BTS NO plus intro Reaction. 

Usually today, I would have streamed the rise of Bangtan chapter 5 plus the SKOOL LUV AFFAIR album reaction. Unfortunately, my PC died. I'll have a new one up and running as soon as possible. Sorry for the delay.

Just like a few people already mentioned but bts and their albums basically grew along with the members. As you know, the members were extremely young when they first debuted and most of them were still in school and kids. Their first three albums heavily focused on the school education system, childish innocent teenage love, and struggles that the youth have to go through because the boys have experienced that sort of thing themselves. They wanted to relate and protect the youth. Once you go through more of the albums you'll notice the older they get, the more mature the themes will get and so will the messages.

For those who don't know what the SKY Universities are that are mentioned in N.O they are S: Seoul National University K: Korea University Y: Yonsei University These are very prestigious Universities that many parents pressure their children to get into. Many of my elementary school students spend their evenings at Hagwons (after school lessons) in order to get a leg up on the competition. And they are STILL IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.

Not sure I have heard the short RM piece before but I recognize part of it from his 2018 UNICEF Love Yourself speech to the U.N. “… In an intro to one of our early albums, there is 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. …”

Thanks Jim! Don’t know about other ARMYs but I just smile when people say a song is their favourite BTS song to date. My brains explodes if you ask which is my favourite song though I’m (re) obsessed with the Love Yourself Tear album at the moment. Loving this journey with you & can’t wait for you to get to The most beautiful Moment in Life and then Wings era…and beyond.

BTS have such an incredible discography! They’re so versatile! Sometimes it’s easy to forget just how young they were when they were first staring out and I love that over the years as they’ve grown and changed and evolved as people their music has grown and changed and evolved right along with them. All of their music really seems to reflect where they were at at that point in their lives

Thanks for checking this out and sharing your thoughts. I think the album name just matched more of their age and image Nd trying to be harder and edgier. Not sure the world was ready for Map of the Soul yet😂💜🤷‍♀️😬

This is why I love BTS their songs are not just a song but it has strong, powerful and impactful messages. And I salute them for making such music and using their platform to spread awareness about injustices, social issues, mental health and a lot more. I love that they make different types of music not your ordinary typical song that we were used to. When you actually get the translations of their songs you and get the messages of their songs you will be amazed how they were able to come up with a a song like this and it makes me proud to be a fan. The Spring Day song was I guess for me was their bravest song ever, as what they call it the queen of all BTS songs.

I haven't come across any explanation or interviews from the boys themselves explaining the titles but I'm guessing the misspelled words in the school trilogy titles mirror the youth's habit of making stuff cool by doing things their way, and yeah as trivial as it is, including spellings. I did this a lot too when we used to create those little groups back in high school. Misspellings back then made things a lot cooler and lighter. 2 COOL 4 SKOOL and O!RUL8,2? as you know are parts of the school trilogy along with SKOOL LUV AFFAIR, which tackle everything about the youth, including their rebellious nature. They represent the feelings and angst that a lot of kids that age go through. But the songs in these albums also reflect the deeper understanding and concern for the social issues despite their young age. Remember that their name Bangtan Sonyeondan means Bulletproof Boyscouts which as JHope explained signifies the group's desire "to block out stereotypes, criticisms, and expectations that aim on adolescents like bullets". N.O. specifically talks about the extreme education system that affects the students' mental health. Suga would often remind students that while education is important, it's not the beginning and end of their lives. So in my understanding, I think the title suits the concept well. School doesn't teach everything. There's education too as we interact with the people around us and the world in general. Maybe the title would be a bit cringy for a BTS album as compared to Map of the Soul for instance, but if you go through their album concepts chronologically you will see the whole concept of life, of growth and maturity, including the problems and difficulties that go with each phase. It's like growing with them and going through life's difficulties with them. I've never heard of any group who used that kind of concept in their albums.

The names of the albums reflect the schoolboy era. They grow up.

The School Trilogy reflected their authentic concerns as youths: RM the leader was 18, JK, the youngest was 15. Their development and growth over 7 years led them to the more mature ideas and concepts in MOTS:7… They were rebels not just in their message, but in their decisions: RM, a high IQ, high achiever, from a well-to-do middle-class family chose to risk it all and be a rapper; Suga decided to forego university and produce music when his family had counted on him; JK, the youngest who couldn’t sit still or finish a book, left his hometown at 15 to be a trainee, all the time missing his mom! They were risk takers, and they meant it when they said, go pursue your dreams. What people gotta remember is that they were prepared for toil & sacrifice. Their rebelliousness was not based on disrespect or arrogance but a desperate need to pursue music in a society that defined success way too narrowly, hence trapping their youths in meaningless cut-throat competition.

