B-Sides: BTS Edition Pt.1
Photo: BIGHIT Entertainment
To celebrate their long-awaited album release titled ARIRANG, on March 20, and their highly-anticipated world tour of the same name, let’s dive into some of my favorite B-sides from the global superstars that are BTS.
“Dionysus”
Whenever I listen to "Dionysus," I am always taken back to BTS's last world tour, Love Yourself: Speak Yourself, where I saw BTS perform at the world-renowned Wembley Stadium, in 2019, which “Dionysus” opened. An experimental track that differs vastly to the other songs in their catalog, "Dionysus" stands out, making you feel like you're on an adventure, with the members’ vocals guiding you through an epic story. The BTS members have always been known for their incredible songwriting skills and the lyrics of “Dionysus” prove that, further elevating the song against its intricate rap-rock arrangement.
“Anpanman”
The fun and playful “Anpanman" always saves the day whenever this song gets played. From their third studio album, Love Yourself: Tear, the highly-energetic production behind “Anpanman” has the power to lift anyone's mood, immediately placing a smile upon a person's face with its feel-good sound and vocal delivery. Named after a character known for being “the world's weakest hero,” the song “Anpanman” is definitely not a weak song, with it delivering a strong message of hope that ARMY can find comfort and inspiration in, with BTS always displaying a fun, playful nature when performing this song.
“Spine Breaker”
Throwing it back to 2014 and to one of BTS's earlier songs, "Spine Breaker" remains as one of my favorite BTS tracks purely because of the memories and the feelings of nostalgia it brings when I listen to it. The eighth song from their second ep, Skool Luv Affair, "Spine Breaker" plays as a catchy anthem that criticises consumerism and societal pressures amongst youths. Although somewhat of a serious subject, the song itself feels fun with a humorous music video that was self-shot by BTS themselves. While I discovered BTS years after this song and its album were released, “Spine Breaker” takes me back to the days when I discovered the group and fell down a rabbit hole of their content, with “Spine Breaker” immediately becoming one of my favorite songs from them.
Edited by Cara Musashi