Welcome to my deep dive down the rabbit hole that is Seventeen. I’m going to try to write out my thoughts on the different albums coming out from both BTS and Seventeen since right now, they’re the only groups that I actively stan but I’m also going to start my Seventeen journey for record keeping on the blog.
This week, I’ll be discussing their 2015 release Boys Be. The only song off this one that I’m familiar with is Mansae and I already love this song so while I’ll still listen to it and watch whatever I can of that song, I’m going to be checking all of the other songs as well. Hmm..anyway, let’s jump in, shall we?
Release Date: September 10, 2015 Track List: Fronting, Mansae, When I Grow Up, OMG, Rock Favorite Song: When I Grow Up
Boys Be is the second extended play from South Korean boy band Seventeen. It was released on September 10, 2015, by Pledis Entertainment. The album consists of five tracks, including the title track, “Mansae”.
There are only five songs on this album so it’s another short one but it was another enjoyable one so I’m not that mad about it. The repackaged albums..are those the albums that throw all of the short albums together? I’m guessing that might be the deal but anyway…let’s get to the songs.
Fronting: This is a catchy song and though some of the lyrics made me roll my eyes, I can’t even stay mad about them lyrics because the song is too fun and lighthearted, kind of like War of Hormones by BTS. This song is about high school boys that can’t control their feelings for their crushes and it makes me laugh because the lyrics convey that very well. This is the kind of song that I’d expect of some very young boys but it’s got a catchy hook and it’s fun so yeah, I like it.
Mansae: This song is catchy as hell and just a whole lot of fun. I really like long haired Jeonghan and he was a highlight in the music video for me. I loved it when I first heard it and I still love the hell out of it now. Such a great song that just makes me happy.
When I Grow Up: This is my favorite song off the album. This is my kind of song in every way. I’ve always loved the softer songs that are kind of cheesy, lyric wise but the difference with this song is that the lyrics are super sweet, not cheesy at all though I’m sure others will disagree with me but dude, this sons is SO CUTE! Its a vocal line song and this is another song that I absolutely love. Gah, love it so much.
OMG: This is a performance team song and I’m starting to realize that I enjoy their songs more when I’m watching them perform it. They performed this song really well and while I liked the song fine, it’s not a favorite of mine. It’s a solid song though.
Rock: I liked this one. I really liked the bridge and just listening to Seungkwan and DK doing their thing. The way that DK can sing those high notes? I’m here for it. This is definitely going on my playlist cause I did really like this one. The performance that I watched…they are babies in this performance. They’re such great performers too. I can see why they’re so popular.
Overall, this short album was cute. I didn’t love every song but I did enjoy it as a whole. I’m really excited to dig more into the lesser known songs that I’m missing out on. Seventeen is my kind of group so I’m pretty stoked to be listening to more of their stuff. There’s lot of hidden gems. I definitely recommend this one if you’re interested.
I started listening to BTS albums from the beginning of their musical journey and this series will feature my thoughts on each of those albums. There are a lot of albums but there is also a lot of solo work that I’m interested in covering here on the blog so I decided to just name this feature, The BTS Listen because I’m an organization nerd and things need to be well organized for me or I get itchy.
I’m completely caught up on all of BTS’s albums so I’m moving on to their solo work. I’ll go in order of release date and go through their Soundcloud and just listen to all of them. I’m ready to listen to the music that shapes each member. They’re all so different as solo artists than who they are in the group.
This week, I’ll be featuring RM’s first solo mixtape album. Let’s go to it, shall we?
Release Date: March 20, 2015 Track List: Voice, Do You, Awakening, Monster, Throw Away, Joke, God Rap, Rush, Life, Adrift, I Believe Favorite Song: Do You Favorite Line: Yeah man i told you that im a monster, That why i be rappin non stop, I do want your hands at the concert, Want your fuckin damn erry hands at the concert,
Hit me
RM is the debut mixtape by RM. It was released on March 20, 2015, with “Awakening” serving as the mixtape’s title track.
There are eleven tracks on this debt mixtape that RM released back in 2015 and I’m ready to dig right in. My favorite rapper in the group is Suga but that’s more because his style of rapping is the style that I vibe with the most. I do really enjoy both RM and J Hope so I’m looking forward to working my way through their solo stuff. Starting with RM’s solo debut, RM.
