*Extra context for Idol:* during this time BTS were facing endless criticism for both being too Korean and not being Korean enough. In western interviews they were being treated like a gimmick, like Army’s love for them was a very fickle, shallow thing that would melt away, they were constantly being asked about when they would release an English album, and it was very explicit that if they wanted to succeed in the Western industry they were expected to surrender their cultural identity. Simultaneously, the K-Pop world had completely turned their backs on them, they weren’t happy they were succeeding, they were furious they weren’t benefitting and instead starting accusing BTS of selling out and pandering to the Western audience. This was only a few months before K-Pop fans announced BTS had been kicked out of K-pop and Army laughed in their faces and announced it was Army Independence Day- and Kpoppies immediately tried to take it back because they needed BTS more than BTS needed the K-Pop label. This atmosphere greatly influenced their attitude in Idol, they made the over the top K-Pop music video, dancing in Hanbok, with a Korean Dragon, in a Korean Temple, using Korean traditional instruments, saying words that can’t be translated directly into another language, but they also said “I don’t give a fuck what you call me, your hate can’t stop me” and drew influences from Africa in their suits and imagery they used, referenced a Hong Kong director and a Japanese Superhero, on top of the airplane and travel imagery the very clear message was “we’re not becoming westernised, we’re becoming GLOBAL bitch.” Idol was simultaneously a diss track and a victory lap and an accumulation of the love yourself journey. And choosing Nicki Minaj, a rapper with a mixed cultural identity being Trinidadian-American, who had to fight to be taken seriously in her field by the nature of who she was (a woman in rap) and had been open about being influenced by Japanese Harajuku culture- it’s a very intentional choice. They also love to bring Idol back whenever someone starts talking shit about them being too westernised, they did a whole week on Jimmy Fallon to promote Dynamite, and as their first English single people started talking shit. So they rocked up to Gyeongbokgung Palace in Hanboks to perform Idol and remind the world that they’re Korean AF no matter what anyone says, and they don’t have to compromise on their cultural heritage and national pride in order to succeed.
No one can come to Namjoon when it comes to wordplay, he’s got bilingual philosophical discussions going on, all while dancing around like a silly goofy guy.
22:04 "you have to stay past the end credits... little reveals little situations" bold words for someone who didn't watch to the end of fake love extended ver sir
This whole damn series is literally such a masterclass, genius and superior trilogy. In this album BTS use traditional asian storytelling format for this series i.e. 起 (beginning), 承 (development), 轉 (twist), and 結 (conclusion). They specifically placed all the songs in the tracklist, following each theme to a tee and use the trivias as a transitional song for each emotion and stage the person goes through in order to love themselves. I'm gonna try my best to break the whole thing down. *note: this list only uses the tracks in the first cd! 起 (beginning) : Wonder/Her - A person starting to fall in love with another This section includes the following songs 1. Euphoria 2. Trivia 起: Just Dance 3. Serendipity 4. DNA 5. Dimple 承 (development) - The person deciding to dedicate and to only love another person, not themselves This section includes the following songs 6. Trivia 承: Love 7. Outro: Her 轉 (twist) : Tear - The person starts to hide their true self with a mask in order to look perfect in front of the person they love and then comes to realize that the love they shared was not what it turned out to be. It was fake love. So the person finally leaves the relationship to love themselves instead. This section includes the following songs 8. Singularity 9. Fake Love 10. The Truth Untold 11. Trivia 轉: Seesaw 12. Outro: Tear 結 (conclusion) : Answer - The person realizes that they should love themselves first before loving others hence the conclusion to the series and theme of the love yourself albums. This section includes the following songs 13. Epiphany 14. I'm Fine 15. Idol 16. Answer: Love Myself In this essay i will- (writes a whole essay). No but seriously BTS went off on this album!!!! I also rlly wanted to mention how Joon uses the Answer Love Myself bar in his UN speech: "These faults and mistakes are what I am, making up the brightest stars in the constellation of my life" and it really stuck with me till this day so may years later. Sorry this comment is supeerrr long I always want to share this because its actually insane to me how much thought and planning goes into their art. Im super thankful to be apart of ARMY during the time this trilogy came out. Every single week of the stadium tours they got more than 80k-100k ARMYs singing about loving themselves. Its so beautiful to see and I tear up all the time thinking about it. Okay! I'm finished! Lots of love to you tribe leader and to the tribe 💜💜
We so need to talk more about the lyrics of Trivia Love. Btw, Yoongi's seesaw helped me get out of my toxic relationship. The wlrds are so so comforting
i'm so glad u decided to take a chronological deep dive into BTS from beginning till now. It really makes appreciating their evolution and self-growth so much deeper... from No More Dream....to Love Myself.... and to the next chapters u have yet to uncover!
oh noooo i hope loui got to hear the full version of euphoria since the music video only has portions of the song :(( well i guess he’ll hear it when watches live performances!!
“even the scars made by your own mistake mark your constellations” 💜 love yourself trilogy was seriously something so special, and a true sincere journey of self love for both the members and army. Still to this day these lyrics are so meaningful and healing.
