Behind The Songs - O!RUL8,2?

Image Source: LOVE YOUR SELF 轉 Tear

Whenever BTS win an award or achievement, the 1^st words generally out of their mouths is for their fandom, 'ARMY'. Unlike what the western media would have you believe, their fandom is not limited to just young teenage girls, but covers a wide demographic of men, women, and children; from all backgrounds and ages.

And don’t be fooled into thinking that the only thing going for them is good dancing and pretty faces. A question that comes up time and again is “how can you like something if you don’t even understand what they’re saying?” In an age where translations are available at the touch of a button on your computer or smartphone this isn't even a serious question.

We will aim to answer that question, because BTS deserves worldwide recognition for what they produce. Ever respectful, and always humble, these 7 South Korean young men put their souls on display for the world to see with their music & lyrics. Lyrics that can fire up the blood and get you dancing, but also those that speak of heartache, of yearning, which you may not understand through a first listen, but do understand inside because you feel it through their melodies and the emotion behind their voices. Not content with singing of love and romance, BTS don’t shy away from tackling more socially conscious issues and struggles that affect people globally regardless of linguistic barriers.

We will look through their discography from debut to the present, covering all of their albums and EP’s both Korean and Japanese; and analyse the lyrics of one song chosen with the help of ARMY's on Twitter and Facebook, from each album; to delve behind the songs at the lyrics that inspire so many people. - Shinara Hussain

1st Mini Album

O!RUL8,2?

This month we are looking into O!RUL8,2? This was BTS' 2nd release after their debut 3 months prior; and their first EP/Mini Album. The album, released on 11th September 2013, was part of their 'School Trilogy' series. The lead single from the album was N.O (or otherwise known as No Offence), along with the lead track BTS also promoted Attack on Bangtan.

Image source: O!RUL8,2?

There are 10 tracks on the album

Image source: O!RUL8,2?

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	Intro: O!RUL8,2?	Pdogg RM	Pdogg	1:11
2.	N.O	Pdogg            “Hitman” Bang            RM            Suga            Supreme Boi	Pdogg	3:30
3.	We On	Pdogg RM Suga J-Hope	Pdogg	3:51
4.	Skit: R U Happy Now?		Pdogg	2:28
5.	If I Ruled the World	Pdogg RM Suga J-Hope	Pdogg	4:07
6.	Coffee	Pdogg          Slow Rabbit          RM          Suga          J-Hope          Urban Zakapa	Pdogg Slow Rabbit	4:20
7.	BTS Cypher pt.1	Supreme Boi RM Suga J-Hope	Supreme Boi	2:11
8.	진격의 방탄 (Jingyeogui Bangtan / Attack On Bangtan)	Pdogg Supreme Boi RM Suga J-Hope	Pdogg	4:07
9.	팔도강산 (Paldogangsan / Satoori Rap)	Pdogg RM Suga J-Hope	Pdogg	3:25
10.	"Outro: Luv in Skool"	Pdogg Slow Rabbit	Pdogg          Slow Rabbit	1:26

Source: BTS Wiki

The single N.O entered the charts at no.90 with 19,972 digital downloads over one day.
(Source: gaon chart)

The album debuted at no.4 in the Gaon weekly charts. 
(Source: gaon chart)

And entered the monthly Gaon chart at no.11. 
(Source: gaon chart)

By the end of 2013 the album had sold 34,030 units placing it at no.55 in Gaon yearly charts. Not bad for an album that had only been out for 3 months.
(Source: gaon chart)


The results of our poll revealed that ARMYs wanted a lyric analysis of their additional promo song Attack on Bangtan. 

