A pas de deux that's out of a painting.
Being the biggest Korean act (and biggest group) in the world right now doesn't come out of nowhere - awesome moments are bound to be in BTS' work and career. open/close all folders
Music
- The Cyphers, with Cypher Pt. 2 and Pt. 3 being the most vicious. A true delight is listening to all four Cyphers in order. You can truly see the progression in not only the kind of insults they make (from vicious to outright dismissive, due to their rise in status) but in J-Hope's skills. Unlike RM and Suga (who both were underground artists in the Korean Hip-Hop scene before joining), J-Hope joined BTS being a dancer, knowing nothing about rapping, but he decided by himself to try to hold his own against the others. Over the course of 4-5 years, he managed to not only learn and keep up with RM and Suga but to also develop his own unique style that complements the rest of the rap line.
- The subtle Take That! in "Am I Wrong", where Suga seems to make an Ironic Echo to a comment said by a Korean Education Ministry official from the (impeached) Park Geun-Hye administration ("the public can be treated like dogs and pigs"). Suga even makes a Call-Back to the stork vs. crow tit metaphor from "Silver Spoon":We’re all dogs, pigs, become dogs because we’re angry
- The smart move of combining traditional Korean and African sounds in "IDOL" - which you could take as celebrating both their culture and the one that gave birth to the genres that influenced them -, and making the song about the members loving themselves regardless of what everyone thinks of the group - or whether they call them idols, artists or whatever - when "IDOL" was the title song of an album that was highly anticipated both by fans and Korean and international media. A Concept Album about learning to love yourself, at that! In a huge Take That! towards those in the Korean Hip-Hop community who criticized and looked down on the BTS rappers for becoming idols, they also released a digital version of "IDOL" featuring none other than rapper Nicki Minaj.
- Managing to effectively tell a story about a person's development from dependence to self-acceptance throughout the LOVE YOURSELF series, with LOVE YOURSELF: Answer chronicling the whole journey, greatly exemplified with "I'm Fine", a mirror Sequel Song to "Save Me", a song from 2016.
- Having everyone in the group play a huge role in the production of BE, their first self-produced album. Not only do all seven members take part in the music production process at some point, but the other aspects of the album are notably done by the members, such as Jimin being a project manager, V being in charge of visuals, Jungkook directing the music video, etc.
- BE in general tackles a very sensitive topic (mental health and emotions felt during a disaster) and does it amazingly. Some songs, like "Blue and Grey" address things like depression and anxiety without putting the blame on the person suffering and details the kind of thought process they go through, subverting a lot of the toxic positivity narratives that often come with discussing it. All of the songs do lean towards the same message at some point though, that being that there is still hope for the future, no matter how bleak the situation may seem, though reaching that point can take time. Many people throughout the world were able to relate to the lyrics and were comforted by the hopeful messages the album had to bring.
Music videos
- Their videos in general perfectly combine music and choreography with visuals to powerful effect. Not to mention that as BTS grew in popularity and budget, so did the quality of their videos, going from having to use staff members as actors and a borrowed car in "I NEED U" to all-around Visual Effects of Awesome in videos like "Spring Day", "Not Today", "Mic Drop (Steve Aoki remix)" and "Fake Love".
- The fact that they managed to build an entire BTS Universe through music videos and teasers.
- "Fake Love" has a LOT of incredible scenes, such as the room where Jin is in blows up, Suga's room bursting into flames with him watching, and Jimin at an indoor place being flooded by giant waterfalls... all of them are not CGI. They are all real scenes created by the company.
- "IDOL", in all of its trip-inducing glory, manages to include many elements of Korean culture, like traditional dances, Hanbok outfits, and symbols like the tiger. BTS is entering the US mainstream by celebrating their culture!
- Also, the members simply being themselves the entire way and acting goofy. BTS celebrating themselves!
- It's also a small Take That, Critics! moment, with the members doing several things they've been criticized for in the past, like V's glassesnote , RM's Snapchat filters, Jungkook's red hair, and RM, Jin and Suga dancing in the center position.
