BTS Show their Dark Side in the Grungey New Video for ‘Fake Love’
With plenty of black leather, artfully ripped attire and glitter, the South Korean pop group seem more like an angst-ridden rock band as they gear up to face their demons
BTS often address issues like depression, suicide and self-love in their artistry and it would seem "Fake Love" is no exception to the narrative.
After hinting at a darker look and sound via several teaser videos and album art over the past week, South Korean group BTS have delivered exactly what they promised and then some with the music video for “Fake Love.”
The track is the lead single off the group’s third studio LP Love Yourself 轉 ”˜Tear’ which also released today and follows the heady comeback trailer, “Singularity.” With plenty of black leather, artfully ripped attire and glitter, BTS seem more like an angst-ridden rock band than pop group as they gear up to face their demons.
In the clip, the septet’s main vocalist and youngest member Jungkook navigates a maze-like manor in search of his bandmates. He comes across each of them seemingly trapped in rooms with imagery that has haunted them from previous music videos like 2015’s “I Need U” and 2016’s WINGS short films. Some of the most striking visuals include the moment when flames burst in front of rapper Suga, threatening to swallow him as he sits calmly and watches in amusement, and water flooding the room in which vocalist Jimin stands. Solo scenes reflecting each member’s personal struggles are interspersed with clips of furious, seductive choreography.
The storyline in the video continues the arc of BTS’ fictional universe and skews the borders between fantasy and reality, past and present with numerous Easter eggs, symbolism and allusions to literature and mythology.
Written by the group’s leader RM, producers Pdogg and Hitman Bang, “Fake Love” is pop-rock influenced but stays true to BTS’ hip-hop leanings with an undercurrent of rolling trap and slow hip-hop. The chorus “I’m so sick of this fake love/I’m so sorry but it’s fake love,” is heart-wrenching and the lyrics hint at themes of hiding depression and the pressure to keep relationships afloat even if one is struggling with their mental health. BTS often address issues like depression, suicide and self-love in their artistry and it would seem “Fake Love” is no exception to the narrative.
Within minutes of its release earlier today, Love Yourself 轉 ”˜Tear’ hit Number One on iTunes India’s overall album charts while “Fake Love” took the stop spot on the singles chart, closely followed by every other track on the album. Pre-orders for the physical copies of the album topped 1.44 million orders, surpassing the 2017 EP Love Yourself 承 ”˜Her’’s total sales.
Watch the video for BTS’ “Fake Love” below:
