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ladybusinessThe elections in the United States of America are over and BTS released BE.
I promised myself: work hard, do your best, and after the elections end you can relax and enjoy good art. I've gotten through this disappointing year listening to BTS's music, and enjoying their surprisingly motivational ancillary content. The announcement of their first new album, BE, after "Dynamite" took the world by storm could not have come at a better time for me.
Music has been my coping mechanism in a year when focusing on books and film was too exhausting to manage. The announcement of a new album post-election gave me something to look forward to instead of focusing on the existential dread I felt knowing that so many of the local races I was watching weren't going to work out. No matter how things went on Election Week, I'd earned my unabashed enjoyment of new music from a trusted artist. I knew somewhere inside BE there was a song that would be comforting or uplifting—probably both—to make me feel a little better about the world in the aftermath of the worst election season of my life.
BE shocked me when I downloaded it to listen. After I finished, all I did was restart it for another pass. Twice became three times, and three became four, I’d never listened to a new album that many times in a row during my initial session with it. On the fifth listen, Taehyung sang, "출구가 있긴 할까" and I cried and cried and cried. This means, "Is there a way out?" according to the official music video (I've seen it translated this way, too), which I didn't know until later. That was the moment all my emotions exploded; I was a tiny star going supernova with feelings. It was crying as a brutal ejection of months and months of hopelessness, frustration, and uncertainty.
I cried because it was beautiful music. I cried because it's hard to hear and feel their sadness in the beginning of the album over a year that should have been so full of everything. I cried for the optimism they feel for the future, optimism I can't share yet because the place that I live is so full of leaders who don't care, and the leaders who do but are too far away from the levers of power. I cried for everything I've lost this year, both personally and professionally. I cried because my year was stolen from me, by craven, immoral grifters who mismanaged our pandemic on purpose because they thrive in chaos. I cried for thousands of dead Americans and their families. I cried for the Americans we haven't lost yet, but will, because my country touted a toxic brand of freedom for so long that it's turned into a conspiracy theory. It's a situation that drags people into the depths of self-generated terror until they do nothing but expel it onto the rest of us. It's trapped us in a sick cycle of misery that only keeps being renewed, generation after generation, toxicity planted in the people to later bloom selfishness and hatred and contempt.
I cried for hours, alone in my office while the rest of my family slept. They're my precious people with health problems that make them susceptible to this virus and I worry every day about losing them due to political greed, arrogance, fear of change, and lack of community care. We could have controlled the pandemic had our leaders cared more about people than power. BE doesn't shy away from centering the fact that this virus, and the situations it created, absolutely sucks for all of us in different ways. It's a very surreal feeling knowing that seven strangers making music on the other side of the world care more about your mental and physical health than your local officials.
If I've made BE sound like a sad album, it's not. BE centers all the uncertainty we're facing as people and then from it, manages to find joy, hope, and connection in our many moments of isolation. BE is the recognition of a moment in time that those of us taking this pandemic seriously are experiencing collectively, even though we're all separated from one another. I've seen it described, over and over, with the word “comforting”. BE is the hug from a friend during a hard time. As soon as the embrace happens, it's oh so easy to crack open, whether it's with happiness or grief. Every single feeling rushes out because there's enough safety to let out all the emotions that have been pushed back, suppressed, and ignored in favor of simply not thinking about anything deeply enough to have to deal with it.
Rather than make me sad, BE was a piece of art that asked me to recognize that I was already sad, but burying all those feelings underneath hollow productivity and the illusion of control, whether it was care tasks, hobbies that were meant to be relaxing, or electoral politics. I've felt isolated, with the local government meant to represent me instead peddling anti-mask conspiracy theories, and knowing that friends live close enough for me to visit, but they might as well be on the other side of the world due to the pandemic. The spaces between us feel larger than ever, but BE says that the space is temporary and our social connections are strong and will keep us tethered to one another. BE was my way out of the cocoon of emotional suppression I had wrapped myself in starting in March. I love it for that reason and suspect my appreciation for it will only grow as I dig into the lyrics.
Surprise! In the end I was wrong. There wasn't one comforting/uplifting song. There were six.
Disclaimers: I'm not a music critic. I'm still baby ARMY, too. Although it feels as if I've been here for years I only discovered BTS in mid-February, before our lives changed forever. You find BTS when you need them the most, as the saying goes. I haven't made it through their discography so my knowledge of their body of work is incomplete—they are so prolific. I don't have a large vocabulary or intimate knowledge about music to pull from. I speak with no authority on anything involving music except as someone who found solace in music this year. I don't have a favorite song from BE, because they're all my favorite in some way. I want to be greedy and keep them all close for now without choosing one. They're all so lovely, interesting, and layered.
I spent years and years listening to classical music, especially piano (thanks to the many Final Fantasy Piano Collections in my music library). I think of lyrics as another type of instrument that's communicating a feeling first and language second. I do this with all music, even songs in English. I suspect this is why I struggle to connect to monotone vocals, even when they're done deliberately. The music comes first for me, then the words and the ways the meaning of the words arere interacting with the music. This is why I love so many songs by BTS. With four vocalists and three rappers who can sing when they want to they have the ability to layer vocals in a myriad of combinations even on unit songs. On BE they use this ability to full advantage.
The opening song to BE, "Life Goes On", is gorgeous. The melody for this song is very subtle and understated, allowing the vocals to shine. Note to Big Hit: can I please have the instrumental version of "Life Goes On"? And the acoustic version. And also a piano version. I'm willing to wait for Yoongi to heal because his piano work would be my preference, but would also accept someone else if that meant I could have it now. "Life Goes On" is the song that launched me into emotional freefall; I'm biased about it. It's honest but soothing, the musical version of a friend putting an arm around your shoulder.
Also, the end when Jimin and Taehyung vocalize together: yes, thank you. I accept this precious gift.
BE spoiled me because I kept complaining to BTS friends that I was not receiving the vocal Jimin/Taehyung content I felt we deserved. I love the differences in their vocal ranges. I've pounded the table all year for More Content, and then "Fly To My Room" comes along. All the vocal work here is stellar (the way Jimin's voice complements Taehyung's deeper register is *chef's kiss*), but even more than that is my ongoing obsession with the way Hoseok takes up vocal space. The combination of his accent, the way he enunciates his words, and the energy behind his delivery is irresistible to me. It's most apparent in "Fly to My Room" and the beginning of "Dis-ease".
Back to Taehyung: "Blue & Grey" is the slowest song on the album. I often expect the slower songs to be emotionally devastating; back in February more experienced ARMY theorized that "We Are Bulletproof: the Eternal" from Map of the Soul: 7 would be like their other hard hitting raps and I, clueless and new, took those predictions to heart. Instead, "We Are Bulletproof: the Eternal" was an emotional letter to ARMY that opened to reveal teeth that gnawed themselves (lovingly) into your heart. I listened to it unprepared! Therefore, I now approach all slower songs with extreme emotional caution. However, "Blue & Grey" is truly one of the most comforting songs on the album due to the beat and Taehyung's vocals. He almost always manages to surprise me because I never expect him to hit the low notes he does. His voice on this song in particular, and on BE in general, make me feel the same way the oboe part does in Prokofiev's "Peter and the Wolf"—chest tight with emotion.
Early in the making of the album, huge parts of which BTS shared with us on social media, Jimin made a point about being too positive and cheerful and running the risk of undermining the tough times people were going through, and "Blue & Grey" really captures the idea that we're all sad and unmoored by this particular moment and the ways in which it's exacerbated mental struggles, but we aren't alone in those feelings. "Blue & Grey" is the perfect balance of this idea.
"Skit" is something they used to do more of on older albums. This time they got together and discussed being #1 on Billboard for BE. I still haven't looked up a translation. I do care what they're saying, but it's nice to listen to them laugh and be joyful without context. It reminds me of sitting in coffee shops and bookstores and hearing the conversations around me without really understanding the words, but enjoying the ambiance the chatter created—the music of life and society and public spaces that's been missing since March. The funniest part is their laughter after whatever got bleeped out—the Ultimate Mystery.
"Telepathy" is one of the songs where BTS talks directly to ARMY; it's very cheerful and upbeat. I know that in the past I've talked to fellow fans who don't like the BTS/ARMY songs as much as their other work, but I'm the opposite: they're often the songs I return to again and again. Part of this is that while the songs obviously center the relationship BTS has with their fans, they also center friendship and supportive relationships in general. It's perfectly possible to take a song BTS wrote for ARMY, dedicate it to a good friend and have it apply. We get romantic/sexual love songs all the time, because societies all over create relationship hierarchies with romantic/sexual love at the top. But songs like "Telepathy" are about love in friendship, connection, and support. It means a lot, especially given that a lot of people live with their partners already. I see my partner every day. But I haven't been able to hug my best friends in months! In some cases, it's been over a year for those pals I only see when I go to conventions. This is why I love songs BTS writes about ARMY—it feels like they value and center relationships that aren't just about banging in their music. I see myself and my friendships in songs like "Telepathy".
(To be clear, I'm also a fan of their songs about banging. I just appreciate their songs to ARMY as an ace individual equally.)
If I could only recommend one song from the album, "Dis-ease" would be it. I love all Hoseok's work in this song, because of the aforementioned thing I have for his pronunciation when he raps. "Dis-ease" also features a brilliant shift in the bridge that brings the song to the next level. The bridge apparently came from Park Jimin, Noted Vocalist and Composer, and An Actual Angel. The beat and key change is so smooth and the vocals from Jungkook, Jimin, and Seokjin so crisp that the first time I heard the song I shuddered like I had caught a chill, which generally only happens to me with dubstep and related genres.
(I'm still not picking a favorite. But "Dis-ease" makes it tempting.)
The first time my partner heard "Stay", he said, "This sounds like am EDM remix of a BTS song." He's not wrong and I wonder if this is because "Stay" was meant to be on Jungkook's mixtape and was instead developed for BE. I'm always asking my friends to let me make them playlists for BTS, because if I can get them to name me a few of their favorite songs, I can find a song from BTS that is hitting the same beats/emotions. BTS is versatile and nimble with their sounds, and their love of all kinds of music shines through their work. "Stay" is another perfect example of them producing an interesting song with very different sounds than the other songs on the rest of the album. My favorite parts of "Stay" are Namjoon's verses, but a close second is the way Jungkook and Seokjin mirror the electronic sound of the music by alternating their vocals. It's neat.
And of course, "Dynamite", the last song, ends the journey of the album in celebration. On this topic I've largely disagreed with a few other music critics who say that BE falls apart after "Skit". As I'm not a music critic or a musician, this may be my cluelessness speaking, but the evolution of BE from the gentle beginnings in "Life Goes On" to the eventual familiar beats of "Dynamite" take you on a very specific journey which seems so deliberate and obvious that I'm bemused that other professional critics are reacting with question marks. BE presents its musical sounds in the pattern of a basic monomyth, or hero's journey. Instead of the journey being out in the world, it's wrapped up in our homes and thoughts, until we come to terms with our new circumstances and look toward a bright, hopeful future when we can reclaim public spaces and our relationships again.
Admittedly, I love "Dynamite" wholeheartedly as something that BTS made for ARMY to cheer us up. They worked to spread it as far as they could so it would reach the most people. "Dynamite" burst out of the gate and went so high and so far that it even reached the Recording Academy. BE dropped right before Grammy nominations, putting an album containing this super popular, catchy song in the spotlight.
