Tag: Speak Yourself

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:

1. October 2016 – released Wings which landed Number 26 in the Billboard 200, which was the highest charting kpop album at the time.
2. Also in October 2016, BTS topped the Social 50 chart for the first time.
3. November 2016 – Won album of the year at South Koreas Melon Music Awards for Young Forever, their first time being recognised for the honour.

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.

2016 – year to be recognised

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.

2016 Fire. Best Part: Choreography/Behaviour/Whole Video

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)

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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.

2017 – Gave us the gift that keeps on giving…

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. 😛

2017 Spring Day. Best Part: Everything.

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.

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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.

2018 – Billboard Music Awards, UK appearance & Mic Drop.

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)

2018 Idol. Best Part: This song opened them up to a wider audience but kept their authentic Korean Style.

“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.

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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 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.