models for many young people they need to be a little careful, but they are in fact, human. Young men who have the exact same thoughts and feelings as everyone else, and I can’t see the harm in this video. In fact, I think its one of my favourites, I know please don’t hate me! 🙂 I think it’s more based on the fact that from viewing other videos, and seeing the members in other situations, they are in fact gentlemen, so this fun, cheesy and yes a little misogynistic video isn’t harming anyone, and in hindsight they did apologise for the lyrics.
For a more detailed and better worded view of where my opinion lies – check out: http://seoulbeats.com/2014/10/bts-wage-war-hormone/
So back to the video, the boys are all fighting for the attention of a girl and **spoiler alert** V wins. I think it would be a hard choice to choose between these 7 men, but I think from this video I would have chosen V too. He is the reason I chose this video over the other videos from 2014. For me, its all about his facial expressions throughout the entire video – honestly, he looks like he is having fun and enjoying himself a little too much and I am here for it.
Just watching this section of the music video was enough to make it a firm favourite in our household. Here is a small collection of some of my favourite V expressions.
Followed by my absolute favourite part of this video – I absolutely love how close all the guys are. I think their friendship / brotherhood is amazing and seeing them have fun is the best thing and this collection of images makes my day!
V slapping Jimin’s bum and then staring at his hand – that is a whole mood right there!
And finally I do have to give a shout out to my favourite boy too – Jhope (Jung Hoseok). In one section of the video he invites the young lady into his car, and she turns him down. The first time I saw this video I exclaimed and said something a long the lines of ” I wouldn’t turn him down”. My children relish in telling my husband this story every time we watch it.
I think 2015 was one of the most important years for BTS – not talking from experience as we are still a few years off from when I first discovered from. But from literature and music videos and just being a fan, 2015 was a good year. I Need You is in an incredible video which portrays troubled youth and is hugely important to the alternative universe BTS have created in their music. The video reached 1 million views in 16 hours, the fastest record for any BTS music video at that time. The original uncut version was much darker and was released at a later date. I didn’t choose I Need You for my video though as I believe it is an incredible video but it gets a lot of love, so I chose Dope.
“Hey Yo Ladies and Gentlemen!”
BTS Dope (24th June 2015)
Dope was released on April 29th 2015 and was featured on the album The Most Beautiful Moment in Life part 1. The music video was the first video to reach a million likes, and 2 million likes! If you’ve seen it, you will know why it was the first to have that many likes. If not, why haven’t you? Go check it out now, don’t worry I’ll wait!!
The video itself is stunning, its bright and cheery and the outfits are on point. It is one of my children’s favourite videos for many reasons but I guess the dance is what stands out for them. Whenever it comes on, they both instantly jump up and want to dance along, and my daughter who is the dancer in our house, almost has the whole dance down pat!
Now, I love the dance, its amazing and I love to see my children replicate it. The choreography is outstanding and they perform it really well. I even got to hear it at Wembley – its an amazing song! I also really like the lyrics, as mentioned previously I think they have created some really good songs with a really good message:
“3포세대? 5포세대?
그럼 난 육포가 좋으니까 6포세대
언론과 어른들은 의지가 없다며
우릴 싹 주식처럼 매도해
왜 해보기도 전에 죽여 걔넨 enemy enemy enemy
왜 벌써부터 고개를 숙여 받아 energy energy energy
절대 마 포기 you know you not lonely
너와 내 새벽은 낮보다 예뻐
So can I get a little bit of hope? (yeah)”
“The media and adults say we don’t have willpower, condemning us like stocks
Why are they killing us before we can even try, enemy enemy enemy
Why are you hanging your head and accepting it already? energy energy energy
Don’t ever give up, you know you not lonely
Our dawn is prettier than the day
So can I get a little bit of hope yeah”
Dope (2015) RM and Suga (Kim Namjoon and Min Young)
But sadly this is not why I chose this music video over I Need you or Run, and I feel a little ashamed admitting this but I am human and a woman, its purely a very shallow reason: The Outfits! From Dr Jin to Race Car Driver Jhope, and everyone in between, the outfits are incredible. Add in the singing, rapping and dancing and you have got yourself a winner! So as with the guys in the previous video – the rest of the blog post its my hormones typing, I am sorry but I am also not sorry!
If you don’t immediately fall in love from the beginning of this music video, are you watching the right video??
I wish I had something profound to say on this video but I really don’t – I just love the outfits and yes the dancing, in the outfits! So I shall leave you with this portion of the video! Enjoy!
