BTS is about to drop their new song, “Butter”, in just three days. For their ARMY, that means non-stop promotional photos and other small sips over the last few weeks leading up to the release. And for everyone else it means …get ready, even if you’re not on the fan pages and subscribed to all the BTS things, you still won’t be able to escape. So why not just join the party? 

 

The official teaser for “Butter” was posted on BTS’s channels today. It’s the first good listen at what’s expected to be a smash summer hit, like “Dynamite” was last year. 

 

I already know that I’ll love it – and not because I love them. But because this is pure pop, where I live, and I’m getting an 80s vibe off the beats here (and Queen’s “Another One Bites the Dust” energy), which is also where I live. So I’m pretty sure the choreo is going to end me on Thursday night/Friday morning when “Butter” finally spreads around the world. 

 

As it always is with BTS, they back their music up with marketing, arguably some of the best marketing in the music industry so that you can't avoid them on your timeline. RM, Jin, Suga, j-hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook cover the new issue of Rolling Stone as the magazine is releasing eight special edition covers that they’ve been dripping out every day over the last week: 

I wonder how quickly these copies will sell out – if they haven’t already. Back in December 2020 I wrote about BTS covering TIME, Variety, WSJ. Magazine, and Esquire and how sales for those publications were higher than they have been in years, in an industry with steadily declining hard-copy sales figures. The point of that post was how many other publications would want to hop on that ride and score some for themselves. Rolling Stone is a natural choice for the band – but this is probably more beneficial to the magazine than it is to RM, Jin, Suga, j-hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook. (Hey, by the way, ARMY, if you’re reading this, are we officially moving away from “Jungkook” now and styling him as “Jung Kook”? I’m behind on this, sorry.) I bought an annual digital subscription to Rolling Stone last week specifically because I wanted to get behind the paywall and read all the BTS content. The magazine is already making money from BTS. 

 

Rolling Stone may not have the cachet it once did but it remains an American cultural institution. And it’s not the only American legacy brand that BTS is taking over this month, which, by the way, happens to be AAPI Heritage Month in the United States. They’re also collaborating with McDonald’s. As I wrote a few weeks ago when this was first announced, BTS will have a presence at the most American of institutions, at a time when America is opening up, when millions of people in the United States are going back to the things they’ve missed during the pandemic, including the golden arches. Where they will find their usual burgers and favourite foods, but also the biggest band in the world plastered all over the walls and the cartons and the containers. McDonald’s employees will also be wearing BTS branded uniforms when the BTS Meal is available starting May 26 all around the world. The BTS Meal is 10 pieces of McNuggets, medium fries and a Coke, and also two brand new dipping sauces. Please check out the packaging on these sauces: 

BTS's McDonalds sauces 

First of all, I f-cking love a sauce and drench anything I can in a sauce, but also… that’s Korean writing on a McDonald’s package. I just pulled that from the Canadian McDonald’s website and I imagine it’s the same in the United States, so in North America, McDonald’s patrons will be exposed to Hangul, the Korean writing system, while hearing BTS’s “Butter” play on the loudspeakers or on the radio in the car. And of course BTS is scheduled to perform at the Billboard Music Awards on Sunday. 

 

This is a full court press. A multi-court press. BTS is coming at you where you read, where you watch, where you listen, and where you eat. BTS will “Butter” everything. 

And now, ARMY, while I have your attention, and it’s Asian Heritage Month, please if you haven’t already, watch this PSA to raise awareness for anti-Asian racism and celebrate the contributions of Asians in North America – and share if you can!