[ALBUM] Wings
Background and release[edit]
From September 4 to 13, 2016, Big Hit released a series of short films for each member to promote the then upcoming album.[7][8] The short films started with Jungkook's "Begin",[9] followed by Jimin's "Lie",[10] V's "Stigma",[11] Suga's "First Love",[12] RM's "Reflection",[13] J-Hope's "Mama",[14]and ended with Jin's "Awake".[15] The comeback announcement was done right after Big Hit Entertainment released a statement on August 31, about BTS' third global official fan club concert, which the new comeback will be performed for the first time.[16][17]
Wings[edit]
On September 25, BTS released a comeback trailer,[18] on YouTube, featuring member J-Hope rapping skills as a solo and consists of a boy’s mind meeting a devil called ‘temptation’.[19][20] Later from September 28 to October 4, Big Hit Entertainment released the concept photos[21][22][23][24] of the album on official Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook page revealing the album will be available in four versions[25] of physical albums; W, I, N and G version. The album's track list[26] was then released on October 5 on the official website and Twitter account.[7] A music video teaser[27] was also released on October 7 on YouTube, indicating "Blood Sweat & Tears" would be the lead single. Big Hit Entertainment lastly revealed the design and details of the physical album which it will be accompanied with its photobook, polaroid, mini standee and poster.[28]
During the press conference for the release of their album, leader RM explained, "The harder a temptation is to resist, the more you think about it and vacillate. That uncertainty is part of the process of growing. "Blood Sweat & Tears" is a song that shows how one thinks, chooses, and grows."[29] Symbolism such as the 'wings' were representations of growth, with SUGA adding, "The song relays an optimistic determination to use our wings to go far, even if we are met with temptations in life."[29] Jungkook explained during the group's comeback preview show on V LIVE, that his solo track, "Begin", was about his journey to Seoul and meeting the BTS members.[8] V revealed his song, "Stigma", describing it as "a song under the neo-soul genre". J-Hope described his song, "MAMA" as unforgettable, as it was about his childhood emotions for his mother. "Awake" was Jin's first experience in co-composition.[30] RM revealed, the 14th track, "Two! Three! (Still Wishing For Better Days)" ("둘! 셋! (그래도 좋은 날이 더 많기를)") was the first official fan song.[30] The song "Am I Wrong" samples Keb' Mo's 1994 jazz/blues song "Am I Wrong"[31] and the album credits[32] Kevin Moore as co-writer and co-producer.
You Never Walk Alone[edit]
On November 18, 2016, Big Hit Entertainment released a teaser trailer[33] for an upcoming concert tour of Wings[34] while revealing the ticketing schedule[35] with ticket sales starting on December 21. They later announced BTS' comeback[36] which will be on February 13, 2017[37] with part two of Wings. On February 2 and 3, the concept photos[38][39] were released on the group's official Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter accounts, indicating that the physical album will be available in two versions, Left and Right version. The track list[40] was then released on BTS' official homepage and Twitter account on February 7, revealing the track "Outro: Wings" as a remake from BTS' previous album. A music video teaser[41] was released on YouTube on February 10 hinting at the new lead single, "Spring Day". They also released the design and details of the physical album, which will be accompanied by a photobook, photocard, mini standee, and poster.[42] On February 11, the second music video teaser was released on YouTube, and revealed "Not Today" as another lead single of the album.[43]
You Never Walk Alone album is a continuation of "Wings". It contains stories that were not included in the previous album.[37][44] The album also contains messages of hope and consolation to heal the youth of the generation.[45]
Music videos[edit]
Wings[edit]
"Blood Sweat & Tears" music video was released at 12:00 KST, October 10, 2016[46] after over a month of teasing the comeback. The music video itself ties in heavily with literary, philosophical, and artistic allusions of Herman Hesse’s Demian.[47][48] The music video was produced and directed by Lumpens[49] and GDW.[50]
You Never Walk Alone[edit]