- The weird visuals of the video (plus everything described above) could be interpreted as a statement towards haters and "fans" who try to influence what they do by nitpicking, and towards anyone who has accused them of being puppets of their company: BTS will, indeed, absolutely do what they want, because they want to.
- While strange, the members dancing while giant CGI versions of themselves loom over them is a very powerful and memorable image.
- Also, the members simply being themselves the entire way and acting goofy. BTS celebrating themselves!
- The "Waste it on Me" (by Steve Aoki ft. BTS) music video is a celebration of Asian and Asian-Americans, featuring an All-Asian, All-Star Cast with the likes of Ken Jeong, Devon Aoki, Ross Butler, Leonardo Nam, Vincent Rodriguez, Jimmy Yang, Jessica Lu, Jared Eng and Tiffany Ma.
- The "Black Swan" Art Film, a beautifully shot video featuring the Slovenian MN Dance Company inside an abandoned mall (BTS doesn't make an appearance) and a special orchestral version of the song, introduced by a quote by Martha Graham ("A dancer dies twice - once when they stop dancing, and this first death is the more painful"). This is doubly awesome because of the emotional choreography itself coupled with the cinematography and laser-work (with the main dancer being controlled and chased by his fears and shadows), and because this is part of BTS and BigHit's way of introducing lesser-known artists and art to a more mainstream audience around the world.
- The official "On" MV features a war-torn battlefield and meteors falling down the members in a full cinematic story set After the End, with the members shown reaching the promised land. The members' arrival makes plants grow. The MV also includes references to well-known works, such as The Chronicles of Narnia, The Maze Runner Series, and Bird Box and the Biblical stories Noah's Ark and Adam and Eve.
Dance and performances
- Their choreography in general. Here's some of their best.
- Like the rest of the show, the dance battle in American Hustle Life is part Cringe Comedy (due to every member having to participate even if they lacked experience, to various degrees of success), part this. Jimin's musicality and especially J-Hope's versatility - who was an underground dancer before BTS - truly get to shine, both getting well-deserved victories. As V says, as a BTS member J-Hope hadn't shown his full potential as a dancer until then.
- Even Suga (who is not part of the dance line but used to do b-boying as a trainee until he was hit by a car and dislocated his shoulder), won his battle through pure sassiness.
- The 3:33 dance from "Fire", which requires very good coordination of your neck and legs, which both move independently at the same time.
- Hobi's solo dance for the "Boy Meets Evil" comeback trailer. The song is pretty amazing, too, and it got many people awaiting the release of his mixtape.
- Their full performance in the 2016 MAMAs (part 1, part 2) was the ultimate proof of BTS's ability to put on a show. Highly recommended to watch from beginning to end, with no spoilers.
- It starts off with Jungkook hanging/floating in mid-air, with RM's voice narrating a passage from Demian (the same one featured in the "Intro: Boy Meets Evil" trailer).
- Then J-Hope appears, performing both the rap and (very difficult) choreography of "Intro: Boy Meets Evil" when it suddenly stops; Jimin appears and proceeds to dance to a remixed portion of "Lie" flawlessly... while blindfolded. And then, the chorus of "Boy Meets Evil" kicks in, with both J-Hope and (still blindfolded) Jimin dancing to it in perfect synchrony. Then Jimin takes off the blindfold, and everyone else appears to perform "Blood, Sweat and Tears".
- After that, an Ominous Pipe Organ starts to play in the background, during which V appears and kneels behind Jin (who is sitting facing away from the audience), takes off his in-ear and part of his jacket and bares his shoulders, showing scars where wings should be. Then he grabs Jin, looking absolutely sinister.
- Then comes an interlude with many backing dancers performing to Ominous Latin Chanting (actually a remix of "Interlude_Dream, Reality", a track from Agust D), then silence... where flames start consuming the stage screen, followed by BTS' performance of "Fire". The fact that the choreography of this song demands so much energy, but they still placed that song in the end (with an extended ending, even!) makes it even more of an awesome feat; you can see them sweating all the way, but still going all-out to the end.
