“Love Yourself: Tear” by BTS
Lovers were waiting for too long for BTS to release their new album
“Love Yourself: Tear”, and even though I was expecting it to be ‘huge’, it was even beyond my imagination. BTS has been workin gon this album for a long time –and working very hard too- creating an alternative universe just for the album’s storyline and releasing a short film called ‘Highlight Reel’ (not to mention this alternative universe was on going since their previous albums HYYH and Wings), releasing an EP called ‘Love Yourself: Her’ which was a huge success with hits like ‘DNA’ and ‘MIC Drop’, releasing a Japanese album called ‘Face Yourself’, J-Hope dropping his solo mixtape ‘Hope World’, releasing ‘Euphoria’ (Love Yourself: Wonder) a sthe concept of Love Yourself series, starting the ‘Love Yourself’ campaign with UNICEF and finally releasing the LP, ‘Love Yourself: Tear’! I had a hard time writing this long sentence and I bet it was hard for you to read but BTS did these things in almost a year, so only respect for their hardwork! I listened to ‘Love Yourself: Tear’ and wrote this article, reviewing the songs and analyzing the meanings in the hopes of it will gain your interest & inspire you to explore new music.
Singularity
“Have I lost myself or have I gained you?”
“I buried my voice for you.”
The first song of the album is V’s solo song. It gives R&B vibes with strong bass patterns. The song is anout a strained relationship –and not necessarily with another person, mostly about within himself, that’;s actually what the album focuses on. V’s unique and low voice definitely suites the R&B base of the song. And have you seen the music video? It reflected the emotion of the song flawlessly and you can see how much V’s dancing improved. So proud of your solo song V!
Songs like Singularity: House of Cards
FAKE LOVE
“For you I could pretend like I was strong when I was hurt.”
“I wish love was perfect as love itself.”
“Love you so bad, mold a pretty lie for you.”
First single of the awaited album, FAKE LOVE, is about the dark sides of love. We always think of love as if we’re looking at life from rose-coloured galsses but in reality love also hurts as much as it makes us alive. FAKE LOVE is basically about not being true to yourself, changing yourself for
the sake of love and losing ‘the love’ at the end. The part where RM and Jungkook sings ‘I changed everything just for you. But now I don’t know me, who are you?” explains the concept pretty well. Music video of the song broke records on Youtube, but most importantly didn’t let ARMYs down with flawless choreography and well written plot, connected to the alternative universe they created for their previous album ‘Wings’. Also lets not forget the jaw dropping performance of ‘FAKE LOVE’ on BBMAs, leaving even non Kpop fans speechless. Jungkook going viral as ‘the guy with abs’ explains a lot.
Songs like FAKE LOVE: Don’t Leave Me, Blood Sweat &Tears
The Truth Untold (Sincerity That Couldn’t Be Delivered) ft Steve Aoki
“You know that I can’t show you me, give you me. I can’t show you the ruined part of myself. Once again I put on a mask and go to see you. But I still want you.”
This song left me in tears the first time I listened to it. I could feel the emotion in their voices and that left me speechless: Even though I couldn’t understand Korean at all, the song shattered my heart to
pieces and that made me realise the power of music one more time. The song referances to the story of Smeraldo flower, a metaphor used in many BTS songs and music videos. It’s a very rare flower literally meaning ‘the truth I couldn’t tell’. There’re similarities between the lyrics and an Italian tale called “La Citta di Smeraldo”. The tale is about a man who hides in his castle because he is afraid of showing himself to the world and he watches a woman who picks up flowers form his garden. He falls in love with her and grows a special flower called ‘Smeraldo’ just for her. Unfortunately she passes away before she can pick up the special flower.
Songs like The Truth Untold: Butterfly, Love Is Not Over, Spring Day
134340
“My cold heart is minus 248 degrees, it stopped the day you erased me.”
“I still revolve around you. I missed you, I lost you.”
Before you think the title is just random numbers, it’s actually the astreoid number scientists use to referance Pluto ever since it lost the status of the 9th planet of our solar system. The song is basically about the loneliness of Pluto and how it feels to be alienated by the ones you love the most. 134340 is a song with fun sounds and deep lyrics, the contrast making it even more unique. The song is very special for me, since Pluto was always my favourite ‘planet’ and I always thought of it as a person who tried his/her best but still got chased away.
Songs like 134340: Pied Piper
Paradise
“It’s alright to stop. There’s no need to run without even knowing the reason.”
“All the breaths you breathe is already in paradise.”
Have you ever felt like you don’t know where you are going with your life? Sometimes we don’t know what we want and what we need from life, so we just keep on living without a purpose. ‘Paradise’ mentions that the most beautiful moments in life doesn’t have to be the destination/success, it can be the process of gaining that success itself, the journey (an actual quote from the leader RM). It focuses on the beauty of living in the moment, rather than worrying about the future.
Songs like Paradise: Dimple, Converse High
Love Maze
“Trapped in a maze of decisions, exhausted by all the different chaos. We’ve wandered around, looking for the answer. Lost in the maze, in the darkness.”