At 12:00 KST, February 13, 2017, the official music video for "Spring Day" was released.[51] The song delivers a message about never losing hope while waiting to be reunited with an estranged friend.[52] Spring Day is an alternative hip hop song with the essence of British rock and electronic music. The main melody was written by RM.[53] The video was produced and directed by frequent BTS collaborator Lumpens (YongSeok Choi)[49] and GDW[50] On February 20, the official music video for "Not Today" was released on YouTube.[54] "Not Today" is an addictive moombahton track and the music video features a powerful moombahton dance performance.[54] The video was produced and directed by GDW.[50] Later, BTS released the choreography music video of "Not Today" after a week.[55] The dance was choreographed by Keone Madrid, frequent artist for BTS dance collaboration.[56]
Promotions[edit]
Wings[edit]
On October 9, 2016, BTS held a comeback preview show[57] on Naver V LIVE.[58] The next day, they held a 'Wings Showcase'[59][60] for the release of the studio album at Lotte Hotel located in Seoul, Korea. BTS also revealed they will greet fans at upcoming concerts with new songs. BTS promotion on local music programs went for a month, starting with Mnet's M! Countdown on October 13[61] where they performed three songs: the lead single, "Am I Wrong" and "21st Century Girl" the first week. On November 12, the BTS 3RD Muster [ARMY.ZIP +] concert was held with BTS performing Wings comeback releases for the first time.[62][63]
You Never Walk Alone[edit]
On February 12, 2017, BTS held a comeback preview show[64] on Naver V LIVE.[65] Starting February 18, BTS held 2017 BTS Live Trilogy Episode III: The Wings Tour in support of their album, having shows in South Korea, the Americas, and various Asian countries performing songs from the new release in front of fans for the first time.[66][67][68][69] Later, the promotion on broadcasting networks for a week started from February 23 with both singles "Spring Day" and "Not Today" were performed on Mnet's M! Countdown[70] even though one of the new songs, "Outro: Wings" was deem unfit for broadcast by KBS.[71]
Commercial performance[edit]
Wings[edit]
Wings pre-orders reached 500,000[72] copies on its first week which is two-hundred thousand more than the previous album, The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 2. The tickets for BTS 3RD Muster [ARMY.ZIP +], of which 70% of total seats were open to official fan club members only, sold out in 10 minutes; after it opened reservation, all 38,000 seats sold out within 15 minutes.[73]"Blood Sweat & Tears" then broke the record of fastest K-pop music video to reach 10 million views at the time leading it to break other ten millions records.[74] Billboard revealed in November, it was the Most Viewed K-Pop Videos in America, Around the World: October 2016.[75][76]
Shortly after release, the group achieved an 'all-kill' (#1 simultaneously) on the South Korean music charts.[77][78][79][80][81] The album's lead single, "Blood Sweat & Tears", became the group's first domestic number one hit on Gaon Digital Chart.[82][83][84][85] All 15 songs on the album charted in the top 50 of the Gaon Digital Chart, garnering over one million digital downloads and over eight million streams.[86][87][88][89] Internationally, BTS sent their highest number of songs; 13 in total, on Billboard World Digital Songs with the lead single debuted at number 1 on its first week.[90]
The album charted on the Billboard 200 at number 26, making it the highest charting, best selling K-pop album on the chart at the time with 16,000 copies sold, 11,000 in traditional album sales;[90] and spend more than one week on the chart[91] making BTS the first K-pop act to achieve the feat with the same album. In the two weeks it sold 100,000 copies; of that sum, nearly 13,000 were in traditional album sales.[91] BTS also topped Billboard World Albums for the week of October 29.[92] In its third week, it moved another 1,000 copies, spending another week as the highest-selling K-pop album in America.[93] BTS made their debut in the Billboard Top Album Sales Chart on the week of October 29th, 2016 with its peak position at number 20.[94] The album also managed to make the UK Albums Chart, at number 62, making history as the first Korean act to do so.[95] It was listed at number 6 among the World Album Year End Chart and was selected as the Best Kpop Album of 2016 by Billboard.[96][97] It broke South Korea album chart records as the highest-selling album on its Gaon Monthly Chart[98] and was the highest selling album in Gaon history at the time since the chart's inception, therefore the best selling album of South Korea Gaon Album Chart in 2016. It won Record of the Year at the 26th Seoul Music Awards, Album of the Year (4th Quarter) at the 6th Gaon Chart Music Awards and Disk Bonsang or Album Division at the 31st Golden Disc Awards.
