Thursday - Throwback Thursday
From humble beginnings to global superstars, join us as we take a look back and see how BTS have grown as people and as performers.
Song Development
By
Shufei Chen
I’m sure you have all heard of the phrase ‘all good things must come to an end’ and always thought ‘that’s so true’. Right? Well, if you have, you’re absolutely correct. And no, I’m not talking about everyday things and activities, I’m talking about this amazing series. Alas, like the Love Yourself Series has come to an end, the song development series is reaching its conclusion. So, to end this feature on a good note, let’s all learn to Love ourselves, with the finale of song development. For one last time - let’s get it!
Love Yourself Series:
Love Yourself: Her:
The beginning of Love Yourself does not start with Her. In fact, it starts with Wonder, but with Wonder being more of a story than an album, we won’t go into detail. Granted Wonder has ‘Euphoria’ in it, but this song appears later on, so don’t worry about it not getting a mention. The beginning of the Love Yourself Albums starts with Her and the intro - ‘Serendipity’. This song showcases Jimin’s vocals and is one of the ballads on the album. ‘Love Yourself: Her’ as a whole, I would say reaches the more upbeat pop songs. With their title track ‘DNA’, the dance beats don’t end there. Their collaboration with The Chainsmokers created ‘Best of Me’; BTS’ diss track ‘Mic Drop’, later on re-released as a collaboration with Desiigner and Steve Aoki; along with the vocal line song ‘Dimple’, ‘Gogo’ and BTS’ diss track for ARMYs ‘Pied Piper’ all had attributes of party pop and would want to make us all get up and groove. Their rap line song ‘Outro: Her’ took a more relaxed tone and showed us the capability of the rap-line with slower rap songs. They also included their Skit at the Billboard Music Awards and their hidden track ‘Sea’ was the slowest and most 'ballady' song on the entire album.
Love Yourself: Tear:
The second album from the Love Yourself series was ‘Love Yourself: Tear’. This album took a different tone from ‘Her’ as it explored a lot of different genres and styles. First with the intro - ‘Singularity’, sung by Taehyung, which took on a more jazz and retro tone. Then the title track ‘Fake Love’ could be described as going back to the era of ‘Blood, Sweat and Tears’ with more added beats. The songs ‘134340’, ‘Paradise’ and ‘Love Maze’, although sounding different, took on the more upbeat party like song with their own unique twist. ‘Airplane Pt 2’ had a Latin feel to it, while ‘Anpanman’ and ‘So What’ were the two songs that were heavily centred around EDM. The Outro, ‘Tear’ the rap line song once again had a darker, more serious tone and the vocal line song, a collaboration with Steve Aoki, took us by surprise. Whilst we all had the expectation that it was going to be EDM, ‘The Truth Untold’ was in fact a slow ballad, with emotions captured fully. Overall, it is clear that BTS experimented a lot more with different genres and styles in this album.
Love Yourself: Answer:
‘Love Yourself: Answer, like ‘You Never Walk Alone’ or ‘Young Forever’ is a repackaged album. This means that it contains majority of the songs from both ‘Her’ and ‘Tear’, with new songs added as well. As the other songs have been talked about, I’ll explore the new songs on the album. Starting with ‘Euphoria’. This song, used as the BGM for ‘Wonder’ had me shook… did it have you shook? So, we all knew what the song sounded like and that Jungkook sang it. We also all knew that it was a mixture of EDM and Ballad, but what we didn’t expect was the high note that he hit, which was not released. So, safe to say, BTS released the full version of ‘Euphoria’ and ‘Serendipity’ and the high notes had us SHOOK! The next song is Trivia: Just Dance’. As you can guess from the title, it was sung by none other than our sunshine, our hope – Jung Hoseok. This song along with ‘Trivia: Love’ sang by our very inspiring, very wise leader, Kim Namjoon, had the beats and the EDM and were definitely two of the songs that are worth jamming to, to this day! The next song, again took me by surprise. ‘Trivia: Seesaw’ a song sung by our musical genius, Min Yoongi, was a slow, yet dance beat song, not only showed us his amazing rapping skills, but for the first time in a long time, his true vocals and can I just say - BigHit WHERE have you been HIDING this VOICE?! The next song, had me crying – quite literally! ‘Epiphany’ sung by Mr Worldwide Handsome, king of dad jokes, Kim Seokjin, gave us the cry of our lives. With the song being a ballad, whilst taking on a retro tone with a Brit pop feel, Jin gave us the high notes we had all been waiting for - finally! Moving on to their title track ‘IDOL’ which was a blend of EDM, traditional South Korean Music and South African Music showed us the versatility of BTS and the fact that they were not afraid to experiment. BTS not only brought us tears of joy but they also brought back ‘Save Me’. How? With their track ‘I’m Fine’, which by the way has been around since the beginning of the Love Yourself series, they brought back the beginning of ‘Save Me’ and gave us an EDM filled song which we could all enjoy and perhaps cry more to. The final new track called ‘Answer: Love Myself’ a slow, EDM song, was used as a way for BTS to spread the message of self-love, something which is needed but lacking. And yes, this song also brought us to tears! The final song, although not new, was remixed and let’s say, it was interesting. The legendary ‘DNA’ was remixed (Pedal 2 LA Remix) and this time, it heavily featured, electric guitars and drum beats over the EDM that it originally was. So, it is safe to say, that the conclusion of Love Yourself, ended with tears and a bang!
Like I said, all good things must come to an end. As I mentioned before, the Love Yourself Series ended with a bang and so has the song development series. While BTS go on a world tour, we wait patiently for their next album but most importantly hope that our boys are getting enough rest. From the 4 weeks of song development, BTS have taught us to cherish our childhood, look for the most beautiful moment in life, spread our wings, showed us that we are never alone but most importantly to love ourselves. This may be finale of the song development series, but that doesn’t mean that it won’t make a comeback… Right?!
Song Development
By
Shufei Chen
Hello, beautiful readers! Today I am back with another Throwback Thursday! You must be wondering where I disappeared off to for a week. Maybe I forgot?! Nope. A new schedule was put out so the next time you’ll see one of these pieces will be every 2 weeks! Enough introductions let’s get on with it. 2 weeks ago, I gave you ‘The Most Beautiful Moment in Life’ but what you didn’t know was that that’s not all. In fact, after The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, I show you the beautiful ‘Wings’ that we as people have and that in life ‘You Never Walk Alone’ because walking together makes the journey greater! I wonder what this week’s song development piece is on…
The Wings Series:
Wings:
‘Wings’ released in 2016, was the beginning of the growing success for BTS. This album was the first album to feature solo songs, each with their own genre and story, as well as group songs. The first song, ‘Begin’, by our Golden Maknae, Jeon Jungkook, takes on a more retro and EDM based genre, tells us the story of how the rest of BTS looked after him when he joined the group at a young age.
The second song, ‘Lie’, which is the solo song of Christian Chim Chim, Park Jimin, gives us a more ballad yet pop vibe, exploring the idea that sometimes we give in to temptation and lust by lying to ourselves to justify our actions.
The third song, ‘Stigma’, by our very own Vincent Van Gogh,
Kim Taehyung or V, is one of the more ballad-like songs on the album and explores the idea of guilt and can be said to be one of the more ‘sophisticated’ songs on the album.
The next song, ‘First Love’, is by our one and only Agust D or Min Yoongi or more commonly known as Suga, and it takes on the ballad genre, in the form of rap, talking about his first love - a piano.
The next of our solo songs is ‘Reflection’ by our president, Kim Namjoon or RM. Reflection takes on a retro style and sees RM reflect his singing more talking about self-love
and self-acceptance.
The second to last of the solo songs, is by Mr. Sunshine himself, Jung Hoseok or J-Hope, with ‘MAMA’ which is definitely one of the more upbeat and pop solo songs- dedicating this song to his mum, bringing smiles to all of our faces.
The final solo song, is ‘Awake’ by Mr Worldwide Handsome himself, Kim SeokJin, who talks about letting go and being able to fly, in this slow, ballad song.
Their title song in the album, ‘Blood, Sweat and Tears’, takes on a sultry style, with EDM/Trap being a major part of the song. But that’s not the only EDM style song on the album. Other songs include: ‘Intro: Boy Meets Evil’, sang by J-Hope, ‘Lost’, a song by the vocal line and ‘Interlude: Wings’, the outro to the song. ‘Cypher Part 4’ takes on the rap genre, with ‘Am I Wrong’ and ‘21 st Century Girl’ taking on the hip-hop genre and having a more upbeat tone. The final song, ‘2!3!’, the first fan song by BTS, takes the pop genre, with hints of ballad. From this album, it is no surprise that BTS shot to fame and success. They clearly showed their versatility and hard work through the album which gave them the ‘Wings’ to fly high.