I love that they made so many mistakes and bad decisions in the beginning . What can you expect? They were honest,talented KIDS that were given genuine creative freedom. They went through 2 whole years of trial and error before they found their sound,message. It took 2 years for them to win a music show. Something that small would’ve taken only a few days or weeks for a group out of the big three. NO resonates a lot with me because I lost a friend to suicide because he failed his medschool entrance exams. Everywhere in Asia,from Japan,Korea,India, Srilanka,Singapore, Malaysia,Vietnam…. you see the same culture with education. That’s why those kids excel in schools in the west. Not because they’re smarter, but because of this hustle culture around education.

Map of the Soul: 7 calls back N.O - Spelled backward is ON. Also, interlude shadow calls back the orul8t2 intro.

Glad you liked Namjoons intro in the school trilogy RM was the one who usually do them in the beginning

I just noticed that the ending of RM's intro had that siren-like sound same as in Suga's Shadow (2020) which was the interlude for their MOTS7 album. :o

Does it help that the question “O! RUL8, 2?” Is asking if you’re late for your own life? Be careful jumping to conclusions too fast with them, otherwise it’s easy to miss the underlying meaning that is often far deeper than it first appears! (I know this was a reaction from a few weeks ago so maybe you don’t need this reminder at this point, but as someone who initially dismissed some of their earlier work as somewhat young or frivolous, I like to try and help others avoid my mistake! 😁)

Like Hitman Bang (founder and former CEO of BigHit) said, he wants them (BTS) to tell their stories through their songs. doesn't matter if it's cringe or outdated concept, it's more important that they;'re sharing their stories. And that's exactly what you get with BTS albums. You can see/hear what they're going through and what they're feeling during each album/era. During this era, most of them just finished school while JK was still in school so that's where their mentality at the time. You can see their growth and maturity with each album.

And your reactions/commentaries are the kind of stuff I enjoy! I really enjoy listening to what people have to say about their music and videos. I appreciate what you do and will anticipate future content. ❤

You have to remember they were very young and a hip hop group when they did this album. They were adults and a Kpop idol group when they did Map of the Soul 7. And we don't even know who chose the titles of their albums when they were a hip hop group. But if they did choose the names of their earlier albums you can bet the fact that they were very young, that it was hip hop and that they were trying to come across as hard core and cool was the reason behind the names and the misspelling of them! And it says in one of the intros to BTS that their first 3 albums are about school life. Then the next 3 are about the challenges older teens and twenties face. And as RM put it "And folks grow up" meaning the BTS members, so their albums grew up with them.

i find with each album, you can see their growth, it's from them being either teens or early 20s to now, where the oldest will be 29 this year. boys to adults and it shows in their music. I LOVE IT!

Thinking about the album title, the line about being *late* to who you want to be in RM's intro jumped out at me--lends another meaning to the seemingly innocuous phrase. But I was always too pretentious to use chatspeak, even when I was in middle school texting on a flip phone, so I sympathize with being unenthused with the name "O!RUL82," lol. Then again, my school-age views on such things probably aligned more with the views of adults than those of my peers, and thumbing their nose at such expectations may also have been part of the point.

BTS made the difference from the very beginning. Their messages have been always so powerful, another reason to receive many critics but they persisted, look at them where they are now, on the top. Thank you so much for this reaction!!! 💜

FYI, "Seoul to the SKY" is reference about the top 3 university in Seoul, South Korea. Seoul University, Korea University, and Yosei University.

Idk how I would feel if I heard N.O when I was in elementary (that was in 2000, and BTS were babies still 😂), because it speaks out on an education system that I and all the other kids my age were raised in. I'm South East Asian (not Korean). We were raised in that system, that that was all we knew life was about. Since I was 9, my daily schedule mostly starts at 7am with school and ends at 9.30pm (English tuition, mental arithmetics tuition, etc) all so that I would get a head start to ace my grade 6 national exam (good grades could get me into science boarding schools,, which I did) My highschool was in a science boarding school, again daily schedule starts 6.45am, school then afternoon prep/study hours, dinner then again evening prep/study hours until 10pm. As a kid, that was life for me. 7am-10pm studying, to fulfill expectations and my parents dreams. It's interesting in a way, bc at that time I turned to books/fictions/ nobles and music to sort of escape from life, instead of changing it. And to think that, they released a song like this in a society that valued academic pathway/achievement so highly, they and their company must've been so bold to do this. If my parents found me listening to this song in elementary, and asking myself what /I/ want in life, they would've thought I was listening to some cult and being led astray from the life plan that they sketched out for me 😂