This solo album kicks off with a track called Voice. While reading the lyrics and listening to the song, it sounds like a self-reflection song. RM is remorseful about some regrettable past actions and I felt it. I even cried a little listening to this one. I like it. Immediately following Voice, we get Do You and that song is fan-freaking-tastic. The beat, the lyrics, RM did his thing on this one and I also really enjoyed the music video.
Awakening is the next song and I think it was the perfect title for that song. The lyrics, the tone of the song, and the beat? Yeah, it all felt like we were witnessing RM’s awakening and I was here for it. Another fantastic song. Next up is Monster and oooohh RM is a mother fucking monster for this one. He is straight talking his shit and I love it. Listening to this song, reading the lyrics, and remembering his history makes me admire him all the more.
Throw Away is the next song and it’s got a rock feel to it. It’s very aggressive but still very good. It’s probably my least favorite song off the album but not because it’s bad, I just really like the other songs so far. Next up is Joke. Okayyyy RM. We get it, you are really good at what you do and to all of them haters out there who gave him shit when BTS was just getting started? Haha, I wonder how dumb they feel now? I’m glad that RM got to get all of the stuff off his chest because my guy was mad mad at everyone. I’m not mad though because he produced some great songs as a result.
God’s Rap is a hidden track that isn’t on Soundcloud so I didn’t listen to that one even though it’s the seventh song on this album. I’ll find it eventually and listen to it. Following that song is Rush featuring Krizz Kaliko. I really like this song. I liked hearing their different styles of rapping and the song is overall a very catchy song with a good beat and great lyrics. A winner for sure.
Life is up next and it’s a slower song that is mainly about just that…life. I enjoyed the slower vibe of this song though it’s not one of my favorites on the album. Adrift is another slower song where RM does a little of that sing rap that Drake and J Hope does. I’m used to hearing J Hope do this but I did really like hearing RM sing a little bit while still rapping as well. The last song on the album is called I Believe that features the rest of the guys and this song is different from what I’m used from BTS but it was great and I enjoyed it.
RM has evolved as an artist over the years so he’s not as angry as he was in both BTS and his earlier solo songs. You can tell that he’s learning from his mistake during the making of this album and he’s trying to do better, which is all anyone can ask for. I’m glad that he’s a lot more comfortable in his skin, in his fame, and in his music. This was a great album from beginning to end and even though I didn’t love every song, it was more of a preference thing than the songs being mad. RM is really good at making music and I hope that we get a lot more music from him because I loved this and look forward to hearing more.
One of my favorite things to do when I was back home in L.A. was to take drives with my friend B Nice so that we can listen to our newly discovered favorite songs by BTS. We both discovered BTS over the pandemic and have been crazy for all things BTS. When I moved to Vegas, those drives stopped but I decided that I’m going to use my blog to share what songs I’m listening to each week with both B Nice and everyone else who reads this blog.
This week’s bunch of songs got a bunch of different songs that will make you sit up and take notice, haha. But seriously, these are some of my favorite songs so I know that you guys will enjoy them as well.
Spring Day is one of my all-time favorite BTS songs. It’s right up there with Magic Shop. It’s a fantastic song on its own but when you look up the theories and understand the inspirations behind the making of this song, it’ll make you cry. It’s a really popular song and if you know anything about the Sewol Ferry incident in South Korea from a few years ago then you’ll understand for yourself why this song is so special for Army. The music video is amazing as well, check out this video out because it’s an excellent theory video. Prepare yourselves though, it’ll make you cry for sure.
Dimple is a catchy song that made me laugh because they legit sing, “So I’ll call you illegirl…” because her dimples should be illegal. Hahaha. This is a vocal line song so there’s no J-Hope, RM, or Suga but if you want to watch their performance of this (and you do want to watch it), check it out here. I’m telling you, it’s catchy as hell and fun to sing along to.
If you want to watch my bias slay a song, listen to Singularity. V continues to impress the hell out of me with his vocal range. He can do it all and this song is so freaking good.
What songs are you on your playlist this week? Don’t worry, it doesn’t have to be BTS. Share in the comments!
I started listening to BTS albums from the beginning of their musical journey and this series will feature my thoughts on each of those albums. There are a lot of albums but there are also a lot of solo work that I’m interested in covering here on the blog so I decided to just name this feature, The BTS Listen because I’m an organization nerd and things need to be well organized for me or I get itchy.
