seen from Georgia
seen from China
seen from United States
seen from Canada
seen from Georgia
seen from Saudi Arabia
seen from Morocco
seen from Saudi Arabia
seen from Czechia
seen from Saudi Arabia
seen from Germany
seen from China
seen from Yemen
seen from Yemen
seen from Saudi Arabia
seen from Germany
seen from Bolivia
seen from Saudi Arabia
seen from T1
seen from China
Nothing but I just wanted to know
Which album is your favourite
Jack in The Box (J-Hope)
The Astronaut (Jin)
Indigo (RM)
D-Day (Agust D)
Face (Jimin)
LayoVer (V)
Golden (Jungkook)
I know Seokjin doesn't have a full-length album yet but I still added him cause why not?
Do ‘lie’ and my favorite ‘lie”
Are these two a-holes snitching on each other again like that VHopeMinKook vlive where Jimin said he wanted to go to Jhope’s Solo Concert and Jhope said he would go to Jimin’s....
and then BOOM! HOBIPALOOZA HAPPENED.
IS JIMIN GONNA PERFORM “LIE” IN HIS OWN CONCERT?!
30 Days With BTS
Day 22 - Solo Songs
BTS HANDWRITTEN HEADERS
***save the header with higher quality, click here.
[!!] click on the header and then save.
☛ like/reblog if you like/use/save ☛ Let me know that you’re using my icons/headers/packs, credit me on twitter @springdaynwa
BTS’s Solo Chapter - BONUS - I wish that…
Overall, the solo era went very well & I have already said that I feel all of the members did a great job with their work & presentations. In the 4 part series about BTS’s solo period [See my BTS’s Solo Chapter, parts 1-4 posts], I did the more factual overview, but I do have a few things I would like to have been different about the solo work and moment. I wanted to separate the 2 comments since this part contains more personal, & possibly less agreed upon, views. So here is my BTS solo wish list after the fact…
I wish…
Big Hits had offered more help & assistance to the members for the solo projects.
Big Hits had ensured more equity for all 7 solo projects.
Bigs Hits had allowed Jimin to do the requested visual album (additional videos or at least visualisers) for his complete album.
Big Hits or Jimin had released his slow, Jazzy version of Like Crazy that he sang on Lee Mujin Service on streaming platforms
Jimin had released Letter (Dear.Army) on streaming platforms
Jimin had left out the cursing on his songs (or at least made clean versions).
Jimin had a longer, uncrowded promotional period.
Jimin had done that song-ending shout “Yeeeeah” during his re-performance of Tony Montana with Suga for Day 2 of D-Day encore concerts as he did for the 2016 version.
Jimin and V had full length albums. (even though I feel the EPs suited their projects).
V had put at least one up tempo (faster) song on his album.
V had been able to use (the real) Yeontan in his videos.
V, Jimin, & JK had not lost so much weight for their promotions. (improved views of weight/eating)
JK had not done the explicit version of “7”.
JK had not used Jack Harlow as his collaborator on 3D.
JK had begun his solo project sooner so he wasn’t worn out by the rush and he might have had time to be more involved in decisions and production.
RM had not cursed on his project (at least so much).
RM had used Still Life as his main track.
RM had done more extensive promotions.
RM had used JM for the Wildflower collab. (maybe?)
JH and RM hadn’t released work right before JM’s album release.
JH had danced more throughout his project.
JH had chosen a different style of music for some of his songs.
JH had been able to be around to perform HUH?! with Suga a few times during his concerts.
Suga had not cursed on his project (at least as much).
Suga had brought IU on as a guest during his concert tour.
Suga had not stepped on JM’s promotional time (if possible) [See BTS’s Solo Chapter - Part 1 for possible reasons.]
The guys were able to be around to accept awards & recognition for their solo achievements.
BTS fandom were more healthy & less destructive (Re: +true OT7 spirit, -autotune nonsense, -voting blocks against members, -misinformation, -general ugliness).
BTS’s Solo Chapter - Part 4
Now that all current solo projects have been outlined, I can explain how JK and JM’s promotions became linked. All the members’ promotions were notably different, but no one has provided an explanation as to the extent of their differences. JK and JM’s promotions represent the 2 extremes. The differences in their promotional length of times, amounts and types of activities, the presence or lack of advertising and playlisting, the accuracy of streaming and purchasing numbers were all compared and found problematic. I already explained that it is true that whatever everyone else got, JK got that and more. That is true, and there may be a logical, business explanation to justify it, but an explanation was never given. Conversations about the lack of transparency and understanding about what happened exploded in the fandom. Whether the problem was caused by incompetence or corruption, was intentional or unintentional, or due to actions internal to Hybe or external, this situation looked bad and enlarged an already widening rift in the fandom, especially between the fans of these two artists. It’s a shame because it caused sour feelings for what should have been a very exciting, unifying moment in BTS’s history.