Wings Playlist:
You Never Walk Alone:
‘You Never Walk Alone’, released in 2017, is a repackaged album, similar to ‘Young Forever’ in ‘The Most Beautiful Moment in Life’ series. It contains all of the songs from ‘Wings’ with an additional 3 songs to the album. As the songs on the Wings album have already been talked through, instead I’ll capture your attention once more, with the 3 new songs on the album. That’s right! ‘Not Today’, ‘Spring Day’ and ‘A Supplementary Story: You Never Walk Alone’.
Starting with the ionic ‘Not, Not Today’; this is a very upbeat song, taking a mix of the pop and hip-hop genre, telling us to keep on fighting and not give up!
In contrast with this song ‘Spring Day’, is a ballad song with
elements of pop and is about missing your loved ones dearly and waiting to see them once again - which is why you should never walk alone!
But the most awaited song: ‘You Never Walk Alone’, despite only being a 2-minute song, takes on the EDM genre, with elements of ballad, telling all of their listeners that ‘You Never Walk Alone’!
To conclude, it is clear that after listening to this album, you’ll realise, that you don’t have to go through things on your own, because BTS and ARMY are always by your side!
You Never Walk Alone Playlist:
Alas, this piece has come to an end… Time flies when you’re having fun, I guess! Well, 2016 and 2017, we gave BTS the ‘Wings’ to fly high and reach their dreams and in return they taught us that ‘You Never Walk Alone’. But that’s not the only message BTS have given us.
That’s right, join me next time, where we conclude the song development series. Because to ‘Love Yourself’ is how you learn to love others around you!
October 18th, 2018
Song Development
By
Shufei Chen
As Jungkook would say: ‘it’s been a while!’ Yes, indeed it has been; 2 weeks to be precise since our last Throwback Thursday piece and in case you’ve forgotten what was on two weeks ago, the clue is in the title. Yes, you’re right, it was a song development piece. Why am I doing this again? Well, BTS being the hard working and ‘rest is not in my dictionary’ humans they are, have way too many songs for my team and I to cover - so why not split it, we thought. To make things even more interesting, we split it by series! Our first piece saw Bangtan as wreckless school boys, in the School Series but this week, we see the sensitive side to our Bulletproof Boy Scouts, with the series that indeed brought them ‘The Most Beautiful Moment in Life’. Enough of my rambling, let’s get it!
The Most Beautiful Moment in Life Series:
Hwa Yang Yeon Hwa (HYYH) Pt.1 / The Most Beautiful Moment in Life Pt.1:
The start of ‘The Most Beautiful Moment in Life’ series saw BTS take a turn in genre. From their School series, you would have expected them to continue down the path of Hip-hop. But, no, reality hits us hard with their title song ‘I Need U’. Indeed, the title song, that won them their first music bank win, took the pop genre and stole the grand prize. Along with ‘I Need U’, ‘Hold Me Tight’- the first song that BTS’ Taehyung produced, ‘Converse High’, ‘Dope’ and ‘Moving On’ all have aspects of pop to the songs. However, they didn’t leave behind their roots, with their song ‘Boyz with Fun’, BTS showed us how they really are indeed boys having fun, with the song fitting the hip-hop genre. Their Outro ‘Love is Not Over’ showed us the soft side to BTS, with it being a ballad and their Intro ‘The Most Beautiful Moment in Life’, was the opposite- sang by Yoongi, this song took the rap style. All in all, the beginning of this series, not only marked the start of the most beautiful moment in life, it also marked the start of a new era and a new BTS - musically, of course!
Hwa Yang Yeon Hwa (HYYH) Pt.2 / The Most Beautiful Moment in Life Pt.2:
The second album in this series, followed a similar track to the first. With their title song ‘Run’ also being a pop genre. ‘Whalien 52’, which also gives off a retro feel, ‘Autumn Leaves, ‘Ma City’ which contains a lot of EDM and their outro, ‘House of Cards’, which, like ‘Whalien 52’, also gives off a retro feel, all containing aspects of pop in the songs. The intro, again, sung by Yoongi, gives us the rap style that BTS has and the iconic hip thrusting and rebellious song that is ‘Baepsae (Silver Spoon)’, channels the inner hip-hop in BTS. But this album is not just filed with bubbliness and a mission to kill, in fact, some may say, this album is also on a mission to make us cry and relax. Yes, the final song to have been mentioned is ‘Butterfly’, which has been by far the most ballad like song to have been released in the series. So BTS’ most beautiful moment in life comes to end as we explore the finale of ‘The Most Beautiful Moment in Life’ Series.
Hwa Yang Yeon Hwa (HYYH): Young Forever / The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: Young Forever:
As a wise man once said: ‘all good things must come to an end’. I’d call this series a good thing, so of course, it has to end. That’s right, this week’s piece is coming to an end, which means the end of an epic era - with the finale of ‘The Most Beautiful Moment in Life’ Series - ‘Young Forever’. This album is a repackaged album of the first 2 albums in the series, with the addition of 3 new songs, 2 full length edition songs of past songs and remixes of existing songs. As the other songs have been talked about, I’ll focus on the 3 new songs. First up, ‘Fire’; this song is in the hip-hop genre and is sure to get you moving. On the contrasting end, we have the Epilogue ‘Young Forever’, which is a blend of ballad and pop - sending out the message to not live with regrets and to chase after dreams. ‘Save Me’ the final song from the new album is one of the more EDM songs, which sits in the pop genre and is also another amazing bop! A successful and joyful end to a life changing series. This indeed was ‘The Most Beautiful Moment in Life’ - not just for BTS but for ARMYs too!
‘Forever, we are young’- a message that everyone should take away from this series. Clearly, we can see that BTS moved from Hip-hop and switched it up slightly to pop. But despite the changes, they still never forgot their roots. Join me next time as BTS gains the ‘Wings’ to fly and as they show us that ‘You Never Walk Alone’!
October 4th, 2018
Song Development
By
Emily Knight, Ethan Horton, Abbie Barnes & Shufei Chen
BTS, over the years have released several albums and hence songs. 12 albums to be precise and over 100 songs. With this vast amount of songs, it is guaranteed that different genres of music have been tried over the 5 years. So, for the next few weeks, we’re going to be seeing how their music has changed and how that has changed the songs they have released. As doing 12 albums all in one go would be a boring to read through and difficult to write up in a week, we’re splitting it- by series. This week… drum roll please… it is the School Series- consisting of their debut album, 2 Kool 4 Skool, O!RUL8, 2?, Skool Luv Affair and Dark & Wild! Let’s get started!
School Series:
2 Cool 4 Skool:
Their debut track “We Are Bulletproof, Pt. 2” shows their confident side aiming towards haters and saying that they don’t care what people see, they will do their own thing. This is quite different to their other title track, “No More Dream” which engages with youths who should be encouraged to chase their dreams, and therefore in a way, mocking haters who don’t have a dream of their own. The genre for the album is Hip-Hop with a harsh bad-boy vibe shown by their dances, clothing and lyrics. The album then features a more cute and slow song called “Like” which shows the other side of themselves, to show that they can have a cutesy, boyfriend side.
O!RUL8,2?:
O!RUL8,2? is BTS’ second album. The tracks inside of the album mainly tend towards the genre of rap. Keeping the theme and relating back to the groups style at the time. Majority of the songs on the album, take a dark yet upbeat tone, allowing BTS to continue to show us the hip-hop style that they were aiming for. Examples of songs being ‘Rise of Bangtan’, ‘We On’ and ‘Paldogangsan’- centred more around rap. However, the album also shows us the contrast and flexibility of BTS, with their title track ‘N.O.’ being more EDM, whilst still incorporating the hip-hop style they have on the album and also centring the style around rap. In contrast to this, their songs ‘Coffee’ and ‘Outro: Luv in Skool’ show us the ‘cuter’ side to the boys and having a slower style and a pop genre of music.
