hankyoreh

Just in time for summer, the Hankyoreh has planned something special for its weekend editions. Over the next four weeks, we'll be running a four-part series on BTS by producer Lee Jae-ik, author of the column "The World Seen Through the Songs of Lee Jae-ik." These articles will cover a range of stories about BTS, from Jungkook kissing the back of his hand to V's hairstyle. You won't want to miss this middle-aged Army's recommendations about the best BTS videos.

BTS has released their latest track "Butter." That single short sentence automatically evokes numerous predictions. You might guess that the music video will become the most-watched on YouTube and that the song will dominate music markets around the world and reach the top spot on various charts.

There's no need to check on each of those predictions — because they've all come true!

BTS has been breaking records in pop music, just as Usain Bolt did when he started entering track competitions. BTS' latest song, "Butter," reached number one on Billboard's main singles chart, marking the group's fourth number-one hit in just nine months, when they first achieved that feat with "Dynamite."

That comes close to a record set by Justin Timberlake and the Jackson Five. But BTS is the only group with three songs reaching number one on the Billboard chart within a week of their release.

BTS has been doing just as well on YouTube. They broke their own record for racking up 100 million views on a video in the shortest amount of time and now hold first and second place in that category.

BTS is also racing up charts around the world while setting new records for number of streams on most major streaming platforms. And the K-pop group has already logged several entries in Guinness World Records.

Simply put, BTS remains the world's most popular pop band. That's the phrase that foreign media use now. They've already dropped the expression "sensation" in their coverage of the group.

But enough about BTS' accomplishments. Let's take a look at the lyrics of their latest songs.

"Butter," just like "Dynamite" before it, has English-language lyrics. Overall, the song is about winning the listener's heart like butter. Since it would probably take a whole book to analyze all the lyrics, we're just going to look at the first two lines in this column.

Here they are: "Smooth like butter / Like a criminal undercover."

"Smooth" here isn't only talking about the texture of butter, of course, but about someone adept and suave in dealing with their romantic interests.

But for fans of American and British music, these seven short words convey so much more.

The word "criminal" links up with a scene in the music video where the BTS members are in a lineup, having their mug shots taken.

The word "smooth" also pairs with "criminal" in a nod to the classic song by Michael Jackson.

That isn't just an idle reference to Michael Jackson, however. BTS already signaled their respect for the late artist in their earlier hit "Dynamite."

They included the moonwalk, Michael Jackson's signature dance move, in their official music video for "Dynamite" and also prepared a special event in their concerts involving Michael Jackson's outfits and choreography.

Basically, BTS used these witty lyrics in "Butter" as a tie-in to "Dynamite." That certainly doesn't mean that they're just riding the coattails of the previous song's success, though!

Let's take a look at the lyrics of "Dynamite." They start like this: "'Cause I-I-I'm in the stars tonight."

As it turns out, "Dynamite" is packed with a tune and samples that twinkle like the stars.

The music video is much the same. On top of the gorgeous full-color palette, the choreography is constantly sparkling and popping. It's a dazzling and deafening spectacle.

But "Butter" is the exact opposite. Like the first lyric — "smooth as butter" — the music video is easy on the eyes and ears. For one thing, the video begins in black and white.

While I've watched the music video dozens of times, the only colors I can remember are purple — symbolizing Army, BTS' fan base — and yellow, the color of butter.

BTS' concerts since the song's release have had a similar vibe. The sets have been low-key, and the BTS members have worn either solid-color suits or casual outfits. The overall feel has been much more relaxed than with "Dynamite."

Now that we've looked at the lyrics let's analyze the music.

Just as the lyrics of "Butter" evoke African-American music legends Michael Jackson and (later on in the song) Usher, the songwriting makes a bold reference to British rock icons "Queen."

While the instruments highlighted in "Dynamite" are guitars and brass, "Butter" is dominated by the bass guitar.

The bassline that loops throughout the song — and that appeared in the teaser video — is extremely similar to the famous bassline in the Queen song "Another One Bites the Dust."

Queen responded to the homage with a tweet on its official Twitter account expressing excitement and fondness for BTS' new song.

What if BTS and Queen were actually to collaborate on a song? The prospect is thrilling just to contemplate!

I was personally a little peeved about one part of "Dynamite." Suga (Min Yoon-gi) and other rappers in BTS only had a small part in the song.

In "Butter," Suga only got four lines, just as before. But whereas his easygoing rap in "Dynamite" is overshadowed by the music, I was more pleased by his lines in "Butter," which showed off a little more of Suga's character as a rapper.

With seven members and songs only running for three or more minutes, I understand that each member's role has to vary with the nature of the song. Even so, I can't help checking to see how much time Suga gets in each new song.

Am I the only Army like this? I guess I've got to face the cold, hard truth: once you fall for Suga, there's no turning back!

At any rate, we've seen that the only connection between "Dynamite" and "Butter" is Michael Jackson. So why do a lot of listeners think the songs sound similar despite all these differences? That question brings us to the BTS dilemma, a subject that I'll explore in part two of this series, which will run in the June 12 edition.

By Lee Jae-ik, radio producer at SBS

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