Bangtan sonyeondan (Bulletproof Boyscouts).

[Pages:8]BlessedbytheMadgod KPOP Reviews #1 As you have already seen by the title, today I will be reviewing a video from BTS, bangtan sonyeondan (Bulletproof Boyscouts). I am already quite familiar with BTS since they are my favorite KPOP group, even though I only joined the fandom recently. For those of you who are not familiar with BTS, here are the basics: They are a seven member boy group under the company BigHit Entertainment. They debuted in 2013 with a Hip-Hop concept, and even spent a few weeks in L.A. being mentored by some iconic Hip-Hop artists during their show "American Hustle Life." Their music has since gotten more mainstream, but BTS is still very unique in that many of the members have a hand in composing and writing lyrics for their songs. They are also highly praised for their dancing skill and tough choreography, and their fandom name is ARMY.

The first song I am going to review from BTS is 'Fire,' which came out May 2016 on the album "The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: Young Forever," or " Young Forever" in Korean. The music video for 'Fire' reached 1 million views in only 6 hours, and has almost 55 million views as I am writing this post. I chose to review this song first not only for its wide popularity, but also because it is

a good entry point (or gate-way drug) for people entering the fandom for the first time.

The song itself is significantly more main-stream than Hip-Hop sound-wise. It is a fast paced dance track with electronic music, repetitive lyrics, and less rap than has been typical of BTS in the past. While some fans may not be on board with the switch to a more electronic, pop sound, I personally found the song very enjoyable. Of all the BTS songs, this may be the most "get-up-and-dance" sounding so far. However, I do hope that BTS continues to vary its genres of music rather than falling into mainstream norms. I want to hear more Hip-Hop sound and rap in the future rather than more songs like 'Fire.' I expect this to be the case, as 'Young Forever' and 'Save Me,' two other tracks on the same album as 'Fire,' were closer to BTS' 'I Need U' and 'Run' sound, and I expect 'Fire' was more of an attempt to lighten the mood than an attempt to change BTS' sound altogether. I think we can expect more variety in BTS' future albums, but not a whole genre switch. Lyrically, 'Fire' is a very repetitive song. While this may make the song sound bland to KoreanSpeakers, as an International Fan, this actually made the song easier to sing along to, which is always a plus for me. I feel that the variation in the music also helped balance out the repetitiveness of the words, so it ended up sounding less repetitive than it actually was.

Hangul Lyrics from Naver.Music

Because there are so few lyrics, the meaning may be more open to interpretation than many other BTS songs, but taking into account previous BTS themes, I think the meaning is pretty obvious. The shallow meaning behind the lyrics is about partying, swearing, and drinking. The upbeat sound of the song and the music video portray this in a positive light, but looking deeper into the lyrics one can see that BTS does regard this negatively. In one line Suga states, "Everything's a mess" and one of the main lines of the chorus is "It's okay to lose." BTS is discussing failure, and the various coping mechanisms that people develop as a result of societal pressure.

English Translation Modified from Pop!Gasa

The song starts out in the first person, indicating that the singer understands societal pressure and what it is like to feel like a failure. This makes the song relatable to listeners that feel the same way. BTS is known for its themes of youth, ever since their debut, and the word youth is even written on the fence in the beginning of the music video. Teens and young adults often react worst to societal pressure out of all age groups due to low self-esteem, and for many teens bad behavior is simply a natural reaction to these societal pressures. The singer is expressing that they understand the draw of these bad behaviors and is trying to comfort listeners by telling them that everyone fails sometimes.

During some scenes in the video, V can been seen playing a video game, with other scenes from the video on the screen. Whether or not this mean to show that all of the other destruction was actually just a video game, I think the inclusion of the video game was very purposeful. In Korea, young people aren't as likely to engage in destructive behaviors such as drinking, drugs, and violence as many young people from the West might be, but video games and the internet are a very common past-time in Korea. I've heard that in many Asian countries teen boys and young men will sometimes lock themselves in their room for days, weeks, even years at a time and only interact with others through the internet. While I'm not sure how true this is, I think the scenes in the music video depict a more realistic

set of coping behaviors for Korean youths, where they turn to video games to relieve stress from their life. In this way, BTS is also relatable to youths even if they don't necessarily engage in dangerous behaviors.

Concerning the other scenes in the video, while the members seem to be having fun playing with fire throughout the video, it's still very dangerous, as depicted by scenes of the falling car and the explosion at the end of the video. I don't think that BTS is trying to encourage these destructive behaviors, despite the frequent lines like "Set everything on fire." Near the end of the song Jin sings the lines "All the fearful, come here / All the suffering, come here / Lift up your fists all night long." He is addressing these listeners who feel that they have been pushed to the edge and are considering destructive behaviors, and he encourages them to "Run and go crazy." At this point in the music video, the scenes of fire transition into scenes of a rowdy BTS concert. Here, the singer is encouraging the listeners to let their feelings out, but in a less dangerous way. After all, attending a BTS concert is probably significantly safer than trying to DJ on a gas stove or iron one of your friends. In the end, the message of the song is that listening to BTS songs is a good way to relieve stress.

