Tag: The BTS Listen

The BTS Listen: Wings and You Never Walk Alone

Posted February 3, 2021 by Rowena in Reviews | 2 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 following albums: Wings and You Never Walk Alone. So let’s get started, shall we?

Wings

Release Date: October 10, 2016
Track List: Intro: Boy Meets Evil, Blood Sweat & Tears, Begin, Lie, Stigma, First Love, Reflection, MAMA, Awake, Lost, BTS Cypher 4, am I Wrong, 21st Century Girl, 2!3!, Interlude: Wings
Favorite Song: Stigma
Favorite Line: It’s okay. When I say two three, forget it. Erase all the sad memories. Hold my hand and smile.

BTS will release their second studio album, WINGS.

Having met their most beautiful moment in life through the album series of the same title, BTS now stands before a new door. Set for release on October 10, WINGS contains songs about boys who encounter temptation for the first time and must ponder and agonize in the face of it. As the seven boys experience pain and bliss, they bring forth the image of birds that break out of their shells and try to take flight for the first time.

I’ve heard that this album is a lot of people’s favorite BTS album. I can completely understand why because this album delivers the hits. It’s a lot different from their beginning albums and I’m digging the change in musical pace. This album does a lot to pull your emotional strings. There’s a lot of great songs on this album. From Blood Sweat and Tears to 2!3! and 21st Century Girl and Lost and gah, I can go on and on. I liked all of the songs on this album and the Cyphers keep getting better and better, IMO.

My favorite song on is actually a solo song from my bias, Taehyung. The way that he sang his ass off on Stigma is my freaking favorite. I could really listen to his low tenor voice sing to me all day. It’s great. But I also really liked 2!3! the first time that I heard that song and read the lyrics, I cried. These boys really know how to deliver the goods. Their hard work is definitely showcased on this album and though it’s not my favorite of the bunch that I’ve listened to so far, it’s still a solid ass good time.

Favorite Performance

Okayyy V. That’s my bias hitting all of them notes and making this one of my favorite performances ever.

Final Thoughts

Loved It

You Never Walk Alone

Release Date: February 13, 2017
Track List: Intro: Boy Meets Evil, Blood Sweat & Tears, Begin, Lie, Stigma, First Love, Reflection, MAMA, Awake, Lost, BTS Cypher 4, Am I Wrong?, 21st Century Girl, 2!3!, Spring Day, Not Today, Outro: Wings, A Supplementary Story: You Never Walk Alone
Favorite Song: Spring Day
Favorite Line: All the underdogs in the world, a day may come when we lose but it is not today. Today, we fight!

BTS releases YOU NEVER WALK ALONE!

The epilogue brings closure to WINGS.

“We can laugh if we are together”, a message of comfort and hope to the youth of this generation.

YOU NEVER WALK ALONE completes the stories of youth and growth that could not all be contained in the WINGS album. Whereas The most beautiful moment in life series and WINGS were narratives of youth and growth, this additional chapter to WINGS is a message of warm consolation and hope for the suffering youth of this generation.

You Never Walk Alone is the repackaged album of Wings. I’m starting to get the hang of these BTS albums and why they’re packaged the way that they are. It’s expensive as hell to be a BTS fan but take my damn money because I’m still going to collect all of their albums and display them in my room. Along with the songs from the first released album, there are some new songs to go with this one, and one of my top BTS songs of all is included. Spring Day is the first song that made me ugly cry. I watched the explanation video and the depth of detail and emotion that RM and the boys showcase in this song makes me so sad for everyone that was on the Sewol ferry both the survivors and those who didn’t survive. I also really liked Not Today and love the message that the song portrays. BTS isn’t out here singing about girls and puppy love and all things cheesy. They’re singing about real-life issues that everyone goes through and I can’t get enough of it. Their songs are songs that speak to everyone that’s ever gone through hard times and through all of the hard issues that they sing and rap about, there’s still a message of hope in every song. Hope that things will get better. That if you just count to 3 and forget your pains and your worries, tomorrow is a new day. A new day of promise.

These albums are filled to the brim with hope and I think that’s why I, along with the millions of fans across the globe, connect with them. There’s so much that these guys have been through, so much that they’ve accomplished and yet they’re still super humble. So people come for the music but I have every faith that they’re staying for the boys themselves. Each member brings something different to the table and though they shine on their own, they shine brighter together and they really are 7. This is a great album and it showcases the changes that the boys are going through and I loved every song.

Favorite Performance

I love this performance every time I see it. It doesn’t matter where they perform it, I’ll watch it over and over again. The song, the dance, the harmony between J Hope and JK?? Love it all.

Final Thoughts

Loved It

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The BTS Listen: The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Pt. 1, Pt. 2, & Young Forever

Posted January 27, 2021 by Rowena in Reviews | 0 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 following albums: The Most Moment in Life, Pt. 1, Pt. 2, and Young Forever. So let’s get started, shall we?

The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Pt. 1

Release Date: April 29, 2015
Tracklist: Intro: The most beautiful moment in life, I NEED U, Hold Me Tight, SKIT: Expectation!, DOPE, Boyz with Fun, Converse High, Moving On, Outro: Love is Not Over
Favorite Song: Dope
Favorite Line from Song: Okay, we are all dope from head to toe, Over half of the day, we drown in our work, Even if our youth rots in the studio, thanks to that, we’re closer to success over the world

BTS has come back with their third mini-album, The most beautiful moment in life pt.1.

No longer just young boys, the album is an introduction to BTS as a group that continues to grow and develop. In each track are distilled poetic and pop emotions that allow the listener to sense both the soft and the resounding musical transformation of the group.

After successfully concluding the “School Trilogy” that discusses the main topics of interest for teens—dreams, happiness, and love—the new album begins to discuss “youth”. BTS has chosen the theme of “the most beautiful moment in life”, the start of one’s young adulthood in which beauty coexists with uncertainty.

The most beautiful moment in life pt.1 focuses on the uncertain future more than the glamour of youth. In addition, while previous lyrical work had been credited to the rappers (RM, SUGA, and j-hope), the vocal members (Jin, Jimin, V, Jung Kook) have now added their names to the credits for this album’s producing and songwriting.

This mini was another fun one. I can’t think of any songs that I don’t like..and I’m talking about all of the songs that I’ve listened to. Sure there are some songs that I like more than others but I haven’t listened to a song that I didn’t like and that was the case with this mini-album. These guys are still singing about their haters and showing off their determination to make it big and I’m still here for all of it. I really enjoyed all of the songs but my favorites are Dope, Boyz with Fun, and Outro: Love is Not Over. Those songs are the ones that stand out the most to me. Suga’s rap in Dope is my favorite part of that song. He’s always spitting their truth and I love it.

This whole album takes about a smidge under 30 minutes to listen to and it’s got one skit but the quality of the songs is strong and it’s another fun ride with the BTS guys doing their thing. There’s a good mix here and I was a happy camper listening to all of it.

Favorite Dance Performance

I freaking love this song and every time it plays on my playlist during the day and I hear RM start with that opening line, I’m so freaking happy. I also really like the choreography for this song. Every time that this performance comes across my radar while I’m browsing on YouTube, I’ll watch it. It drives Brenna crazy but I don’t even care, this performance is so stinkin’ good.

Final Thoughts

Loved It

The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Pt. 2

Release Date: November 30, 2015
Tracklist: INTRO: Never Mind, RUN, Butterfly, Whalien 52, Ma City, Silver Spoon, SKIT: One night in a strange city, Autumn Leaves, OUTRO: House of Cards
Favorite Song: Whalien 52
Favorite Line from Song: The world can never know, How sad I feel, My hurt is like oil and water that can’t be mixed, For me, the attention ends when I’m breathing at the surface, I want to show as well, the small lonely kid in the depths of ocean, My worth.

Seven young men on the threshold of their 20s. Now entering their young adulthood, the members of BTS sang in their previous album, The most beautiful moment in life pt.1, about people their age being threatened by uncertainty. Released seven months after that first installment, The most beautiful moment in life pt.2 sings about the energy of youth barreling forward, embracing even the uncertainty and insecurity. Now beginning to taste the bitterness of grown-up life, they can easily sense that life isn’t always beautiful.

