Dream to Chaos: The Evolution of TXT

With their most recent album, The Chaos Chapter: Freeze, debuting at No. 5 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart – the highest ranking achieved by any Korean act this year – TXT (Tomorrow x Together) are quickly establishing themselves as K-Pop fourth generation leaders. Consisting of members Soobin, Yeonjun, Beomgyu, Taehyun, and Huening Kai, the quintet is known for their unique narration of the highs and lows of youth, and by doing so have been able to cultivate audiences from all around the world. With a diverse discography that compellingly conveys the pains of growing up, let’s look at how TXT has gotten to where they are now.

The Dream Chapter: STAR

Youthful, innocent, and refreshing are all keywords to describe TXT’s first mini-album. Accompanied by bright melodies, catchy hooks, and playful instrumentals, The Dream Chapter: STAR is an easy listen for the everyday pop enthusiast. It’s a solid debut, one in which TXT explores an array of different genres and shows off their impressive performance skills and youthful charisma. 

The album’s title track, “CROWN” – a synth-infused blend of EDM and pop – depicts a boy who suddenly grows horns on his head and runs away to hide from the scrutiny of others. But with the help of another boy, one who happens to have wings, the boy learns to love his horns and view them as his crown. Not only does the track establish the foundations for the group's fictional storyline (known as The Star Seekers universe), but this inspiring message of self-acceptance marks the start of TXT being a group that speaks to and for a Gen Z audience. 

A highlight of the album is “Cat & Dog,” a beloved fan-favorite. The grittier hip-hop sound and trap-inspired beats make it the most intense track on the EP, but its playful lyrics – one that equates the idea of wanting to stay by a lover’s side forever to being a loyal pet – helps maintain the group’s cute and boyish image. Completed by some of the best rap verses on the record, witty lyricism (i.e. ‘kittyincidence’) and a string of barking sounds, “Cat & Dog'' is addictive, delightfully kitschy, and is powerful enough to get a room full of people to bark. The final track on the EP, “Nap of a star,” is a guitar-led lullaby that sings of fleeting memories of childhood. It’s in “Nap of a star” where TXT showcases their voices with delicate harmonies and whispery deliveries, successfully ending the album on a more emotional and sombre note. 

Being part of the same company (BigHit Entertainment/HYBE) that houses BTS comes with a lot of attention and expectations, but TXT’s brilliant execution of their bright and boyish concept (a departure from the darker hip-hop leaning concepts that BigHit is known for) ultimately sets them apart from their seniors. Overall, The Dream Chapter: STAR is an impressive debut and reveals TXT’s capabilities as artists that are skilled enough to embrace various genres with gusto, despite at this point only being rookies. 

The Dream Chapter: MAGIC

Although only eight months apart, TXT first full-length studio album surely is a step up from their debut. Continuing with the themes of youth, the group sings of teenage lethargy, the humdrum of life, and the childlike sentiment of wanting to run away, all while ushering in heavier sounding instrumentals, making it clear that The Dream Chapter: MAGIC is for a teenage demographic. 

The album opens with “New Rules,” a jungle-rhythm track where the group protests about how stifling school can be. With a funky bassline intro, intimate whispers, additions of electrifying guitar, and a fierce chorus where the group repetitively chants “let me go, let me go,” “New Rules” sounds grown-up without eschewing any spunkiness that was established on STAR, making it an admirable fronting track that sets the tone for MAGIC. This is continued with the album’s title track “9 and Three Quarters (Run Away),” a whimsical pop-rock inspired track with powerful drums and twinkling harp patterns. The song’s chorus is an unadulterated rush of pop synthesisers, but underneath its explosive production, the lyrics bring in all types of teenage angst. If “CROWN” is about finding self-acceptance through friendship, then its Harry Potter-inspired successor is about yearning to run away to a magic island with those friends. “In moments like those / when tears fill your eyes / hold my hand tight / should we run away?” the group sings. Escapism is an idea that the group returns to throughout the album. In the EDM-infused electropop song “Can’t We Just Leave the Monster Alive?,” the group uses the final boss (or monster) of a videogame as a metaphor for their childhood and contemplates that instead of facing the intimidating reality of growing up, they should stay kids forever. 

The second installment of The Dream Chapter trilogy comes with the similar themes that defined STAR, but with more mature and sophisticated production, especially with its funkier basslines, rolling drums, and edgier guitars. With this album, TXT continues to tell stories that embody the enchantment and limitlessness of youth, however, recognise the naivety behind this thinking. MAGIC cements the five-piece as artists that can hold their own ground, as the album represents not only a maturation sonically but their outlook towards their life as young people.

The Dream Chapter: ETERNITY

TXT’s second mini-album The Dream Chapter: ETERNITY continues the story of STAR and MAGIC, but things have suddenly lost their sparkle and we see the group questioning the permanence of forever. Conflicts, and the confusion and anger that come along with them, feel so earth-shatteringly intense when you’re young, thus it’s no wonder the group portrays it so dramatically. On the electro-grunge inspired “Can’t You See Me,” the group compares the quarrel between them to “the fire that dances at the end of the world” and professes that the once flourishing magic island, referenced in MAGIC, is now abandoned. The edgy guitar riffs, distorted vocals, and chopped instrumentals add a sense of broodiness and lend to the group’s (fictional) deteriorating friendship. The last track on the album follows through with this idea of teenage alienation. Constantly changing from spacey pop sounds to brash and zesty R&B as if there is a struggle between two sides of the same persona, “Eternally” conveys the pain of growing distant from a friend yet still yearning for their presence. 