Stay tuned for part two years 2016 -2018
Let me know what is your favourite music video from 2013, 2014 and 2015. I don’t think i have songs and music videos I dislike, I have just chosen ones that stand out to me. Drop me a comment with your opinions, I honestly would love to hear from fellow ARMY’s.
If you’re struggling to get your head around the global phenomenon that is BTS, or if you’re a fan and you are just looking for some light reading, this might be the place for you. Maybe you’re just standing at the edge of the hole, and you are looking for a little push – these next two posts might be for you. I thought before I move onto discussing other kpop groups, I would do a quick profile of my favourites!
I fell into the hole myself about 6 months ago, I had originally noticed them 8 months ago on Graham Norton’s shows but you will all have to forgive me, I wasn’t paying enough attention and it took me another 2 months to completely fall.
BTS acronym for Bangtan Sonyeondan which is Bullet proof Boy Scouts in Korean. Often in a English it is also said to be Beyond the Scene.
The name often gets some funny looks and eye rolls, and perhaps they have outgrown the full name but BTS as an acronym is now worldwide famous and carries quite a lot of weight. The name has been with them since debut and although it is not often the full name that is used, they should be proud to carry the name, and the reason behind it is still as important now as it was back when at their debut. Even more so considering everything they have been through to get to where they are today. JHope explained once what he felt the name meant:
“The name signifies the groups desire to ‘block out stereotypes, criticisms and expectations that aim on adolescents like bullets.’ ”
BTS are a 7 member South Korean kpop/hip hop/boyband and so much more than all of these labels imply. I think a lot of what is exciting about music today is that it doesn’t have to fit into a prescribed role, and music can change and grow as the members do, and BTS are a prime example of this.
Starting out as unknown group from a small entertainment management company compared to the big three South Korean entertainment companies, BTS have found themselves as a global phenomenon, and “the biggest boy band that no one knows”. Many kpop groups before them have toured America, and made a huge impact on the global charts and created the Korean Wave (Hallyu) – but BTS with their sharp style, singing, dancing, social media use and most impressively of all; genuine sincerity and innate adorable qualities have garnered attention the world over.
Big Hit is the management company behind BTS, like with most companies, they wanted to find worldwide fame but the CEO affectionately known as Hitman Bang had much more humbler ideas behind what he wanted from the boys, as well as worldwide fame.
“I didn’t want them to be false idols, I wanted to create a BTS that could become close friends”
I think they have managed both of those goals amazingly well. Hitman originally wanted a group that would feel like they were friends with their fans not just some huge superstars, and the savvy way they use social media to interact with fans has hugely contributed to this and being a part of the growing fandom, you do get the feeling that we are all a part of this journey together. Social media has been an amazing tool for the group but I feel the reason we all fall for them is there sincerity, humbleness and genuine talent that shines through all of that. BTS might share a lot of their “personas” through social media but it is through their music, the messages they promote and their sincerity that truly makes the audience, us as fans, feel close to them.
From the very first tweet as seen above to securing three spots on the top most retweets of all time, including this very cute tweet of JHope joining in on the #inmyfeelings challenge.
http://pic.twitter.com/Bm8bxtKsFq
So I think BTS and Hitman Bang have been very successful there. In terms of global success, if you have followed anything of their latest tour, I think – even if you don’t believe they have conquered the world yet – they are surely on their way to it.
Widely known for their self-produced music (they co-write and produce much of their songs) amazing performances, fan interaction, global success, positive vibes and attitude towards speaking out on a huge range of topics; it is not surprising they are doing as well as they are. More surprising is that is hasn’t always been this way and since their debut in June 2013 they have had to face strong criticism, negative press and numerous other setbacks, but they have made it through relatively unscathed, still very positive and as humble as ever.
BTS have evolved from a hip hop / kpop band to encompass all genres; and for a group mainly singing in Korean with the odd smattering of English, they are truly a force to be reckoned with. Not always liked or appreciated because of the fact that they sing in Korean, the band have stated they will not change themselves to gain more fans or score more points or wins in the charts, they are a Korean group who love what they do, and are equally as talented as any mainstream pop group that sings in English. Anyone who cannot see past the language and see the potential these men show, are possibly being blinded by prejudice. I am not saying everyone has to like them, but we should be able to see past somethings and give things a try, otherwise we would never discover new things to love or appreciate. I wouldn’t want BTS or any band to change the way they perform or sing because this is what makes they unique and them. Music is different to everybody and means different things to different people, but music transcends language and prejudices. We all see beauty in different things and we all gain a sense of something beautiful when we listen to music we like. I am not saying we all have to like the same things, but we should all appreciate the talent and hard work musicians put into their work regardless of whether we like it or not. Listening and loving BTS taught me this and I hope I remember this for ever.
