BE excited, because BTS have just released their second album of the year.
The K-pop supergroup dropped BE (Deluxe Edition) Thursday night, which features eight tracks, including the hit song “Dynamite” and lead single “Life Goes On,” as well as “Fly to My Room,” “Blue & Grey,” “Skit,” “Telepathy,” “Dis-ease,” and “Stay.”
With BE, BTS explore the “emotions and ruminations” they had throughout the year, according to a press release. The album’s title stands for “to be” or “existence,” in an abstract form.
Like many other artists, the band is touching on the pandemic and its tough effects on people around the world. The lead single, an alternative hip-hop track set to acoustic guitar, aims to comfort audiences facing unexpected turns with the message: “Life goes on.”
Ahead of the album release, BTS debuted “Dynamite,” their first song fully in English. The record debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, giving the artists their first chart-topping track and making them the first Korean act to achieve the feat.
Months later, BTS’ remix of Jason Derulo and Jawsh 685’s “Savage Love” dethroned “Dynamite” for the chart’s top spot, making them the first Korean act to simultaneously have the No. 1 and No. 2 slots on the Billboard Hot 100.
A multitude of genres and sounds are represented on the album, including the pop ballad “Blue & Grey” with guitar at its forefront; the funky “Telepathy;” old school hip-hop on “Dis-ease;” RM, Jin, and Jungkook’s track “Stay;” and “Skit,” the vivid record of the conversations they had when they first topped the Billboard Hot 100.
Even during a global pandemic, the septet — Jungkook, V, Jimin, RM, Jin, J-Hope, and Suga — has had a whirlwind few months promoting and performing new music by telecast. They performed on America’s Got Talent, NPR’s Tiny Desk Home Concert, the VMAs, and had a weeklong residency on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Not to mention, they only released their last album, Map of the Soul: 7, nine months ago in February.
Listen to the full album on on Spotify and watch the music video for “Life Goes On” above.
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