I wonder how Korean parents felt about their kids hearing this 'rebellious' song? The educational success of their children is of utmost importance to them and has resulted in S. Korea having one of the highest, if not the highest, suicide rate in the world. You certainly seem to get what BTS is/was trying to do. I think you would especially appreciate their collaboration with Seo Taiji on a song with similar meaning called Classroom Idea. It turned out to be VERY controversial but for a very different reason, when the props used were mistaken for Nazi symbology. There is an absolutely amazing LIVE stage performance of BTS & Seo....kind of mindblowing. (For reference, Seo Taiji was lead in one of Korea's first hip hop boy groups back in the 90's.) Enjoy ENG SUBS: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-co0FZyu4_2Y.html&ab_channel=EnjoyBTSmore

Yaass exactly. Sometimes people forget that in older songs they are talking about stuff that affected them personally at THAT presice time and about THEIR OWN COUNTRY CULTURE, so its easy for some people to not relate at certain level bcs school systems are different in every country but Corea have one of the most rigid ones, i mean they literally have the most high suscide rate in young people bcs of that pressure

I really like N.O, it has this very epic feeling that I don't think they've been able to quite capture since. My favorite part is after the first chorus, when Namjoon comes back in with the same part he opens the song with, it just brings in so much energy

You're honestly an amazing reactor 💜

War of Hormone. Genius lyrics for genius people. They just elaborate it.

N.O is still one of my favorite BTS songs and videos. 👍

Please keep in mind that the album names dud reflect their age @ the time. They ranged from 15 to 21 years old when they released their first 2 albums. So, honestly, the album titles reflected their youth. As they progressed not only in age & musicality, then their album titles also reflected that. I'm not necessarily a fan of when others criticize an artists choice bc it's the artists choice @ that moment. If you don't like it, that's fair. If it's not for, that's fair too. Keep in mind that these albums really show them & their progression... including the titles.

💖 Your reaction, Mr Jim. Almost every culture the same. My parents values education so that they instill you have to study hard to be somebody and society will say that, this one will make it in the future because got more A's in the examination. Comparison are the things that I hate the most. NEVERTHELESS you endure it until now(still). I teach my students education is important but don't forgo your dreams 😊

Hi, I am back. Good reaction, ty. The names of the albums are cute and catchy for the youth. Their target audience were adolescents remember. They were not aware that their songs would speak to all ages. I feel like BTS started a conversation with ppl and they have been talking to us for 3 albums straight about the same topic. It's mindboggling but so cool. So glad u liked this. I love this song. It's so catchy. Adore the MV too. BTS always speaks the truth. Hugs. Later's. -NY USA 2019 Army💟

Hello! I'm a little late to this party, but I just want to say how much I admire you for digging into the truth behind BTS without even knowing the music. It shows me how true you are about the injustice happening in Korea and to our youth and the boys themselves. Just wanted to say that!

It would be super cool if you reacted to their most recent performance of NO at MAMA 2019!! It’s insane to see them perform that song again now that they are the biggest band in the world! 🤩💜

I get super excited seeing you get this into their early stuff because there are so many incredible songs with complex & inspirational meanings in their later albums I know you're going to love. Thanks for taking time to react to the albums and not just doing random one-offs - I can guarantee you won't be sorry you did it this way.

This album is part of a trilogy.

Really beautiful...total rebellion

Just a thing. I have discovered that BTS is not a pop group...yeah all this time and now I just realized. No but for real, I went with a producer and we started talking and then out of knower I asked about BTS and oh man, he had so much bad thought. After that we kind of left that conversation go and I asked him If It was ok for him to analyze a song that I like. And he agreed. I but a BTS song in and he said the instrumental and structure was very different and he had never seen that before. I lold him it was a group and his like "an R&B group?, Because I heard some rapping so it makes no sense, or is it a Collab?" , And I told him "oh no, is a pop group", looked at me with a confused expression so I added stigma after that. And oh man that blew his mined, I told him it was a socialist and he Imidiatly asked me for the name and I said "Kim taehyung", "Chinese artists?", "NO Korean", "oh I see". He search the name up and the I told him it was a BTS member, after that we had a long talk about who they are what they do, and for the past 2 weeks, analyzing some music. One morning I went to his house and gives him some food I made imao. After that he looked at he seriously and said "BTS is not a pop group, actually, I don't even know what they are. Whoever said that BTS is a pop group is so wrong, I WAS WRONG! I can't believe we got it soo wrong". "I get that", I responded. "Their like an R&B group, with a hip hop group, TRYING to make pop music, ITS CRAZY *he laughed*". And after that morning, I went home, opened my phone and here I am, texting this.