But what will happen if Bulletproof Boy Scouts rises? Bang! Tan! So! Nyeon! Dan! Rise like the Bulletproof Boy Scouts Rise like the Bulletproof Boy Scouts Rise like the Bulletproof Boy Scouts Rise like the Bulletproof Boy Scouts Rise, be brave The brave Bulletproof Boy Scouts, we also get our popularity bravely, ge ge get it I’m Rap Monster, lightly sweeping away all of the rap retirees, be be beat it Lyrics? Completely godlike, 24/7, I’m always good The nobodies and nothings create a scene again today My feet sound the alarm, announcing my entrance to the K-Pop world Look at my first bat, I hit a homerun, if you’re not confident, put down your bat I shoot however I want on my stage but I still fill my ears with the cheers of the crowd Yes, I’m the Kang Baek Ho on stage, I proved it, I’m just holding the mic Are you all ready to go crazy? Ready to jump all you can? Tighten your stomachs and take a deep breath Are you all ready to go crazy? Ready to jump all you can? Then scream right now Who are we? The rising Bulletproof Boy Scouts Who are we? We will swallow you without fear Cuz we got fire fire fire Get higher higher higher If you don’t know us, get to know us well Who are we? Who? The rise of Bangtan Lalala la lala lalala lalalalala turn up! Lalala la lala lalala lalalalala turn up! Swallow your heart, I’m here, let everyone know Lalala la lala lalala lalalalala Who are we? Who? The rise of Bangtan When our music starts, people go crazy, go nuts Our style is No More Dream, stepping on our seniors’ backs on stage (I’m sorry man) What? What more can I say? From our debut till now, we climb up Climbing to the top is a matter of time, the first block of the dominos has been pushed down Yes, push it down, when you blink once, we’re captivating ears on stage Once you have a taste of my sensual rap banquet, you’ll run out of breath Your insides will burn, can’t nobody hold me down OK, I’m always on top of the 4 by 4 beat I’m a manly man style on top of the stage Are you all ready to go crazy? Ready to jump all you can? Tighten your stomachs and take a deep breath Are you all ready to go crazy? Ready to jump all you can? Then scream right now Who are we? The rising Bulletproof Boy Scouts Who are we? We will swallow you without fear Cuz we got fire fire fire Get higher higher higher If you don’t know us, get to know us well The moment I go on top of the stage I feel the sound of your cheers Just stay like that forever Because even if I die this way, I don’t regret it Who are we? The rising Bulletproof Boy Scouts Who are we? We will swallow you without fear Cuz we got fire fire fire Get higher higher higher If you don’t know us, get to know us well Who are we? Who? The rise of Bangtan Rise like the Bulletproof Boy Scouts Rise like the Bulletproof Boy Scouts Rise like the Bulletproof Boy Scouts Rise like the Bulletproof Boy Scouts Who are we? Who? The rise of Bangtan. The rise

