Here Are My Ten Favorite BTS Songs, Since You Didn’t Ask For It

A little over a week from now, I will be in Chicago. So, every day until then, I will be sharing more of my musical nerdery with you. Aaah, yes, Soldier Field.  Only 60,000 people, won't be that big of a deal, right.  That's only, like, three times the size of Sedalia.  No big whoop.  Anyway, that's where I'll be on May 11th, and here are my top favorite BTS songs that I hope I'll hear when I'm there.

10.  Airplane Part 2. 

I'm showing you this version for two reasons:  I like the video, and I wanted to point out that they're singing in  Japanese in this particular version.  Just a little diversity, no biggie. Just multilingual geniuses, that's all.

9. The Truth Untold. 

This song ALMOST got Husbando one day.  We were driving, and it was playing in the car, and I noticed he was deliberately slowing down so he could listen to it longer. I put a fan version up here, so you can read the English translations.

8.  Lie. 

This one is just Jimin.  He's a great dancer (top in his class at his performing arts school), and while I doubt they'll play this song because it's so old, I do like that it shows the scale of what I'm going to go see.  Well, kind of, because it's gotten bigger since then. The lyrics are a little vague, but some people think he wrote the lyrics about his struggle with eating disorders.  It's a pretty song, but also very serious.

7.  Pied Piper.

This one is more likely to be at my show, but it's on the fence.  It's a song about how BTS knows that all of ARMY often are distracted from their work or school because of them.  It's kind of an assurance that it's okay to focus on what you need to, but also it's okay to go away into BTS world every now and then.  There are a lot of layers and different sonic things happening in this song, it deserves headphones.

6.  Magic Shop. 

I will be very surprised if this one isn't in the setlist.  It's become a call and answer song between BTS and their fans.  It's a song, basically, about us taking comfort in each other. It's a very comforting, pleasant song and everyone is featured nicely.

5.  Silver Spoon.

I showed you the mirrored version of this because it has English captions.  Also, the dance practice is just silly and funny.  The song, however, is very serious.  It's about the disparity economically between young millennials and the older, more established generations.  The actual name of the song in Korean is Baepsae, which is a small bird with tiny legs.  There's a saying in Korean that goes, "The baepsae that tries to walk like the stork will break it's legs."   Basically meaning, don't try to be something you're not.  But in this context, the older generation is telling the younger to just work harder, even though they're working hard already for nothing (They have that same situation that we have here, where young people work in an "unpaid internship" in the hopes of getting a job.  There they call it a "passion project" and it can last longer than the internships here).  It's one of the few political-esque songs they have.  They changed the name in English because the literal translation of "baepsae" is "crow-tit" and I guess we can't have that?  We're such prudes sometimes. It's a bird for crying out loud.

4.  Jamais Vu. 

This is one of my favorites off the new album.  That makes me think it might be at the show, but one reason it might not be is because it doesn't feature all the members.  Only Jin, J-Hope, and Jungkook perform in this one.  It's very pretty, though, and it makes me sigh every time I hear it.  "Jamais Vu" is French, and it's basically the opposite of deja vu. So with deja vu, you feel like you've done something before but you haven't, and jamais vu means you've done something before, but it feels new.

3.  Epiphany. 

This is a Jin solo number. In concerts I've seen on the internet, they generally have a part of the show where they all do a song by themselves.  On the new album, there aren't any solo songs, so this is the most recent Jin solo song that came out.  I think this will be the one that gets played, and that makes me happy because it's an amazing song. This song is about realizing that we need to love ourselves, the line is "I'm the one I should love".  The video also gives you more "clues" to his storyline, because it shows Jin going back in time and on repeat, over and over again.

2.  Home. 

This is my favorite song off the new album.  It's so fun and slick, and not too slow, just right. It's got this quality to it that you have to listen to with headphones, trust me.  This song about going out and trying to find fulfillment in the world, only to realize happiness can only be achieved by appreciating the love you have at home.  Namjoon (he wrote the lyrics) said on Vlive that the "home" of this song are his fans, meaning he'll feel at home anywhere in the world as long as he's with ARMY.  So freggin cute. Probably a bit cheesy, but I don't care.

1.  Spring Day. 

This is my favorite BTS song.  I don't know what it is about it that keeps drawing me back to it.  It's a sadder song, and people debate on what the video/song lyrics are about.  Some people say the song is about just missing friends back at home, and some people say the video is meant to be a nod to a tragic boat accident that killed children in Korea.  I think there's some plotline stuff in here too, because Jimin is next to the sea, Jimin is the one that presents the shoes (a symbol of someone dying, and his character tried to die).  And, Jin looking into the dryer as it cycles represents him going through the time loop over and over.  The clothes mountain is a nod to Jin again going back in time, meaning, how many times has he done this?  Many, many times.  Also, there is a moment where Jungkook sees himself on the train, implying that loop is almost ready to repeat.

The name of the hotel also means something that I'm not quite sure about, but I've looked up the reference.  Omelas  is the name of a city in a book called "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas".  In the book, the people of the city of Omelas live in perfect harmony.  There is no crime, poverty, or need for police or soldiers.  Everyone is happy and healthy.  However, they are only happy and healthy because underneath the city, one child is kept in captivity to live in filth and misery.  When people are old enough, they are told the situation, and they can choose to stay and accept the unfair situation, or they can walk away and not support the torture.  I have no idea what that means for this video or the song, but it's got to mean SOMETHING. Anyway.  It's a very pretty song about  missing people, and I think we all know a little something about that. It's also their biggest hit in Korea, so they have good taste.

So, there you have it, my top ten favorite BTS songs.  You didn't ask, but heck, you deserve to know.

Bangtanily yours,

Behka