Spread Your Wings For BTS

Personality and success are what make a musician popular, but for the world famous K-Pop group BTS, it's so much more. Since their debut, BTS has ventured into many genres of music, and it has allowed each member to find their own personal style. On October 10, 2016, the seven member group released their 15 track album Wings that includes solo songs from each member. 

The title track “Blood Sweat & Tears” is a mixture of EDM and tropical house with silky vocals and chilling raps. The group's rapline (RM, SUGA, and j-hope) is credited in 13 of the 15 songs, including the title track. The song speaks on the pain that is growing up, but also how hard it is to resist temptations. The music video for “Blood Sweat & Tears” currently sits at 919 million views on YouTube and 471 million listens on Spotify, making it one of their most popular songs on the streaming services. The song follows “Intro: Boy Meets Evil,” which sets the tone for the rest of the album–the pain of losing your adolescence and not knowing how to venture through life alone. 

The seven solo songs from each member showcase their stylistic abilities. Along with each of those seven songs came a short film that played into the HYYH storyline the group had been following since their debut. The songs invoke pain in the listeners with lyrics like, “I wish I could love myself,” coming from RM’s song “Reflection” which deals with issues he faces first hand that cause him to struggle with self acceptance and love. 

The outro song is one that gets everyone at their concerts jumping for joy due to the powerful dance tempo sound with deep raps and great vocals that perfectly accompany each other. “Interlude: Wings” speaks on the idea of being able to achieve what you want in spite of opinions others might have. The powerful album starts with a theme of hurt and fear of growth and ends on a note of perseverance which can be seen through the 10 year growth of BTS.

After completing their eight residency shows in Inglewood and Las Vegas and their one-night-only free concert in Busan, Korea, BTS announced their decision to enlist in the military. Until then, they will all continue to release solo albums following the release of RM’s Indigo, j-hope’s Jack In The Box, and Jin's single “The Astronaut.” Their fans, ARMY, await the group's return in 2025.

Edited by Cara Musashi