The group BTS briefly sheds the mask of a 'superstar' on a dazzling stage and unapologetically reveals their most private, human bare faces.
According to agency BigHit Music on the 16th, the music video for "NORMAL," a track from BTS's fifth studio album Arirang (ARIRANG), will be exclusively released on the global streaming platform Spotify at 1 p.m. on the 17th. Along with this, three new tracks — the Korean version of "NORMAL" and an instrumental (backing track) version, among others — will simultaneously be unveiled to quench global fans' thirst.
It was truly a "surprise gift"-like teaser. At midnight that day, BTS suddenly released the "NORMAL" music video teaser on HYBE Labels' official YouTube channel. Immediately after its release, social media and online communities heated up over their striking concept.
The revealed teaser is set in an extremely private and intimate space: a "bathroom." It shows members standing side by side with their backs turned while attending to personal needs, and leader RM nonchalantly squeezing into the narrow gap. The unpolished honesty and delightful humanity shown by pop stars who command the world provoke fresh shock and hearty laughter from viewers.
This also unraveled the mystery behind the "mysterious U.S. newspaper advertisement" that had been a hot topic among global fans. The striking photo that prominently graced the pages of the San Francisco Chronicle and the New York Post on the 14th (local time) was a scene from the "NORMAL" music video. The provocative and witty line in the ad — "Some have questioned whether this situation is truly ordinary" — ultimately served as a playful build-up to paradoxically showcase "the most ordinary BTS."
Released in March, the track "NORMAL" from the fifth studio album portrays the seven members' ordinary daily lives and intimate concerns through the alternative pop genre. The members' calm yet emotionally resonant singing-rap layered over heavy drum sounds captured listeners' ears, and the song already demonstrated its strength by reaching No. 41 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in April. The Korean version set to be released this time is expected to offer a different, deeper resonance from the original.
BTS, after holding the top spot on the Billboard 200 main album chart for three consecutive weeks, has continued a long-running success, maintaining No. 25 on the latest chart (dated July 18). The title track "SWIM" has also proven steady global power by charting on the Hot 100 for 16 consecutive weeks.
With the candidness that is most "BTS-like," how the "NORMAL" music video and new songs armed with that honesty will stir fresh ripples in the global music market is drawing the eyes and ears of global fans to Spotify at 1 p.m. on the 17th.
[Photo] BigHit Music (HYBE)
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