Dear Gossips, 

I’m shooting my part for The Social’s new season show-opener this afternoon at a park; it’s my first field shoot in months and I’m pretty excited – to see the crew, to just be rolling on something outside of my living room, and because earlier this week our executive producer gave me the all clear to wear pyjamas, a request I’ve been making for the seven years we’ve been on the air. So last night I did back-to-back sheet masks to extra-hydrate my face. And this morning I have on my special occasions mask, which I call my sperm mask, because when it dries it becomes like second skin, a thin film that peels off leaving your pores super tight. 

 

But you know what? It doesn’t matter. All of that effort doesn’t mean sh-t when you don’t sleep. And you know why I didn’t sleep? 

I blame BTS. 

Was up for the livestream countdown before the release of “Dynamite”, watched the video 18 times, and since the song is so fun and catchy, I couldn’t fall asleep. And then they went live again this morning (afternoon in South Korea) at 6am ET so, really, it’s a complete takeover. Interesting enough, when they were live this morning RM pointed to a pimple on his face, asking why it isn’t going away: 

Why won’t it ago away? Because you assholes won’t let up on all this content! You are causing me new pimples!

 

Still, I’m not mad. The thing about “Dynamite” is that it’s exactly the kind of song you play when you’re getting ready in the morning to face the day and set the mood. BTS promised that it would be upbeat and uplifting, that they decided to release it outside of their usual schedule, ahead of their upcoming new album, which they’re still working on. Because it’s been such a f-ck of a year. And even though one song can’t change the world, it never hurts to serve up some joy. That’s what “Dynamite” is: three and a half minutes of pure joy. 

“Dynamite” is also three and a half minutes of record-breaking. It is now the record-holder for the biggest video premiere in YouTube history with four million people (I was one of them) tuning in right at midnight ET for the drop, doubling the last record. Within 40 minutes, the video had been viewed almost 15 million times. At the time of this writing (7am ET), it’s quickly approaching 50 million. So they’re on track to set a new 24 hour record. 

 

Perhaps more importantly though, “Dynamite” looks to be getting solid radio support (for a change) in the west. 

This, combined with strong sales, should make the charts interesting next week. 

More on BTS and “Dynamite” later. For now, let their energy carry you through the weekend. 

 

Yours in gossip,

Lainey