Well, you wanted their earliest stuff when they started as a hip hop group (Too kool for Skool, R U L8, etc.). Each album shows growth. I did my career change when I was 32. I was so burned out as a school teacher. It was so scary and the best thing I could have done!

It’s spelt wrong on purpose a lot of times they call “love” “luv” “school” “Skool”. They have songs called skool luv affair and too cool for skool spelt like that on purpose to mirror/copy what youth and teenagers back then spelt words wrong on purpose as an habit if that makes sense? Kind of like acronyms

fun fact: the albuns of the boys are in some sense very personal about the time in the life that they are in... i mean, when the first album "2 COOL 4 SKOOL" come out in 2013, the youngest member was just 15 years old... so the firsts 3 albuls are very abou school because school are "recent" for them... u can see they grown up with the albuns (in the conceps, messages and personal) what i think its really cool... for exemple the most recent album "BE" its more about their feelings in this pandemic situation... its very relatable in a lot of aspects... u also should see theirs solo mixtapes: RM by RM (first namjoon mixtape; had come out 2015) MONO by RM (second namjoon mixtape; had come out 2018) AGUST D by AGUST D (first mixtape 2016) D-2 by AGUST D (second mixtape; 2020) HOPE WORLD by J-Hope (2018) they also have japonese albuns: (albuns in order that come) Wake up Youth Face Yourself Map Of The Soul: The Journey (japonese albuns have the japonse versions of their songs (even MV's) and also original japonse songs) also again, they also have songs that isnt in any album, u can find those songs on their oficial sound cloud, most of those songs are units songs like "ddaeng" its just the rap line, "4o'clock" by v and rm... sorry about my english skills, hope u can understand!

All members are now pursuing their Masteral Degree🎓🎓

They were different since the start. They said what they wanted to through whatever lyrics they wrote. Also the study pressure in Korea is insane and not just Korea in all Asia. Trust me in India too we not so rich ones can not follow our passions because we need to either become a Doctor or an Engineer or a PhD scholar mostly. Korean Education System is super strict.

Like many here have commented, their album titles represent the time and feelings they found themselves in at that moment. They have meaning and tbh, the way "luv", "kool", "skool" were written is nothing new or sth to be confused about. I am almost 50 and I remember back in the day when I was in highschool, we used to have those types of spelling too. 😊🤔

Thank you Thank you I always waiting for reaction for bts..

I always laugh because I think about JiJinJoon during this song. Jimin was a school topper before he joined the arts school.. Jin made it to Konkuk (the K in SKY) which means that he did well in his Suneung too (even though he was an early entrant) and Joon tested in the top 1% of the country. But all 3 were also people who got to pursue their passions while being excellent students. JK made it into the performing arts school at a very young so we don't know how he'd have tested at the Suneung. Also from a family that actively encouraged his passions. *I* don't know anything about how well Hobi and Yoongi did at school so I can't include them (but if you do, please add to the context here). But both had objections at home with regards to pursuing their passions. So I always wonder if these 2 had a heavy influence over the song's direction. But then again School of Tears was YoonJinJoon.. so I guess NamJin were just against that culture heavily. I remember a vlive where Jin thanked his parents for not being the kind you see on SKY Castle (upper society parents that harshly push their kids to make it into SKY to be doctors, lawyers & engineers). Jim.. please check out School of Tears. It was a pre-debut song and IMO quite a daring one. They did a cover for Kendrick Lamar's Swimming Pools but wrote their own lyrics to it criticizing the school culture.

Hopefully you'll remember this one when you review ON off MotS:7 :)

There's 1 funny live performance of this dance break where Namjoon and Jimin ripped their white shirt too when they grabbed the top black shirt, and RM was almost topless dancing and he was uncomfortable about it.

Hi, you might have addressed this in your stream, but I definitely recommend looking at doolset's translations and notes for the songs. She fills in a lot of context

Thank you.

You should also see their live performance of the song you've reacted.

YEEES. BTS debut is still untouchable compared to most of debut group songa esp now. 😁 From music, to pv, to message of the song.

Amo demais

U should check out Jim’s latest song YOURS, it is an OST for a kdtama

We literally grow, learn and mature with Bts.

It’s spelt wrong on purpose a lot of times they call “love” “luv” “school” “Skool”

💜

Btw...at the 1:39 second mark of the O!RUL8,2? song...I know I've heard that song before (not the lyrics but the actual music) but I can't figure out when I've heard it before. It reminds me of a song I heard in the early 80's.