More than sour feelings, outrage appeared to negatively affect fans’ experiences and worse, results for the artists’ work. For example, almost all of the solo albums used autotune for different stylistic effects, only Jimin’s caused a huge uproar within the fandom as if autotune had never been heard - even in many of BTS’s group songs. Very little comment was made of any other member’s use of it. The negative word of mouth and discrepancy of complaints was hypocritical at best but damaging at worst. Unfortunately, this unaddressed rift had been developing for a while, but this unaddressed situation confirmed already held suspicions for some and further entrenched people into their separate camps, some to the point of irrationality. The entire fandom’s behavior and way of operating was affected in some way. I would like to see a “Better late than never” attitude applied in Chapter 3. I personally would like Hybe and BTS to improve transparency and attempt more active action in at least expressing concerns about some of the problems within the fandom. If it doesn’t help, at least they can say they didn’t fully ignore it.
Not only should the members and fans have learned from this process, but hopefully Hybe and the music industry learned from it as well. I hope they listened to the comments of the fans and reflected on how their actions or lack of actions impacted the fan perception and/or results of each artist. I hope they learned to better manage the amount of support members should get in order to help their tasks be more successful and less stressful. I hope they decide to manage solo promotions for the members in a way that appears and is more equitable.
However, the company didn’t do everything wrong. They also were trying to make the best of a difficult and new situation. In fact, the individual member’s projects actually reached different parts of the globe & music industry that they may not have been able to reach as extensively as a group or at all: (some speculation) JK - the Western & global Pop market; JH - Rap/Hiphop, Grunge & South American markets; Suga - Asian, Korean, & Rap/Hiphop markets; RM - Korean, Indie, UK/European markets & general music industry; V - R&B, Jazz, & Asian markets; JM - American, European, Asian & global Pop markets. This multi-directional outreach sets BTS up to widen their scope and extend their reach for (my) Chapter 3. Hopefully, in the meantime, the fandom will mature along with BTS and Hybe and allow them the freedom to try new things, explore new ideas - with mistakes and all - with their full-hearted support. Transparency may be a shortcoming for Hybe, but you can’t say they are in short supply of marketing strategy.
Regardless of, or maybe in spite of, the unexplained decisions and rapidly changing path, all 7 BTS members ended up doing undeniably well. All the members worked hard and exceeded expectations. The music industry certainly must have taken notice that an outstanding band who was already known to be successful and innovative and precedent-breaking and -setting, also launched solo work for every member, where each and every one of them was successful and impressive. I personally have not seen that happen in my lifetime. Often there are one or two breakout artists, and that is usually at a time when the group is disbanding. BTS intends to come back together after their military service and use all the experiences and lessons they acquired during their solo projects to benefit the advancement and performance of the group. The members have said that this time apart and the knowledge learned from their solo work can only serve to increase the synergy they have as a group.
In Chapter 3, as I call it, I hope BTS is able to regain their momentum as a group as well as find a way to continue to do solo projects without taxing the members’ physical and mental strength excessively. It was really enjoyable seeing them express their individual voices and find strength & knowledge in the process. Having learned some new found information about members and their abilities & successes, I would like to see BTS being open to experimenting within the group projects. For example, they could try recording songs where the rapline does the vocals, while some or all of the vocal line does the rapping (not just for stage). They could incorporate more R&B or Pop songs for the vocal line subunit. They could allow some of the higher-pitched singers to use their lower tones more often. I would like to see them do more subunit songs (pairs or small groups), mixing it up often. Overall, I hope BTS can find a way to function successfully in a way that satisfies them artistically but that also allows them time to rest and explore life - not just work. This sounds like quite an adjustment from how they operated prior to this forced hiatus, but BTS has proven they are able to meet and beat expectations. Don’t ever count them out. APOBangPO! [ARMY forever; BTS forever!]
💟See My Wishlist for BTS's Solo Chapter.💟
BTS’s Solo Chapter - Part 3
This post includes my thoughts about the remaining 3 BTS members' solo projects (RM, JK, and Jimin). Part 2 discusses the other 3 members’ solo work (Suga, V, and JHope).
