Dear Gossips,
BTS’s “Butter” is currently the #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100, the band’s fourth #1 in nine months. But can it go two for two? Last year “Dynamite” earned two back-to-back #1s upon its release which is what BTS and their team are hoping for this time. They’ve dropped several remixes after the original version – a new one, the “cooler” remix, is now online with an accompanying video that features RM, Jin, Suga, j-hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook freestyling in a gym:
“Butter” is getting more encouraging (compared to the past) radio play in North America. Variety yesterday published an article about how the song is being received in the west and how the song came together, showcasing an international collaboration between BTS, various songwriters and production experts from around the world, all of them participating in the creation of a hit summer jam. This is music as a team effort and a global effort. Art has no borders, and one of the reasons (there are many) that BTS has been so successful is because they have been able, time and again, to combine talents, both internally, within the band, and externally, with other artists and creatives.
While BTS is pushing for a repeat at #1 with “Butter”, they are also prepping for yet another online concert, two in fact. As mentioned earlier this week, it is currently Festa, BTS’s anniversary celebration. This year Festa will culminate on June 13 and 14 with two online concerts – referred to as “Musters” in BTS language – promising different performances for each show (which means I have to get my ass up at 5am on both days next weekend). The band, then, is deep in rehearsals right now because if you’re at all familiar with BTS, you know, even when it’s an online concert, they don’t let up on the practice.
BTS rehearsal and dance practice videos are my favourite; they’re the reason I got into them in the first place. Dance practice, after all, is pure Show Your Work. Sometimes I prefer their dance practice videos to the actual music videos – and, knowing this, they’re rather strategic about releasing dance practice videos from the archive. This week, since it’s Festa, they’ve put out a number of dance practice videos that spotlight just how much effort goes into each and every one of their projects. Since we were just talking about online concerts, here’s a new dance practice video from their Map of the Soul: ON:E online shows that were held on October 10 and 11, 2020 at Olympic Gymnastics Arena in Seoul. Yes, they took out a 15,000 capacity venue for an online concert with no live audience. These people do not f-ck around.
Here’s the dance break rehearsal:
And here’s the dance practice video for their performance of “Black Swan” that they did for an award show:
Compare that to the actual performance that night:
The quality of BTS’s work is world class.
Yours in gossip,
Lainey
