By Piper Nicely
Another year, another BTS album, another day getting up (against my better judgement) at four in the morning to see it’s release!
February 21 marked the release of Map of the Soul: 7, Korean pop sensation BTS’s latest addition to their already amazing discography. I have been so excited waiting for the release of this album and it definitely did not disappoint! Map of the Soul: 7 contains a variety of themes and styles of music, including pop, lofi, hip hop, rap, latin, soul and so much more! The messages in the songs are, as always, deep, profound and wildly emotional pieces of social and personal commentary. So, as a self-proclaimed “connoisseur of k-pop”, I thought I could lead you through the map of the soul and tell you which stops you absolutely wouldn’t want to miss!
Map of the Soul: 7 is comprised of 20 songs total, 15 of which are new, including three little “breaks” in the main flow of the music, titled ‘Intro: Persona’, ‘Interlude: Shadow’ and ‘Outro: Ego’, which feature BTS’s three main rappers, RM, Suga and J-Hope as they breakdown psychologist Carl Jung’s analytical psychology. This theory states that the human psyche is broken into three parts, the personal unconscious, the collective unconscious and the ego.
In ‘Intro: Persona’, RM raps in a classic grunge style about knowing himself and the division of his personality between being an idol, an artist and himself. ‘Interlude: Shadow’ is filmed like a horror movie with hoards of blank faced people crowding around Suga and finding their way into his private life as he delivers a raw, emotion-filled performance. ‘Outro: Ego’ is then a sharp contrast as it is filled with bright colors, snappy dance moves and a bubbly, catchy pop style song.
Their title track, ‘On’, includes a catchy chorus, awesome drum beats and some amazing high notes from the main singer, Jungkook. The song tells about fighting to succeed in the world and reaching the true version of yourself. Since the album’s release, there have been two music videos made for this song, one including the fancy footwork of the UCLA marching band while the other was far more stylized and filled with allusions to various religions as well as famous books and stories in youth culture. There was so much going on that I ended up making a poster board size comprehensive flowchart just to try and keep up (ok, maybe I’m a tiny bit obsessed)! This song is honestly one of my favorite title tracks they have ever released, it just is so unique and energetic and never gets old!
Throughout the album, many group members get solo songs or perform in small groups. Jimin and V combine their amazing vocals for the beautifully bubbly song ‘Friends’, a sweet and nostalgic reflection on their friendship. V and Jungkook perform solos ‘Inner Child’ and ‘My Time’ respectively, both odes to their childhood selves and all the struggles they have overcome. Jin sings his energetic pop hit ‘Moon’, a tribute to BTS’s loyal fans ARMY where he explains how much he loves them. RM and Suga work together to create the somewhat hilarious song ‘Respect’, an awesome rap where they get in a autotune-filled debate over what it means to have respect and to be respected (in the end they just end up agreeing that the English language is harder than the truth about respect will ever be).
Jimin then shocked fans with his sultry, latin inspired solo titled ‘Filter’, where he teasingly explained how he knows about his good looks and wonders what filter people would want to put on him each day, trying to decide between being tough, cute, or anything else people could want.
BTS’s vocal line, comprised of members Jin, Jungkook, V and Jimin came together to perform ‘Zero O’Clock’, a gentle, lofi inspired song about starting over and leaving the pain of the past in the past. The rap line performed ‘UGH’, an fun, yet somewhat aggressive song about their frustrations dealing with haters. As a whole group, they performed ‘Louder Than Bombs’ (co written with American artist Troye Sivan) and ‘We are Bulletproof: the Eternal’. ‘Louder Than Bombs’ is a beautifully melodic song that discusses overcoming pain to reach success and refusing to give up on our dreams. ‘We are Bulletproof: the Eternal’ is the heartwrenching conclusion to two of their earlier songs, ‘We are Bulletproof Pt. 1’ and ‘We are Bulletproof Pt. 2’ which discuss the struggle of their slow rise to fame and the sacrifices they made to get there. In this new song, they say that they finally made it along with the new family they found in their fans (it’s safe to say I shed a tear or many listening to this one).
Map of the Soul: 7 is an amazing album, showing the versatile strengths and talents that come with the worldwide phenomenon that is BTS. I strongly encourage you to check it out and listen with an open mind. Their lyrics are profound, their music extremely catchy and when it comes to style, they have a little something for everybody!
Southview Catalyst 