hankyoreh

Screenshots from BTS’ teaser for “Butter” (YouTube screenshot)

There is speculation that South Korean music group BTS sampled British band Queen’s music in the teaser video of the Korean group’s second single “Butter.” Queen, in a tweet, hinted that the two groups are working collaboratively.

The 19-second teaser video for “Butter,” which was released Wednesday on YouTube, starts off showing BTS members lined up in formal attire in a black-and-white hue. They then begin bobbing their heads when the music starts before suddenly covering their mouths with their hands as if taken by surprise. The video then proceeds to show butter dripping down off the top of a pancake, and the video ends with the band members saying, “Get it, let it roll.”

The bass drum rhythm played at the beginning of the video is very similar to the start of Queen’s hit “Another One Bites the Dust,” which has led to speculation that BTS sampled the song in their new single.

Queen, for its part, hinted that the two bands collaborated when it posted the lyrics “Are you ready hey are you ready for this” along with “Another One Bites The Dust x #BTS_Butter” on Twitter.

Queen retweeted the teaser and gave BTS a shoutout. (Twitter screenshot)

The phrase “another one bites the dust” means “another guy has died,” and Queen’s original lyrics describe a person firing a gun at other people. The song was banned in South Korea in the 1980s because the lyrics were considered “cruel.”

The song is part of Queen’s 1980 album “The Game.” The song almost never saw the light of day because all the band’s members – except for Freddie Mercury – disliked it. However, Michael Jackson, upon hearing the song, strongly recommended that it be released and it ended up being released as a single in August 1980. The song reached number one on Billboard’s The Hot 100 for three weeks. The album jumpstarted Queen’s popularity in the US and has sold more than three million copies.

Meanwhile, the teaser video recorded more than 36 million views as of Thursday. The song – the band’s second single after its megahit “Dynamite” – is the group’s second song in English and exudes a lively yet soft tone.

BTS plans a simultaneous release of “Butter” globally on Friday, and the band plans to hold its first performance at the Billboard Music Awards on Monday.

By Jung Hyuk-june, staff reporter

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]