BTS are back today (May 21) with a brand new single – their second English-language track ‘Butter‘ – just in time to kick off summer in style. Shortly after the song was unveiled to the world, the Korean icons held a press conference in Seoul to discuss the new release, how their views on music have changed over the last year, their continued goal to win a Grammy and a whole lot more. Here’s everything we learned from the event.
- READ MORE BTS’ ‘Butter’ is a cool, crisp summer anthem that doubles as a potent shot of self-confidence
The elevator dances in the ‘Butter’ music video were all ad-libbed
There’s a part in the music video for ‘Butter’ where each member of BTS performs their own unique moment of choreography. For J-hope, it’s pulling a dynamic move; for V, pretending he’s putting on cologne. “There’s a part where the members are each dancing in an elevator set, expressing their feelings,” V explained during the press conference. “We ad-libbed them – they’re freestyle dances we came up with on set and we chose how we could express ourselves best.”
BTS’ music has been a source of comfort for the members themselves over the last 18 months
BTS are well-known among for offering comfort through their music to their fans but, it turns out, it isn’t just ARMY who have felt the healing benefits of their back catalogue lately. “There were moments, of course, that were difficult and painful for us as well,” Suga said, referring to the universal hardships of the pandemic. “For me, in the past year listening to our music, received a lot of consolation and healing. It made me realise this is how people feel when they listen to our music, so I think the way I see music and my values and my goals changed a lot during this process.” As a result of feeling the group’s impact for himself, the rapper said he wanted to now focus on making even greater songs and using the opportunity to grow.
J-hope later also confessed that he received consolation from music. “Happy things, good things that happened was thanks to our music,” he said. “Going through 2020, I realised music has an enormous power.”
‘Butter’ is part of their continued goal to win a Grammy
Last year, BTS achieved a long-harboured ambition of being nominated for a Grammy with their 2020 single ‘Dynamite’. The track didn’t manage to secure them one of those golden gramophone trophies, but they haven’t lost hope in their goal to hold one in their hands one day. Asked if ‘Butter’ was another attempt at Grammys glory, Suga replied that it wasn’t not part of that quest. “We continue to want to receive a Grammy award,” he said. “‘Butter’ will be another try and I hope can have good results.”
RM then confirmed: “We are thinking of the Grammys. We will try to do whatever we can to set that as a goal and go towards that goal.”
They’re focussed on what they want their legacy to be
Next month will mark BTS’ eighth anniversary since their debut, and the group are nowhere near being finished just yet. Asked about what they talk about the most right now in light of that impending milestone, leader RM gave a typically thoughtful answer, listing off notions including why they make music and their role or reason for existence in the “new normal”.
“As BTS, what are the values that we should realise and pursue?” he questioned, before turning his eyes to the far future. “In this industry and in this genre, whatever that is, how can we leave a legacy? What would be meaningful for us to leave a meaningful legacy?”
They might be global superstars now, but they’re still humble
One reporter noted that, eight years ago, then-rookies BTS used to wear name tags to help TV crews tell them apart. When asked what it felt like to now, presumably, not need to wear such identifying labels because of their status as the biggest band in the world, RM rejected the idea that the whole world now knows who each member is.
“There are so many more people who recognise us and know our names – not just the camera crew, but the directors and producers and staff,” he said. “But we still wear those name tags and the labels and we’ll try to keep that up because there might still be people that don’t know us.”
‘Butter’ by BTS is out now.
The post Everything we learned from BTS’ ‘Butter’ press conference appeared first on NME.
