The worldwide phenomenon known as BTS (aka Bangtan Boys), the biggest kpop group with millions of fans around the world, had their most recent comeback with the single “Film Out” on April 2.
The seven member group is perhaps one of the most, if not the most, known artists in the world. With their incredible vocals, visuals, lyrics, and stage presence throughout their years-long career, they’ve amassed a massive, dedicated fanbase known as ARMY.
BTS’s discography shows how much range they have — they can work in basically any genre. From their early days of mostly hiphop and rap to heartfelt ballads like “Spring Day,” to bright pop songs like “Dynamite.” They’ve also played around in genres like R&B, emo pop, neo soul, latin pop, EDM, pop, funk, disco, and basically anything else you could think of.
They’ve also collaborated with plenty of other well-known artists during their career, including a lot of western artists like Lil Nas X, Nicki Minaj, Halsey, Jason Derulo, and Lauv just to name a few.
Many of the members also have very successful solo work, especially the rapline. From RM’s 2018 album mono. to Suga’s (aka Agust D) D-2 to J-Hope’s Hope World, BTS members continue to show their talent in their solo work.
All this to say that BTS are without a doubt some of the most influential and talented artists in the world.
Last year, the group made a huge impact with their record-breaking, disco-pop track “Dynamite,” their first song entirely in English. Since their last album BE in November, fans have been waiting for their next project and now it’s finally here. “Film Out” is a collaboration with J-pop band Back Number. It will appear as the ending theme for the upcoming Japanese movie Signal: Long-Term Unsolved Case Investigation Team based off the TV drama Signal.
This latest release of theirs will be on their upcoming Japanese-language album BTS, the Best. The album, which will be out June 16, will also include previous Japanese-language songs of theirs in addition to new tracks like “Film Out.”
Fans weren’t made aware of the song’s release until a surprise teaser uploaded onto the HYBE LABELS Youtube channel March 25, a week before the song and accompanying music video came out. Even with the minimal build up to its release, the simple teaser had fans in a frenzy. From Twitter to TikTok to Instagram, ARMYs were talking about the stunning visuals, symbols, and possible storyline connections.
As one would expect for the group, the song was wildly successful. It was #1 on the iTunes Song Chart in 98 countries, #1 on the Worldwide iTunes Song Chart, and reached number one on many Japanese charts. The music video also unsurprisingly rose to #1 on YouTube’s weekly ranking of the most-watched music videos worldwide with just over 53 million views.
The song explores past memories and the pain of losing someone, having them slip through your hands as time progresses. In a press release the band shared, they talked about how the song touched them as they worked on it, according to Billboard.
“We fell in love with the song while we were working on it, so we hope you all like it, too. It’s a ballad with a poignant melody and lyrics, and we’re sure it has the power to touch many people’s hearts. Please enjoy our song along with the movie.”
In addition to analyzing the lyrics of this heartfelt ballad, people were also invested in the MV’s connections to BTS’s canon universe lore. A lot of the theories include drawing parallels between the “Film Out” music video and the “Fake Love” video from 2018, which many believe prove that they exist in parallel universes.
This feeling of reflecting on the past with someone is visualized in the music video most notably through an hourglass slowly counting down the time they have with each other before all hell breaks loose and the room breaks into absolute chaos in the room Jin is alone in, the other members disappearing before his eyes.
In addition to this new track, ARMYs are also excited about Bang Bang Con 2021 which they announced April 10. The online concert is set to take place Saturday, April 17 at 3PM KST, which is 2AM EST. Fans can watch the event on BANGTANTV, BTS’s official YouTube channel.
똑똑똑, 여기가 아미의 방이 맞나요?#방방콘21 #벌써일년 #작년4월처럼#방에서즐기는방탄소년단콘서트#BANGBANGCON21#BTS #방탄소년단 pic.twitter.com/r9G43NoNE6
— BTS_official (@bts_bighit) April 10, 2021
#방방콘21 의 라인업을 공개합니다! #방에서즐기는방탄소년단콘서트 #BANGBANGCON21 #비긴즈🦋 #부직샵🚪 #SY상파울루💜 #BTS #방탄소년단 pic.twitter.com/446IxnLIlw
— BTS_official (@bts_bighit) April 11, 2021
BTS has earned their place not only in the Kpop industry, but on the international stage. Their success also opened up the doorway for Kpop in general to gaining wider overseas audiences. Even with their already astounding career, they continue to outdo themselves and reach new levels of success.
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