- Jimin getting a chance to show off his contemporary dance skills in "Butterfly" and "Spring Day". Several fancams from the Melon Music Awards 2017 have even shown other idols amazed at him doing the movement from "Spring Day" from the link while making it clearer that yes, he's doing it while singing.
- Due to the wide shot and the number of dancers, "Not Today"'s choreography has a moment that's easy to miss (at 2:04-2:11): Jungkook (white shirt, second of the group from the left, on the back row) doing a somersault in slow motion (of the slow-down-then-accelerate kind).
- "Intro: Singularity" has V doing his first solo choreography, which makes great use of his acting skills. By using nothing more than a coat hanger with a suit, he makes you believe that he's caressing and being caressed by another person. Not only that, but after his great dancing throughout, Son Sung Deuk (BTS' choreographer) acknowledged him officially as the fourth member of BTS' dance linenote .
- The performances for "Fake Love", "Airplane Pt. 2", "Anpanman" and "IDOL" really show how far RM and Jin have come with their dancing, at times having them front and center.
- The "Fake Love" choreography manages to convey the meaning of the song by incorporating the concepts of the Monkey Morality Pose (as in, lying to yourself and the other), the Smeraldo flower (the undelivered truth/hopeless dream), and the idea of a marionette (changing and losing yourself to make the other person happy).
- The marionette part is shown through moves such as stretching arms in ways that create the illusion of the members being controlled by invisible strings. At one point, the members drop to the ground like dolls, as though the strings were momentarily lowered; Jimin does the split while doing so!
- There's also the Fridge Brilliance of the choreography starting more or less right where the "DNA" choreography ends, which is the members standing in a line with their back to the audience. "Fake Love" starts with the members in line facing the audience, with the line then unravelingnote .
- The "IDOL" choreography, like the song and video, perfectly mixes references to Korean culture with the Gwara Gwara from South Africa. There's also a pretty cool moment during J-Hope's verse ("Sometimes like a superhero/I'm your Anpanman") where each member briefly adopts a pose of an iconic superhero (Spider-man for Jimin, The Hulk for Jin, Black Panther for Suga, Captain America for RM, Thor for Jungkook, Iron Man for V, and Anpanman himself for J-Hope).
- "I'm Fine" is one of BTS' best choreographies when it comes to telling a story through dance, with moments like an individual member falling or stumbling and being quickly picked up by the others as a group. It also follows directly the end of "Save Me" (which "I'm Fine" is the Sequel Song for)... with Suga and J-Hope then quickly moving to the center while still lying on the ground to support V.
- Their performances of "IDOL" and especially "I'm Fine" in The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon might perhaps be some of their best in the US, from the camerawork to the members' clear live vocals while dancingnote , being one of the best showcases of their abilities in US media.
- If you look closely during the "IDOL" performance, you'll notice V's shoes are untied, yet he still does the choreography with no problems.
- Their performance at the 2018 Melon Music Awards. From their performance of "Fake Love" (with the members dancing as puppets inside cages, much like the concept pictures from the E version of LOVE YOURSELF: Answer), to "Airplane n. 2", to "IDOL" - with the latter in particular, with its large scale and its celebration of Korean traditions and dances - through an intro with solo numbers from j-hope, Jimin and Jungkook and a remix of "IDOL" with Korean instrumental - being one of the most memorable and iconic performances BTS has ever made.
- Their performance at the 2019 Melon Music Awards, which lasts near 40 minutes, and make it worth it every second. They take the concept of the "map of the soul" (starting with "Intro: Persona") and they use it to take a look through their entire career and their growth.
- "Boy In Luv" back-to-back with "Boy With Luv", then "Mikrokosmos", with the whole venue changing to resemble a galaxy.
