BTS superstar J-Hope believes in the universal phenomenon that change is the only constant thing.
The South Korean boy band member J-Hope and six of his band members are moving towards English language music. The band debuted in 2013 and became an instant hit across the globe. They have always been experimental, and in an interview with Time, the group emphasized the same.
”I think it’s interesting to see results from trying out these new things,” J-Hope explained in the interview with the help of a translator. He further added, “I started to take more interest, my English improved and it’s actually fun.” RM, Suga, Jimin, V, Jung Kook, and Jin too were a part of the Zoom interview. “It wasn’t an easy process, but the results were good” V added.
The Flirty “Butter”
The group’s recent summer song “Butter,” which was their second all-English single release was liked by their fans across the globe. The flirty overtones teased the youngsters, and the co-writer RM referred to the track as “energetic” and “summery”. This track was released in May 2021. The group was referencing this song during the interview. “Butter” has been at the number-one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 for the last eight weeks. Though in the past, Jungkook had negated the impact of rankings on his music.
“Permission to Dance,”- Breaks All Records
“Permission to Dance,” their latest release in July 2021 too was in English. This classic, uplifting pop song was loved by music lovers who love light and bright songs. While releasing the song, the septet mentioned, that the song is “dedicated to anyone who is having a bad day or is discouraged in the face of reality.” The band wanted to give momentary pleasure to anyone going through a tough situation in life.
Together, the pair of songs remained chartbusters in the Billboard Hot 100 and did very well commercially. Their 2020 hit “Dynamite,” which was primarily sung in English too was a global hit. Most of the radio stations across the globe were playing it for weeks together after its release. The band’s success is compared to that of the king of pop Michael Jackson.
“No borders, boundaries or limits.” @BTS_twt on testing out English releases and striving for the song of the summer https://t.co/7WzWiAjho4 pic.twitter.com/LrhwRhYbFA
— TIME (@TIME) August 3, 2021
BTS Movement Towards English
This K-pop band’s inclination towards English has spawned a debate among fans and critics alike. RM in the interview further mentioned, ”I don’t think it’s bad… In general, with language, topic, there’s no borders, boundaries or limits.”
BTS in the past has sung in Korean and Japanese, and their themes included- youth angst, psychology, self-actualization, and self-love. It seems that the band is progressing more towards a global image by singing in English. They do not want the listeners to take the help of subtitles to understand the lyrics anymore.
Jin said, these songs “share energy and joy with listeners.” For instance, three International Sign gestures for “joy,” “dance,” and “peace” were included in the dance moves. The band wanted the listeners to dance to their tunes and hence kept the dance moves simple.
For more updates, keep watching this space.