Article in USA today by a fellow ARMY – music transcending language. Click on to go have a read.The lyrics are often personal/social commentary, with themes on mental health, loss, hopes & dreams, social norms, politics, school aged troubles and the journey into adulthood, and although the fans are often depicted as teens to young adults, their music transcends language, age and race and appears to speak to people from all the world, and breaks out of the moulds and labels prescribed to them.
Not only do they speak out on serious matters, they also don’t take themselves too seriously and know how to entertain an audience. From their group twitter page to their own lively videos on vlive – these boys have a lot to offer a fan.
VLive is a video streaming / fan service / online chat group / social media machine. All the latest and well known kpop artists have a channel and they all post lots of videos from general chat to quirky tv entertainment quiz shows, and everything in between.
Run BTS is one of these such videos, ranging from 8 minutes to 30 minutes, the guys are challenged to various games/challenges/quizzes and have to perform well or face the consequences. It is just another fun look into their lives. Obviously it is a game show style, so it’s still not true to life, reality tv of the members. But they almost always look like they are having fun and enjoying themselves, and that’s really all we want to see. A happy And fun loving BTS are the best kind of BTS.
Each member will also often, do Vlives whilst eating, writing music, chatting to each other and generally just giving an insight into their busy lives. Often one or more will pop up after concerts, around album releases and at other random times with small insights into their wacky, crazy behaviour or into their more serious moments when discussing what the albums/ songs mean to them.
BTS offer a lot of content to fans the world over, it must be a hard, tiring and sometimes frustrating position to be in, but from all accounts, these men seem genuinely happy to be doing something they love. I Imagine they get tired, stressed and sometimes want a break but the hard work, dedication and passion is evident in everything they do and they always seem so genuinely thankful for the fans, and the chance they have to perform and to be doing something they love.
Over the last 6 years, they have topped charts, broke records, been compared to some great artists, are known the world over, have won prestigious awards in their home of Korea, topped the American Billboard charts and have broken into the UK charts which is quite hard all on its own. They are a positive influence in today’s often negative world, they have created charity works alongside UNICEF with their Love Yourself campaign, speaking up in the fight against violence on children. Last year they were invited to and spoke at the UN global conference. They are teaching their fans and the world over to Love Yourself and now to Speak Yourself.
The group debut was back in June 2013 with the hip hop heavy – but cute to watch now – No More Dream. The boys were very young and new to the kpop scene, from the heavy eyeliner to the black outfits, it is an adorable video to watch and the song is very catchy. Just ask my son, who dances around our living room flashing his ‘abs’ a la Jimin. The song was from their single album 2 cool 4 Skool, it wasn’t their most successful song to date but it set them off on their journey. I won’t go through their discography in today’s post, as I will eventually get through all the songs in other posts.
Most of the eras or albums have a running theme or alternative universe, which is part of what makes them so intriguing and exciting.
2 cool 4 Skool was part of the wider School Trilogy, and significant as they were all very young and were speaking to their dominant audience, school age fans, hence the term for their fan base being A.R.M.Y or Adorable Representation M.C for Youth.
The most beautiful moment in life followed the school trilogy and with it came the lead single “I Need U”. With a more grown up, edgier theme and content than their previous work, this song really started to show what BTS could achieve. Upon its release, it’s mv reached one million views in 16 hours – the fastest record at that time for any BTS music video. ‘I need u’ topped the trending boards, and gave BTS their first win since debut on MTV’s The Show, and in total won 5 awards. It also charted at 4 in the Billboard World Digital Songs chart.
Wings followed The Most Beautiful moment in life, and was originally released in October 2016 with Blood, sweat and tears as the lead track, although it was later repackaged as You never walk alone with three new songs and Spring Day and Not today as the lead tracks. The album was influenced by Herman Hesse’s coming of age novel, Demian – dealing with temptation and growth.
In the press conference for the album release, RM said this about the upcoming album theme:
“The harder a temptation is to resist, the more you think about it and vacillate. That uncertainty is part of the process of growing.”
Blood, sweat and tears is an epic song which shows the guys talents, in singing, rapping and dancing amazingly. The music video is a work of art all on its own.
