7: Comeback Diaries - Michayla Rap Phase 4


Phase 4

by

Michayla Rap

Wow! What a finale to the comeback schedule that has seen us journey through 4 phases, which have included so much content. 

When Big Hit first released the bright blue schedule, it sent me into so many emotions but the main one being excitement. This comeback has been so unlike the previous two that I have experienced and I have thoroughly enjoyed it, if not a little sad that we are at the final phase already.

I suppose that it was phase 4 that we were eagerly anticipating since it involved the release of MOTS 7, plus what appeared to be two music videos for the lead single. With phase 3 finishing with the track list, the buzz around ‘ON’ the lead single was great and I was catapulted into phase 4.


21st February

Album release and Kinetic Manifesto Film: Come Prima performed by BTS for lead single - I had absolutely no idea what to expect so the film was a definite surprise!

My nieces were staying with me for our comeback weekend as we had done for the MOTS: Persona comeback in April 2019. We stayed up until 3am GMT on the 21st, playing BTS UNO, to watch the Vlive and even though the girls grabbed a few hours sleep after that, I was far too excited to sleep so stayed awake. 


We had already formulated a plan to watch the film first because the album release wasn’t always punctual on the music platforms. We sat in front of my TV with the countdown timer on and we were all wired with excitement, all cheering when the Big Hit logo and sound appeared, because that’s what ARMY does, right?

Well, we were absolutely speechless. We had seen the preview on TikTok the night before but absolutely nothing could have prepared us for what an amazing song ‘ON’ was. All 4 of us have different biases, my eldest niece is Yoongi biased and I remember us all squealing during the ‘Boy With Luv’ MV when Yoongi appeared in that blue suit during his verse for the first time but we all sat there speechless during ‘ON’, hands over our mouths.

The funny thing was when we thought the video had finished as it showed the sky after a shot of Jimin and I picked up the remote control to stop it and replay it. As I was doing that, the dance break happened and we all gasped, sitting forwards and cries of ‘Oh no!’ and ‘What is happening?’ plus ‘Oh my God, a dance break!’.

As soon as it had finished we checked our Spotify accounts because we had clicked the link that Big Hit had tweeted to link our accounts to the album, then while I replayed ‘ON’ music video, my niece primed her phone to play the album.

We were all looking forward to hearing the solos with my niece being the only one of us to have heard her bias’s solo song. I couldn’t wait to hear the song I had been given to review plus we were all discussing the designs of the stages that we thought might be the backdrop for the songs on tour.  

We all picked the two songs we thought were our favourites after listening to the album one and then we planned on asking the same question in a week’s time to see if those songs had changed at all.

The day was a blur, checking interview schedules, replaying the MV and album, social media activity and speaking to friends. I was on a complete high with no sleep and I enjoyed every second!


27th February

Official Music Video for ‘ON’ - 3pm GMT - And I literally had no expectations because by this stage it wasn’t worth second guessing anything.

I was on my own, the countdown timer on the tv, awaiting the release after a manic week of streaming and social media activity because everyone else was at school. I was also aware that we were streaming this MV like crazy and that the UK chart position was announced the next day so the pressure was on!


To be honest when the MV started I wasn’t sure what to think and I think by the time Namjoon appeared with llamas and a giraffe, I really wasn’t sure what was going on. I did think about R.J though because one of the llamas was pure white and I considered how pleased Jin must have been, which I later tweeted about, only for Namjoon to follow it 10 minutes later with a similar tweet of his own. I do have photographic evidence that I posted it before Namjoon which was my self-proclaimed ‘5 minutes of fame’ indirectly.

I had so many thoughts whilst watching the music video which ranged from ‘Divergent’ and ‘Maze Runner’ to ‘The Lion King’ and even Michael Jackson’s ‘Earth Song’. I also couldn’t help but sing along because after a whole week of listening to the song, I am officially addicted to it and singing the lyrics whilst an attempt at dancing is made, is now mandatory. 

The chaos of streaming ensued and social media was awash with ARMYs doing their thing and supporting BTS in the way we know how. Multiple devices with separate accounts, following all the streaming advice available and making sure I watched the MV like a human, not a bot was what the next 24 hours consisted of.

Phase 4 had the least content of the 4 phases but certainly had the biggest impact. Phase 4 was what the whole schedule was about and the end of this comeback was emphatic with Map of the Soul: 7 going straight to number 1 in the UK album charts and many other countries. 

The phases might be over and this comeback might have peaked but this album deserves longevity and it deserves to be in the charts for a long time yet. There are songs on this album that have skyrocketed to the top of my favourites list and will be embedded in my heart forever. 

The only question left to ponder is: How will Big Hit top this comeback next time?







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