A rhetorical question which gets the listeners to think of the outcome if BTS were to begin getting more popular and were to begin achieving awards or charting success. Their name stands for Bulletproof Boy Scouts, they are untouchable and unique in their own way. Encourages listeners to feel empowered, with the feeling if we can do it so can you. A repetitive chant, much like the chant of an army? They are rising because they only debuted that year so still have a way to go. Gain courage in yourself and your abilities. BTS have to be brave as they are just now starting out in the Kpop industry, and are perhaps encouraging ARMY to also follow in their footsteps and be brave. Could be an introduction to himself as he is not well-known and wants to establish himself and who he is to his new fanbase. RM is showing that BTS are the new generation and he is the new rapper to be heard, specific on the ‘lightly’ part to show that he is doing it without much effort or fight, seeming effortless. Confidence in his rap and his songwriting abilities BTS were “nobodies and nothings” at this point as they had only just debuted and were from a small company. And these nobodies were making an impact. “Entrance to the K-pop world” – again, BTS had only debuted 3 months ago and they hit the ground running. BTS are small but they are still confident in their team and music, and that’s why they’ll succeed; people who aren't confident should “put down their bat” as they may not succeed. Saying that they have the freedom to do whatever they want, they don’t have to follow rules set out by others, and they still get the screams of their fans Kang Baek Ho is a professional baseball player (https://mykbostats.com/players/1694-Kang-Baek-ho-KT-Wiz); alludes to the earlier references of bats and home runs – they will “hit a homerun” i.e. gain great success and achieve whatever they set out to do. People should get ready before listening to BTS because they’re that impactful. Just like Kang, J-Hope points out that he is the best in what he does and has excelled himself as a performer at a young age, as a result he feels more confident. Before his debut he used to have anxiety attacks and ended up being stressed out because he thought he wasn’t good enough. (https://aminoapps.com/c/btsarmy/page/blog/j-hope-you-got-me-feeling-some-type-of-way/Z6Vo_v6jUBu4LPQ2qQM1PEX06vX6E01N82)  Pumping up the crowd The line in Korean uses the word “nugu” (“who”), which is also used to refer to “nobodies” or lesser known idols. (https://onehallyu.com/topic/369502-how-do-you-define-the-term-nugu/) BTS want to break out of this image and show that they will rise in popularity and everyone will know their name.BTS could be trying to get the younger generation to be braver within society. ‘take a deep breath' and steady themselves, gain some courage and go for it. Those who look down on them will wish they got to know them – incidentally, many Korean celebrities this year have expressed that they wished to get to know BTS sooner, and Western celebrities are also trying to “get to know them well”. ‘swallow your heart’ is like ‘swallow your pride’, yet the former can be seen to be relating more to love with the use of the word heart. Therefore, rather than doing something that will make you feel embarrassed, this could mean you have to move on from things after getting rejected and start again, you can do it with BTS by your side. https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081001221024AA1OqHA, https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/swallow-your-pride Respecting that their sunbaes “opened the door” for them into Kpop and they’ll carry on their success. They know that they will be the no. 1 boy group (quite prophetic especially from a small group; and amazing that it eventually came true), and they are patient and prepared to wait and work hard for a long time until they make it big. “The first block” is probably their debut; they are already on their way to fame. Yoongi raps this bit – implies that he raps so quickly and skilfully that just listening to him will make you run out of breath. Their popularity will just keep increasing and getting higher and will not slow down. A reference to ARMY; their cheers and support for BTS is enough to keep them going and makes their struggle worthwhile (“I won’t regret it”).

Contributions by: Charlie Murray, Emma Norman, Onomey Ovien & Samera Serwaah

Attack on Bangtan (or otherwise known as Rise of Bangtan) is a very upbeat song and shows their rebellious side and how they desire to rise to the top, although it has no official MV whenever they performed it live the audience becomes very pumped up.

The overall lyrics seem to be about growing within the music industry and becoming better than everyone who they come across. The song starts with the question ‘but what will happen if BTS rises?’ suggesting that they are about to tell us what will happen if they succeed in the k-pop world. In RM's verse, he is making it clear that he is confident in his abilities as a rapper and a lyricist by referring to them as ‘godlike 24/7’.

J-Hope raps of  hitting a home run with his first bat and telling others that ‘if you’re not confident, put your bat down’ and that he does whatever he wants on the stage, knowing that the crowd is still going to cheer.

The song is perfect for live performances as there is a lot of call and response parts throughout the song for the audience to get involved and is a great anthem to evidence that BTS were dreaming big from the beginning and they weren’t afraid of hard work and dedication to reach success.

According to Billboard, “Attack on Bangtan” is a pump-up track that may get overlooked at first glance but is an integral part of BTS’ discography as one of the group’s cleanest attempts at blending pop melodies with their hip-hop swag. (Source: Billboard)

There is no official MV for Attack on Bangtan, but we can enjoy the dance practice:

Bangtan Bomb - Attack on BTS at Dance Practice 2 is just the boys having fun with the choreography.

Attack on Bangtan performed live on Show Champion:

You can see the energy of the song in this performance in Japan:

Finally we leave you with the official MV of their lead single from the album, N.O and it's filming:

We hope that you enjoyed reading this, please come back next time for the next album Skool Luv Affair, and song which will be chosen by Army.

If you missed last month's analysis on 2 Cool 4 Skool and their debut single No More Dream, you can read about it on the following link: Behind the Songs - 2 Cool 4 Skool

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