Line #74 TearJerker/BTS


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/captura_de_pantalla_2020_03_11_a_las_22901_am_2.png]]
2	%%[[caption-width-right:350:some caption text]]
3
4	-->''Where there is hope, there is always hardship...''
5	-->[[spoiler:'''Lyrics in "Sea" (hidden track in ''LOVE YOURSELF: Her'')'''.]]
6
7	BTS' approach to their music has always been to tell their own stories, as well as the stories of the people of their generation. As it happens with youth, there can be moments of beauty... but also moments of pain, uncertainty and fear.
8
9	The TearJerker/BTSUniverse has its own page, as does the BU-related webtoon ''TearJerker/SaveMe''.
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12	* "Tomorrow" is directed to everyone (especially young adults) who's feeling stuck or lost in search of a dream, encouraging them to not give up. It was written by Suga while they were trainees when the future of the group was completely uncertain - not to mention that Suga himself was seriously struggling with financial problems and mental illness during that period -, so it can really hit close to home.
13	--> ''Same day, same moon''
14	--> ''24/7 every moment repeats''
15	--> ''My life is in between''
16	--> ''Jobless twenty-somethings afraid of tomorrow'' [...]
17	--> ''I have a long way to go but why am I running in place?''
18	--> ''I scream out of frustration but empty air echoes''
19	--> ''I hope tomorrow will be different from today''
20	--> ''I'm just wishing''
21	* "Whalien 52" talks about loneliness through the story of the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/52-hertz_whale 52-Hertz-Whale]], a real-life whale of unidentified species that calls at an unusually high frequency, and is therefore commonly described as the world's loneliest. In the song, however, it never stops calling in hopes that someone, somewhere, will eventually hear.
22	* "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBj4y9Zibao EPILOGUE: Young Forever]]", a song expressing the ups and downs of being musicians and idols, and how even though they know their fame will come to an end and that they will face many obstacles along the way, the boys will always want to be loved and chase their dreams.
23	* "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEeFrLSkMm8 Spring Day]]" is a song about loss and the pain and loneliness that one experiences while grieving for the person(s) absence. The music video is solemn, and there's reluctance and longing as the group moves forward. Depending on your interpretation, it could be about an estranged relationship (platonic, familial or otherwise), the loss of a person due to death or suicide, or the boys bidding farewell to their youth as they begin a new chapter in their lives.
24	* After "Mic Drop", ''LOVE YOURSELF: Her'' shifts into [[CerebusSyndrome a darker tone]].
25	** While not necessarily a song that will make people ''cry'', "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=577WROddo8o Go Go]]" has an underlying bittersweet or even bleak feel to it: it's about how the Korean youth of today frivolously spend money on things like food, games, and other luxuries, as many don't see the point in saving for a future due to economic hardships placed by society.
26	** "Outro: Her" ends the album on a somewhat somber note, giving way to ''LOVE YOURSELF: Tear''. The person has fallen in love but finds themselves changing and covering their less desirable traits for the other person. As some people have pointed out, it can be interpreted as the way idols try to only show their good side to fans, having their image cleaned up and controlled by their company and having no space for flaws or mistakes.
27	*** It says something when, in a reaction video to "Outro: Her" featuring a fan of Wanna One (a group who days before had been accidentally caught on camera cursing and saying some compromising comments about their company), Suga's verse made her cry.
28	--->''[[BeneathTheMask Because the me behind this mask]]''
29	--->''Is not the one you know''
30	--->''Make up to wake up today too''
31	--->''And dress up to mask on''
32	--->''[[StepfordSmiler In order to become the me that you love]]''
33	** There are 2 hidden tracks in the physical album. [[spoiler:One of them is "Skit: Hesitation and Fear", recorded around 3 months after their first Billboard Award, where the members reminisce about their period as trainees, and the uncertainty they had about even getting to debut. And then, they start talking about how their newfound success has made them feel more pressure and feel of falling, now that everyone is looking at them now. And ''then''... they talk about how, as much as they try to be as truthful about themselves to the fans as they can, their image is always a filtered, "nicely wrapped-up" (as Suga puts it) version of themselves. How, being idols, sometimes it seems like they're acting while living their everyday lives since they always try to show their good side to people.]]
34	** [[spoiler:Then comes the second hidden track, "Sea". It reminisces on the hardships they suffered entering the Kpop industry: harsh competition, getting cut from broadcasts (due to being from a small company without connections), all sleeping in one room, and people telling them they wouldn't make it. Desperately working through [[CallBack blood, sweat and tears]] to achieve success, only to find that success is not eternal, with a still-existing fear of falling; like finding the sea after pushing on through the desert, only to find yourself thirstier, and wondering if it was just a mirage.]]
35	---> [[spoiler:''Ocean, desert and the world...'']]
36	---> [[spoiler:''Everything, same thing'']]
37	---> [[spoiler:''Different name'']]
38	* The mask created in ''Her'' breaks in ''LOVE YOURSELF: Tear''. And it's ugly.