Skool Luv Affair:
The release of Skool Luv Affair saw the boys explore the ‘pop’ side of music, whilst still having their typical hip-hop style music. Their title track, ‘Boy in Luv’ showed us both genres of music, with the beginning of the song more hip-hop than the end of the song. ‘Just One Day’, another track on the album, then reflects the more ‘romantic’ and ‘pop’ style of music, with it being a lot calmer and relaxing compared to their title track. Then their song ‘Tomorrow’ takes on a more EDM style of music, with pop and hip-hop elements added to it. They later released a special edition version of the album, where they added ‘Miss Right’, with a style similar to ‘Just One Day’ but with it being more upbeat and ‘Like (Slow Jam Remix)’ a remixed version of one of their past songs from their debut album making it again, slower and calmer and more pop.
Dark & Wild:
In the Dark and Wild album, BTS used a variety of song genres varying from slow and smooth (pop style) to fast and upbeat (hip-hop style) music. The two title songs on this album, ‘Danger’ and ‘War of Hormone’ are more upbeat and hip-hop styled songs on the album. Along with these are ‘Second Grade’ ‘Cypher Pt 3: Killer’ and ‘Hip Hop Phile’. Contrasting these songs, we have ‘Let Me Know’, ‘Rain’ and ‘Embarrassed’, which take on a slower beat and a pop style. The order of this album works very well as they put the songs into little groups. Before the interlude they have two upbeat songs (the title tracks) and then two softer songs afterwards before putting in a break up song between the first and second half.
It is clear to see that in their first 2 years from debut, BTS were heavily focused around hip-hop and upbeat music. But despite the aim of being hip-hop group, BTS were still able to incorporate calmer and softer styles along with the pop genre into their albums, with them moving more into pop through the release of the albums in the school series. Join us next week, where we look at songs and albums from their Most Beautiful Moment in Life!
September 27th, 2018
Dance Development
By
Abbie Barnes, Ethan Horton, Emily Knight & Shufei Chen
BTS, over the years have continued to show us throughout their career how amazing they are at dance - with the choreography becoming more complex over the years. Complementing last weeks look at the dance development of the non-dance line; we take a look at the dance development of the dance line consisting of J-Hope, Jimin, Jungkook and more recently Taehyung.
Dance Line
Jung Hoseok (J-Hope):
Hoseok has always been known for his amazing dance skills. He has been a big help to the other members who were less confident in their dancing as he has had years of practise before debut. It is clear that his dancing started off as a hobby but after auditioning for BigHit and getting through, it was necessary for him to enhance his dance skills. However, he has never let anything dampen his love and natural rhythm for dancing, he has become more confident when showing off his moves which everybody seems to love, as shown through his famous “Hope On the Street” videos. His quirky videos have led to his viral “In My Feelings Challenge” video, which made it into Drake’s Official Video for the song, as well as being recognised by news channels around the world!
Here are a few videos to show you the dance development of J-Hope throughout the years:
Park Jimin:
Jimin started off in BTS as one of the best dancers and still continues to be today. He has been dancing since a young age, specialising more in contemporary dance; but since joining BTS, he has never failed to try new styles and amaze us with his skills. Although his dance skills are beyond description, Jimin has always suffered from low self confidence and often worries about getting moves wrong, leading to him practising for hours and hours. Being a part of the dance line from the beginning, Jimin has always tried his best in this area and recently with the choreography in ‘Fake Love’, ‘IDOL’ and his solo song ‘Serendipity’, Jimin shows us that he is still as flexible as he was 5 years ago and that along with his flexibility incorporating this into other styles of dance. He has not let the difficulty of choreography get the better of him. Jimin is not just our little mochi - he is our little dancing mochi!
Here are a few videos to show you the dance development of Jimin throughout the years:
Kim Taehyung (V):
Kim Taehyung has improved massively over the last 5 years with BTS and there is one clear improvement that we have all been able to see. Recently, Taehyung was added to BTS’ dance line, after the release of his solo song ‘Singularity’, which contained a vast amount of fast-paced choreography and he has continued to amaze us ever since. Taehyung was never originally supposed to be a main dancer but he has multiple skills with his dancing and singing, which has been shown through the years. Since his debut days he has only improved from all the practice and hard work he has put in. More recently we can see he has been given more centre stage with dancing and has been incorporated into more complex routines along with the other members. However, in the older more debut videos he was given some solos but not as long, or as many, as he is given now! For example, in ‘Just One Day’ he is centre for the chorus but less so during the verses in the song. This is just one of many examples that can be given. We hope that he continues to improve his skills and we cannot wait to see what else he has in store for us!
Here are a few videos to show you the dance development of Taehyung throughout the years:
Jeon Jungkook:
Jungkook is one of the more interesting members out of BTS, he's been dancing since the 7th grade, and has always been one of the better dancers of the group. This, therefore, helps him to stand out and be one of the more unique members. He, along with his stage presence really has helped Jungkook stand out from other members. When looking into Jungkook’s training it is clear to see how he has gotten this far, working with all the members, as well as going to America to develop his dance skills. With dances getting harder, and members feeling more comfortable, Jungkook has been able to showcase his unique style - something he found hard to do earlier with BTS. Our Golden Maknae never fails to amaze us with his skills!
Here are a few videos to show you the dance development of Jungkook throughout the years:
As we can clearly see, BTS’ Dance Line have continuously worked hard to continue to deliver their skills in dance and have never failed to disappoint us. Not just the dance line but the non-dance line also. We can clearly see that BTS collectively have never given up and always challenge themselves to new styles and difficulties of dance, without hesitation. BTS are not just Kings of the Music Industry, they are also Kings of Dance!
Credits:
J-Hope Dance Development 1: credit to ABBY RABBIT on YouTube
J-Hope Dance Development 2: credit to JAY AND KPOP on YouTube
Jimin Dance Development 1: credit to ABBY RABBIT on YouTube
Jimin Dance Development 2: credit to MarianneDraws on YouTube
Taehyung Dance Development 1: credit to Imporrtanteu Bijinessu on YouTube
Taehyung Dance Development 2: credit to V anee on YouTube
Jungkook Dance Development 1: credit to Mr.Potter on YouTube
Jungkook Dance Development 2: credit to Kai S. on YouTube
References:
https://aminoapps.com/c/btsarmy/page/blog/bts-dance-appreciation/1JVb_3JlU6udG5GqENEnGgRRK0j6mn5aVZX
https://aminoapps.com/c/k-pop/page/blog/jungkooks-vocals-appreciation/V3I7_u5kXj8Z2ZQBvJ2ew3gl2w4zMz
September 20th, 2018
Throwback Thursday- Dance Development
By
Abbie Barnes, Ethan Horton, Emily Knight & Shufei Chen
BTS are one of the biggest boy groups in the world. It is safe to say that they are very talented in all aspects of their career whether it's singing, rapping, performing and dancing. But all that talent has not always been there for them. It has all been achieved through their hours of hard work and dedication that they have put into improving these skills. To show fans the best version of themselves. For the past two weeks, we have been looking at their vocal developments, so to complement that, we thought it only fit to show you the dance development of BTS. This week we look at the non-dance line, consisting of Jin, RM and Suga.
Non-Dance Line
Kim Namjoon (RM):
RM’s dancing has developed massively over the years, mainly through gaining confidence in each comeback. As being labelled as the ‘lesser dancer’, he probably lacked confidence in his dancing and found it hard to keep up with the group synchronisation but slowly with the help of the other members and ARMY, he has grown to be confident when dancing to his part in a song. Over the years, we have seen him gain more centre spots where he not only raps but he dances as well. This is very warming for ARMY to see, as it makes us enjoy the stage more when we see him enjoying himself; he can only improve from here!
This video shows us his dance improvement over the past 5 years:
Video: RM Dance Development
Kim SeokJin (Jin):
Kim Seokjin has not been one of Bangtan’s central dancers but it doesn’t mean that he hasn’t improved. In fact, Jin has been known to have practiced even during breaks in their full group practice in order to be the best he can be. Jin has always been the vocal and visual focus and isn’t thought of for his dancing, as he isn't deemed one of the better dancers in BTS. Jin is one of the members that has improved the most, from hardly being seen at the centre of dances, to being at the front for a lot of the dance – more recently in their new song ‘IDOL’. BTS has confirmed themselves that they practice 12 hours a day, and in an interview RM has confirmed that within the 12 hours Jin consistently practices, even when other members are having their break. It is clear that Jin has improved hugely from debut and we look forward to seeing him thrive in his dancing!
