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Plus One
The 11 best songs by BTS
Ahead of BTS’ arrival at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this summer, here are their eleven greatest tracks, ranked
Whatever the tier above ‘phenomenon’ is, that’s probably the word we should use to describe BTS. The seven-member group were at the very forefront of K-pop’s global takeover, garnering an international audience beyond anything a South Korean act had seen before. The first non-English-language artist to sell out Wembley Stadium, they return to London this July, this time for two highly anticipated shows at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Ahead of BTS WORLD TOUR ‘ARIRANG’ IN LONDON, we’re scouring through over 200 BTS songs (!) to find their eleven best tracks.
11. ‘Mikrokosmos’
(Map Of The Soul: Persona, 2019)
A song about the complicated consciousness represented by every pinprick of light in a stadium feels incredibly appropriate material for a K-pop group – BTS elevate it into an affirming anthem about connection, empathy and the weight of every life. A fan-dedicated track, ‘Mikrokosmos’ is simpler in production than many of the group’s other best tracks, deliberately so, with just enough twinkly percussion and warm drums to bolster the song’s message. The lyrics are some of the group’s most emotive, and the vocal performances sincere and affecting, somehow managing to capture a piece of the magic of live music on a studio recording.
10. ‘Dope’
(The Most Beautiful Moment In Life, Part 1, 2015)
The dissonant, squeaky sax might hit the ear badly on a different track, but woven into the laidback cool of ‘Dope’, it works perfectly. The group aren’t trying too hard to impress anyone here, but they’re managing it anyway. ‘Dope’ speaks not only to BTS’ personal work ethic and ambition – the lyrics a galvanising cry to any young person sick of being disparaged and mischaracterised by the older generation, as set out in the playful expert rap verse. Although the song makes this list on its own merit, the music video for ‘Dope’ was a big international moment for the group, with the accompanying dance garnering attention from around the world.
9. ‘Serendipity’
(Love Yourself: Answer, 2018)
Jimin’s delicate love song first appeared as an introductory track on 2017’s EP Love Yourself: Her, but it wasn’t until Love Yourself: Answer arrived in 2018 that we got to hear the full-length version. It was worth waiting for. ‘Serendipity’ is a romantic musing on chance and fate, set to a teasingly languid tempo. Created to push Jimin as a vocalist, the track demands a vocal that is clear and breathy at the same time, and highly emotive, and Jimin delivers, giving us satisfying vocal runs that melt over the track’s soothing production.
8. ‘Burning Up (Fire)’
(The Most Beautiful Moment In Life: Young Forever, 2016)
‘Burning Up (Fire)’ doesn’t waste a moment – it’s shot through with a furious energy from the very first note. The heavy electro-house track employs screeching synths and percussive production to take us higher and higher, drawn into the boys’ rousing chant of ‘fi-ya’. It’s a far angrier take on a ‘love yourself’ anthem, with the group insisting that they’ll live exactly as they want, no matter what others think. We certainly wouldn’t dare get in their way.
7. ‘Fake Love’
(Love Yourself: Tear, 2018)
Talk about an earworm chorus. This larger-than-life synth-pop offering is part heartbreak anthem, part diss track and part characteristic cry for authenticity. There’s an emo-meets-hip-hop feel to the track – BTS have long been deftly weaving between genres, and they do it beautifully here, with rap verses that pulse with tension and an outro of breathy, stacked vocals over a picked guitar, stripping back all the song’s bluster for a straightforwardly emotional conclusion.
6. ‘I Need U’
(The Most Beautiful Moment In Life, Part 1, 2015)
This was the track that won BTS their first Korean music show award and set them on the path to international success. It’s easy enough to see why. ‘I Need U’ is a glimpse into a doomed yet addictive romance, á la Lady Gaga’s ‘Bad Romance’, all high drama and urgency. A woodwind synth dances over a turbo-charged beat, with each infectious EDM chorus taking us closer to an explosive climax. Each member performs for his life through R&B riffs and over rumbling percussion. It’s hard to say if ‘I Need U’ is BTS’ defining breakout track – they have quite a few in the running – but it’s a hell of a contender.
5. ‘Butterfly’
(The Most Beautiful Moment In Life, Part 2, 2015)
Jung Kook’s melodic whisper of a first verse introduces us to something musically cautious and magically produced. ‘Butterfly’ is a song that wants to burst forth into new life, but is concerned with preserving something fragile, something the sonics exemplify. Strings bleed in the background whilst the rap verse builds over a slowly crescendo-ing house beat. An unexpected, dreamy chord progression and super-smooth vocals make the track an absolute treat to listen to.
4. ‘Silver Spoon (Baepsae)’
(The Most Beautiful Moment In Life, Part 2, 2015)
With an infectious energy that can be appreciated in any language, BTS deliver something that manages to be both a ridiculously infectious trap song and a scathing indictment of the class system. The lyricism is razor-sharp – well worth diving into for any non-Korean speakers – and acts as another call to the group’s disillusioned generation, as well as a middle finger to anyone who dismisses BTS’ discography as ‘boyband’ music. ‘Baepsae’ is a reference to a Korean idiom that encourages people not to harbour ambitions beyond the class they’re born into. BTS toss this out of the window, in favour of fierce ambition and foot-stomping attack.
3. ‘Save Me’
(The Most Beautiful Moment In Life: Young Forever, 2016)
This tropical house track is shot through with all the sunny colour of the mid-2010s, making it a joyfully nostalgic listen. All the performances in ‘Save Me’ are top notch, from the dramatic vocals to the way the group’s rappers energetically play off each other. The production is a treat, full of creative, playful percussion – clock ticks, distant snares, a shower of marimba notes. There’s a characteristically hype build to the chorus, but unlike the group’s heavier EDM refrains, ‘Save Me’ has a deft, textbook landing.
2. ‘Euphoria’
(Love Yourself: Answer, 2018)
Is it controversial to place a solo song so high on this list? It can’t be helped – ‘Euphoria’ is possibly the group’s strongest solo performance, courtesy of Jung Kook, who not only provides the lead vocal, but whose voice becomes an instrument in the blissful electronica of the post-chorus. As an ode to young love, the track feels highly genuine, helped along by his vulnerable, soft vocals. It’s every bit as sonically joyful a track as you’d expect, but shows clever restraint by leading more towards a contented happiness than a pin-wheeling, explosive dance sound.
1. ‘Spring Day’
(You’ll Never Walk Alone, 2017)
This rich power ballad is a fan-favourite, and it’s considered by most critics to be one of the band’s best as well, if not their definitive greatest track. With vocals both soft and strong, the group explore universal themes of loss and grief in this rich power ballad, with an emotional core that transcends language. Combining pop, singer-songwriter and EDM elements – just drink in those whining, whirring synths – the song journeys through the cold and dark to find the light at the end of the tunnel. “Past the edge of this winter’s cold/Until the spring day comes again,” sing the boys. Rather than resign to the chill, the song’s title chooses to highlight the hope in it all.