I'm so sorry for asking this but just to know; is there any possibility that we get to see the album reactions for free? Because I have no way of giving money no bank account either and no money really so can't support you on twitch as much as I really want to because I think you absolutely deserve it for how honest and genuine your reactions and thoughts are. I'm just so excited for specific albums and I'd really love to hear your insight on them, so is there any way for that to happen? If not it's totally fine!! Thank you for your hard work ❤️

lmao it was 2013, kids were trying to be edgy, it's cringe now but it's still part of history for bts and army and we accept the cringe of our past to be ready for our future

This is their fight against the KPop tradition at that time, breaking the rule of an industry that is creating human machine performers rather than artist. But then, the song is encompassing for such reality and struggle of the youth exists in all sectors where youth are involved or participants, starting from family as a basic institution in every society to school and society.

In the 2 Cool 4 Skool trailer you see the words school correctly spelled along with the word restriction postered repeatedly in school windows above the album title. This is BTS expanding on Seo Taiji and the Boys' Classroom Idea speaking to how the Korean educational system is restricting free thought and personal growth in favor of a standardized education. Using the misspelled word Skool underneath and in the album title may well be a subtle protest saying you have way more in your hopes and dreams than the educational system is giving you so bust out of the mold and fly. They are not advocating drop outs per se, but saying the younger generation has so much more to offer than school will inculcate. So I take your point not liking misspellings, but I do in this case think it is a deliberate messaging which should not be stripped out in favor of grammar. ORUL82 also may refer to young people hesitant to wake up their individual potential due to the school system as the song N.O emphasizes. It is beyond doubtful that it is simply a cute expression.

I know people already explained some of the meaning of the album titles, but I just want to point out that back then it was a trend to misspell words or to add numbers to titles. If look at bands like Fall Out Boys, they had an entire album where the names of the songs were spelt without the vocal... 🤷

And still doing all this and still going to school rn getting their masters; but having that choice to do what they want.

Hehe the title is based on how kids text 😉 It's also a way to see the evolution of BTS's core themes :)

I am new subscriber here. I am big fans of Linkin Park, never thought in my life will loving a Kpop boyband so much! Please react to Baepsae live performance & its explanation by DKDK TV. It s mind blowing & more relatable to adult now a days. Thanks.

hi, There is a puppy's "red light, green light." There's also "BTS Butter". Come and watch. Thank you..

It was spelled wrong on purpose ....and they were teens

Well i will like to add something here, yes the korean education system is very harsh, but it's more or less the same in all around Asia. I'm Asian, 15. I had a high school admission test back in 2018, I was only around 11 at that time, and having to study 17-18 hours a day during the time when i should be playing around with my friends and having fun in the summers simply was the worst. Ofc the hard work paid off, but the struggle and pain, I sometimes still question, was it worth it?

Things to know about BTS albums. 1. Their first 3 albums were about adolescents and their dreams, problems, life etc. Naturally it involved school life. Some songs are rebellious, fighting against pressure from adults and society, other school boy stuff like love, crush etc THE LYRICS, RIGHT FROM THEIR FIRST SONG ARE GREAT. NOT BUBBLEGUM POP. 2. They were given freedom to right their own music. Only demand was they should write and produce songs based on their feelings at that time. 3. O!rul82 means, late in 'getting' what they, the adolescents, want from life. 4. And to think they were doing this as adolescents. Their albums are always a triology. So the next 3 albums will be about growing up.

Are u gonna upload the b side tracks too??

Please mooore bts reactions. Next "war of harmone"

The name of the album is because of their storyline. It's not as shallow as you may think, but I understand your impression.

it would be nice if you returned to "mama 2019", as they performance we are bulletproof pt.2 and N.O grown up

Please react to ‘ON: Kinetic Manifesto Come Prima’

Who cares what you like, it’s not about you that’s their concept and that’s what they came up with, got over it.

I don't know how twitch work but Can you please make the quality of the streams lower like we can choose the quality if that's possible 1080p is too much for my country's internet connection 😂😂 I always want to continue your live stream on twitch and see your album reactions but it doesn't work Thank you 💜 and sorry for my poor English

Dude you gotta remember they were kids when these came out. How deep were you as a teen??

I really love your react. And can you pls react to "Lalisa (a documentary film)" by 'tinxlisa' pls?

You're not telling me that you think the spelling is accidental are you? Ever seen a Prince track list? #NoShade

You were being facetious about the spelling of the album right?

Who cares about album names. Focus on too much. It about the songs.

Did he really just critique the spelling in the album names? Is he being sarcastic? I really can't tell...

The Korean idea of education system and the pressure is the same as it was for Japan with the same result a very high Child suicide rate. It's just dreadful.

The albums are spelt like that for a reason they ain’t spelt right for a reason