This week, I’ll be featuring the BE Album. The BE album is the pandemic album that BTS worked on to gift Army with something that will help us cope with being stuck indoors throughout the pandemic. Aren’t they so good to us? This album is a short but packed album that tops off at 28 minutes on the listening scale.
Release Date: November 20, 2020 Track List: Life Goes On, Fly to My Room, Blue & Grey, Skit, Telepathy, Dis-ease, Stay, Dynamite Favorite Song: Life Goes On, Telepathy Favorite Line: People say the world has changed, Thankfully between you and me, it’s still the same.
BTS is returning with their new album BE to unfold another chapter of 2020.
As a sense of helplessness looms in every corner of the world, BTS opens themselves up to express their mixed feelings about this situation—fear and anxiety mingled with the determination to overcome all this. The album consists of a total of eight tracks including the No.1 summer hit “Dynamite” and lead single “Life Goes On”. The latter speaks on behalf of everyone stuck in the new normality brought on by COVID-19: one day, the world stopped without any warning, streets erased of footsteps and the way out is nowhere near in sight. BTS echoes in a low voice the comforting message that in the face of unexpected turns “Life Goes On” and extends their hands towards the future.
The BE album dropped on November 20, 2020 and it was my first official BTS comeback. I’m not lying when I tell you guys that I was super excited for the release day. I woke up extra early to run to Target and get my album. Haha, funny story about the release day. I work from home so my days tend to blend together but I was so ready for November 20th to get here. It’s a week after my birthday and it was going to be a belated birthday gift to myself. So the day gets here and I’m up early as hell because I needed to go and get it before I started work. I got dressed, brushed my hair, put on some presentable clothes, and drove all the way to Target. I run inside, straight to the electronics section only to discover NO BE albums out on display. I was so mad so I’m like, okay it’s early so maybe they just haven’t put them out yet. I stop a worker and ask about any new BTS albums and she had no idea what I was talking about so I pull it up on my phone and realize that…it’s November 19th and not the 20th so I was too early and I had nobody to be mad at but myself so since the albums weren’t on sale yet, I bought some damn donuts and took my dumbass home. LOL. Moral of the story? Check your calendar before you have an attitude.
Anyway, let’s get on with the reason for this post. I can’t believe we’re already here. The latest album from BTS. I feel like I started this journey so long ago and it feels that way because there were a lot of albums to go through. Man, it’s been a blast for me. BTS fans have been super spoiled for the last seven years and they signed on for 7 more years? Yippy skippy!
This album kicks off with a slow ballad called Life Goes On. This is a group song and the other title track off the album. I have two favorite songs on this album and this is one of them. This song is such a feel good song that speaks on what the boys are feeling and going through during the pandemic. They’re just as sad as us but if we just hold on a little longer, life will go and we’ll be able to go outside again. We’ll be together again. I have so much love for this song and I don’t even care that I’ve heard this song a million times. I still love it dammit!
Fly to My Room is next up and it’s another slower song that features Jimin and V on vocals along with J Hope and Suga bringing the rap line goodness. This song speaks on exactly what we’ve been going through this last year. A year was stolen from us and being stuck in our rooms so we might as well make our rooms, our spaces into the places we love most in the world. This song could so be the world’s anthem for the last year. I love it.
Next up is Blue & Grey. This is the song that V wrote when he was depressed so it’s a slow ballad that I’m not going to lie, I cried the first time that I heard it. I read the lyrics along with listening to it and man, that man was hurting and I’m glad that I read what he said about writing this song. He explained that when he was having a bad time, he started writing this song and it helped him get his feelings out into the world and after he was done, the depression seemed to dissipate and he was able to let go of all of those feelings and move on. He’s a lot happier now and I’m so glad for him. Knowing the backstory of this song makes me love it so much more and though it’s a very sad song, there’s a wistful hopefulness to it that makes me happy.
It’s been a while since I’ve heard a skit with the boys just talking to each other but there’s one in this album and if you don’t speak Korean, I highly recommend checking this video out cause they’ve got you covered.
