BTS’ superstar Jungkook opened up about his success and how the ranking doesn’t really affect him.
While the latest release, “Butter” has been ranked at top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, Jungkook noted that he “was never attached to rankings. But as good as it is and as happy as I am since we’ve kept setting records since “Dynamite,” it also feels like a burden,” he added.
“A huge number of people have given me recognition, so I’ve been going along thinking I have to work harder, but we did even better with “Butter” than with “Dynamite,” so I think I ended up feeling weighed down,” he explained. “That’s what I’m like. BTS is an amazing team, but maybe my problem is that I’m not able to keep up with BTS.”
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The 23-year-old singer also reflected on singing the intro of the song, “Butter.”
“Butter” just feels so good. It’s different from our usual style, so it felt different while recording. The song’s great, too. I love that, but it’s separate from that feeling of pressure. I mean, I hope BTS does even better, honestly. Lately, I’ve been thinking that that pressure means I need to do better. After “Dynamite” became number one on the Billboard Hot 100, it’s not like we’re being forced to try harder; it’s just my personal ambition. I think I can do better.
Jungkook also spoke about why he didn’t find “Dynamite” satisfying.
“I couldn’t express everything I wanted the way I wanted to,” he said. “When I listen to the remixes, I think about how I could’ve sung it differently. Like, “Aw, man! If only I could do it again!” (laughs) I got some things from singing “Dynamite,” like, I’m not quite there yet. So I try to practice singing at least an hour every day, no matter what. Any singer who’s been at number one on Billboard for six weeks had better be really good at singing. That’s what I think.”
He also reflected on singing in English and in the Korean language.
“Sometimes you have to bear down a little on your words to talk in Korean,” he explained. “Plus I’m from Busan, so I speak in a little bit of a low voice. I don’t have that when I use English, though, so it’s like there are pros and cons. It’s easy to use your head voice when you sing in English as well, but it can be uncomfortable, while in Korean if you try to sing higher using your head voice, it can sound a bit nasally sometimes. But at the same time, it can be hard to break old habits when I sing in English since I’ve always been singing in Korean.”
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The singer explained the difference between “Dynamite,” “Butter” and “Permission to Dance.”
“Butter” is really bouncy, as you know. It’s a little deep, it’s got a driving beat, it’s rhythmical. And before I record, I listen to a recording with guide vocals, and then when I go to record, I have to keep all these characteristics in mind and mix them together with my own style properly in this subtle way. I think it’s seriously an intuition. (laughs) I had a hard time when we were recording, obviously, and when I first did it, my voice didn’t sound right, so I had to keep looking for the right voice. I think the most important thing is to really nail the voice you want to use first, and so is figuring out how to make it your own. In “Permission to Dance,” for instance, I sang it more the way I wanted than the style the guide vocals had.”
“Everyone’s voice has to sound different, so it can be overpowering if I copy the guide too much when I sing. So sometimes I follow what I’m thinking of exclusively. I was thinking about how I should sing the first part of “Permission to Dance,” and when I went to record it, even Pdogg, the producer, told me, “It’ll work best if you go with your own voice, your own style.”
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