This video will show you how he has improved over the years in his dance:
Video: Jin Dance Development
Min Yoongi (Suga):
Suga’s dance story is one of the more unique of the BTS boys; starting off as a rapper, he fit the style of BTS while adding a refreshing and uplifting tone when rapping. Something the group needed and was extremely happy they had him for. However, the problem for Suga is that he wasn't trained as a dancer, typically not being happy when dancing and not being able to have a connection with songs while dancing. Over the years, he has worked hard to develop this skill set and we can see that he is able to perform dances with his own style. He has become a lot more confident and has now had several moments in the centre compared to debut - with him having his own choreography in his solo song ‘Trivia: Seesaw’ which caught many ARMYs off guard. We cannot wait to see what else he has store for us!
To show you how he developed over the years, please take a look at this video:
Video: Suga Dance Development
It is clear that over the years, BTS have improved a lot and a clear difference is seen in the non-dance line of BTS. Despite being weaker at dance, they have never given up and worked hard to show us their best moves! Stay tuned next week, where we will be looking at the dance development of the dance line, J-Hope, Jimin, Taehyung and Jungkook.
Credits:
RM Dance Development Video – jungshook jams on YouTube
Jin Dance Development Video – jungshook jams on YouTube
Suga Dance Development Video –Imporrtanteu Bijinessu on YouTube
September 13th, 2018
Vocal Development
By
Ethan Horton, Emily Knight, Shufei Chen, &
Abbie Barnes
Abbie Barnes
Vocal Line:
It was clear
when BTS joined the music industry, they were very talented. Despite, the
struggles through the years, the success that they have today is beyond everyone’s
belief. Along with their success, they have been developing their skills over
they years.
For last week's Throwback Thursday, we looked at the vocal development of the rap line, so
this week, it’s the vocal line.
Kim SeokJin (Jin):
Jin is easily
the most interesting of the boys, having the most interesting story, Jin’s rise
to the top and development over time, is something to be admired.
Before the
start of his career Jin was an aspiring actor. This meant that he wasn't as
trained as the other members, relying on natural talent most of the time, and
having little experience in the music industry. Jin has shown some signs of improvement
since the start of his career. His work ethic and dedication to show his talent
to fans, is the reason behind his vocal talent now.
However, Jin has
always had a major problem with his confidence and lacking a wide vocal range-
he typically would sing a lower tone of voice with the other singers singing
inside of various different tones. But throughout the years, Jin has improved
this, developing his voice into a really unique and special tone. Being able to
sing inside of various different tones, as well as perfecting how to sing with
emotion, is something that makes him stand out when singing. He has improved on
his formality and changing his voice, which has now become effortless,
establishing himself as a key member of the group and a contrast to fellow
singer V, which when harmonising together, creates a great sound that is
amazing for the group changing the dynamic of the song.
Evidence of his
vocal development, would be through his solo songs. Jin’s first solo song with
BTS was ‘Awake’. The song is a great example of showcasing Jin’s voice, showing
off his tone, emotion used inside of the song, hitting a few high notes and
being able to switch between two different pitches. The second song, ‘Epiphany’,
from the ‘Love Yourself: Answer’ album. This song showcases his vocal
development further as he uses a lot of different tones, pitches and voices,
and has a wider vocal range, with his high notes being showcased in the song. Jin
sounded a lot more confident, with there being a lot more control and emotion
used inside of the song. This song showcases Jin’s technical abilities and really
does show how far he has come since debut. He not only is our Mr Worldwide Handsome;
he is also our Mr Worldwide Talented!
Here are a few
videos to show Jin’s live vocal development since debut:
Park Jimin:
Throughout BTS’
growth as a group, musically and individually, Jimin has shown a clear
improvement vocally. With his unique voice, we can see through recent songs
that he has learnt how to control and use is voice in the best way possible for
him. Therefore, hitting different and impressive notes at each comeback – his
vocals have become stronger since debut and he has only matured the talent he
started with. As their songs around debut were harder, rougher and quicker (totally
different concepts from their recent ones), we saw one side of Jimin’s vocals,
but as their songs have arguably become more calmer, we have been fortunate
enough to hear his voice mould into that concept. One example being ‘Serendipity’,
which gave us the chance to hear his distinctive voice for a whole song, and
with a more relaxing and laid-back tone which many people seemed to extremely
enjoy! In this song, he is able to showcase the different sides to his voice-
giving us high notes, as well as the wide vocal range, along with the emotion
that he puts into the song.
However, throughout
the years, Jimin has always been short of confidence and being his own harshest
critic, with other members, staff and fans telling him that his voice is perfect
the way it is. Through more recent years, we have seen a slight growth in
confidence and we hope that he continues to believe in himself more! Jimin is
our vocal angel!
Here are a few
videos to show Jimin’s live vocal development since debut:
Jimin Live Vocals 2
Kim Taehyung (V):
Kim Taehyung, a part of Bangtan’s
beloved vocal line. His deep, sometimes husky, voice suits varied song
categories. Since debut Taehyung has shown so much development from his solo in
‘No more Dream’ and then to his solo song ‘Singularity’ which both have very
different singing styles. In the earlier songs his voice is made to sound very
electronic and stretched out where as in newer songs such as ‘Singularity’ his
voice is a lot softer and natural. His development through all songs that have
been produced have been very evident. His warm up is a very different one to
most of Bangtan, as he does opera to warm up his voice. He can range from long
to short notes with different pitches throughout. For example, in ‘Stigma’ he
has a very long and high note that he needs to maintain and also jolt his voice
a lot to project it. Even though, originally, he wanted to be a rapper, his
voice was good enough to be a vocalist and during one of their newest songs
‘IDOL’ he has a chance to rap. Finally, in their ‘Home Party’ he was given the
chance to perform ‘Cypher
part 3’. Despite debuting and giving off the ‘growly’ voice like impression,
Taehyung has grown over time and been able to show us that he clearly has
talent with his voice.
Here are a few
videos to show Tae’s live vocal development since debut:
Jeon Jungkook:
Debuting as the
main vocalist and part of the vocal line in BTS, Jungkook has always had an amazing
voice. With BTS starting off as a hip-hop group, Jungkook also started off as a
sub-rapper, to help BTS fulfil the hip-hop group look. But as time went by, BTS
gradually became more pop than hip-hop allowing Jungkook to showcase his vocals
more. From the start, Jungkook has always shown us his amazing vocal range and
stability, getting better throughout the years, whether it be live performances
or studio recorded. More recently, his solo song ‘Euphoria’ has been able to
show us his vocal range, going from low notes to holding high notes as well as being
able to change voices. All of this and the emotion put into the song makes the songs
more touching and heartfelt.
Despite being
the main vocalist of BTS, Jungkook has not always been the confident person he
is now. Before debut, he struggled singing on front of people and often cried
when the other members asked him to sing a song for them- this being one of the
reasons why he started out as a rapper. However, as he grew, and as he
improved, he slowly started gaining the confidence and from time to time often
helps other members with their vocals and giving advice to them. It is safe to
say that Jungkook is indeed our Golden Maknae!
Here are a few
videos to show Jungkook’s live vocal development since debut:
It is safe to
say that despite all the fame and success that BTS have, they still continuously
work hard to show the best versions of themselves as possible. They are always
improving and always showing us a new side to their voices. Whether it be the
vocal line or the rap line. They have all been able to showcase their talents
and improve on their weaknesses and never fail to disappoint.
References:
Video Credits:
Jin Live Vocals 1: KINGTAEJIN on YouTube
Jin Live Vocals 2: jong. min on YouTube
Jimin Live Vocals 1: Miyu7 on YouTube
Jimin Live Vocals 2: jong. min on YouTube
Taehyung Live Vocals 1: MushyTae on YouTube
Taehyung Live Vocals 2: jong. min on YouTube
Jungkook Live Vocals 1: smile hoya on YouTube
Jungkook Live Vocals 2: jong. min on YouTube
September 6th, 2018
Vocal Development
By
Ethan Horton, Shufei Chen, & Abbie Barnes
Rap Line:
From the very start there was always a lot of talent and promise with BTS. With the group now being one of the more premier and famous K-pop groups and having a relatively good start in the K-pop industry when they debuted. However, even with the fame and success, just as with everything, there is always room for improvement.
This week’s Throwback Thursday we will be delving into the vocals of BTS - from both the rap and singing perspective. We start this week off with the rap line, who have consistently shown us their amazing rapping skills and tongue technology but more recently showing off their vocals in their solo songs on the new album - showing us that there is nothing they cannot do.
Kim Namjoon (RM):
RM is arguably one of the more developed and diverse members of BTS. Being the leader and the main rapper of the group, he has one of the better tones and rapping abilities. From the start of his career RM has always been a great rapper- taking the majority of the rap lines. With this being his main area of expertise, his main talent is doing a combination of both fast-paced and slow-paced rapping.
