Wall Street Journal Magazine Feature Story
by Eun-Young Jeong (Nov. 12, 2020)
[Excerpts of the article] 👇
The South Korean pop group has reached the top of the U.S. charts, united millions of fans around the world into a self-styled ARMY, shattered online viewing records and been part of a major IPO. Now BTS is preparing to release a new album.
V, who contributed to the neo-soul “Stigma”—which includes lines like “The pain is never soothed”— recently received a phone call from producer Bang on a song he was writing. “Could you tone down this a little?” Bang asked.
“In the past, we had clear goals and a thirst. We had to do well—we were desperate,” says Jung Kook. “I still have a similar mindset. It’s the achievements we’ve made every step of the way that are prompting me to want to challenge myself more."
BTS' new album is out this month, and the members of BTS say they’re trying to keep their focus on their music. “We’re preparing our next album now, [and I] think it’d be great if all our songs make it into Billboard’s Hot 100,” says Jimin.
Suga says he comes across ideas for his songs from the books he reads. “I tend to think a lot about the meaning behind words,” he says. “We deal a lot with emotions so I spend a lot of time thinking about how words can be construed differently.”
“That feeling [of being onstage] is really the best thrill I probably get in life. Even if I leave one day, I think I’ll be back for this,” says Jin of being onstage in front of BTS' devoted fans, officially dubbed ARMY.
All seven BTS members contribute to the band's song-writing process. “[Writing songs] takes a long time for me,” says RM. “So it hurts, body and soul, when I have to throw one away.”
J-Hope describes his approach to writing songs as research-heavy. “Sometimes the type of stories I’m dealing with are light, but sometimes they aren’t, so it’s important that I’m knowledgeable about what I’m working on.”
You can read the full feature story HERE.
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