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Tens of millions of fans around the world raced to hear BTS’s latest offering on Friday, as the K-pop sensation released her highly anticipated new album to a deluge of excitement.
Three hours after “BE” was available in a simultaneous worldwide release, the video for the first song “Life Goes On,” a song that offers a message of hope in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, had been viewed by nearly 20 million times on Youtube.
“This is the best thing that happened this year,” wrote one fan, among more than 560,000 comments.
“Just when I was starting to feel like trash again and wanting to leave this world, BTS releases this album,” added another.
“His music saved me so many times and he still does.”
BTS has risen to global stardom since their debut in 2013, with a series of sold-out shows in Los Angeles, Paris, and London last year.
The pioneering septet cemented their prominence in the world’s largest music market when their English single “Dynamite” entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number one in August, making them the first South Korean act to top the US chart.
And last month, his Big Hit Entertainment label made a multi-million dollar stock market debut.
“Our goal with the music on ‘BE’ is that it can be a comfort to a lot of people,” member Jimin said at a press conference on Friday.
“If many people can relate to him, I will be really grateful.”
– ‘Original and profound’ –
The eight tracks, which include “Dynamite,” are the group’s fifth Korean studio album and “contain the most ‘BTS-esque’ music yet,” Big Hit said in a statement ahead of release.
The new album needs to “persuade skeptics who have heard of BTS more recently that their work is powerful, original and profound,” CedarBough Saeji, visiting professor at Indiana University in Bloomington, told AFP.
“If this album can prove that loyal fans exist in large part because of phenomenal artistic offerings, critics who attribute BTS’s success only to loyal fans will be forced to reevaluate.”
BTS’s lyrics are usually socially conscious – themes include the evils of consumerism and mental illness.
They constantly engage with fans at home and abroad through social media, having amassed 30.7 million followers on Twitter.
Member Jin said that another “BE” track, the retro album “Telepathy,” expressed “the sad reality of not being able to meet with our fans from all over the world due to Covid.”
“The song is about how we are happiest when we are with our fans, and that although we are physically separated now, in fact we are always together.”
The megastars are scheduled to perform “Dynamite” and “Life Goes On” for the 2020 American Music Awards on Sunday in Los Angeles.
– Country call –
While Big Hit’s stock has fallen since its initial debut on the stock market, the company is still worth around $ 6 billion.
But he warned in his IPO prospectus that he was facing a “risk factor” in the form of mandatory military service for the seven members of BTS.
South Korea requires all trained men to serve in uniforms to defend it against the North with nuclear weapons, usually for 18 months.
Jin, the oldest member of the septet at 27, cannot delay his service beyond the end of 2021, while the other six will have to follow him for years to come.
The South is currently debating waivers for stars like BTS, who have been at the forefront of the Korean Wave cultural phenomenon in recent years, but the band reiterated on Friday that they all plan to serve.
“As a young South Korean, I think I must serve in the military without hesitation,” Jin said.
“As I have always said, I will accept the call of the country at any time whenever it happens,” he added. “We all plan to serve.”
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