However, RM has now made of one his dreams a reality: saying on multiple occasions that he would like to sing a song and expand his talents from just rapping to singing as he had actually sung before, during a Festa, but not seriously.
He accomplished this when releasing his solo mixtape, showing off his talent and how much he has developed by singing and showing off a different side of him which most people didn’t know existed; he has clearly shown signs of improvements and brilliance whilst rapping solo. Showing off his different tones of voices, it is clear that he can do a bit of everything, as shown in ‘Voice’ and ‘I Believe’, and with control being his greatest asset he also goes out of his comfort zone by using his deeper voice within BTS songs and sometimes using a higher tone, as shown in some of the more recent albums released by BTS. He has also become very good with the control of his voice, developing a great awareness with his notes; what kind of tone of voice he needs to use to hit different types of notes and what impact these notes have on the group and the song.
At the start this caused a few problems as he was struggling to know what notes to hit whilst dancing. Over time he worked on his skills and now is something he has perfected, which can be shown due to him being able to rap confidently and extremely fast whilst dancing. It is clear to see that he has worked extremely hard over the years and has never given up on his dreams!
To see his vocal progression here are a few compilations of his voice live:
Min Yoongi is one of Bangtan’s most prized rappers and has developed greatly throughout the years. His extraordinary rapping skills never fail to impress anyone. He can transform his rapping from hard-core, for example ‘Agust D’, to soft more vocal rapping, in his new solo song ‘Trivia: Seesaw’ in ‘Love Yourself: Answer’.
From debut to now he has varied in styles suited for different songs, in ‘No More Dream’ he has quite a harsh rap as the song is quite upbeat. Whereas in ‘Just One Day’ his rap is a lot softer as the song has a much slower beat and is more of a softer song. This is shown throughout the years as in different songs he becomes softer gradually but then builds it back up in the newer songs. Another difference is in his mixtape where he has very harsh fast raps, in the song ‘Agust D’ compared to ‘So Far Away’ where his rap is softer, this is a very good combination as it can give the song emotion and feelings.
Within those aspects he is becoming more vocal. One song that demonstrates this the most is ‘Trivia: Seesaw’ where throughout the majority of the song he is confidently rapping whilst trying to pitch with the tune. Over the years, he has not been afraid to try different styles of rap and has shown us his vocal side, whether it be him messing around or him being serious. Min Yoongi has been getting much better with his vocal training and throughout his time in BTS he has become more confident to show his vocal side more. It is safe to say that Yoongi is not all rap tongue technology - he really does have that fragile and beautiful voice to him!
To see his vocal progression here are a few compilations of his voice live:
Jung Hoseok (J-Hope):
J-Hope originally auditioned for BTS as a vocalist but after spending time with both RM and Suga, before debut, he became interested in rap. Debuting as a member of the rap line, J-Hope’s rapping skills have never failed to disappoint. Although throughout the years, the amount of lines he received was not significant, every time he rapped, he made it memorable. His style of rapping is different from that of a ‘normal’ rapper, with his rap voice taking on a mixture of singing and rapping showing that he definitely is one of the more unique rappers in BTS. Through the release of ‘Spring Day’, ARMY's learnt that, although J-Hope didn’t have any solo parts, he in fact was the backing vocals for majority of the song. This was when ARMY's realised the vocal abilities of J-Hope.
Through the release of his mixtape we received more of his unique rapping style, along with a few vocals placed in there. Although, when on camera, J-Hope acts like he cannot sing along with the rest of the rap line, ARMYs know that the true voice hiding inside of him is amazing. The release of ‘Love Yourself: Answer’ gave J-Hope another chance to shine and he didn’t let it go to waste. His solo song ‘Trivia: Just Dance’ showcases not only his improved rapping ability but also his improved vocals. Trying different styles of rap and singing, whilst keeping the temp alive, he certainly made ARMYs proud.
His live vocals have always been strong but throughout the years, it has become more evident as his vocals seem to be improving as they have become more stable both without choreography and with.
To see his vocal progression here are a few compilations of his voice live:
From debut until now, it is safe to say that the rap line have never stopped growing and improving. They continuously work hard to give us a better result at the end and their hard work always pay off. They have shown us that they can sing, rap and dance - what is there that they cannot do!
Next week, we will explore the vocal development of the vocal line and see how they have progressed throughout the years!
References:
Credit to: smile hoya on YouTube for the videos
August 30th, 2018
BTS Music Videos Through the Years
By
Shufei Chen, Ethan Horton and Abbie Barnes
Over the last 5 years, BTS’ Music Videos have continuously grown and many themes have been explored. As their popularity has increased globally so have their Music Videos. In light of BTS’ most recent comeback with their title track ‘IDOL’ and its music video garnering over 45 million views in 24 hours, breaking Taylor Swift's record, this weeks Throwback Thursday will take us through their Music Videos - the achievements, themes and popularity over the years!
To start off, we thought we would take a look how their Music Videos have been growing in popularity as they have become popular. The following video shows us the number of views they have now on their music videos going all the back to their debut.
Credit to Abbie Barnes for creating this video!
Themes:
Over the years, BTS have released a total of 20 Music Videos; 9 Comeback Trailers; 2 Prologues; Highlight Reels; Short Stories and many teasers. All of these are said to link
together to create a story, with many theories being created around their MVs.
To see some examples of theories that ARMYs have come up with, please take a look at our Comeback Special piece released last week at the following link:
But amongst all of these MVs, BTS have never failed to deliver different themes with their music videos. Some of their earlier MVs entail BTS exploring themes such as rebellion - tending to be darker, such as ‘No More Dream’ and ‘Danger’, and love - tending to be lighter and happier, such as ‘Boy in Luv’ and ‘Just One Day’, with all their earlier work leaning towards more of the Hip-hop genre. However, in 2015, when ‘The Most Beautiful in Life Part.1’ was released, the tables turned. They not only moved away from Hip-hop, they also explored a much darker theme in their MVs. ‘I Need U’, the song gaining the first win for BTS, had 2 music videos. Reason being that there was a lot of violence and sensitive content in their original one. This MV explored themes such as suicide, murder, mental illnesses etc and is till one of the more sensitive MVs that they have released over the years; their MV for ‘Run’ also follows some of these themes.
Upon the release of ‘Wings’, their MV for ‘Blood, Sweat and Tears’ explored themes around lust and temptation and also had quite a few references to angels, devils and The Bible.
Their repackaged album following ‘Wings’, ‘You Never Walk Alone’, saw the release of 2 music videos both with different themes. ‘Spring Day’ explored the theme of losing a loved one and many say that it has references to the Sewol Ferry Tragedy which happened in 2014. ‘Not Today’, like ‘Fire’, being about standing up to people higher up and saying no. the two songs can be described as ‘anthems’ that young people should listen to.
The ‘Love Yourself Series’ exploring themes of love but different types of love. ‘DNA’ being about love with others and ‘Fake Love’ being about a love that doesn’t last. Their most recent Music Video, ‘IDOL’ including Traditional Korean and African Themes, whilst showing us the theme of love, as in love yourself or in their case, love myself.
Music Video Awards, Achievements & Records Broken:
Here we will also be focusing on the success of BTS and the impact that their music videos have had. Looking into how the MV’s have an effect on both Western and Eastern audience, with their recent success through sites such as YouTube and nominations to worldwide award ceremonies.
These awards vary with many coming from international award ceremonies where a lot of the boys MV’s shine and win awards. Varying for each song from the years 2016 -18 where they really started winning awards:
During 2016, the boys won numerous awards for songs such as ‘Blood, Sweat and Tears’ and ‘Fire’ with both the songs being nominated for 4 awards. 'Blood, Sweat and Tears’, winning 'Best Dance Performance' and being nominated for ‘Best Music' at the Mnet Asian Music Awards. 'Fire' winning 'Best Music Video’ for a boy group at KBS Music Video Bank MV Best 5. Along with this 'Blood, Sweat and Tears' was also nominated for the same award.
Going into 2017, BTS were once again back at the ‘Mnet Asian Awards’ winning the award for ‘Best Music Video’ with ‘Spring Day’ and also being nominated for ‘Best Dance Performance’ with ‘DNA’; which also won ‘Best MV’ at the ‘Melon Music Awards’ that year and ‘Blood, Sweat and Tears’ being the highlight once again, winning ‘Best Music Video’ award this time at the ‘Seoul Music Awards’.
As well as award ceremonies, BTS have also been impressive having a huge impact breaking world records as well as many awards in Korea with a lot of success which is something that has been happening a lot and is raised with the videos being up on social media such as YouTube.