Spring Day is a truly perfect song, for so many situations and will always bring tears to my eyes when I listen to, but I can never put my finger on why. It is a track that I believe will never be forgotten and with every other song that gets released, Spring Day will often pop it’s head up again to remind you it is still there. But I have to give a shout out to JHope who leads the albums with his teaser track intro:Boy meets Evil, from the lyrics to his mesmerising dance, this intro has it all. I think it is often over-shadowed by the other amazing tracks on the album but honestly, it is beautiful and awe inspiring.
A special shout out should also be mentioned here to 2!3; the first ever fan dedicated song appeared on this album. BTS never fail to thank and acknowledge their huge fan base, which in self is a wonderful thing. A group needs fans and much as fans need someone to follow. Kpop not just BTS inspires its fans to feel close to the groups. It’s not something you necessarily come across too much in western music. Obviously, everyone has fans and artists need fans to buy their products, but it doesn’t necessarily feel like an exchange of friendship/ trust or promote the same level of social interaction.
Love Yourself is the fourth era all about the concept of self love. To find true genuine love, the journey starts with loving yourself. It has inspired many fans and there are so many wonderful stories of how BTS have been a positive influence in peoples lives and helped to make people realise their worth and to love themselves. All the concepts from each album are linked in a fictional BTS Universe. Separated into a trilogy of Love Yourself: Her, Love Yourself: Tear and Love Yourself: Answer.
In between these full albums have been mini albums, singles and they have also released Japanese albums including the latest and beautiful album Face Yourself.
This brings us practically up to date with their discography, I haven’t provided a full list as I am going to go back over their songs in another post. So it just leaves us with their latest mini album released in April of this year, Map of the Soul: Persona. Heavily influenced by The book Jung’s Map of the Soul, and theories of psychology by Carl Jung. Released just in time for us all to get know the newest songs well enough to join in singing them on their latest world tour, Love Yourself, Speak Yourself, which they have just wrapped up their European stint in London and Paris, after America and South America. They are currently heading back home to Korea to celebrate their debut at the end of Festa with their 5th Muster, Magic Shop. Before some more tour dates in Japan next month.
I hope this has shared a little insight into the world of BTS and if you’re new to the fandom, go google them, learn their names, watch episodes of Run BTS – fall into the kpop hole. It’s a little chaotic but always fun. If you’re an old salt and stumbled upon this wondering if it would add anything new to you’re repertoire of knowledge of the guys, I hope you have found it interesting, and even if it’s nothing new to you, I hope you liked the trip down memory lane at least. I know there is so much more information out there to digest, I am relatively new to the fandom, but I just wanted to share my insights into this wonderful new group I am growing to love. I hope you have enjoyed it.
A final note before I go if you are new and want some song / music video recommendations, I will leave a couple now to get you started.
If you want a good exciting song to wake you up in the morning or you enjoy watching groups have fun – Anpanman or go go. (But you want Go Go dance practice, in my opinion one of the best dance practices, it chaos but fun).
If you like your songs on the romantic, lyrical, good vocal side of things, Spring Day or any of the individual solo songs; Serendipity, Singularity, Ephinany or Euphoria.
If you like hip hop and a good beat, rapping and an edgier video, Mic Drop or any of the Cyphers might be your idea of a good time. But seriously they have such a wide range if songs, and all have good vocals, rapping and dance choreography you cannot go wrong just YouTubing any BTS.
If you struggle with the J members, or you get your V mixed up with your Jungkook, stay tuned for my next blog which will have member profiles and lots of images to hopefully help you remember the names of the members. After all that is step one on the ” I just wanted to know their name… ” train that leads straight into Bangtan Wonderland.
Wembley is over and done now and wow it was incredible!
I will be adding more content on other kpop and kdrama now I have more time but before I do, I really wanted to share my Wembley experience.
I don’t even know where to start really though or how to express what an absolutely wonderful weekend I had! Going to London with my amazing family to see BTS in concert is absolutely in my top amazing memories now! ****SORRY SOME OF THE PHOTOS ARE NOT THE BEST QUALITY MY PHONE HAD A RIGHT HISSY FIT!****
The kids had an awesome time! They sang, they danced, they screamed and waved their army bombs! They saw the waves of lights from all the other fans which was an amazing sight!
We met so many other Army’s from my online group of friends! I have made so many new friends online which is incredible as I sometimes have a love/hate relationship with social media but it’s definitely leaning more towards loving at the minute!!
My online group I am a part of is full of wonderful ARMY all over the age of 25 and all beautiful people! I cannot tell you how nice it is to be able to just have a quick look and be cheered up or cheer someone up. And living in the countryside where there aren’t many fans around it is so nice to know that actually you aren’t alone! My group is a wonderful group and I am thankful I met them! I 💜 you BTS UK Senior Army!
