Via Spotify

Released Nov. 20, 2020, ‘BE’ is the group’s fifth album to reach number one on the Billboard 200, making them the fastest group to achieve five chart-topping albums in the U.S. since The Beatles. They also joined Taylor Swift as the only artists to top the Billboard 100 and 200 simultaneously immediately upon release.

BTS: They’re the most popular boy group in the world. 

They started out small; struggling to survive the competitive world of Korean-pop (K-pop). Now they are the biggest boy group in the world with world breaking charts and achievements.  

Over the past three years BTS has earned many achievements: being the first K-pop group to win several American awards, achieving No.1 on the Billboard charts and recently being nominated for the Grammys. 

They’ve had huge success in America, and around the world, yet they never forget their Korean roots. The boy group consists of seven members—RM,  Jin, SUGA, j-hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook. They’re UNICEF ambassadors, have donated $1 million to BLM charities and, most recently, have released their 17th album, BE.

This album, like most of their albums,  was produced and written by members of the group. The title track, “Life Goes On,” was written by RM, j-hope and SUGA. The endearing music video was directed by the one and only, Jungkook, the youngest member who has a love for making short videos. The song starts with an acoustic guitar and alternative hip-hop sounds in the background. “끝이 보이지 않아 출구가 있긴 할까?” (There’s no end in sight. Is there a way out?). This song is the light you are looking for at the end of a tunnel. This song is definitely one of my favorites.

“Fly Me to My Room” is the next track sung by Jimin, V, SUGA and j-hope. This song makes me feel like a fairy flying through the pretty, soft clouds while listening to their heavenly voices. The rap part adds a good balance and a contrast to the song. Jimin’s and V’s vocals were so angelic, and they absolutely killed the riffs. 

The soft ballad “Blue and Grey” will bring the emotions out of you. Blue and grey are usually known as gloomy, sad colors, and that’s the tone of the song. It’s a little bit more slow than the rest of the songs in the album, as they are mostly upbeat. It’s a song where just listening can wash you over with sadness and cry your heart out.

Additionally, BTS has been inspired by retro sounds recently. “Telepathy” is a funky, 70s song with an upbeat sound. The autotune in the songs adds a little bit of more funk that’s needed. This is my favorite song out of the whole album. It makes me want to get up and do some groovy dancing. This song will definitely cheer you up anytime. 

Revisiting their old hip-hop beats, “Dis-ease” is an old-school hip-hop song. There’s a DJ in the background and autotune to give the 90s hip-hop feel to the song. The lyrics talk about their professions and the hardships they go through. The bridge is what really made this song so much better than it already is; there’s an echo effect and it sounds like something you would hear in an Avengers’ fight scene. 

“Stay” is an EDM (electronic dance music) song that tells a story about BTS not being able to see their fans due to the pandemic going on. They’ve been having online concerts, and I even joined one that was a compilation of their past concerts, which was very nostalgic. Usually I don’t like EDM, so I didn’t have high hopes for this song, but it really wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. The EDM beats and the high-pitched vocals synced very well and created a perfect harmony. 

Last but not least is “Dynamite.” You may have heard this Grammy-nominated song on the radio. This retro disco-pop will for sure make you get up on your feet and bust some moves. This song is their first English song, it came out as a single right before their comeback was announced. It’s featured in an ad for the new Samsung’s Galaxy S20 FN series. 

Overall, BE  was really good. BTS never fails to disappoint and always slay their comebacks. Every song has such a unique meaning and storyline behind it, and that’s the true essence of BTS.