As BTS Festa 2023 draws to a close, the 10th anniversary celebrations are steadily ramping up. On June 17, fans are invited to attend a day-long celebration at Yeouido Hangang Park in Seoul, South Korea. The event will also be partially streamed online so ARMY around the world can participate in the festivities. A brand new single also dropped on June 9, just four days shy of the group’s debut date. The song, titled “Take Two,” was recorded months in advance so that all members of the group would be able to participate. SUGA lended his production expertise while RM and j-hope contributed with their fine-tuned song writing skills.

“Take Two,” at its core, is a feel-good track that pours out all the love BTS holds for ARMY. It’s a combination of the vocal line’s sweet harmonies and rap line’s steady flow with soulful ad-libs to boot. When you delve into the lyrics, most lines contain a special easter egg that recalls past songs and memories. The most obvious is the sentiment: “Oh we young forever / (Never felt so young)” which was a major theme in The Most Beautiful Moment in Life trilogy. The award winning group has revisited the topic of youth countless times since then, including in their 2022 anthology album, Proof. The last track, “For Youth,” is similar to the new single in many ways. It’s a fan song that describes ARMY as BTS’s best friend and youth. Thus, “Take Two” is appropriately titled in many ways. It reaffirms the bond described in “For Youth” while simultaneously looking forward to a new chapter and the next ten years together.

Other easter eggs turn painful memories from the past into a hopeful future. The lyric “Even the desert became the sea so we swim forever”* is a nod to “Sea,” a hidden track from Love Yourself 承 : Her. The song uses the desert and sea as synonyms for despair and hope, respectively. BTS describe the trials and tribulations from their debut days as a never-ending desert that can only become a sea when filled with their blood, sweat, and tears. However, if it’s true that “Wherever there’s hope, there’s a despair,”* then where there’s despair, there must also be hope. In “Take Two,” the trials have ceased, and the desert finally became a sea filled with love.

BTS and ARMY will continue to grow alongside one another, as they always have, but growing up doesn’t mean giving up. As one chapter comes to a close, we’ll turn the page on a new one—our “Take Two.” For BTS said it best: as long as we’re together, we’ll be “young forever.”

Happy anniversary, BTS, and congratulations on the past ten years. I, for one, am greatly looking forward to what the next ten have in store.

*Lyric translations from @btsbaragi_jk on Twitter and https://doolsetbangtan.wordpress.com/ 

Edited by Cara Musashi