On YouTube they have records for ‘Fastest Music Video’ to reach 10 million views with ‘Fake Love’ breaking this record within 4 hours and 55 minutes, they also hold the record for the ‘Most Viewed Music Video’ by a Korean group surpassing 350 million views with ‘DNA’ which is also part of another award along with ‘Fire’, ‘Dope’ and ‘Blood, Sweat and Tears’
being the only Korean group to have 4 music videos with over 300 million views.
This is as well as the most recent awards; they broke Taylor Swift’s Music Video record of 43.5 million views within 24 hours by getting more than 45 million views (according to some sources, although Army's put it at more than 56 million) within 24 hours for ‘IDOL’. 'IDOL' was also being the quickest video to reach 90 million views on YouTube.
By looking through these awards it is clear to see that BTS have won some really great awards both Korean and Internationally; also with there being a lot of awards won not only for best videos but performance and dance also; showing how popular just the songs are with the Music videos being a huge part of this success and how all their efforts put into their music videos have paid off.
Looking back over the years, it is clear to see that BTS have indeed become more popular and it is definitely shown through the view count and achievements but at the same time, they try to share messages with ARMYs which we can all take away. Let’s hope that BTS has reached the message of ‘Love Yourself’ to people all across the world and show them that they have made a difference to our lives!
References and Credits:
Video Credit to: Abbie Barnes
References:
August 2nd, 2018
Character Development Through the Years
By
Abbie Barnes, Phoebe Gray & Shufei Chen
Maknae Line:
From debut until now, BTS have shown growth; not just as a band but individually. The maknae line raised by BigHit and their hyungs, have definitely shown the most change regarding to personality. Travelling all around the world, the new experiences have surely influenced the way that they work, think and do.
Following up from the article posted last week about the Hyung Line and how they have developed as people, this week we focus on the Maknae Line. With them starting at BigHit at young ages, it is clear that they have developed as people and as artists over the years.
Park Jimin:
In the past, Jimin was very insecure about his physical appearance and his weight. He naturally has a rounder face and before the group debuted he had fairly chubby cheeks. Because of his insecurities concerning his appearance, it’s known that Jimin had put himself on an extremely strict diet (only allowing himself to eat one chicken breast a day), on top of the exercise and practice he was already doing with the rest of the group.
However, in late 2017 he was a lot quieter and never spoke unless he was spoken to. Many ARMYs think this was due to him struggling to speak Korean, i.e. he was speaking broken Korean due to the amount of English that he had to learn. Shortly afterwards, he regained his confidence and started to speak more and play around more with the members.
Image references:Following up from the article posted last week about the Hyung Line and how they have developed as people, this week we focus on the Maknae Line. With them starting at BigHit at young ages, it is clear that they have developed as people and as artists over the years.
Park Jimin:
In the past, Jimin was very insecure about his physical appearance and his weight. He naturally has a rounder face and before the group debuted he had fairly chubby cheeks. Because of his insecurities concerning his appearance, it’s known that Jimin had put himself on an extremely strict diet (only allowing himself to eat one chicken breast a day), on top of the exercise and practice he was already doing with the rest of the group.
During the past few years, since BTS’ debut, Jimin has become far more confident in himself and has been sharing some of the issues he’s faced in the past with others and the fanbase.
Even though he’s become more confident, Jimin has also become more reserved over time. Nearer debut, Jimin was often stereotyped along with the rest of the Maknae line as being ‘loud’ and ‘playful’, but over time has become more reserved and quiet as he’s matured. He has always had a kind-hearted and thoughtful personality, but as he’s matured alongside the other members, these features of him have become more and more prevalent. To some people, his change in personality has led them to believe he has become more introverted, however this is likely just an indication of his maturity.
Jimin not only has had insecurities with body image but also with his vocals. In the recent release of Burn the Stage, it was made clear that Jimin would often beat himself up about his performances, vocally. His lack in self confidence led to him being down and shedding tears over this matter. However, with the help of his members, whether it being with motivating words; or advice on how to improve his singing, Jimin soon got back on his feet and felt more confident about his abilities. Despite his lack in confidence, it is obvious to ARMYs how much his singing has improved since debut. He has a lot more control over what he does with his voice; is still able to reach high notes; and has tried experimenting different ways of using vocals in songs.
Jimin from the very beginning has shown us amazing dancing skills and over time, his skills have become a lot better and improved. Dancing is the one thing that tends to make him feel better about himself but at times, he does scold himself for not dancing well enough; or getting the choreography wrong. Despite all of this lack in confidence, Jimin has always been able to show a smile to ARMY and has never given up; instead he has tried and tried again.
Let's take a look at Jimin's evolution 2013-2018:
Source: Bangtan Kookies - YouTube
Kim Taehyung(V):
Throughout his time with BigHit, Kim Taehyung has improved with his confidence, his dancing, vocals and relationships with other members. Taehyung was a secret member of BTS so we therefore do not know much of him pre-debut, but he has not been as confident as he seems now. He is very caring towards the members and has a very innocent outlook on life.
In 2016, Kim Taehyung starred in the Korean drama called ‘Hwarang’ with many other idols, further building his confidence as he had to attend different press conferences without the support of his fellow members, as well as creating a new persona in order to fit the role that he had to play, playing the role of Han-sung, who soon became a loved character amongst the roles. This made him stronger as a person in the promotions of their new albums.
However, in late 2017 he was a lot quieter and never spoke unless he was spoken to. Many ARMYs think this was due to him struggling to speak Korean, i.e. he was speaking broken Korean due to the amount of English that he had to learn. Shortly afterwards, he regained his confidence and started to speak more and play around more with the members.
Along with the rebuilding of this confidence, Taehyung, was confirmed to be a new member of the dance line in early 2018, after the release of ‘Singularity’, which showed everyone, exactly how good he was at dancing in comparison to the earlier years when he struggled not only in dance but also in using his vocals to the best of his abilities. His hard work shows us his dedication in wanting BTS to thrive. The improvement of his vocals was proven with the release of ‘Love Yourself: Tear’ and ‘Face Yourself’, in which he obtained more lines, showing us his improvement vocally.
Let's take a look at Taehyung's evolution 2013-2017:
Over the years, he has worked hard in
production of music and with the release of ‘Love Yourself: Tear’, his role as
a producer was made with him earning production credits for the ‘Magic Shop’, a
song dedicated to ARMYs. 
Let's take a look at Taehyung's evolution 2013-2017:
Source: Bangtan Kookies - YouTube
Jeon Jungkook:
Jeon Jungkook
has been one of the members that has improved most from debut. As he is commonly
known as the ‘Golden Maknae’, he is thought to be absolutely perfect at
everything. As we obviously know, he isn’t but instead, over the years, he has
improved in all aspects of his work and character.
One example
is stronger vocals. It is fair to say that every member of the vocal line and
even the rap line has worked hard to improve their vocals. Jungkook is deemed
to be the main vocalist in the group and so bares a huge role. With this being
said, over the years, he has been able to become more confident and fluent with
his vocal skills, trying new things such as new pitches, speeds, along with the
length of time he can hold a note.
He has been given less rapping opportunities
but it has not held him back as he continues to work diligently in improving
the skills he currently has. From crying because he was shy to singing in front of the members, to becoming the main vocalist of the group, it is clear to say
that he indeed has improved and has worked hard to become the singer that he is
now.
He has always
been a part of the dance line and even went to America to improve his dance
skills. His hard-work has been rewarded with him gaining centre positions in
dances as well as him being given the opportunities to show off his complex dance
skill in different dances and routines.
Over the years, he has worked hard in
production of music and with the release of ‘Love Yourself: Tear’, his role as
a producer was made with him earning production credits for the ‘Magic Shop’, a
song dedicated to ARMYs. 
Not only has
he been able to develop his skills in work, but he has managed to develop
skills in everyday life, beginning with the relationships that he has built
with the members over the years. When he was a trainee at BigHit, he couldn’t
eat or change in front of the members. With help from Taehyung, Jungkook is
now much closer with the other members and is not as shy as he was originally.
His closeness with Taehyung is in particularly special as Taehyung was the one
who supported him with building his confidence up. Their close relationship can
be shown by the skin ship that they have between them, spending time together
off camera and always having a laugh when in a team together. In a past
interview, Suga did say that Jungkook had the best relationship with J-hope; him being the member that Jungkook went to if he had problems and being the
first member Jungkook would show his music that he produced to.