💜RM released the 2nd album of the group. His chosen, self-written songs expressed personal feelings and explained his thoughts and views about experiences and situations. While the songs, to me, all fall into a mellow category, they all had different sounds and feels. RM decided to go the route of a collab.-heavy collection of songs. His choice of collaborative partners was eclectic and thoughtful. The collaborators ranged from legends to indie performers and not just from Korea or Asia but from other parts of the world as well. (fun BTS connection: RM’s Indigo collaborator Park Ji Yoon sang the Coming of Age Ceremony song that Jimin and JK did a dance cover to in 2016.) Since RM is a world-class lyricist, his words were rich with his usual imagery, thoughtfulness, and cleverness that is found in much of his work. His album was critically acclaimed, especially from within the music industry. RM ensured himself as the musicians’ musician with this album that flows effortlessly from start to finish with musical ease. As far as promotions, RM decided to stay closer to home and go for a smaller, intimate feel with his performances. He did in-depth one-on-one interviews, a live Tiny Desk performance, 2 videos, 2 visualizers, and a small theater, onstage showcase that included a few of his collaborators as guests. I was also surprised to see an online day-in-the-life video series, where RM guided us through his day and even invited us into his home. He listened to his album with a friend and, of course, continued to speak to fans through Lives. The album and roll out were easy and comfortable in ways that seemed to suit RM to a T. While RM’s promotions did not appear to reach out far, based on size and location, his choice of artists touched a variety of musical genres and global regions in a subtle but expansive way. [On Indigo album: Still Life and Closer are my top favorites.]
BTS’s Solo Chapter - Part 2
Part 2 will discuss 3 members’ solo work (Suga, V, and JHope). Part 3 will finish the remaining 3 members’ work (RM, JK, and Jimin). Part 4 will pull it all together with my overall thoughts and look forward.
I am going to speak of the solo projects first in clusters of similarities and differences. In no way am I intending to diminish the choices of one member because I remark about a feature or choice of another that happens to be different. For the record, let me first clarify that I feel that every member of BTS did an outstanding job with their solo work. Whether it is my preference of music or not, they all produced quality work and presented their work impressively. There was not one sour note out of all of them. Jin was even able to quickly put out a successful song before he left and will present a full album of work when he returns. I expect no less from him. They are BTS after all. They have established a level of quality they all seek to rise to, whether working as a group or individually. Each member’s fans were happy, new audiences were happy, and I’m sure the shareholders were happy. Every work released was a success, receiving attention, awards, and accolades, while breaking some of their own records as well as some historically-established records. What more could be asked of them?
BTS fans have been wonderfully spoiled by a group that writes, or is involved in writing, a good deal of their own music. However, I feel that they should still have the freedom to write some music and to select some music written by others as well, without it being a problem. As long as they continue to mold the music to their style and tastes, and the lyrics have relevant meanings that they want to share, they should not be punished for either choice. For example, Suga, JHope, RM, and Jimin wrote most of their albums’ songs. The songs were emotional explanations of personal experiences and feelings. JK and V chose not to do that. However, they both selected songs that suited their styles and also had messages they wanted to share.
While there certainly can be a discussion about the different creative choices, neither choice should be condemned (in my humble opinion). JK didn’t write Euphoria and yet it is one of his most successful solo songs in BTS’s song catalog. I feel he meant those words in Euphoria or at least agreed with the content or felt he could express the sentiments well. Why can’t singers be credited for expressing the ideas of a song using their beautiful vocal instruments? Players of pianos, guitars, violins and all other instruments are given credit for expressing music they may not have written. I apologize for not being able to remember who said this but someone wrote that actors most often do not write the words of the scripts they perform, yet they are complimented when they are able to express the feelings in such a way that it connects with an audience.
With that said, there is room to be highly impressed with the people who choose and are able to write and express messages and feelings and then perform them with passion. JHope and JM made comments about how exposed they felt with the raw and personal songs they created and released. Suga and RM who have always produced personally-revealing songs seemed less bothered by that. And by the way, it is fine for people to prefer songs written by or selected by artists one way or another, I feel mature fans just should not punish, criticize, or disparage the opposite option for BTS or others.
A lot of expectations were in people’s minds about what the guys should do and how they should do it. Some people expected BTS to collaborate more with each other. I believe only JM and Suga invited another BTS member to participate on their album (Suga had JHope, JM had JK [hidden song]). I believe only the Maknae members (V, JM, JK) chose to perform at music shows, while the Hyung members did not. I believe JM, V, and JHope did not do collaborations for any of the main songs on their albums. RM and Suga did differing numbers of collabs, RM doing the most. However, JM obtained RM’s lyrical assistance for a few songs, likely for the English transitions, where I don’t think anyone else had production credits for anyone else’s album. JHope’s album was the only title with multiple words (Jack in the Box), while everyone else used a single word for their titles (Indigo, FACE, D-Day, Layover, Golden). Only V did all slow paced songs, while everyone else had at least one dance tempo track. I’m sure there are more observations that I missed. Those are a few contrasts I noticed. Now for thoughts on individual projects… (NOT in order of release dates)