However, they continue to sprint forward, relying only on their two destitute legs and the fire in their hearts. There’s nothing else to do but keep running. Facing the powerlessness of one’s youth, they collide and shatter and still cry out that “it’s okay to fall, it’s okay to get hurt.” That is the beauty of this moment.

Continuing the tradition of the previous album, the members including RM, SUGA, j-hope, V and Jung Kook add their names to the producing and songwriting credits, showing their own growth as musicians. The lyrics are more profound and the music more passionate. The “Youth Series” concludes with The most beautiful moment in life pt.2, but the boys are only now on the starting line. “Never Mind”, BTS is just getting started.

This is another fun album, packed with another 30 minutes of a good variety of songs that are all good. I like the outro song from the first part more than this outro but this outro song is good too. My favorite song on the album is Whalien 52. The message behind that song hit me hard and I remember crying while reading the English lyrics to that one. I think part of the appeal of these guys, at least for me, is that they’re singing about real-life. The stuff that everyone feels, our struggles, our burdens, and they’re singing and rapping about these issues in ways that anyone can relate with. I connect with so many of the messages they share in their songs and you can see it showcased here.

From relating to a lonely whale to reppin’ your city, this album has a great mix of music that will speak to the listener. It spoke to me. Their songs are deep with meaning and I fall a little more in love with their music with every album that I listen to. There’s a great mix of fun upbeat songs and soulful slower songs for you to listen to. The boys deliver their verses and parts so well in each and every single song that you can see their efforts and how hard they work. Lots of good stuff here.

Favorite Dance Performance

This is one of the lesser-known songs that I didn’t see much about in all of my “research” on all things BTS but I freaking love this dance, I love this dance practice and the fun they always have when they’re performing it. Suga’s twerk at the end had me dying.

Final Thoughts

Loved It

The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Young Forever

Release Date: May 2, 2016
Tracklist: INTRO: The most beautiful moment in life, I NEED U, Hold Me Tight, Autumn Leaves, Butterfly prologue mix, RUN, Ma City, Silver Spoon, DOPE, Burning (FIRE), Save ME, Epilogue: Young Forever, Converse High, Moving On, Whalien 52, Butterfly, House of Cards, Love is Not Over, I need U Urban Mix, I NEED U remix, RUN (alternative mix), Butterfly (alternative mix)
Favorite Song: Epilogue: Young Forever
Favorite Line from Song: Burn it all completely, bow wow wow wow

The final chapter of the story of The most beautiful moment in life

Having won over the world with their two-part The most beautiful moment in life series in 2015, BTS will release their special album The most beautiful moment in life : YOUNG FOREVER on May 2. True to the title of the albums, the series has enabled BTS to now be in the most beautiful moment of their lives. The most beautiful moment in life : YOUNG FOREVER is a special album that marks the conclusion of the epic journey of the series, containing the last stories told by young people who, despite an uncertain and insecure reality (The most beautiful moment in life pt.1) continue to surge forward (The most beautiful moment in life pt.2).

So this seems to be a re-release of both of the mini-albums, along with some fresh new songs to make things a little interesting. Only true fans understand the need to purchase albums with the same songs but even though my cheap ass wasn’t too thrilled about spending money on albums with the same songs on them (I couldn’t tell if there were any differences in the songs that weren’t marked as different versions), I’m still going to buy all of their albums cause that’s how I roll. LOL.

This album has two discs with 11 and 12 songs. The entire musical journey takes about an hour and 30 minutes to get through and even though there are some familiar songs, the new songs are freaking bangers. I love Epilogue: Young Forever, and Burning Up (Fire). I also liked that we got a full version of the Love is Not Over song because that song is really good too. Overall, this brings The Most Beautiful Moment in Life journey to an end and sprinkles a little more love with some fresh stuff. If you’re not collecting the albums to have for your personal collection then I don’t think you need to buy the mini-albums, just buy this one because everything is included on this one.

Every time I hear the song Burning Up (Fire), I laugh when V’s part comes on because that’s his favorite lyrics from the entire album. I always hear him in that interview say, “All fire. Bow wow wow wow.” Haha. I love listening to the Epilogue: Young Forever too because I always get all teary-eyed thinking of the Army in London surprising them by singing that song and how JK and Jimin cried so much that Jimin couldn’t even finish the song. I’m telling you, there’s a lot of good stuff in these albums.