39	** "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8npDG2ulKQ Intro: Singularity]]" immediately sets the tone for the album, completely contrasting "[[SugarWiki/SweetDreamsFuel Intro: Serendipity]]". The song is slow, somber and even eerie, with V's baritone voice instead of Jimin's soft and higher-pitched one. The lyrics talk about the sober realization that hiding flaws, pain and sadness from the other have brought a LossOfIdentity, and that the mask built to please that other is becoming unsustainable.
40	--->''Did I lose myself... or did I gain you?''
41	** "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7C2z4GqqS5E FAKE LOVE]]" is when the mask finally breaks. It's desperate, explosive, and the lyrics tearfully detail the realization that the person has lost their sense of self; that, as much as the person hoped for it to work, [[DestructiveRomance the love they were building and craving was nothing but lies, since the loved one doesn't actually know or understand them after all.]]
42	--->''I wanted to be a good man, just for you''
43	--->''I gave you the world, just for you''
44	--->''I changed everything, just for you''
45	--->''Now I don't know'' '''me''' - ''Who are you?''
46	** "The Truth Untold" (feat. Steve Aoki) is based on the story of "La Città di Smeraldo", about a man who falls in love with a woman who steals flowers from his garden, but never shows himself to her for fear that she'll see his grotesque appearance, and simply lets her keep on taking flowers. He decides to create a new flower, the Smeraldo, and fill his garden with it, so he can make her happy. [[spoiler:However, before he can show them to her, the woman stops coming. [[DownerEnding He later finds out she died]]]].
47	--->''And I still want you...''
48	*** The song is about being afraid of showing your "ugly"/darker side to the one you love; that "darker side" has been interpreted by some as having deeper flaws or even mental illness; in the song, this leads to the person hiding that side until they lose the other person, and wondering about whether things would have been different otherwise. It ties to the general theme of the ''LOVE YOURSELF'' series: if you can't share those parts and weaknesses you don't like about yourself, the love (whether it's toward others or yourself) won't last.
49	** "Outro:Tear", full stop. It starts somberly with intro music from the Highlight Reels, and the rap line does ''not'' hold back their emotions as they let out powerful verses that sum up having to separate from someone you've been with for a long time; RM's verse being about grief,("You're my tear"), Suga's being about rage and wanting to get it over with("You're my ''tear''," as in tearing something apart) and J-hope's being about fear of being unable to face them again("You're my fear"). In particular, J-hope's verse makes it sound like he's about to break into tears.
50	*** It gets even sadder due to ''Break the Silence'', with Suga revealing that he had directed the lyrics to the other members of the band when they were discussing the possibility of disbandment in 2018. He had put the song on for the members, and after hearing it, they had all cried together.
51	* The concept of the ''LOVE YOURSELF'' series is related to hiding the bad side of yourself from the person you love. A closer reading of the lyrics of certain songs such as "Outro: Her" (as seen above), "Best of Me", "Fake Love", and the hidden tracks in ''LOVE YOURSELF: Her'', reveals that this also applies to the relationship of many Kpop idols with their fans, with companies creating an idealized, cleaned-up version of themselves through make-up, editing, and control of their image through ContractualPurity, which idols maintain in order to make their fans happy.
52	--->''Why you sad? I don't know, I don't know''
53	--->''[[StepfordSmiler Smile, and say I love you]]''
54	--->''Look at me. I even gave up on myself''
55	--->''Even you can't understand me.''
56	* "My Time", Jungkook's solo song from "MAP OF THE SOUL:7". The lyrics are incredibly sobering as they describe Jungkook's reflection on his time as an idol, having started at a young age and feeling like he's grown up too fast.
57	* In June 2020, Jungkook released his first solo song, "Still with You". The theme is similar to that of "Spring Day", about missing someone and longing for the day they can meet again, and the lyrics hit especially hard for listeners who were forced to be isolated from their loved ones during 2020.
58	---> ''Every day, every moment''
59	--->''If I knew this was gonna happen''
60	--->''I would have remembered more of them''
61	--->''When will it be?''
62	--->''If I see you again''
63	--->''I will look into your eyes''
64	--->''And say, "I missed you"''
65	* As an album that captures how the members felt during the 2020 pandemic, ''BE'' has a few tracks that made [=ARMYs=] shed tears:
66	** The title track, "Life Goes On", perfectly conveys how suddenly the world seemed to stop in the event of a disaster, and how it feels like it'll never end, though it does reassure the listener that the future will eventually get better. The music video also has a scene where V is driving, then he looks to the side and sees Jamsil stadium, the place where BTS had last performed for ARMY...
67	** "Blue and Grey" is a slow, somber track that reflects on the feelings of sadness and burnout that the pandemic brought, which struck a lot of listeners who felt the same way.
68	* "Film Out" is a heartbreaking ballad about the fear of losing precious memories, especially those of a loved one who's no longer within reach. The music video sets the somber atmosphere even more, where the members are in a house isolated from the rest of the world, reflecting on the time they spent together. A particularly heart-wrenching moment occurs when Jin is separated from the others by a glass wall and is forced to watch helplessly as Jungkook disappears before his eyes, right before the house suddenly gets caught up in an explosion.
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71	-->[[spoiler:''[[TheStinger Where there is hope, there is always despair.]]'']]

Context TearJerker / BTS