One K-Pop Album You Don't Want to Miss
BTS (Bangtan Sonyeondan/Bulletproof Boys) is one of the popular boy bands of K-Pop, consisting of 7 members – Jin, Suga, J-hope, Rap Monster, Jimin, V and Jungkook. Last October, they released their second full album called "Wings", an album where one flies through art and history, and ride a rollercoaster of one's hidden emotions. By this album, they have achieved an "all-kill" on South Korean music charts, and numerous (emphasis on numerous) achievements internationally.
Wings contains 15 tracks, of which 7 are soulful solos of individual members, a bold Cypher track with the 3 rappers of the group, a soothing song with the 4 vocalists, the intro and interlude, and the rest being with all 7 members. The physical albums are sold in 4 versions – W, I, N and G, each having of a different photobook, but the CD is the same in all versions, and they all have one random member's photocard.
This album is very different from how K-Pop is stereotyped, and also from other K-Pop albums, as its theme has been taken from the book "Demian: The Story of Emil Sinclair's Youth" by Hermann Hesse, with references from The Bible itself. The album explores more themes from the members' solo songs, consisting of things the youth can feel and relate to – guilt, self-loathe, despair, love, failure, etc. They also have songs which are positive and uplifting. Even one of them, titled "21st Century Girls", is about girl power.
They have had 7 short films released before this album was released – a feat never seen before. The shorts successfully pull off their theme from the book, giving it a thriller movie feel which touches the peak of a curious mind. The storyline from the trailers finally reaches a debatable conclusion in the music video of the title song "Blood, Sweat & Tears", which is beautifully set in a museum-like production design with the use of paintings and statues. The storyline is, of course, related to all these artefacts and Hesse's book. It keeps the fans in awe, turning them into mystery solvers who then share many theories on the internet of what has happened.
It should be mentioned that this story started from their previous mini albums from last year – The Most Beautiful Moment in Life Trilogy. However, there is an ongoing debate that it might have started from their first album ever. All these mind-boggling settings by the albums create theories which keep the fans in anticipation and interested on this one-of-a-kind album.
For me, Wings is a 10/10 album – one of the most unique and distinct albums in the world of K-Pop. It is enriched in art and emotion, and has done justice to the themes they have used.