Let's take a look at Jungkook's evolution 2013-2017:
Source: Bangtan Kookies - YouTube
It is clear
to see that over the past 5 years, the maknae line has indeed matured a lot
personality wise and grown as artists. They have always tried their best
to give ARMY the best of them and have never given up. They always show big
smiles even when times are tough personally, and worked through it. No matter how old
they are; how far away they are, they will always be purpled dearly by ARMY.
We hope that you have enjoyed this article, please join us again next time. Leave a comment or a suggestion below if you'd like us to cover something you would like to see.
Jimin Picture 1
Jimin Picture 2
Taehyung Picture 1
Taehyung Picture 2
Jungkook Picture 1
Jungkook Picture 2 - Producer credit @JK_in_me
Jungkook Pitcure 3
Jungkook Picture 4
July 26th, 2018
Character
Development Through the Years
By
Ethan Horton, Emily Knight and Shufei Chen
Hyung
Line:
As BTS have
gotten bigger as a group we can see the growth and development of the members
themselves, and if you have been a fan for a while this will have been more
evident. It is clear that over the years the group has gotten a lot of
attention from the media due to their sold out concerts and the recent successes
abroad with albums; especially on iTunes and their appearances on shows like
Ellen, Kimmel, and The Late Late Show with James Corden. We can see how their characters
have definitely lived up to the hype, and always changing their image and becoming
better in all aspects as a group; making them stronger as a team than ever. We
will be looking at their character development over the year; this week
focusing on the hyungs of the group.
Kim Namjoon (RM):
It was clear
that he wasn't the best dancer within BTS, and along with the group being so
young, he maintained his tough strong look, whilst matching the genre of the
songs made by the boys.
However, Kim
Namjoon was also not the man he is today; he is the leader that he is now due
to his past experiences. Being leader; looking after the members, taking the
lead while going to different countries; being the main translator and changing
his image to match the songs but also maintaining his kind and sweet
personality at the same time. We can really see how he has blossomed over the
years clearly showing how he is made to be a leader.
It is clear
he is a lot more comfortable and confident when dancing, embracing the skill
that is not natural to him. Keeping up with all of the other members and clearly
putting in the effort and developing over the years. This shows how he has
matured and the time he spent in improving himself; showing him as the leader
of the group.
This is in addition to his singing during the years since
the beginning; he has been improving and sung small parts in some BTS songs.
Let's take a look at RM's evolution 2013-2017
Source: Bangtan Kookies - YouTube
Kim Seokjin (Jin):
Over the
years, Jin looks have not changed much. He, as many ARMYs have said, has become
more handsome and younger looking. His personality has opened up more; he was a
much more serious and quieter person during the debut era. Feeling it his responsibility
as the eldest, but as he grew in confidence his real personality began to
shine. Acting as the maknae of the group and always up for having a laugh,
however over the 5 years, he has become more mature and responsible cooking often
for the group; looking after the members etc. His habits have stayed more or
less the same, with him still eating as much; still telling his dad jokes and
his iconic windshield wiper laugh; it’s all still there!
Let's take a look at Jin's evolution 2013-2017
Source: Bangtan Kookies - YouTube
Min Yoongi (Suga):
While Suga’s looks may have changed a lot since their debut, his actions, dreams and motives have probably stayed unchanged. From the bad boy vibes in No More Dream to the cool style in Dope, right through to the bright and cute look in DNA, his dream to share his opinions and give hope to others in times of need through his music lyrics has always been the number one priority for him.
While Suga’s looks may have changed a lot since their debut, his actions, dreams and motives have probably stayed unchanged. From the bad boy vibes in No More Dream to the cool style in Dope, right through to the bright and cute look in DNA, his dream to share his opinions and give hope to others in times of need through his music lyrics has always been the number one priority for him.
Suga was
known to be the quiet one who either slept all day and was too tired to get up
and eat food or wrote lyrics, gathering fans, who found him funny, after saying
he would like to be a rock in his next life.
He is a vital
part of the team and has helped them gather awards from Korean and American
award shows as well as the love of fans from all around the world. He is tired
at times… but underneath is a hardworking man who treasures the fans, who listened
to his music and stayed by their side when they thought they would fail; underneath
is a 25 year old man who has gained an immense amount of confidence through the
years and appreciates each and every one of his members for how they have
helped him and allowed him to help them.
Jung Hoseok (J-hope):
Let's take a look at Suga's evolution 2013-2018:
Source: Bangtan Kookies - YouTube
Jung Hoseok (J-hope):
J-hope is one of the most interesting
and successful members of BTS, he has achieved one of his ultimate goals and
has been very optimistic since day 1, wanting success and planning to release
his own album one day. After a lot of hard work, J-hope managed to accomplish
this goal by releasing his first solo mixtape ‘Hope World’ in March 2018.
This
album shot up to number 19 on the US Top Rap Albums Chart clearly showing why
he is one of the key rappers inside of BTS. While his singing still isn't the
greatest, his presence, positivity and work ethic never goes unnoticed. He
always has remained the same, and I don't think the members would want him to
change in any other way. He is a delight for fans; becoming more confident, making
jokes and always making us laugh.
In terms of his skills, J-hope has
made huge improvements inside of all genres of dance, he took the talent he
always had, and embraced them by training hard. He is the lead dancer inside of
BTS, moving more towards the centre, in recent years, compared to previously
also being placed at the back.
Let's take a look at JHope's evolution 2013-2018:
Source: Bangtan Kookies - YouTube
It is evident that over the 5 years, BTS’
Hyung line has taken time to improve on their skills as well as making sure
that their personalities remain unchanged. No matter how hard a time they are
going through, they always manage to keep smiles on their faces and have hearts
of pure gold for all ARMYs to see. They always want to give the best versions
of themselves to us and we purple them for that! Next week, we will get to see
how BTS’ Maknae line has developed-please look forward to that!
Image references:
RM Picture 1
RM Picture 2
Jin Picture 1
Jin Picture 2
Suga Picture 1 - NMD
Suga Picture 1 - Dope
Suga Picture 1 - DNA
Suga Picture 2
JHope Picture 1
JHope Picture 2
Image references:
RM Picture 1
RM Picture 2
Jin Picture 1
Jin Picture 2
Suga Picture 1 - NMD
Suga Picture 1 - Dope
Suga Picture 1 - DNA
Suga Picture 2
JHope Picture 1
JHope Picture 2
July 11th, 2018
Happy Armyversary: #PurpleARMYDay
By
Shufei Chen & Shinara Hussain
In case you weren’t aware ARMY’s celebrated an
anniversary a few days ago. What anniversary you may be asking? Unless you’re
new to the fandom you will know that it was 5 years ago on the 9th
of July 2013 that BTS revealed our official fan club name; A.R.M.Y.
A month after their debut, the boys went on
their fancafe account to announce that the fandom name had been finalised and
that it was officially called A.R.M.Y (아미).
Standing for Adorable Respresentative M.C for
Youth, the name has a much deeper meaning behind it.
BTS’
Korean name is “방탄소년단” (Bangtan Sonyeondan) which translates to
“Bulletproof Boy Scouts”. BTS named us ARMY because it is associated with the
military, and the Bulletproof Boy Scouts are like armour; they both go hand
in hand together.
ARMY’s
will always be with BTS; we will always have each other’s back; we will
faithfully and tirelessly fight for them, so there is no use in separating us.
Image source: Pinterest
“MC”
is also a term that refers to the Master of ceremonies; the person who is in
charge of the smooth running of any event, making us the face of BTS. What we
do, or say; our actions reflect on BTS.
ARMYs
GOT EACH OTHERS BACKS
Ever since the fandom was
created, ARMY’s have always supported each other. Regardless of language,
country, ethnicity; we all care for each other. Throughout the years, this
fandom has grown and the support for BTS within ARMYs has continuously grown.
One prime example is trending
hashtags. It doesn’t matter which ARMYs start it; doesn’t matter where those
ARMYs come from; it doesn’t matter how busy ARMYs are, we all contribute to
helping the hashtag trend.
ARMYs from all over the world help and support each
other in making BTS related hashtags on Twitter trend. From BTS’ Comebacks to
ARMY dedicated events to appreciation for individual members, ARMYs always
manage to work together to let BTS see the love that exists between them and
ARMYs and the team work of all ARMYs from around the globe.