Favorite Dance Performance

I love the choreography for this dance and it will always remind me of their Bon Voyage trip where Jimin had to dance in public to Fire so that he can get stuff from the Big Hit staff. He was so embarrassed but he did it and on top of that, it’s a freaking great performance when they all do it together and it’s just a lot of fun to watch.

Final Thoughts

Loved It

Overall, all of these albums were great fun to listen to and if you don’t know by now, I recommend the hell out of everything BTS. Should you check these out? OF COURSE!

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The BTS Listen: 2 Cool 4 Skool, O!RUL82?, and Skool Luv Affair by BTS

Posted January 7, 2021 by Rowena in Reviews | 10 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 following albums: 2 Cool 4 Skool, O!RUL82?, and Skool Luv Affair. So let’s get started, shall we?

A few months ago, I fell down the rabbit hole that is BTS. I haven’t dug my way out of it and don’t really plan on it since I like this rabbit hole and I’m so here for all things BTS. I’ve been making my way through each of their albums and I’ll be sharing my thoughts on each of them here on the blog. I plan on making my way through their discography as broken down by era in this post. Lots of different fans have their take on eras but the post that I included makes the most sense to me so I’m going with their explanation of the eras.

I’m going to start with the School Trilogy, which includes the 2 Cool 4 Skool, O!RUL82?, and Skool Luv Affair albums. These albums are the very first albums that BTS came out with and the stuff is a lot different from their newer stuff but man, they’ve got some bangers on these albums.

2 Cool 4 Skool

Release Date: June 12, 2013
Tracklist: Intro: 2 Cool 4 Skool (feat. DJ Friz), We Are Bulletproof Pt. 2, Skit: Circle Room Talk, No More Dream, Interlude, 좋아요 I Like It, Outro: Circle Room Cypher
Songs in Order of How I Liked Them: No More Dreams, We Are Bulletproof Pt. 2, Like
Favorite Line from Song: “The name is Jungkook, my scale is nationwide. I pulled all-nighters at the practice rooms. Instead of school, dancing, and singing. While you guys partied, I gave up sleep for my dreams.”

2 Cool 4 Skol is the debut single album by South Korean boy band, BTS. The album was released on June 12, 2013, through Big Hit and distributed by Loen. The album was promoted by two singles, “No More Dream” and “We Are Bulletproof Pt. 2”. Commercially, the album peaked at No. five on the Gaon Album Chart and sold more than 230,000 units since its release in South Korea.

There are only 7 tracks on this album and only 3 are actual songs. I didn’t even care because I loved listening to the songs, the skits, and that Outro: Circle Room Cypher? Yeah, I loved that shit too. I’m trippin’ hard though because they sound like babies on this album. You can tell that this is one of their older albums too because their English isn’t as natural as it is now. Holy shit, they’ve come such a long way in the seven years since their debut.

This was a fun album that taps out at 20 minutes and 47 seconds. So while it’s an album that starts the party, it’s a very short party but still packed with some great songs that will make you thirsty for more. The other intros, skits, and Cypher bits were a lot of fun to listen to as well. Listening to young Jungkook and V get their rap on had me laughing and I didn’t even know what they were saying, haha.

Favorite Performance

Final Thoughts

I’m not going to rate these albums, but I am going to share a gif that shows what I think about them instead. Here’s some old school Jimin for you. 🙂

Loved It

O!RUL82?

Release Date: September 11, 2013
Tracklist: Intro: O!RUL8,2?, N.O., We On, Skit: R U Happy Now?, If I Ruled the World, Coffee, BTS Cypher Pt. 1, 진격의 방탄 Attack on Bangtan, 팔도강산 Paldo Gangsan/Satoori Rap, OUTRO : Luv In Skool
Songs in Order of How I Liked Them: Coffee, Outro: Luv in Skool, Attack on Bangtan, N.O., If I Ruled the World, BTS Cypher Pt. 1, We On, Paldogangsan
Favorite Line from Song: “Everybody say NO! It’s not going to work anymore, don’t be captured in other people’s dreams.”

O!RUL8,2? is the first extended play by South Korean boy band, BTS. It was released on September 11, 2013 as the second album after 2 Cook 4 Skool. The album consists of ten tracks, with “N.O.” as the lead singer. The group later promoted “Attack on Bangtan”, another track from the album.

