7: Comeback Diaries - Michayla Rap Phase 1



Phase 01

by

Michayla Rap

My first comeback was Love Yourself: Answer and what a whirlwind that was! I became ARMY, sat and watched the IDOL MV release, pre-ordered the album and went to both concerts at the O2. 


It was such a whirlwind, that if I’m honest, I don’t remember much about the specifics. My Daughter and 2 nieces are responsible for my ARMY status and it was all so new at the time that I think I was more focused on their reactions.

Since Love Yourself: Answer, that now feels like it was a million years ago, we have had ‘Map of the Soul: Persona’ in April and I do remember the buzz around the concept photos and waiting for the track list and teasers but this comeback has been a whole different ball game.

The excitement and confusion peaked when the phases were released on Twitter and I knew we were in for one hell of a ride.

10th January - The anticipated trailer: Shadow. 3pm GMT arrived and my phone lit up with social media notifications that the MV had arrived. The fact that the schedule said ‘comeback trailer’ made me think we would be getting a minute of an MV that would leave me desperate for more and with more questions than answers.


Instead I was shocked to the core and watched the entire Shadow MV with my mouth open, not quite sure what it was that I was seeing and replaying it straight away so that I could form a thought process. 

Several replays later and I’m not sure I was doing any better than my initial reaction but knew that the song was an absolute bop and Yoongi looked phenomenal. I was also left with questions because we now knew that Shadow was a song, not one of the MOTS albums as we suspected.

14th and 15th January - Connect BTS. I think this had caused so much speculation that by the time we were told exactly what it was, I wasn’t sure what was happening any more. BTS being the artists they are, connected their love of art into this comeback by inviting artists who share the BTS philosophy, to be a part of the project. 

Personally, I wouldn’t usually go to an art exhibition, unless it was a theme that resonated with me but I have enjoyed looking at the artists work on the Connect BTS website and following each city as it is released.

I do have a love of learning and feel that this new dimension to a comeback has certainly opened a door for me. BTS are continuing to pave the way.

17th January - 1st single release and art film. I had zero expectations when this day arrived. I had been blown away by Shadow and without any actual idea of concept, I went into this more or less blind. 

9am GMT came and the world of social media turned chaotic as the links were put out there for all the music platforms and of course the link for the MV performed by MN Dance Company. It was all a bit crazy and the first time I listened to ‘Black Swan’ I was busy adding it to Spotify playlists, retweeting everything and buying it on as many platforms as I could. 


I listened to it about 5 times before I then watched the MV and the whole day was spent in a haze of ‘Black Swan’. I’m not sure if this comeback feels busier and more chaotic due to the fact that we have a schedule but are still in the dark. It does feel so different from the last two comebacks but that could be due to a number of factors, including the upcoming tour and the whole buzz around that because we have no idea what the ‘Map of the Soul’ setlist will be.

I was unprepared before 10th January and now phase 01 is complete, I don’t feel any more prepared to take on phase 02. This comeback, in true BTS style, has us all on our toes.








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