You Never Walk Alone[edit]
You Never Walk Alone received a record-breaking pre-order with over 700,000 physical copies, the highest pre-order record for the first half of 2017.[99] While "Spring Day" music video broke "Blood Sweat & Tears" record of the fastest K-pop band music video to reach 10 million views.[100] Upon its release, "Not Today" music video then broke "Spring Day" record in shortest time for K-pop band.[101] Meanwhile, BTS set a new record for holding a second concert consecutively at the large Gocheok Sky Dome venue for 2017 BTS Live Trilogy Episode III: The Wings Tour in Seoul, with tickets for both domestic and abroad concert for the tour sold out within minutes.[102][103][104]
Lead single "Spring Day" shot straight to the top spot across eight online music streaming sites, including Melon, Mnet, Genie and Naver Music within an hour of its midnight release and caused an error, temporary inaccessible of popular music site, MelOn due to overloading.[105][106] It earned BTS four first-place trophies on local music program awards.[107] It debuted at number 15 on Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 and number 1 on the Billboard World Digital Songs, selling 14,000 digital downloads; moreover, all four new songs held down the first four slots[108] making BTS the first K-pop act to do so.[109] Another lead single "Not Today" then shot up to number 1 on Billboard World Digital Songs the next week, recording BTS' fourth entry as chart-topper on the ranking.[110]
The album You Never Walk Alone debuted at number 61 on the Billboard 200, extending BTS' record as the K-pop act with the most entries on the chart,[109] eventually led to their 6th entry on the chart, first for a Korean artist at the time.[111] The album also debuted at number 1 on Billboard World Albums, giving BTS their third chart-topper album on that ranking.[109] Upon its release in China, the album sold 144,400 in the first week on QQ Music, and charted first on the best-selling albums of the week.[112] In South Korea, the album charted first on week 7 Gaon Weekly Chart with 373,750 albums sold in one week of time, earning the band their 7th weekly chart-topper and breaking "Wings" record.[113][107] It also topped February Gaon Monthly Chart, the highest physical sales for the first half of 2017.[114]
Reception[edit]
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [115] |
| IZM | [116] |
Wings received mostly positive reviews from critics, for tackling social issues such as mental health and female empowerment. Fuse's Jeff Benjamin wrote, "The rising K-pop phenoms' new album is doing it right by letting their seven members spread their artistic wings and solidifying their individual identities—all while keeping the band identity strong as ever."[8] Fuse listed Wings at number 8 on their list of the 20 Best Albums of 2016, praising the album's "vulnerable and honest song material" and diverse tracks.[117] The album also topped Billboard's "10 Best K-Pop Albums 2016" list. Billboard branded the album an "accomplishment all its own", praising BTS' involvement in co-writing and producing as well as the compositional choice to allow each member a solo song reflecting individual musical style, showing that "they can compete with top pop acts." The music chart also described BTS' music as "forward-thinking", referring to the tropical house and EDM sounds on the album and lyrics that discussed the darker side of mental health issues.