Know The Team Through BTS - Eve

Driving with BTS - by Eve

Intro: O!Rul8,2?

I discovered this song from being part of the BTS Radio UK Spotify team, it was one of the songs I had heard when I had first sat down to fall into the BTS wormhole but I hadn’t given it the time and attention It had deserved.

This is my original write up of the song:

“One of the shortest songs on the O!Rul8,2? Album at 1 minute 10 seconds doesn’t mean it doesn’t pack a ton of feelings into it.

RM is telling the listener about a moment in his life where he realised he was living someone else’s life and he doesn’t know how it happened. His passionate rap really makes this intro so moving and exciting.

He tells you to stop and recognise that you only have one life, and you should live it your way, not anyone else’s.  Whether that’s your parents', your friend's, your bully’s, your teacher’s, whoever you must live for yourself and your dreams and it’s not too late to make that change.

When I listen to this song I feel empowered and ready to take life by the horns and to teach it a lesson.

RM used a line from this song in his recent speech in front of the UN to promote BTS’ partnership with UNICEF, part of the global initiative, Generation Unlimited and the #EndViolence project.

"In an intro to one of our early albums, there's a line that says, 'My heart stopped when I was maybe nine or ten.' Looking back, I think that's when I began to worry about what other people thought of me, and started seeing myself through their eyes. I stopped looking up at the night skies, the stars, I stopped daydreaming. Instead, I just tried to jam myself into the molds that other people made. Soon, I began to shut out my own voice and started to listen to the voices of others."

I listen to this song every day now, because the powerful stirring lyrics stayed with me after I had re-discovered it, I especially like to listen to it on my drive home from work.

I love the backing music to RM’s initial monologue the piano just draws me in and builds the emotion and the addition of the siren/horn once he starts to rap completes the song.

Serendipity

I could listen to Jimin sing Serendipity over and over, this song makes my playlist because of the cosy warm feeling I get from it.  It’s a hug, a love story, a dream.

I love to sing along to Serendipity, it’s also my ring tone and I love it when people ask me what was that song and when I tell them they raise their eyebrows and I know they will be looking it up when they get home.

I think Serendipity is the rare bright days we have, when the doom and gloom lifts, just for a bit and shows us how beautiful everything can be.

And who doesn’t want Jimin to sing “just let me love you” to them.

When I saw they had added an extended version to Love Yourself: Answer I was so excited, the song was perfect to start with and I couldn’t wait to hear how it could be extended but it really added a different layer to Jimin’s voice in the newest version.

Don’t Leave Me

Making this list I’m noticing that I listen to BTS mainly when I’m driving and I love a song with a loud beat, a build-up and a chanting chorus when I’m heading down the motorway or through my village at top volume, with the windows down.  Don’t Leave Me has all of those things.

This is where I always find myself singing along at the top of my voice when the chorus starts and then joining in with Suga, J-Hope and RM’s rap.

I especially love the string instruments that just make this song soar.

This is what I call a power balled, the build ups, the quiet moments to the high intensity rap and chorus.

Ma City

Ma City has always been one of my favourite BTS songs; it’s such an uptempo, infectiously fun song with so many different kinds of musical influences.  It’s fun beat runs all the way through along with the guitar keeping the tune quite retro in its feeling.

I love how this song gives some members the opportunity to sing and rap about their home towns, this makes me feel even happier when listening to it.

Hearing the love they have for their home cities and the enthusiasm they put into singing this song, the heartfealt rap verses and the rifs added to show how much they love the tune that is a tribute to their homes.

The chorus sung by Jimin, V, Jungkook and Jin is so catchy and with the repeating la la la la la and the fun shouty way they sing it.

It makes me feel summery and happy, it really is one of my favourite BTS songs and it has one of the most perfect endings, V’s laugh.  What more can you say.

Begin

I love love this song, Jungkook has the most perfect voice.

The beat the drums all come together to make this an amazing song and the whole concept behind the song looking through Jungkook’s eyes and his journey of growing up in the limelight as a member of BTS make me love it even more.

Begin credits his six brothers with making him, they helped him discover emotions and grow to the man he is today. Their kindness and willingness to help him be comfortable and grow and still have a childhood are what made him, him.

He also goes onto to explain how his weakness is seeing them in pain and that is when his pain is the greatest, when they cry.

The song has a bouncy euphoric feel to it that gives you the feeling that even though Jungkook is singing about pain, he is also singing about his inspirations.

Fake Love

I absolutely love this song, I could and have listened to it over and over and over.

It’s such a dramatic song, it builds and builds throughout to get you to invest your emotions into every word.

The opening chorus sung by V and Jungkook instantly introduces you to the dark and serious undercurrents of the songs theme.

Love and the imperfectness of it, how it is your everything but at the same time it makes you lose yourself.  Fake Love takes you to the moment of realisation of what has been happening but it still leaves you wondering about this relationships outcome did they lose themselves completely or did they end this toxic relationship.

There are so many beautifully written lyrics in this song:

“I wish love was perfect as love itself

I wish all my weaknesses could be hidden

I grew a flower that can’t be bloomed in a dream that can’t come true”

These lyrics hit me and stuck with me.

I think this song is going to stand the test of time and people in 50 years will listen to it around the world and will love it as much as me.

I Need U

I Need U has always stood out to me as one of my favourite BTS songs, mainly in the beginning for the tune. The way the song opens with Jungkook’s opening with his breathy fall, fall intro.  It leads into building a tune with Suga rapping to a building rhythmic beat that makes you feel the urgency of the feelings behind the song. The backing sweeping notes that are present at the beginning of the song give the song a deceivingly light-hearted feel, which combined with the strong building and dropping beat over the top brings you in and out of the emotions of the song.

The song is about a situation most people can relate to, the feeling of knowing that the relationship is over, it hurts but you want to go back and be with them.  The only way to move on is to hear the other person say it was never real, it was never love otherwise those feelings will always be there lingering in memories.

My favourite lyrics of the song are J-Hope’s verse:

You can’t do this to me

All of the things you said are like a mask

It hides the truth and rips me apart

It pierces me, I’m going crazy, I hate this

Take it all away, I hate you

His verse really encompasses the intense feelings of hurt and despair over this failed relationship.

Boy Meets Evil

When I listen to the song and read the lyrics I see J-Hope being drawn to evil, a relationship that no one approves of but he ignores their concerns and runs towards the danger. 

He knows it's not good, but the sweetness of what is anticipated and expected draws him in and even through this internal tug of war he keeps turning away from the warnings. It's a dark subject that could be about a girl or about the pitfalls of becoming famous and being drawn to the evils of fame.  

The song lyrics were written by J-Hope and RM and it shows the maturity of their song writing skills to take such a subject and make is so relatable to the life of their fans and their own struggles.  

This love is another name for the devil

Don’t hold her hand I shouted but turned away from my conscience I feel the sharp reality more every day There’s red blood from being torn apart by reality I never thought that The greed would become the trumpet heralding hell Breathe  

The overall feel of the music in Boy Meets Evil is dark, the instrumental build up to J-Hopes breathy first words to his emotional voice shouting how strong and hard this decision has been to make and the anthem of "It's too sweet, it's too bad, it's too evil"; making it into a mantra telling himself to not only make a decision but to make the right decision.  

*I have to add making this playlist was a joy and a nightmare in one, who could possibly pick only 6 songs for their favourite BTS songs.*

You can Drive with BTS & Eve by listening to her Spotify playlist at the following link: Driving with BTS - by Eve