BTS put themselves forward in six categories for the Grammys, but only received one nomination for their performance of "Dynamite". I'm so thrilled for them and their accomplishment even as I'm sad that Map of the Soul: 7 was not recognized due to how widespread the bigotry present in artistic awards can be, with awards institutions mirroring the politics and structure of old boy networks. I wish their first Grammy nomination could have been for their music in Korean. I don't know a ton about the music industry or its award culture, but from the outside it looks very similar to other artistic communities that present awards. Take it from a U.S. Southerner who has seen multiple types of these of networks up close and personal—these social rat-kings are built by relational means over decades and are hard to pry apart. They're insular and don't pay a lot of attention to outsiders unless those outsiders put themselves in front of them over and over again. The fact that seven South Korean men managed it at all in a field that seems incredibly insular is a feat. Starting with the official music video for "Dynamite", they performed the song multiple times with amazing visuals for every outing, always bringing something new to the table. The creativity involved in the ways they altered the presentation of their performances over and over again while keeping the theme of the song intact in their visuals is something that deserves recognition, but their determination to be seen is just as important.
Based on my experience with these types of awards, getting one nomination is only the beginning if a marginalized artist wants to keep pushing for more recognition. Nominations for closed awards beget more attention and more opportunities because these awards grant themselves manufactured prestige as closed awards, using their longevity and position as artistic authorities. Once the gate is down, the grind of showing the world your art matters doesn't get easier, but exposure to new communities and tastemakers does. The ways it could be difficult: there may be a white-lash as the people within the status quo push back not only against BTS but against all artists the Academy gatekeepers see as outsiders. Changing social systems is a hard, grueling process: we have to chip away at them a little at a time, it takes decades, and even huge wins can feel underwhelming. I'm speaking it into the universe, though: this is not the last time we'll see BTS specifically (they are so young!) or South Korean artists in general on the Grammy nominee lists.
I've listened to ten BTS albums this year, from 2 Cool 4 Skool to Map of the Soul: 7 ~ The Journey ~. BE is quickly overtaking Map of the Soul: 7 as my favorite album of the year and my favorite work by BTS so far. This year, more than ever, I'm grateful artists like BTS are making music like this for us all to enjoy. You can listen to BE on all major streaming services, including Youtube and Spotify, or grab the physical album, which is itself a beautiful piece of art.
I promised myself: work hard, do your best, and after the elections end you can relax and enjoy good art. I've gotten through this disappointing year listening to BTS's music, and enjoying their surprisingly motivational ancillary content. The announcement of their first new album, BE, after "Dynamite" took the world by storm could not have come at a better time for me.
Music has been my coping mechanism in a year when focusing on books and film was too exhausting to manage. The announcement of a new album post-election gave me something to look forward to instead of focusing on the existential dread I felt knowing that so many of the local races I was watching weren't going to work out. No matter how things went on Election Week, I'd earned my unabashed enjoyment of new music from a trusted artist. I knew somewhere inside BE there was a song that would be comforting or uplifting—probably both—to make me feel a little better about the world in the aftermath of the worst election season of my life.
BE shocked me when I downloaded it to listen. After I finished, all I did was restart it for another pass. Twice became three times, and three became four, I’d never listened to a new album that many times in a row during my initial session with it. On the fifth listen, Taehyung sang, "출구가 있긴 할까" and I cried and cried and cried. This means, "Is there a way out?" according to the official music video (I've seen it translated this way, too), which I didn't know until later. That was the moment all my emotions exploded; I was a tiny star going supernova with feelings. It was crying as a brutal ejection of months and months of hopelessness, frustration, and uncertainty.
I cried because it was beautiful music. I cried because it's hard to hear and feel their sadness in the beginning of the album over a year that should have been so full of everything. I cried for the optimism they feel for the future, optimism I can't share yet because the place that I live is so full of leaders who don't care, and the leaders who do but are too far away from the levers of power. I cried for everything I've lost this year, both personally and professionally. I cried because my year was stolen from me, by craven, immoral grifters who mismanaged our pandemic on purpose because they thrive in chaos. I cried for thousands of dead Americans and their families. I cried for the Americans we haven't lost yet, but will, because my country touted a toxic brand of freedom for so long that it's turned into a conspiracy theory. It's a situation that drags people into the depths of self-generated terror until they do nothing but expel it onto the rest of us. It's trapped us in a sick cycle of misery that only keeps being renewed, generation after generation, toxicity planted in the people to later bloom selfishness and hatred and contempt.
