Music / Wings (BTS Album)

Spread, spread, spread my wings

Wings is the second Korean full album by K-pop boy band BTS, released on October 10, 2016. It is a concept album exploring themes of growth and coming of age while inspired by Hermann Hesse's novel Demian. The first half consists mostly of solo songs by the members (save for "Blood Sweat & Tears"), and the second half has two sub-unit songs and four full-group songs at the end.

Although BTS' rise to fame was gradual, the release of this album is considered a key stepping stone in their career. It was the best-selling album of 2016 in Korea and showed signs of their growing Western fame by being their first album to chart relatively high on the Billboard 200.

The album was reissued in 2017 as You Never Walk Alone. The reissue has three bonus tracks and a reworked version of "Interlude: Wings" called "Outro: Wings".

The album has nothing to do with Paul McCartney's Wings (Band).

Tracklist:

1. "Intro: Boy Meets Evil" (j-hope solo) (2:01)
2. "Blood Sweat & Tears" (3:37)
3. "Begin" (Jungkook solo) (3:49)
4. "Lie" (Jimin solo) (3:35)
5. "Stigma" (V solo) (3:36)
6. "First Love" (Suga solo) (3:09)
7. "Reflection" (RM solo) (3:53)
8. "MAMA" (j-hope solo) (3:32)
9. "Awake" (Jin solo) (3:46)
10. "Lost" (vocal line subunit song) (4:01)
11. "BTS Cypher, Pt. 4" (rap line subunit song) (4:54)
12. "Am I Wrong" (3:33)
13. "21st Century Girl" (3:12)
14. "Two! Three! [Still Wishing For Better Days]" (4:32)
15. "Interlude: Wings" (omitted from You Never Walk Alone) (2:24)

You Never Walk Alone bonus tracks

1. "Spring Day"(4:34)
2. "Not Today" (3:51)
3. "Outro: Wings"(3:45)
4. "A Supplementary Story: You Never Walk Alone" (2:36)

I trope, I trope, I trope myself:

• Age-Progression Song: Age progression is a recurring theme on the album, such as with "First Love", which has the protagonist reflect on his childhood and later his adolescence.
• Album Intro Track: "Intro: Boy Meets Evil"
• Backhanded Apology: "BTS Cypher, Pt. 4"
  "I'm sorry bae because I'm breathing
  I'm sorry bae because I'm so healthy
  I'm sorry bae I'm broadcasting"
  (English translation)
• Breather Episode: j-hope's jazzy and more upbeat "MAMA" is sandwiched between RM's introspective "Reflection" and Jin's ballad "Awake".
• Cast Herd: After the string of solo songs comes two subunit songs. The vocal line (Jin, Jimin, V, and Jungkook) performs "Lost", and then the rap line (j-hope, Suga, and RM) performs "BTS Cypher, Pt. 4".
• Concept Album: About coming of age.
• Death Song: The protagonist of "Intro: Boy Meets Evil" is implied to be dying as he reflects on his life.
  "The light of my future is dimming
  Because of my childish love, I lost my way on a path of dream"
  (English translation)
• Female Empowerment Song: "21st Century Girl" encourages women to live proudly without caring about what others say.
• Finale Title Drop: The Album Title Drop is given repeatedly in English at the end of "Interlude: Wings"
  "Spread spread spread my wings
  Spread spread spread my wings
  Wings are made to fly fly fly
  Fly fly fly
  If my wings could fly"
• Genre Mashup: "Blood Sweat & Tears" combines dancehall, moombahton, trap, and tropical house.
• Minimalistic Cover Art: The standard/digital cover is four circles and the album title on a white background.
• Parental Love Song: "Mama"
  "Hey mama
  Now you can lean on me I'll always be by your side
  Hey mama
  Because you gave selflessly to me
  Because you were my support
  Hey mama
  Now you can believe in your son, you can smile"
  (English translation)
• Production Foreshadowing: At least two songs hint at the next BTS comeback being the start of the LOVE YOURSELF Series.
  • "Reflection"
    "I wish I could love myself"
  • "BTS Cypher Pt. 4"
    "I love, I love, I love myself"
• Sampling: "Am I Wrong", which sampled Keb Mo's "Am I Wrong".
• Spoken Word in Music:
  • "Stigma" has a part where V briefly stops singing.
    "Are you calling me a sinner?"
  • One of the only English parts in "Two! Three" has this at the beginning.
    "Been trying to tell you this
    I was supposed to tell you this
    This is all for you"
  • The MV for "Blood Sweat & Tears" has a brief interlude where RM recites a quote from Hermann Hesse's Demian:
    "He too, was a tempter; he, too, was a link to the second, the evil world with which I no longer wanted to have anything to do."
• Title Track: "Interlude: Wings" (not "Blood Sweat & Tears", even though K-pop terminology will have it referred to as such).

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