A very cute sounding upbeat song with lyrics about the dedication to not lose the loved one in the ‘maze’ love creates itself. Love is a complex emotion with up and downs, and the song says if you don’t let go of your loved one’s hand, you’ll make it out together at the end. Not to mention the song was produced by DJ Swivel, frequent Beyonce collaborator.
Songs like Love Maze: DNA, Let Go
Magic Shop “I do believe in your galaxy.”
“While drinking a cup of warm tea and looking up at the Milky Way, you’ll be alright.”
“You gave me the best of me so you’ll give yourself the best of you.”
This song is very special for me –and for many ARMYs I believe- for many reasons. First of all, it was actually written for the fans, saying they made BTS who they’re today and they also have the power to change their lives for good as well. The concept of Magic Shop is simple yet intense: Exchanging parts of yourself from the past for a better you in the future. Another reason what makes the song very special is the fact that the song was co-produced by no other than the main vocalist, Jeon Jungkook!
Songs like Magic Shop: 2!3!, Best of Me
Airplane pt. 2
“Love the airplane mode, turn off all the concerns.”
“I still don’t know how to live well, so today as well, we just go.”
‘Airplane pt. 2’ is a continuation of ‘Airplane’, a track of J-Hope’s solo mixtape ‘Hope World’. The song is the declaration of success of Bangtan.
The boys try a whole new sound, splattering Latin melodies all over the track and even using some Spanish lyrics as well. You can’t just listen to ‘Airplane pt. 2’ and sit still, not dance. Fun fact: If you listen carefully to the song, you can hear a woman shouting at the background. It’s actually a chant that some Arab women do in weddings. An iconic song indeed.
Songs like Airplane pt. 2: I couldn’t find any song at all, this song is way too one of a kind.
Anpanman
“Even if I’m hurt, I’m a hero, put the fear behind.”
“As I open my eyes, I’m a hero, but still in a maze.”
BTS always puts one goofy/fun song in their albums and Anpanman is that song of ‘Love Yourself: Tear’. Anpanman is a cartoon superhero character. Even though we’re hurt and struggling, we can be our own heroes, if we believe in ourselves. Anpanman is the kind of a song you can listen to in the mornings to lift up your mood and I gurantee, it will definitely make you feel better.
Songs like Anpanman: Go Go, 21st Century Girls
So What
“90% of your worries are an imaginary swamp that you created. Just goinstead of worrying, don’t get scared, cheer up. Shout it out, so what!”
Sometimes we change our decisions just because what others think and that affects the road we take in our lives, almost
like the ropes of our future is in somebody else’s hands. ‘So What’ encourages us to do what we want with our lives –of course as long as we’re not harming anybody/anything- and leave any ‘what if’s behind. At the end, it’s your OWN life, so do whatever makes you happy and live in the moment!
Songs like So What: Outro,Wings
Outro: Tear
“Although we used to talk about forever, now we break each other without mercy. Although we thought that we dreamed the same dream, that dream has finally became a dream.” “You’re my begging and my end. My meeting and my farewell.”
The darkest song of the album, both in sound and lyrics. ‘Tear’ is questioning the dark sides of love, realizing it’s not full of lighthearted moments. It’s not possible to explain the feeling song gives with words, you should listen to it and experience it yourself. Even if you don’t know Korean, it’s impossible to not to feel the despair and the rage. You can hear the string samples that are also used in the ‘Highlight Reel’ and it compliments RM, Suga and J-Hope’s powerful rapping.
Songs like Tear: Outro: Her
Bonus: Euphoria
“Even if the ground cracks, even if someone shakes this world, don’t let go of the hand you’re holding.”
“Perhaps I’m also in a dream. The dream is a blue mirage in a desert, from deep inside of me a priori.”
“Take my hands now, you’re the cause of my euphoria.”
Euphoria is a single released under the name of ‘Love Yourself: Wonder’ and it’s technically not in the album ‘Love Yourself: Tear’ but it’s such a good song to leave out of this article. Euphoia is a bridge between ‘Love Yourself: Her’ and ‘Love Yourself: Tear’, it’s also the solo song of main vocalist Jeon Jungkook. The song creates an utopia where everything is perfect and Jungkook sings about being so happy to a point where he can’t tell if it’s the reality or if it’s a dream. A soft pop song with JK’s crystal clear vocals: Perfection.
The Whole Album Overall
We were waiting a flawless album after ‘Love Yourself: Her’ EP and we didn’t get what we expected. ‘Love Yourself: Tear’ was beyond flawless. BTS really matured up by the sound, the lyrics, the dancing, the visuals and most importantly by characters. Combining so many sounds and trying out new styles while maintaining the Bangtan style we love so much, they really outdid themselves. They’re getting the love and attention they deserve, like getting the opportunity to perform on BBMAs, winning the Top Social Artist award two years in a row, breaking the record of the highest views on a video within the first 24 hours in Youtube history and the last but not the least, still having their ARMY by their side. Fighting!
