Get it, let it roll!
BTS are world renowned artists with millions of albums sold and stadium sold out. Butter is their second edition to their collection of English singles which commenced with dynamite. Today we are going to look deeper into both these singles and put forward my personal opinion regarding each of them.
- ORIGIN
It’s an understatement to say that BTS has evolved as artists both musically and conceptually. They have put themselves into different molds and perfected their craft. Some of genres they have explored include pop, hip hop, ballads, edm and of course retro.
But why was butter even released when they had not shown any major interest in releasing English singles?
It all starts with dynamite.
Due to the deleterious pandemic a lot of BTS’s initially planned events got cancelled including a world tour. They had a full korean album and solos already released in the beginning of 2020. This might have been to fuel up the upcoming world tour which did not take place.
When inquired about their sudden changes in plans RM said:
“[We] decided to first release a single because we wanted to reach our fans as soon as possible. Due to COVID-19, people around the world have been going through tough times and we wanted to share some positive energy with our fans.”
Thus dynamite was created. BTS themselves might not have prognosticated the colossal success dynamite would be. On it’s release it instantly broke hundreds of records and also became the most viewed music video on YouTube in the first 24 hours. But dynamite’s success was not limited to media platforms, it also gifted BTS their first Grammy nomination.
The massive success of dynamite must have been the major catalyst for butter. Now that BTS knows they have a chance at Grammy’s it was the most obvious move to release another single in English.
Now this is in no way to say that Butter was only meant for Grammy’s because of course not. As an army myself I extremely admire the dedication and care they showcase towards their fans and for treating music as a way to communicate with a larger audience rather than a money making business.
2. MUSICAL COMPARISON
Butter is more developed than dynamite in terms of structure, music, concept and overall feel. It is studded with bright guitar and rock pieces with abrupt shifts in verses. While the introduction is sharp and robust, the pre chorus clumsily glides over witty lyrics and vocal enhancement, but the chorus smooths out the plane and glides flawlessly over the song like….you know butter.
I had a few troubles with dynamite’s lyrics which was solved by butter. The first one being the excessive repetition of the same sentence as the introduction, chorus and even the bridge are all the same lyrics but butter has a better (that rhymes) flow and exempts from over saturation of lyrics. The verses are solely dedicated to specific parts of the song.
The second issue was again the content of the lyrics. A few examples of my outlandish opinion.
Bring a friend, join the crowd
Whoever wanna come along
Word up, talk the talk
Just move like we off the wall
Day or night, the sky’s alight
So we dance to the break of dawn
There is nothing wrong with these lyrics in fact it’s really good
Smooth like butter, pull you in like no other
Don’t need no Usher to remind me you got it bad
Ain’t no other that can sweep you up like a robber
Straight up, I (got ya)
Making you fall like that (break it down)
But the butter lyrics are more dynamic. It plays with with it’s lines (ex: the Usher part) and the member line up. But dynamite lacks a lot of dynamics butter has brought to the table.
3. MEMBER INPUT
Butter managed to fill up the gaps dynamite had created. Dynamite’s structure was mainly focused on Jungkook, Jimin, V and RM while the others got tagged along when it came down to line distribution. But this era each one of them were given verses that suited them perfectly. Suga, RM and Jhope where given rap parts and the vocal line had a good arrangement throughout.
All of them looked stunning and contributed to the concept in their own ways. Jungkook started the song perfectly with his sharp yet potent voice that created a strong base for the others to build further. Taehyung’s voice lightens in vocal color and provides the song with the concrete yet breezy anchor it needs. The rap line received verses that gave justice to their position in the group. Jin and Jimin had really smooth transitions and verse deliveries.
The sets weren’t exactly retro but had a balance between nostalgia and modern sleek lines, actually the song itself had that vibe.
Overall the song was a fruitful listen with little hidden surprises that made the experience even more prepossessing.
Smooth like butter!