Let’s take a look back at a few of the hashtags and the variations of the topics that trended regarding BTS:
The first example are the hashtags:
·
#BTSWORLDTOUR
·
MORE DATES TO COME
·
#LOVE_YOURSELF
These hashtags trended on the 26th of April
2018 when BTS announced their Love Yourself World Tour; ARMYs all over the
world tweeted about the big news, and it was no wonder that they were able to get
3 hashtags on twitter trending on the same day.
The
following hashtags:
- #JungkookAppreciationDay
- #KimNamjoonInspiresMe
- #Kim Taehyung
These are
examples of times when ARMYs all over the world worked together to let BTS
members know how appreciated and loved they are by their fans. Most of the time
when these hashtags trend, it can be due to hate from people about that
particular member or a special project put together by ARMYs which get carried
out regardless of where ARMYs are in the world.
The
final example is:
#NoWallsBetweenARMY
#ARMYSelcaDay
These
hashtags are used to show the love of every ARMY, to
show how ARMY love each other regardless of language, country and regardless of
their looks.
With
a lot of these hashtags, it takes time and hard work and most important of all
teamwork in order for them to trend. With ARMYs always helping each other, we
ARMYs learn to bond; we become a family and not just a fandom.
We learn to see
the deeper meaning of ‘fandom’ and how that being a fandom does not necessarily
mean just liking each other because of BTS but loving each other because of who
we are and learning to accept each and every member of the fandom. We always
have each other’s’ backs and we never let anyone or anything stand in our way.
We fight as a team to achieve great things.
The
love for each other doesn’t just stop there. To make each and every ARMY feel
connected to one another, we ARMY created different nicknames to call each other from
different parts of the world.
Examples:
- · K-ARMY: K-Diamonds (Korean ARMY)
- · I-ARMY: I-Lovelies (International ARMY)
- · J-ARMY: Jems (Japanese ARMY)
- · C-ARMY:C-uties (Chinese ARMY)
There
are many more names for ARMYs in different countries, with each country
adopting its own nickname.
These
clearly show us that the bond between ARMY is indeed very strong and hard to
break. There is no barrier that can separate ARMY; we are stronger than the
barriers and we break all that come in our way!
ARMY,
WE PURPLE YOU!
Here are some tweets from ARMY's to celebrate including one from the leader himself wishing ARMY's a Happy ARMY Day:
오늘은 #aRMy 창단 5주년 ~!!
#HappyARMYDay
Posted by RM on the day he wrote:
Today is the 5th anniversary of #aRMy!
Posted by @ImThirsTaeKim
Tweeted by @Bangtan_India
We
You
YouTube: Golden Sugakookie
This 2nd video was written and composed by an Army @dailyhoping called:
Global ARMY Song for BTS - "We'll Be Fine" by Gracie Ranan ft. ARMY.
*YouTube: Daily Hoping
We hope you enjoyed this article, please come back next time for more Throwback Thursday.
References:
(2) Global ARMY Song for BTS - "We'll Be Fine" by Gracie Ranan ft. ARMY (2018 MV) - YouTube(2) Happy 5th Anniversary ARMYs | #PurpleARMYDay - YouTube
https://twitter.com/BTS_twt/status/1016213442489806848S
https://twitter.com/BTSintensified/status/1016581454258634752
No
More Dream: The Story Behind Its Choreography; MVs and Its Impact
By
Ethan Horton and Shufei Chen
A huge part of BTS' music videos is the dancing, they are precise and in sync with each other; the clean execution shows the hours of practice and dedication that goes into it, which makes it look so effortless. We will be exploring the choreography of
No More Dream, looking into the dance and the different videos released, the success of the Official Music Video compared to the
Choreography Video. In addition, we consider the dance
of the Music Video and what its impact was and still is; the impact this had on
the group, as well as how it set BTS up for the future and why it is so
crucial to their success and why we enjoy them as much as we do.
Music
Video Comparison:
Here we will be comparing the different Music Videos
used and the success by determining factors such as
views and going into details about which ones have the highest percentage of
likes; determining what videos are liked the most; why this is and what effect
the dance has as well as the
differences in each of the dance videos.
While
looking into this comparison, we used YouTube to gather statistics and it was
clear that the most viewed of the three videos was the No More Dream
(Dance Version), that was found on the official page of 1theK, with the video
having over 56.8 million views. This version was posted on 16th June
2013, 5 days after the release of the official MV, posted on 11th
June 2013, which has 41.6 million views, 15 million views less than the
Dance Version and 45 million views more than the Dance Practice Video created
by BTS for No More Dream, uploaded on 20th July 2013, with this
clearly being the least viewed video.
However, there can be a lot of factors why a
video is viewed; so to gain a deeper understanding, we checked the percentage of likes for each video from YouTube, to see what
people thought of the video and whether it was enjoyed or not.
When comparing percentage of likes, these were the
results. The first video, the Dance Version MV, has over
708 thousand likes and 10 thousand dislikes giving an overall percentage of
98.6% of the audience liking the video. This is the second most liked video
behind the Official MV for No More Dream, which has 995 thousand likes but also
having 10 thousand dislikes resulting in a final percentage of 98.96%.
This results in the official MV gaining 287 thousand more likes than the Dance
Version, making it more popular. As to deciding which is a better video is much harder to judge as personal choice is subjective.
However, this does further show the importance of
the dance as usually the MV’s are viewed more than Dance Versions or Dance Practices of the songs. With No More Dream, there is a clear
difference with the amount of views and the likes given to the video, with the eventual result being the Dance Version of No More Dream being a lot
more successful. We can see that the impact an MV has on
people plays a major role in the success of a song.
Here is the link to watch the Official MV:
Here is the link to watch the Dance
Version:
Choreography
Analysis:
As
the No More Dream Dance Version seems so
popular, we decided to further analyse
the choreography of this song and see what makes it so popular by using the
Dance Practice. 
The way that it is choreographed is clever and enables
BTS to use the sounds within their song to create further impact for the
viewers that it is a very strong and powerful song, agree with me on this! 
At 2:35 Jimin, indeed,
flashes his abs, and it’s in this moment in time, I’m sure many ARMYs felt
attacked and felt their heart skip a beat whilst fangirling or fanboying even
harder than they already were. After this, all the boys stand in a line behind
one another and using their bodies to make circles. The transition from member to
member is achieved in this way, with the beat drop occurring as the members
stand upright again and when the voice changes, the member also changes.For
the final part of the song, as the beat builds up, the boys
The choreography starts with BTS posed as ‘cool’
kids with the immediate vibe of the song being a hip-hop, bad boy type dance.
As RM starts the rap, BTS further show the audience their swag and their ‘bad
boy’ attitude. The boys then start their in-sync dancing with the singer/rapper
doing something different to the rest. This happens throughout the verses
before the chorus. They used multiple dance techniques such as canon and
synchronised dancing.
When
the chorus starts, BTS form a triangle with the singer being part of the group
dance and they, again, show synchronisation. As the chorus starts, they all
jump in time to the beat drop and throughout the chorus show continuous power
and strength in their dance moves. With these powerful dance moves, viewers get
the impression that this song is very upbeat and also powerful.
Throughout the
chorus, the triangle breaks but also reforms into different variations of the
triangle at the start of the chorus.
BTS
were particularly clever, in mixing in their sound effects with their
choreography. At 1:48, the sound of a gunshot can be heard, with this Suga
‘shoots
Throughout the dance, the boys show strong energy
and power. The strength of their dance moves gives the viewers ideas as to what
the song is about, without the need of having to read the lyrics or the
lyric translations. The killer part and most iconic part in No More Dream, as
I’m sure a lot of fans would
continue with their
strong moves and when the beat drops, they stand next to each in a straight
line with their backs facing the audience. As the beat builds up once again,
Jungkook carries Jimin across the backs of the other members, with them
reaching the end as the beat drops one final time. The boys end the dance in
the positions that they originally started with.
The choreography for No More Dream overall is very
powerful and no doubt, leaves the viewers wanting more. BTS
released an extended version with a dance break towards the end.
Here is the link to watch the Dance Practice:
Here is the link to watch a clip of the Dance Break for
the Extended Version:
It is safe to say that BTS really meant business
with their debut single. The strong vibes given off throughout the song and the
dance showed the viewers that they were indeed very talented and had the full
package. Although the Dance Version was more popular, everyone could probably
agree that this song really did set BTS in the right direction for their start towards stardom.
With just this one song, BTS were able to show
that they had the looks, the moves, the voices, the personality, the talent and
indeed the determination to get to where they are now.
We hope you enjoyed this throwback to No More
Dream and join us again next week for more.
References:
Images:
All images are screenshots of the Music Videos
linked in the above article.
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