Epiphany…I can no longer watch without wondering where that sad corn is. If you know you know 😂 on Jin’s voice now - each member has a unique and beautiful voice in their own way, but Jin has a special quality that allows him to convey the raw emotion of what he’s singing. He knows how he wants us to feel when listening to his music, and knowing that alot of his fans are foreign, he’s able to convey the message of his song through the emotions in his voice, making it easier to understand without the need or want for subtitles. I listen to all the songs first without looking at the lyrics and the first time I heard epiphany I sobbed. I felt every bit of his struggles to love himself without knowing he was struggling.
Finally you are hearing Epiphany, the song that made me ARMY, the song that made me break down and shed heart-wrenching tears for myself, as I finally accepted I didn't need to feel guilty for looking out for myself!
Honestly listening to this whole album altogether while being in this space for 5 years now means so much I was just bawling throughout but seeing how much loui also liked and appreciated it made me so happy too
oh epiphany song is not the full version btw. listen to the full version. i thought i was delusional when the second part didn’t come turns out the mv isn’t full version
My dude! The intro was FIRE!!! Love that you took your journey with BTS starting from their very beginning in the order that you're going up until now & forward. 😊💜 ...btw, is it just me or V's solo is missing here? Please give me a timestamp if I somehow skipped over...😢😂😭
What a gift this album and your reaction has been. Thank you for sharing your insights, thoughts, and feelings on this journey. This was so amazing to experience again with you. 💜
LY: Answer was my first BTs comeback I experienced as a then baby Army. You’re going to love the performances as well. Enjoy listening to the album in full and more clips/stories that come along with it!
yes it is THE ANSWER AAAAAHHH I'm so happy. and yes. you're right, they only get better and better. and Namjoon's pen is on some shiz as always. SJDDJXJDJD the Trivia series is just immaculate. AHHH THIS ALBUM IS IMMACULATE, AS ALWAYS. gosh I'm having so much fun listening to these albums again along with you. and your edits NSXNSJXJSJZ I CRACKED UP AT JUST DANCE GOODNESS BUT I FEEL YOU HAHAHAHAHA A BANGERRRR! AND YEAH SAVE ME 》I'M FINE ICONIC. I'M EXCITED FOR YOU TO SEE PERFORMANCES. and maybe the whole Love Yourself concert 👀👀 ps. i can't wait for their comeback oh goodness. knowing how they're always planning ahead I'm so excited and scared. nsndjdjxsd
Why the heck did I keep scrolling past this for a week thinking it was an ad… 🤦🏼♀️ you mean I could’ve watched this a week ago and my brain kept editing it out of my view?? Well now I have a video to look forward to watching tomorrow 😊
and the love yourself era is coming to an end just like that 😭!! love watching your journey with BTS , i can’t wait for the next❤ (side note , i’m fine samples their 2016 single save me which is what you hear as familiar at the beginning of the song!)
language does play a part in how you view you the world cos most languages have a cultural aspect into them and how you speak it. i find english to be literal and straight to the point, conversationally. however, if you look into other languages like for example japanese, respect and hierarchy is so engrained into the language and how you speak to other people that it can and will affect your experiences.
50:10 Language actually plays a really important role in how we understand and interact with our world! Being able to have words to describe certain things make them more prevalent in our conscious thought, which tends to shape our actions
Trivia: Love will always blow my mind. The wordplay is insane in both English and Korean in his juxtaposition. 사람 (sa-ram = person), if you change ㅁ and erode its edges (as per Namjoon's lyrics), it becomes ㅇ. This changes the word to 사랑 (sa-rang = love). Same with LIVE, change the I to an O and you get LOVE. The emphasis on 'I' in LIVE he mentions he was living a linear life (straight), until he came full circle (he expresses this by going through all the letters in the alphabet), hence LOVE. The way he connected 'person' + 'live' = 'love'... this is the only answer (album title). I mean, the answer is obvious, but seriously, KIM NAM JOON! Genius!
There have actually been studies that show that the language we use does indeed shape how we view the world in the same way our experiences do. The movie Arrival is about this, too, and I highly recommend it if you’re interested in that kind of thing. 💜
50:02 as someone who's studying in the social science field, i think i've learned in a class that language does shape how you view the world. for instance, colors. not all languages have the words for colors like english (black, white, blue, red, yellow, green, etc.); some languages only have two or three words to describe colors. in japan, the traffic lights have the same colors as we usually see (red, yellow, green), but they don't call the green light 'green (midori)'; they call it 'blue (ao)'. there are many other instances than colors, but yea TLDR, i think language does shape how someone view the world :)
BTS ... WHAT A LEGENDS. Watching your reaction to Love Yourself: Answer brought me back so much memories and I literally got the same goosebumps that I felt the first time I listened to this album! IT'S CRAZY. I'm so happy to be part of your journey Loui and feel like a baby army once again! Like this album came out like 6 years ago and it still blows my mind loL Bangtan is really something else. How they manage to keep surpassing themselves when many already think they reach perfection in their discography? INSANE Oh, i can't wait to watch your reaction to the live performances and other content from this era!! 💜💜
Nah I definitely do feel like the language - the vessels through which one articulates their inner world to illustrate it for others and connect with others - and the limits and expansions of each with definitely contribute to the shaping of one's experience. I find that you can sense that especially as a multilingual speaker (especially if you learned the other languages that you know way after you became like...conscious for lack of a better term, that way you're able to keep track of the shifts in your perspective that come with language learning)