- A man appears blowing a giant horn. Then a series of solo performances for each member and each era, all heavy with themes from Greek Mythology: V with "No More Dream" (dancing while surrounded by dancers, referencing Apollo), Jin with "Danger" (referencing Ares by standing on a giant Trojan Horse), Jimin with I NEED U (doing a contemporary dance with a white translucent scarf, referencing Artemis), SUGA with "Fire" (standing in the middle of walls of fire, referencing Hephaestus), Jungkook with "SAVE ME" (dancing on a pool of water, referencing Poseidon), j-hope with "FAKE LOVE" (hip-hop dance while surrounded with lasers, referencing Zeus). Then RM reappears and takes a thyrsus waiting for him at the stage, giving way to "Dionysus".
- One of the giant inflatable leopards used in the SPEAK YOURSELF tour appears. The man with the horn reappears. "Dionysus" is introduced by girls (dressed as maenads) throwing flowers one by one. Knights with horses start to enter, occupying the sides and lower sections of the (prerecorded) stage. Then the background opens and reveals a large table occupied by BTS. And then Dionysus starts.
- After SUGA's verse from "Dionysus", an elaborate dance break starts... from a remix of "N.O.". And then it goes back to "Dionysus".
- The fact that BTS still managed to become one of the highlights by what was a short appearance in Lil Nas X's performance of "Old Town Road" at the 2020 Grammys (a performance that had no choreography and simply had all the members singing and having fun) is pretty notable.
- The debut performance of "Black Swan" in The Late Late Show with James Corden joins the performances of "Boy With Luv" at SNL and "IDOL" at Fallon as the US performances with most views, and with good reason. It takes the already Awesome "Black Swan" and puts it on a stage resembling a beautiful forest at nighttime in the background, with the members dancing (barefoot) a choreography with modern elements that makes references to the wings of a black swan as well as the feelings of fear and pain at possibly losing one's passion for their craft. While there are great moments from the more experienced dancers (Jimin particularly), every single member gets their dance to shine and gets the center at least one point.
- A moment that wasn't really noticed (if at all) until j-hope light-heartedly mentioned it to V on VLIVE later: j-hope was accidentally kicked in the face at one point by V (you can see the moment at 2:30), but j-hope carried on completely professionally.
- Fallon and The Tonight Show keeps giving BTS more and more opportunities to amaze audiences, and BTS keeps delivering. They shut down Grand Central Terminal in New York City for a performance of "ON". Joined by Sienna Lalau and dancers from The Lab, they showcase their incredible vocals and choreography in one of their most iconic American performances.
- In September 2020, BTS got an entire week on The Tonight Show to showcase their skills.
- Day One was a nighttime performance of "IDOL" at the stunning Gyeongbok Palace, with BTS in a modern version of hanbok. Also preceded with a shorter performance of "Dynamite" with The Roots!
- Day Two was a rare live performance of "HOME", with a seemingly simple concept of the members hanging out at home taking place in an elaborate set, featuring The Oner sections and practical Visual Effects of Awesome involving a mirror and a rotating room - all while showcasing the members' vocals and rap from one of BTS' best sidetracks.
- Day Three was an atmospheric rendition of "Black Swan" in a beautiful set that looks like abandoned ruins of a church or temple with soft daylight, reminiscent of something from The Legend of Zelda or Shadow of the Colossus.
- Day Four was the uplifting "Mikrokosmos", featuring the members singing in the Gyeonghoeru Pavilion of Gyeongbokgung at nighttime (with the performance being just them singing over the pavilion's reflection in the water), ending with dozens of drones flying towards the sky and forming the ARMY symbol with lights.
- Day Five bookended BTS Week with "Dynamite" in a roller skate rink, not only invoking the 70s feel of the track, but highlighting also the fun and energy that brought it its success.
- Day One was a nighttime performance of "IDOL"
- When their new album BE released, member SUGA was unable to participate in promotional activities because he was recovering from shoulder surgery. Thus, during the MMA and MAMA 2020 performances, the group made space for him during performances and surprise video called him during an acceptance speech, but the Life Goes On performance in MAMA 2020 was the most special one - a hologram of SUGA walked up on stage just in time for his own verse. This sprouted a lot of online tears, most notably because it enforced the concept more.
