The artistry behind BTS Black Swan

After releasing 9 albums since their debut in 2013, the South Korean band Bangtan Sonyeondan, better known as BTS, has accomplished more records and prizes they would ever have thought of getting. With their most popular songs as Dynamite and Butter, some fans still do not overcome from Black Swan, a song inspired by the film and from the "ballet's most enduring classic" (RNZB, 2019)

From the album Map of the Soul: 7, which was inspired by the human psychology theory of Carl Jung, Black Swan is the 7th tune in the list. The song was written by RM the group leader of BTS, the producer of the group Pdogg and the famous August Rigo, among others. Lyrics were written in a thoughtful moment of the members. Each line leads the spectator to a more personal side of the band, uncovering in public their darkest fear. "The ballad narrates the confession of an artist who has learned what their own art means for them and fears of losing the love for it" narrates Spotify in the description of the song.

Chorus and melody, produced as well by Pdogg, include different genres as trap beats, a slight touch of R&B and some Lo-fi guitar chords. Although the tune has some dark lyrics on it, the orchestral version brings to light a more grievous and doleful edition. "A dancer dies twice- once when they stop dancing, and the first death is the most painful". Inspired by Martha Graham quote and the song, a Slovakian contemporary dance company called "MN Dance" decided to use it and do a new recording with an orchestral, having some re-arrangement from MyungSoo Shin, ending in magical piece.

As well known, BTS became famous for their amazing presence on stage. Through coordination and outrageous dance skills, the seven Korean members display eye-catching performances for millions and millions of people, for not to be forgotten ARMYs, their loyal fandom. This song was not the exception. 'They were really telling a story within the song and they were very specific about the vibe and what they wanted to translate within the song' says the Brazilian choreographer Sergio Reiss, who created the routine for Bangtan (Deen, 2020). The dance composition is a mix of contemporary dance, ballet and popping; bird postures, marionettes on strings and self-battling are represented in the choreography.

Finally, the group presented Black Swan for the first time on"The late late show of James Corden" dancing bare feet. After they performed, BTS went trending topic on twitter and gave the program millions and millions of views in YouTube even after 1 week the program went live. The record has more than 200 million streams on Spotify and keeps going up until today.

Link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lapF4DQPKQ&ab_channel=HYBELABELS

Bibliography:

Delia Harrington: https://www.tor.com/2022/04/12/bts-black-swan-art-film-and-videos-analysis/#:~:text=According%20to%20Pdogg%2C%20the%20song,of%20love%20with%20their%20art.

Martha Graham: https://www.koreaboo.com/stories/bts-black-swan-story-meaning-martha-graham-new-song/

Black swan: https://rnzb.org.nz/shows/black-swan-white-swan/

Wikipedia: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Swan_(canci%C3%B3n)

By: Belén López