I cried for hours, alone in my office while the rest of my family slept. They're my precious people with health problems that make them susceptible to this virus and I worry every day about losing them due to political greed, arrogance, fear of change, and lack of community care. We could have controlled the pandemic had our leaders cared more about people than power. BE doesn't shy away from centering the fact that this virus, and the situations it created, absolutely sucks for all of us in different ways. It's a very surreal feeling knowing that seven strangers making music on the other side of the world care more about your mental and physical health than your local officials.
If I've made BE sound like a sad album, it's not. BE centers all the uncertainty we're facing as people and then from it, manages to find joy, hope, and connection in our many moments of isolation. BE is the recognition of a moment in time that those of us taking this pandemic seriously are experiencing collectively, even though we're all separated from one another. I've seen it described, over and over, with the word “comforting”. BE is the hug from a friend during a hard time. As soon as the embrace happens, it's oh so easy to crack open, whether it's with happiness or grief. Every single feeling rushes out because there's enough safety to let out all the emotions that have been pushed back, suppressed, and ignored in favor of simply not thinking about anything deeply enough to have to deal with it.
Rather than make me sad, BE was a piece of art that asked me to recognize that I was already sad, but burying all those feelings underneath hollow productivity and the illusion of control, whether it was care tasks, hobbies that were meant to be relaxing, or electoral politics. I've felt isolated, with the local government meant to represent me instead peddling anti-mask conspiracy theories, and knowing that friends live close enough for me to visit, but they might as well be on the other side of the world due to the pandemic. The spaces between us feel larger than ever, but BE says that the space is temporary and our social connections are strong and will keep us tethered to one another. BE was my way out of the cocoon of emotional suppression I had wrapped myself in starting in March. I love it for that reason and suspect my appreciation for it will only grow as I dig into the lyrics.
Surprise! In the end I was wrong. There wasn't one comforting/uplifting song. There were six.
Disclaimers: I'm not a music critic. I'm still baby ARMY, too. Although it feels as if I've been here for years I only discovered BTS in mid-February, before our lives changed forever. You find BTS when you need them the most, as the saying goes. I haven't made it through their discography so my knowledge of their body of work is incomplete—they are so prolific. I don't have a large vocabulary or intimate knowledge about music to pull from. I speak with no authority on anything involving music except as someone who found solace in music this year. I don't have a favorite song from BE, because they're all my favorite in some way. I want to be greedy and keep them all close for now without choosing one. They're all so lovely, interesting, and layered.
I spent years and years listening to classical music, especially piano (thanks to the many Final Fantasy Piano Collections in my music library). I think of lyrics as another type of instrument that's communicating a feeling first and language second. I do this with all music, even songs in English. I suspect this is why I struggle to connect to monotone vocals, even when they're done deliberately. The music comes first for me, then the words and the ways the meaning of the words arere interacting with the music. This is why I love so many songs by BTS. With four vocalists and three rappers who can sing when they want to they have the ability to layer vocals in a myriad of combinations even on unit songs. On BE they use this ability to full advantage.
The opening song to BE, "Life Goes On", is gorgeous. The melody for this song is very subtle and understated, allowing the vocals to shine. Note to Big Hit: can I please have the instrumental version of "Life Goes On"? And the acoustic version. And also a piano version. I'm willing to wait for Yoongi to heal because his piano work would be my preference, but would also accept someone else if that meant I could have it now. "Life Goes On" is the song that launched me into emotional freefall; I'm biased about it. It's honest but soothing, the musical version of a friend putting an arm around your shoulder.
Also, the end when Jimin and Taehyung vocalize together: yes, thank you. I accept this precious gift.
