Happy 12th anniversary, BTS! I have been reflecting on their journey and growth so much this week, and I can't help but be in awe of their story, artistry, achievements, and truly one-of-a-kind journey. No one could have guessed that this rookie boy group from a nearly bankrupt agency, a group that sold only 34 copies of their debut album on the first day, would go on to be the biggest group in the world right now, the third-best-selling artist of the past decade just behind Taylor Swift and Bad Bunny, and the 40th best-selling artist of all time. But beyond their historical achievements and numbers, I believe what cements BTS's legacy is their extensive and rich discography that touches on so many aspects of the human experience and that has expanded and evolved with them. BTS debuted with 2 Cool 4 Skool, the first part of their School Trilogy and within it, they explored and talked about the fears and struggles young kids and adolescents grapple with; the loss of dreams and hopes, the constant fear of the future and criticized the harsh school and education system that was in place. The trilogy perfectly captures the fire, the defiance, the confusion... that every teen feels. Their first full album, Dark & Wild, in the same vein, explores what it is to be a teen and especially a love-struck teen. The all-consuming crushes, the addiction to phones, and the fear of navigating the world around them while putting on a fake bravado to mask it all. Even the way the songs were produced and their sound was a reflection of that; the cheekiness, the faux-bravado, the anger that comes out sometimes, the bragging, the way they talk about love and relationship and dating..... feel so real to the early teen experience and are reflected in the way they sing and rap, their adlibs, and the way the songs are produced. It is also the album in which they pay homage to the culture that inspires them and their art. They follow this up with, in my opinion, one of the most influential album trilogy of all time, The Most Beautiful Moment in Life Trilogy and they manage to truly capture the essence of young adults; through the songs, you can feel the angst, the loneliness, the burst of happiness, the unbridled freedom, the fears, the doubts but also the accompanying fearlessness when it comes to certain matters that we have all experienced during those times. You hear Run and the sound makes you equally nostalgic and equally untouchable, like you can fly and do anything, that bravado that you feel when you are young, the feeling of freedom that contrasts with this need to escape and be free. You hear Silver Spoon and that basically is a reflection of the youth and how opinionated they are and how they are ready to speak up, and its social commentary presented in such a cheeky way that you can't help but laugh and you go through each song and each one relates to a certain teen/YA experience. They then followed the trilogy with their conceptual album Wings (with You Never Walk Alone being a follow-up compilation album) which was an album inspired by the Herman Hess novel Demian and which gave each member the chance to explore and present their own personal stories. Wings and its title track Blood, Sweat, and Tears does justice to Demian, it also paints the temptations, the lust, and the growing pains of early adulthood. The production throughout the album also aligns with the theme, it is grand and uses a lot of orchestral elements giving the album a darker but also ethereal feel. They then followed Wings with the Love Yourself Trilogy which managed to capture so many different aspects of love across three albums. In Love Yourself: Her they focus on the early stages of falling in love, the dopamine, the happy feelings, thinking that everything is destiny, seeing only the good and the beautiful but that slowly morphed into loss of self and identity, self-depreciation, and toxicity in Love Yourself: Tear and they then wrap up the trilogy with Love Yourself: Answer in which they realize the highest form of love is loving oneself and embracing every part of yourself. They followed the Love Yourself trilogy with the Map Of The Soul series which is based on Jungian theory on archetypes and Murray Stein's book of the same name. In MOTS, BTS explores different topics aligning with each archetype (the persona, the shadow, and the ego). Topics such as insecurities, fame, personal identity, the way they present themselves to the world stage, the tension between their public and private selves, especially as idols as well as heavier topics such as loss of passion, burnout, depression, and the price of success were all core to the album series. They also tied this series with the Love Yourself Trilogy by exploring on how to embrace and accept all parts of themself. Their last studio album BE was an unplanned release that was a result of the pandemic and not surprisingly, captures the zeitgeist of that time. From the passing of time while the world seems like it is stuck in one space, to the restlessness that we all felt, to how we miss our loved ones and that human connection, to the bout of depression that we all have experienced because things felt bleak, and the quiet assurance that things would eventually get better, BE truly was an album that we all needed at that time. Their solo discography is just as solid and versatile, both in sound and in the themes it explores. You have albums packed with unfiltered anger and, at times, scathing responses to the ridicule they've faced over their idol personas, such as RM's mixtape RM and Yoongi's Agust D. You have albums that delve into their identities as individuals and artists, such as Indigo and Jack in the Box. Some albums like Hope on the Street celebrate their roots. There are deeply personal works that touch on mental health and emotional struggles, like FACE and the Agust D trilogy, while others serve as catharsis, like Right Person, Wrong Place and D-Day. You have albums that center on love, heartbreak, and longing, such as Layover, Golden, Happy, Muse, and Echo. Others explore themes of loneliness, sadness, and the weight of complex emotions like mono.. And then some albums like Indigo, similar to some of their earlier group albums, beautifully capture the turbulence and introspection of a timeframe such as your late twenties. And now, we have 6 out of the 7 members finished with their enlistment, with the OT7 reunion happening in just a week, and they will be embarking on the 3rd chapter of their journey soon! And I cannot wait to see what this new era will bring. Happy 12th anniversary, BTS, and Happy Festa, everyone! 💜 submitted by /u/Ghetto_Leda99 [link] [comments]