- Although the entire MMA 2020 performance by BTS was amazing, one moment of note is the intro of "Black Swan", where Jimin and Jungkook (the latter who isn't trained in ballet) manage to perfectly execute a pas de deux presage lift, which is often cited as one of the most difficult moves in ballet and requires a lot of strength and trust between the dancers. All while the stage was wet and slippery as well.
- Them incorporating both Korean Sign Language and American Sign Language into the official choreo for "Permission to Dance", which brought awareness to both languages and resonated with many disabled ARMYs.
- The Grammy 2022 performance had them act like phantom thieves about to steal a priceless artifact in a museum. What's noticeable about the performance is that only four of them were able to practice in a week. Both j-hope and Jungkook were tested positive for Covid and had a single day to master the choreography and Jin had surgery for his finger. Yet you wouldn't have known just by looking at it!
Variety show moments
- Jungkook gaining the lead in the 400m Relay and winning it for the group in the 2015 Idol Star Championships. Watch the entire thing here.
- Even more awesome in the official ISAC video. You can see the camerawork and even the commentators focusing only on the other groups taking the lead at first - not even mentioning BTS when they're in second place... then Jungkook suddenly entering the frame during the final lap, surprising everyone. It's a pretty good Real Life example of a Dark Horse Victory.
- Even more awesome in the official ISAC video
- Everyone (except Jimin) doing a sped-up version of Dope's choreography which was already fast at normal speed.
- In Run BTS! Episode 2, despite everyone else's attempts to get Jungkook to spit out water, he still managed to keep in even though his shirt got undone during all the chaos. Also doubles as Funny Moments.
- Jin being able to open a bag of snacks with his feet a few times in Run BTS! episode 5. He also does it in Weekly Idol and in Knowing Brothers.
- The members doing the Flinch game at The Late Late Show is mostly an example of Funny Moments, since several members fail miserably on it... except for V, who doesn't even blink.
- The members killing it in the Fortnite Dance Challenge on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. They do difficult dances like the Worm, the Robot and the "Electro Shuffle", and nail them. Also doubles as Funny Moments, with everyone easily doing the Floss/Backpack Kid dance except for Jimmy Fallon himself.
- The Hide & Seek game with James Corden and Ashton Kutcher on The Late Late Show had the latter 2 compete for who could be the first to find 4 BTS members hidden around the studio Several of the hiding places were clever, but special mention goes to Jungkook, who takes a Hidden in Plain Sight approach and hides as a cameraman right next to the stage (a Rewatch Bonus can reveal James Corden and Ashton Kutcher passing by him several times without noticing). He's only found out after RM outright tells Ashton Kutcher where Jungkook is.
- And, of course, Jin hiding in a photo booth, being found by Ashton and carried over his shoulder all the way to the main stage, being left looking adorably red and flustered, all while holding a photo of himself.
- In Carpool Karaoke with BTS, Jungkook manages to flawlessly hit all the high notes during his bridge part in "ON" while sitting down in a crowded car.
- The fact that over thousands of people became fans of BTS after watching the video simply because of how much they loved the boys' personalities and energy.
- When Jimmy Fallon plays "Will it Fit?" with BTS, the boys are asked to fit various objects inside containers - and they all succeed in their challenges by sheer determination, teamwork, and out-of-the-box thinking, no matter how impossible it looked at first glance. Special mentions go to:
- When asked to fit 33 sticks of butter into a fishbowl, Jimin realizes that he can flatten the sticks of butter inside the bowl to make more room and manages to fit all of them inside.
- Jin later does something similar in his challenge, where he squeezes 19 bananas into a fanny pack.
- Jungkook is asked to put 10 scoops of ice cream in a small taco coat without breaking it. He gets around this by picking up smaller scoops of ice cream since the size of the scoops was never specified, then eats his creation when he passes.
- Suga has to prove that 81 candles can fit onto a cupcake, which he does by sticking them on the side of the cupcake after running out of room on the top.