BE spoiled me because I kept complaining to BTS friends that I was not receiving the vocal Jimin/Taehyung content I felt we deserved. I love the differences in their vocal ranges. I've pounded the table all year for More Content, and then "Fly To My Room" comes along. All the vocal work here is stellar (the way Jimin's voice complements Taehyung's deeper register is *chef's kiss*), but even more than that is my ongoing obsession with the way Hoseok takes up vocal space. The combination of his accent, the way he enunciates his words, and the energy behind his delivery is irresistible to me. It's most apparent in "Fly to My Room" and the beginning of "Dis-ease".
Back to Taehyung: "Blue & Grey" is the slowest song on the album. I often expect the slower songs to be emotionally devastating; back in February more experienced ARMY theorized that "We Are Bulletproof: the Eternal" from Map of the Soul: 7 would be like their other hard hitting raps and I, clueless and new, took those predictions to heart. Instead, "We Are Bulletproof: the Eternal" was an emotional letter to ARMY that opened to reveal teeth that gnawed themselves (lovingly) into your heart. I listened to it unprepared! Therefore, I now approach all slower songs with extreme emotional caution. However, "Blue & Grey" is truly one of the most comforting songs on the album due to the beat and Taehyung's vocals. He almost always manages to surprise me because I never expect him to hit the low notes he does. His voice on this song in particular, and on BE in general, make me feel the same way the oboe part does in Prokofiev's "Peter and the Wolf"—chest tight with emotion.
Early in the making of the album, huge parts of which BTS shared with us on social media, Jimin made a point about being too positive and cheerful and running the risk of undermining the tough times people were going through, and "Blue & Grey" really captures the idea that we're all sad and unmoored by this particular moment and the ways in which it's exacerbated mental struggles, but we aren't alone in those feelings. "Blue & Grey" is the perfect balance of this idea.
"Skit" is something they used to do more of on older albums. This time they got together and discussed being #1 on Billboard for BE. I still haven't looked up a translation. I do care what they're saying, but it's nice to listen to them laugh and be joyful without context. It reminds me of sitting in coffee shops and bookstores and hearing the conversations around me without really understanding the words, but enjoying the ambiance the chatter created—the music of life and society and public spaces that's been missing since March. The funniest part is their laughter after whatever got bleeped out—the Ultimate Mystery.
"Telepathy" is one of the songs where BTS talks directly to ARMY; it's very cheerful and upbeat. I know that in the past I've talked to fellow fans who don't like the BTS/ARMY songs as much as their other work, but I'm the opposite: they're often the songs I return to again and again. Part of this is that while the songs obviously center the relationship BTS has with their fans, they also center friendship and supportive relationships in general. It's perfectly possible to take a song BTS wrote for ARMY, dedicate it to a good friend and have it apply. We get romantic/sexual love songs all the time, because societies all over create relationship hierarchies with romantic/sexual love at the top. But songs like "Telepathy" are about love in friendship, connection, and support. It means a lot, especially given that a lot of people live with their partners already. I see my partner every day. But I haven't been able to hug my best friends in months! In some cases, it's been over a year for those pals I only see when I go to conventions. This is why I love songs BTS writes about ARMY—it feels like they value and center relationships that aren't just about banging in their music. I see myself and my friendships in songs like "Telepathy".
(To be clear, I'm also a fan of their songs about banging. I just appreciate their songs to ARMY as an ace individual equally.)
If I could only recommend one song from the album, "Dis-ease" would be it. I love all Hoseok's work in this song, because of the aforementioned thing I have for his pronunciation when he raps. "Dis-ease" also features a brilliant shift in the bridge that brings the song to the next level. The bridge apparently came from Park Jimin, Noted Vocalist and Composer, and An Actual Angel. The beat and key change is so smooth and the vocals from Jungkook, Jimin, and Seokjin so crisp that the first time I heard the song I shuddered like I had caught a chill, which generally only happens to me with dubstep and related genres.
(I'm still not picking a favorite. But "Dis-ease" makes it tempting.)
