BTS Seek to Light Up the World With Vibrant Disco-Pop Single ‘Dynamite’

Global superstars BTS have finally dropped their brand new digital single “Dynamite.” The track is the septet’s first English language release and follows their fourth studio album, Map of the Soul: 7 which was released on February 21st this year.

While Map of the Soul: 7 was a darker record which saw BTS open up about their hardships and fears, “Dynamite” seeks to change gears and spread joy. The group discussed the track in a press conference earlier this morning, stating they wanted to provide some happiness in these trying times. Leader RM explained, “The release of ‘Dynamite’ wasn’t planned at all. We were working on our album since the beginning of this year and ‘Dynamite’ was one of the songs we met in that process. It was a light, fun song that didn’t have any seriousness and cheered us up a lot. We wanted to share this energy with our fans as quickly as possible and decided to release it early, something we’ve never done before.”

In terms of sound, BTS dive headfirst into a blend of funk, soul and pop, embracing a retro vibe with confidence and joining in on the global disco resurgence. The lyrics are confident and express a desire to have a fun night out full of joy: “Cause ah, ah, I’m in the stars tonight/So watch me bring the fire and set the night alight/Shining through the city with a little funk and soul/So I’ma light it up like dynamite, woah.” Creative contributors to “Dynamite” include songwriters David Stewart and Jessica Agombar, and BTS explained they chose to release the track in English because it matched the vibe they wanted to convey. “When I heard the [English] demo, I really liked the message and felt it fit the direction we wanted to go,” recalls rapper J-Hope. “When we recorded it, it made us feel energized. We wanted to share this feeling with many people. It’s a new challenge for us, so it’s more meaningful.” The track also sees the three rappers of BTS take on more vocals than usual. J-Hope said about his part, “For a behind the scenes, my key was pretty high, very high actually, so it wasn’t easy but it turned out good overall.” The group’s vocalists get to show off soaring falsettos and effortless key-changes.

The visuals for the video are bright, filled with combinations of primary colors and pastels, focusing mainly on choreography. The members pack in moves that pay tribute to the disco era of the Seventies and Eighties, King of Pop Michael Jackson and the iconic 1977 film Saturday Night Fever. The moves over the chorus are simple–allowing for fans to follow along–and each member gets to highlight their individual skills and characteristics. J-Hope further added at the press conference that most of the choreography was a product of improvisation from the BTS members on-set.

Rapper SUGA explained the message of “Dynamite” is to uplift and encourage everyone in the midst of COVID-19, assure them they are not alone in everything they have faced in 2020. “I would say it is dedicated to all the people in the world who feel like they fell down while they were running a marathon,” he says, adding that it’s exactly how the band felt as a whole when their ‘Map Of The Soul’ tour was canceled earlier this year. “It made us feel very powerless, frustrated. It felt like we were running this whole time, but now we had tripped and fallen.”

BTS also shared they will release their next album in the final quarter of 2020. Vocalist V detailed, “The upcoming album will contain a lot of our personal touches, unique charms and characteristics. Our previous albums contained our touch too, but this one especially shows more of that.”

Last week BTS announced an ‘offline and online’ concert titled ‘Map of the Soul ON:E.’ Set to take place over October 10th and 11th, 2020, the concert will be the septet’s first ‘in-person’ concert of this year. Fans theorize that the concert will feature performances from Map of the Soul: 7, which were originally meant for the ‘Map Of The Soul’ tour. Earlier this year, the group attempted to make up the postponement of the tour to fans with Bang Bang Con (a two-day long stream of their older concerts) and Bang Bang Con The Live (a mini-concert/gig), both of which drew a record-breaking number of viewers. The numbers for Bang Bang Con The Live were particularly powerful and unprecedented for any live-streamed show–the gig pulled a paying audience of over 756,600 fans across 107 regions.

The first TV performance premiere of “Dynamite” will be at the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards on August 30th.