The final installment of The Dream Chapter trilogy presents some of the most sonically experimental songs of their career, and mainly grapples with the experiences of disillusionment during adolescence. For TXT, they are growing up with an insane amount of attention on them and it’s interesting to see them examine their identity as idols. “Maze in the Mirror,” their first song with full-band writing credits, takes listeners back to the boy’s trainee days in which they hope the idol world doesn’t let them down whilst in “PUMA” they compare their newfound stardom to a puma escaping a zoo – something that is equally as intimidating as it is freeing. Seemingly in ETERNITY, TXT is met with the harsh truth – that a part of gaining a sense of self-worth is growing distant and not needing validation from those we used to think we’d spend an eternity with.  

minisode1: Blue Hour

Taking a break from their usual album chapter rollout, TXTs third mini-album minisode1: Blue Hour primarily focuses on how teenagers and young adults are navigating through the pandemic. The album’s eponymous lead single “Blue Hour,” a disco-pop track, is driven by groovy percussion, catchy hooks, and whimsical instrumentals. However, underneath the bright and energetic production, the lyrics express quite complicated feelings of wishing to stay young and in the moment. By depicting the sunset (or “blue hour”) as a time between two worlds, a time when the sky is most beautiful yet a time in which shadows quickly grow, the group continues to use creative metaphors to narrate their youth. “We Lost The Summer” is the most COVID-19-centered track that details a summer vacation free from friends but occupied with lockdowns and masks instead. Opening with a ticking clock and laced with tropical-house beats, the track is a nod to the summer that we never had in 2020. TXT then ends the album on a reassuring note with the R&B/pop mix “Way Home” as they remind listeners that although things might be unfamiliar now, our connection with others will eventually lead us home. 

Acting as a transition between The Dream Chapter trilogy and the recent Chaos Chapter series, minisode1 takes a moment to observe the state of the world in 2020, and in doing so further cements the five-piece as representatives for their generation. In a time where most feel that their youth is at a standstill, minisode1: Blue Hour blurs the line between fantasy and reality by allowing listeners to become lost in a land of imagination and technicolor while embracing hardship.

The Chaos Chapter: FREEZE

Released in May this year, the group’s second full-length album marks the start of their new chapter series. While The Dream Chapter trilogy detailed the struggles of companionship, school, and romance, there was always a magic island the group could run away to. However, The Chaos Chapter: FREEZE doesn’t offer this magical safety net and instead explores the feelings of disruption and chaos that come along with being thrown into the brash reality, especially one that involves a pandemic. “Frost”’s disorientating hyper-pop production is filled with trap beats, chopped percussion, and grunge-y vocals as TXT concludes that they have “really lost their minds'' while the TikTok viral hit, “Anti-Romantic” drowns in cynicism as the group delivers their most heart-wrenching lyrics yet: “As my entire heart burns, I'm afraid that only black ashes will remain.” 

However, amongst all the misery and feelings of hopelessness, there is salvation to be found – love. “In this world of zero, I found warmth, that’s you,” leader Soobin declares on the punk-rock inspired title track “0x1=LOVESONG (I Know I Love You) feat. Seori.” With its crashing drums and raspy rock vocals performed by the group’s youngest members Taehyun and Huening Kai, it’s not only a new sound for the group but also for K-Pop in general – especially for a fourth generation boy group. This arena-rock sound is continued on the equally rocky “Dear Sputnik” (produced by Huening Kai), where the group compares a lover to the light amongst darkness.

FREEZE offers an array of different musical colors – whether it be angsty rock, pop ballads, or a return to retro-pop – but unsurprisingly, TXT executes it with expertise. The group continues to juxtapose bright pop-y production with dejected and woeful lyrics (“Ice Cream'' and “No Rules”), something that has become a penchant for the group, as well as trek new territories (for example, the album includes their first English track, “Magic”) with more powerful vocals and even more writing/producing credits from each member. This record represents massive evolution for the group and offers the most genuine version of TXT that we have seen yet.

The Chaos Chapter: FIGHT OR ESCAPE

The second installment of The Chaos Chapter series is a repackage of the group’s May release, titled The Chaos Chapter: FIGHT OR ESCAPE, featuring three new songs including an emocore remix of “0x1=LOVESONG”. Doubling-down on the pop-punk sound that was introduced on FREEZE, the guitar driven “LO$ER=LO♡ER.” centers around a loser’s desire to be a hero after meeting his soulmate. He may have failed in the eyes of the world, but with his lover’s light he feels like a winner: “I don't care if everyone laughs, I want to sink into your ocean”.

The third addition to FIGHT OR ESCAPE is “MOA Diary (Dubbadu Wari Wari),” a buoyant disco-pop track that is dedicated to TXT’s fandom, MOA (short for “Moments of Alwaysness”). Written by the members, the song is completed with references to previous songs, inside jokes shared between the two parties, and touching sentiments – “let’s be together tomorrow as well,” the group promises.

From The Dream Chapter trilogy to the most recent The Chaos Chapter series, TXT have been able to share authentic stories of adolescence and young adulthood in their own way. Whether its bright EDM-pop, nu-disco, or grungy pop-punk, the group has proven to be versatile artists that can hold their ground, especially among the high expectations that have been placed upon them since their debut. The group’s expressions of joy, anguish, and confusion while navigating through a world that doesn’t make much sense is incredibly potent and relatable. Although not necessarily planned, the group’s unique storytelling and forward-thinking originality has allowed TXT to become the voices that their generation needed. 

Anastasia is a high-school student and a passionate consumer of all forms of pop culture - music (especially K-Pop), movies and tv, podcasts, fashion, and celebrity gossip. As the proclaimed music connoisseur of her friend group, she is currently working as a freelance music writer. You can follow her on Instagram @stasiablack_