Visually, the music video is lacking in much of a plot. The scenes are all connected by a similar concept, but this isn't one of BTS' story-driven videos even if it does continue to feed into fan theories. The video focuses on the choreography, scenes that are visually interesting or funny, and showing the members having a good time.

Visually, the members look good too. They almost all have different hair colors, and V always looks good with orange hair, in my opinion. Jungkook's hair style in this video may be one of his most mature styles, and is definitely my favorite so far. On the other hand, J-Hope's hair style was his worst ever, and since he is my ultimate bias, this means that I am more than a little disappointing with the stylist on this one. #bringbackjhopesforehead

The fashion in the mv was very different from BTS' normal style in some scenes, though the black ripped jeans have become a staple of BTS style. I personally liked the change of pace, and it made it more obvious just how much the boys have grown in the past few years. It also had a very nice summer feel which I think complemented the song well.

Of course, you can't go anywhere until you've discussed BTS' choreo. Their choreographer is amazing and all the boys are very talented dancers. Even the worst ones are better than average, even if it's just because they are dedicated to learning. I heard in an interview once that the members think the choreo for 'Fire' was as difficult as 'Danger' and 'Dope' combined. While this is probably a bit exaggerated, 'Fire' is easily the most difficult choreography that the boys have had to learn, even if I don't see it becoming the most iconic. As always, the boys are amazing and the choreo is visually complex and fun to watch. I'm sure every ARMY still feels a thrill at 2:50 when the humanly-impossible moves usher in the climax of the song.

The pace of the song is pretty consistent, but the pace of the dance moves has variety and contrast which keep the viewer from getting bored. There are several slower, less complex dance moves throughout the choreo which still manage to fit the beat of the song, and I feel like this is something BTS hasn't explored much before. Personally, I found formation-based choreography to be a bit lacking, as nearly every member is doing the same moves at the same time. The synchronization is great, but it feels like you could get the full experience watching one or two members perform the dance just as easily as you might get it from the whole group.

My biggest concern with the dance for 'Fire,' the reason I think it will never be as iconic as 'Dope' or 'Danger,' is that, while the song makes you want to get up and dance, there aren't any moves which a fan could easily imitate after just a few watches. The choreo is at an advanced level throughout the whole song, and there isn't a key dance move for fans to attempt. In 'Danger,' the moves of the chorus involved rubbing the neck and moving the shoulders, which are fairly easy to imitate, even when the rest of the dance was nearly impossible. In the BTS vs Block B battle at MAMA there are even other idols in the crowd which attempt to replicate the key dance moves of 'Danger,' (and get embarrassed when they realize they're being filmed). Nearly the entire chorus of 'Dope' calls for fans to attempt it, even if they will do poorly, and I'm sure every ARMY has learned the wave move from 'I Need U.' Without a key dance move for fans to identify, remember, and recreate, the choreo will always be overshadowed by the song, and will never be as popular as other BTS dances.

Still, these are minor complaints about the choreo itself. In both the dance version and the dance practice, BTS performs the dance wonderfully and with incredible amounts of energy. Their execution is flawless and they look like they're having fun, even though I'm sure they're exhausted.

To tell how well the group can really perform 'Fire', however, you need to look to the live performances. The specific live I will be referencing is the Comeback Special at Inkigayo. While I personally don't think it is as fun to watch as the music video, it's still an enjoyable live performance. The members are having fun, with Jungkook and Jin repeatedly giving fanservice to the camera and all of the members putting their all into dancing. Now, I can't claim to know how much of the singing was done live or not, but I would guess a significant amount was live, and you can obviously tell during RapMonster's parts that he is rapping live. Because of how exhausting the dance is, though, I would guess that less singing was live here than is typical of BTS.

About two minutes into the performance you can see the members' foreheads glistening with sweat, but they don't lose their energy. Unlike in the dance practice, the boys do seem like they're having a bit of a hard time keeping up the pace despite all of their practice. There are even a few moves which, especially with Jungkook and V, are a bit less intense and aggressive than they were in the dance practice. Near the end I am sure they felt like passing out, but they still did their best dancing and didn't make any mistakes. Overall, the stage is very thrilling to watch, full of energy, and most importantly, the crowd loved it.

I am so excited to see what BTS does in the future and to find out if V's "bow wow wow" has any chance of replacing Jimin's signature "la la la."

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