[118]Rolling Stone's Nick Murray named Wings "one of the most conceptually and sonically ambitious pop albums of 2016." [119] Billboard's Tamar Herman wrote an article on the repackaged album You Never Walk Alone, describing the single "Spring Day" as an "alt hip-hop song infused with rock instrumentals and EDM synths" combining the rap elements for which BTS has become known with "dreamy vocals and yearning lyrics." Herman calls "Not Today" the dual single counterpart to "Spring Day", a power anthem for "all the underdogs in the world."[53] "Spring Day" ranked number one on Dazed Digital's "20 Best K-Pop Songs of 2017" list, describing the song as "an intelligent, compelling and elegantly restrained study of loss and longing" that "deliberately avoids cliché pomp and drama".[120]
Track listing[edit]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Intro: Boy Meets Evil" |
J-Hope • Pdogg
| 2:01 | |
| 2. | "피 땀 눈물" (Pi Ttam Nunmul / Blood Sweat & Tears) |
Pdogg • RM • Suga • J-Hope • "Hitman" Bang • Kim Do-hoon
| Pdogg | 3:37 |
| 3. | "Begin" (solo by Jungkook) |
RM • Tony Esterly • David Quinones
| Tony Esterly | 3:49 |
| 4. | "Lie" (solo by Jimin) |
DOCSKIM • SUMIN • Jimin • Pdogg • "Hitman" Bang
| DOCSKIM | 3:35 |
| 5. | "Stigma" (solo by V) |
Philtre • Slow Rabbit • V • "Hitman" Bang • Sonnim
| Philtre | 3:36 |
| 6. | "First Love" (solo by Suga) |
SUGA • Miss Kay
|
SUGA • Miss Kay
| 3:09 |
| 7. | "Reflection" (solo by RM) |
RM • Slow Rabbit
|
RM • Slow Rabbit
| 3:53 |
| 8. | "MAMA" (solo by J-Hope) |
J-Hope • Primary • Pdogg
|
Primary • Pdogg
| 3:32 |
| 9. | "Awake" (solo by Jin) |
Slow Rabbit • Jin • J-Hope • June • Pdogg • RM • "Hitman" Bang
|
Slow Rabbit • Jin
| 3:46 |
| 10. | "Lost (Song By Jungkook, V, Jimin, Jin)" |
RM • Pdogg • Supreme Boi • Peter Ibsen • Richard Rawson • Lee Paul Williams • June
| Pdogg | 4:01 |
| 11. | "BTS Cypher Pt. 4 (Song By RM, J-Hope, Suga)" |
RM • J-Hope • SUGA • Chris 'Tricky' Stewart • Medor J. Pierre
|
Chris 'Tricky' Stewart • Medor J. Pierre
| 4:54 |
| 12. | "Am I Wrong" (Keb' Mo's "Am I Wrong's" sample) |
Keb' Mo' • Sam Klempner • James Reynolds • Josh Wilkinson • RM • Supreme Boi • Gaeko • Pdogg • ADORA
|
Keb' Mo' • Sam Klempner • James Reynolds • Josh Wilkinson
| 3:33 |
| 13. | "21세기 소녀" (21segi Sonyo / 21st Century Girls) |
RM • Pdogg • "Hitman" Bang • Supreme Boi
| Pdogg | 3:12 |
| 14. | "둘! 셋! (그래도 좋은 날이 더 많기를)" ( Dul! Set! (Geuraedo Joeun Nari Do Mankireul) / Two! Three! (Still Wishing For Better Days)) |
RM • J-Hope • SUGA • Slow Rabbit • Pdogg • "Hitman" Bang
|
Slow Rabbit • Pdogg
| 4:32 |
| 15. | "Interlude: Wings" |
RM • J-Hope • SUGA • Pdogg • ADORA
| Pdogg | 2:24 |
| Total length: | 53:41 | |||
| You Never Walk Alone | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
| 15. | "봄날" (Bomnal / Spring Day) |
Pdogg • RM • ADORA • "Hitman" Bang • Arlissa Ruppert • Peter Ibsen • SUGA • Jin
| Pdogg | 4:34 |
| 16. | "Not Today" |
Pdogg • "Hitman" Bang • RM • Supreme Boi • June
| Pdogg | 3:51 |
| 17. | "Outro: Wings" (Interlude: Wings' remake) |
Pdogg • ADORA • RM • J-Hope • SUGA
| Pdogg | 3:45 |
| 18. | "A Supplementary Story: You Never Walk Alone" |
Pdogg • "Hitman" Bang • RM • SUGA • J-Hope • Supreme Boi
| Pdogg | 2:36 |
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