This album had a lot more songs on it and there were a lot of songs on here that I wasn’t familiar with but damn, they are some hitmakers because this whole album bangs. Right from the jump, NO hit you with that hell nah, I’m not going to live my life the way you want me to, I’m gonna do what I want and then hit after hit played sprinkled with some skits in between and I loved it all. So BTS started as a hip hop group but they had some pretty bangin’ R&B jams on this album that I was all the way here for. I love hip hop but I LOVE R&B so yeah, this album was my exact speed.

So this album gave us 7 new songs and took about 30 minutes and 35 seconds to listen to. You can tell that there is a lot of promise with these guys. The rap line really shines in this album but the vocal line sang the shit out of that Outro: Luv in Skool. That song wasn’t nearly long enough and it made my R&B loving heart happy. It sounds like they’re trying to figure out who they are as a group but are enjoying themselves in the meantime. I really dug the musical journey that they took us on and I’m eager for more. This was definitely another winner of an album for me. I definitely recommend listening to this if you’re interested in hip hop and R&B, it’s good stuff. I promise!

Favorite Performance

Final Thoughts

Here’s baby Jungkook coming through showcasing how happy this album made me.

Loved It

Skool Luv Affair

Release Date: February 12, 2014
Tracklist: Intro: Skool Luv Affair, 상남자 Boy In Luv, Skit: Soulmate, 어디에서 왔는지 Where Did You Come From, 하루만 Just One Day, Tomorrow, BTS Cypher Pt. 2: Triptych, 등골브레이커 Spine Breaker, Jump, Outro: Propose
Songs in Order of How I Liked Them: Just One Day, Boy in Luv, Jump, Where You From, Tomorrow, BTS Cypher Pt. 2, Spine Breaker
Favorite Line from Song: “No matter who tries to stop me, I will go my own way. You only live once. Leggo (Leggo!), Leggo (Leggo!) Even if I live for a day, I’ll have no regrets. Let’s jump!”

“Boy In Luv” was the lead single of the album, and the lyrics of the song are about a typical high school crush, as well as a boys’ confusion over having feelings for the girl.

Even with the cute theme of the song, BTS still put a hip-hop twist on the sound which makes it stand out.

Oh man, these albums are really coming together musically for me. Skool Luv Affair is the third album in the BTS collection and it’s the album that has my first favorite BTS song on it. Just One Day. Dude, a lot of my favorite BTS songs are on this album. Just One Day, Boy in Luv, Where You From, these are all fantastic songs and there are still so many other great songs on this album. The vibe of this album is a good one. I danced my way through every single song. I haven’t heard one song that I didn’t like. I didn’t skip a song even once. These guys are great musicians and Jungkook’s vocals hit all the right spots to make these songs bops.

This album gave us 7 more songs, some more skits, and catchy intros and outros that made the album just that more enjoyable. There are 35 minutes and 29 seconds of musical goodness here and it’s another album that you can turn on and not have to skip any songs because they’re all good. This is one of those feel-good albums and I’m mad that I’m late to the BTS party but I’m also hella glad that I’m finally here. This album showcases what makes these guys bomb as hell and I’m here, Army as hell. It’s hard to imagine RM and Suga getting shit for becoming idols because their rap skills are on point. I can listen to them rap all day, every day and I don’t even listen to Korean rap. This Cypher Pt. 2 was ridiculously good. No wonder V loves them so much.

Favorite Performance

Final Thoughts

I looked just like Namjoon does above the entire time that I was listening to this album. This is my favorite album of the bunch.

If I wasn’t already impressed with these guys, these three albums would have definitely made my mind up about them. Their story, their message, and just everything that they stand for continue to impress me each and every single day. These guys are the real deal and their worldwide influence is impressive as hell but their music puts them over the top of everyone else for me because they really are that good. These albums were a great introduction to the music of Bangtan Sonyeondan. I’m glad that I’ve finally arrived at the BTS party and I’m looking forward to the other hundreds of songs that I still have to discover for myself. I love these albums!

Loved It

Are you a fan of BTS? What’s your favorite album? What are some of your favorite songs? Who’s your bias? Let’s be Army friends!

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