Now, it’s Telepathy time. This is my absolute favorite song from the whole album. It’s such a fun, upbeat song with a message of hope that BTS and Army will be reunited again and I’m so here for it. Suga wrote this song in thirty minutes and if that ain’t impressive, I don’t know what is. Do I love this song? Hella.
Dis-ease is the next song and it’s a J-Hope song that everyone is part of. J-Hope said that he got the idea to write this song by wanting to talk about sickness. He wanted to talk about his inability to rest properly during the pandemic because he was constantly working on things and that’s his dis-ease. We all have our own shit that we’re working through, a dis-ease, if you will and he packed those thoughts into this song and what we got was an up-beat song with a hopeful message that though you have a love-hate relationship with something, you can overcome it. This is a great song, with an old school vibe that I dug.
The next song, Stay, is a unit song that features Jungkook, Jin, and RM. It’s another upbeat song with what sounds like EDR influences. Jungkook spoke about this song at the BE global press conference and said that this song is about how even though we’re all far a part now, we still always stay together and if that ain’t the truth, I don’t know what is. It’s another fun song that lifts spirits and keeps us all together through the power of music. I’m all about it.
The last song on the album is a song that everyone in the world is familiar with. It’s the first song that BTS has ever released that is ALL IN ENGLISH. It got nominated for a Grammy and though the boys didn’t win, they still lit up the Grammy’s like dynamite (and so did Army, haha). Dynamite was the first song that released while I was already a BTS fan so I love it. Jimin said that this song is a song that he thought would lift Army’s spirit and give them something to be happy about and he’s right. I didn’t know that I needed 30 versions of this song but I’ll take them all.
Overall, this was the album we all needed in this crazy, wacked out time that we’re living in. BTS made this for Army to help us through the pandemic and we are so damn fortunate to have a group that loves us enough to do something like this. This album is too short but I don’t even care because it’s still packed with goodness that is still making me super happy, four months later. The physical album is a thing of beauty and I’m so glad that I got it. Photocards, postcards, great music, and posters of our favorite 7? Yes, please!! So good!
Favorite Performance
This is the performance I needed during this damn pandemic. I needed this whole album, to be honest, and I’m grateful that BTS gave us something to get us through. This song, in particular, is one of my absolute favorite songs on the album and I was so damn happy when the song started up on their MTV Unplugged show. This performance showcases a lot of what I love about watching these guys perform. You can see how much they love to perform for us. They’re so happy and it shows! I just love this performance to pieces.
One of my favorite things to do when I was back home in L.A. was to take drives with my friend B Nice so that we can listen to our newly discovered favorite songs by BTS. We both discovered BTS over the pandemic and have been crazy for all things BTS. When I moved to Vegas, those drives stopped but I decided that I’m going to use my blog to share what songs I’m listening to each week with both B Nice and everyone else who reads this blog.
This song is such a fun song to listen to when you’re cleaning the house because it’s an upbeat song that makes you want to get up and get your boogie on. The choreo on this song is amazing as well. If you’re interested in the meaning about this song, you can check out this post here.
I can’t believe that I haven’t added this song to a playlist post yet. This song slaps so hard and the music video is pretty dope too. The choreo, Suga’s part, J Hope’s opening and just everything about this song rocks my socks. So good. I’m not even mad that every time I hear RM’s part, I hear JK singing it in his cutesy voice that annoyed RM, haha. This song is an anthem to haters and it makes me so happy when I listen to it because talk your shit boys!
So a few weeks ago, my niece Chach got married and it’s become a thing in my family for the kids to perform a Wilson’s Grandkids dance and I’m always in charge of teaching it with Chloe’s help. In the past, we’ve danced to Glee’s cover of Marry You by Bruno Mars, to Love Never Felt So Good by Justin Timberlake and Michael Jackson, and this time around, I wanted to dance to a BTS song but I was shot down at every turn (freaking haters) so…since I couldn’t do a BTS song, I put BTS choreography in our dance and the choreography that I used was from this very song, Idol. Idol is a great freaking song and seeing the kids figure out that the dance for Idol looks crazy familiar makes me laugh so much. This song is great and should be a part of your playlists and remember, don’t let anyone dictate how you feel about the things you like. As Jimin sings in this song, they can’t stop you loving yourself. 🙂
What songs are you on your playlist this week? Don’t worry, it doesn’t have to be BTS. Share in the comments!