We also met so many wonderful new Army’s we didn’t know but were so friendly! It was so nice walking around wembley seeing so many fans (we don’t see many in Somerset), talking to them and oh the amount of people giving free little gifts away was just beautiful.
The kids saw kindness and beauty and it made my weekend!!!
I love the messages BTS try to spread, you only have to look up lyrics to their songs, see interviews or watch the speech they gave at the UN to see they are spreading not only wonderful music that transcends language but also a beautiful message! I really enjoy other kpop music as all music transcends language but BTS are quite special!
Sometimes having a huge fan base, it can be hard to connect to each other as we are so diverse and different but we were all at Wembley to enjoy the concert and this feeling/energy was incredible. Lots stopped to say hi or ask the kids about the weekend and who their favourites were, they were pointed at with ahhs and oohs because let’s be honest they are adorable and beautiful children!!
I was lucky to have tickets for both nights!! The first night was special because it was my first concert at Wembley and BTS said it was special for them being at Wembley and Namjoon (RM) said we had broken a wall together being at Wembley and live streaming which was amazing!
Seeing RM, Jin, Suga, Jimin, V, Jungkook and especially JHope in person was amazing! We didn’t have front row seats, we were in the Gods but it was still awesome! The atmosphere was something else!!
I need to add something here as within all my gushing I have something more to add. I absolutely love all members and it wouldn’t be BTS without each and everyone. They are all so ridiculously talented and excel in everything! I can’t help but watch them when they are performing, or feel soothed/excited when they sing. I even enjoy watching Run BTS episodes and Vlives where they are most of the time acting like crazy children!!! I think I like them because they are young but also young at heart and I can connect with that!
But let’s be honest they are also all very attractive young men and so some of the appeal is watching and listening to 7 very talented but very attractive men. When I watched the solo songs sung by each member, it was exciting, moving and beautiful. Each got to showcase what they are good at or enjoy and the best part is you can tell they love what they do and are enjoying themselves and that’s what makes it a good show. It helps that each member also know how to play to a camera and can really put on a sexy, awe inspiring, jaw dropping performance. That helps!
But as much as I like every member I do have a favourite (or bias as they say – as in I’m slightly more biased to one than another!) I have two but this is a special mention for JHope because he is just incredible. He is a talented rapper, but he also sings beautifully and I could listen to him all day but mostly I am in awe of his dancing! The video below shows all of them dancing and lets be honest they could beat anyone I know on the dance floor but seeing JHope dance to Baepsae is a whole other level of excitement!
All of the men should be appreciated but JHope and Suga (who named themselves Sope when together) are my faves! I think I see myself in them sometimes and I love that they are funny, silly and don’t take them selves too seriously and are both amazingly talented and let’s be honest, talent is sexy!
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The main reason Saturday was special because I got to be with my family and I enjoyed it immensely! I have to talk about my Nick because he has been so supportive and wonderful, coming all the way to London with us, queuing in all the merch stands with us and going to the concert even though he isn’t a fan! He didn’t moan and he joined in cheering and he helped make the weekend amazing and I love him even more than I thought possible! 😍😍😍
I won a ticket for the second night and was happy to go on my own! But I put out a plea to be adopted for during the day so I didn’t have to spend the whole day on my own and my friends came through and whilst I was asking for some company I was offered the chance to accompany someone else and have their spare ticket so they wouldn’t have to be alone too!
I was happy too and I had a wonderful night and I gave my ticket to a really deserving person who also got to enjoy the concert so all in all it was an incredible start to the concert and being there a second time and witnessing it again was incredible and beautiful! I laughed, screamed, cheered, joined the fan chants and I cried! Like a baby!!!!
I feel so lucky to have been a part of this concert and I am walking around in this permanent happy and confident bubble and I’m loving it!!!
It’s crazy how quickly and hard I fell down the Kpop but specifically BTS hole! But I don’t regret it! Finding something I enjoy and can follow and support, especially a group that has motivation, passion and that have this wonderful view of the world has opened up the world for me and has given me back my confidence, strength and passion. I appreciate my family and friends so much and love them all! I am finding new ways to love myself which comes with the new found confidence! BTS messages and music really inspire people! I have new friends, I am living life as I want to and I am showing my children this exciting new, happy, confident me and I love it!!
I hope if you get the chance to do something you love- go for it!! Just do it! It’s worth it!!!😍😍😍💜💜💜
Follow me for more adventures down the hole and into this new wonderland!
Heart and Seoul 