The first time my partner heard "Stay", he said, "This sounds like am EDM remix of a BTS song." He's not wrong and I wonder if this is because "Stay" was meant to be on Jungkook's mixtape and was instead developed for BE. I'm always asking my friends to let me make them playlists for BTS, because if I can get them to name me a few of their favorite songs, I can find a song from BTS that is hitting the same beats/emotions. BTS is versatile and nimble with their sounds, and their love of all kinds of music shines through their work. "Stay" is another perfect example of them producing an interesting song with very different sounds than the other songs on the rest of the album. My favorite parts of "Stay" are Namjoon's verses, but a close second is the way Jungkook and Seokjin mirror the electronic sound of the music by alternating their vocals. It's neat.
And of course, "Dynamite", the last song, ends the journey of the album in celebration. On this topic I've largely disagreed with a few other music critics who say that BE falls apart after "Skit". As I'm not a music critic or a musician, this may be my cluelessness speaking, but the evolution of BE from the gentle beginnings in "Life Goes On" to the eventual familiar beats of "Dynamite" take you on a very specific journey which seems so deliberate and obvious that I'm bemused that other professional critics are reacting with question marks. BE presents its musical sounds in the pattern of a basic monomyth, or hero's journey. Instead of the journey being out in the world, it's wrapped up in our homes and thoughts, until we come to terms with our new circumstances and look toward a bright, hopeful future when we can reclaim public spaces and our relationships again.
Admittedly, I love "Dynamite" wholeheartedly as something that BTS made for ARMY to cheer us up. They worked to spread it as far as they could so it would reach the most people. "Dynamite" burst out of the gate and went so high and so far that it even reached the Recording Academy. BE dropped right before Grammy nominations, putting an album containing this super popular, catchy song in the spotlight.
BTS put themselves forward in six categories for the Grammys, but only received one nomination for their performance of "Dynamite". I'm so thrilled for them and their accomplishment even as I'm sad that Map of the Soul: 7 was not recognized due to how widespread the bigotry present in artistic awards can be, with awards institutions mirroring the politics and structure of old boy networks. I wish their first Grammy nomination could have been for their music in Korean. I don't know a ton about the music industry or its award culture, but from the outside it looks very similar to other artistic communities that present awards. Take it from a U.S. Southerner who has seen multiple types of these of networks up close and personal—these social rat-kings are built by relational means over decades and are hard to pry apart. They're insular and don't pay a lot of attention to outsiders unless those outsiders put themselves in front of them over and over again. The fact that seven South Korean men managed it at all in a field that seems incredibly insular is a feat. Starting with the official music video for "Dynamite", they performed the song multiple times with amazing visuals for every outing, always bringing something new to the table. The creativity involved in the ways they altered the presentation of their performances over and over again while keeping the theme of the song intact in their visuals is something that deserves recognition, but their determination to be seen is just as important.
Based on my experience with these types of awards, getting one nomination is only the beginning if a marginalized artist wants to keep pushing for more recognition. Nominations for closed awards beget more attention and more opportunities because these awards grant themselves manufactured prestige as closed awards, using their longevity and position as artistic authorities. Once the gate is down, the grind of showing the world your art matters doesn't get easier, but exposure to new communities and tastemakers does. The ways it could be difficult: there may be a white-lash as the people within the status quo push back not only against BTS but against all artists the Academy gatekeepers see as outsiders. Changing social systems is a hard, grueling process: we have to chip away at them a little at a time, it takes decades, and even huge wins can feel underwhelming. I'm speaking it into the universe, though: this is not the last time we'll see BTS specifically (they are so young!) or South Korean artists in general on the Grammy nominee lists.
I've listened to ten BTS albums this year, from 2 Cool 4 Skool to Map of the Soul: 7 ~ The Journey ~. BE is quickly overtaking Map of the Soul: 7 as my favorite album of the year and my favorite work by BTS so far. This year, more than ever, I'm grateful artists like BTS are making music like this for us all to enjoy. You can listen to BE on all major streaming services, including Youtube and Spotify, or grab the physical album, which is itself a beautiful piece of art.
