The curation of a YouTube playlist - Introducing BTS
A friend of mine recently reached out to me and told me she was interested in checking out BTS. She approached me since she knew that I liked their music and wondered if I could suggest which songs she should listen to first. Excited at the idea of being able to share their music with someone unfamiliar with the group, I offered to put together a playlist for her. Little did I know what I was getting myself into.
I should have known better. I am from the era of mix-tapes after all. I remember the stress of putting together mix-tapes for friends in my early years. The pressure of what song should lead off, which song could both follow the initial track AND stand up to the pressure of being the sophomore track on an album, to remember not to follow any one song with another that had too similar a feel, to include both hard hitting songs as well as tracks that could serve as rests, and always to keep in mind with every selection the theme of the mix. In this case, the theme of the mix was introducing BTS to a non korean speaker who, as far as I know, doesn't have a background in any other k-pop. As such, I knew I had to ease her in so as not to scare her off or loose her attention. I had to grab her attention, keep it, and drag her via intrigue deeper and deeper with every song.
After several hours, I ended up with a YouTube playlist with 30 videos.
My first big choice was that I didn't include any released songs from before the "I Need U" era. ARMYs who have been with BTS since the beginning may strongly disagree with that choice, but the BTS sound is not at all now what it was in the School Trilogy. The fact of the matter is, they aren't making music that sounds like that anymore so if anyone discovers them at this stage and falls in love with that old sound, they're not going to become a fan of any of the new music and will just end up disappointed.
My second big choice was that I didn't include any collaboration pieces or solo mixtape work from any of the members. I selected only official BTS songs. My thought here was that if she liked them enough, she could then explore their pretty vast side catalog on her own or even ask me for a secondary playlist. Honestly, in my head that second playlist is already half formed.
1) BTS (방탄소년단) 'Dynamite' Official MV
I started the playlist off with Dynamite - the official music video. I personally prefer the B side version of the video, but for someone who doesn't know the band yet, I decided to stick with the basic version.
Dynamite seemed an obvious choice for the introduction song. It's all in English, and the sound is different than a lot of their stuff, but at the same time in encapsulates so much of what BTS is - in tune with the times, full of hope, tight knit, great dancers, and fun. I do however realize that using Dynamite as the introduction song to BTS is a lot like introducing someone to Michael Jackson using Cry off of the Invincible album which is why after Dynamite I moved to....
From Dynamite, I went to Black Swan off of Map of the Soul: 7. Specifically, I chose the video from when they debuted the choreography on The Late Show with James Corden. Black Swan is a number that I consider modern art meets music. It's as visually stunning as it is musically. The rap breaks aren't too long and have more inflection than some other pieces which I thought would be a good way to ease a new listener into the idea that rap is a regular part of most BTS songs.
My other thought in choosing Black Swan is that it is SOO different than Dynamite. I've seen tons of reaction videos where they watch Dynamite and say some version of the comment "this is the same group that did Black Swan????" - so I thought it would be a good idea to introduce the fact that BTS doesn't have a set style for all their songs. If their songs weren't all lumped into "k-pop", they would be all over the place genre-wise. I think the jump from Dynamite to Black Swan illustrates that well.
As for why I chose the Late Show version.... it's my favorite. It was how I was introduced to the song Black Swan and it made me an instant fan - so I hoped it would do the same for my friend.
3) [ENGSUB] BTS - Euphoria live
After Black Swan, I decided to leave the Map of the Soul albums and jump back to the Love Yourself: Answer album. I did this because after one song in all Korean with no subtitles, I wanted to offer up a song whose translation is poetic and beautiful. Euphoria does that incredibly well. Not only that, but it showcases that even within the group, they do solo work.
Euphoria was also a good fit for the tempo of the playlist. After the first two songs, I thought it was time for something on the more mellow side. I also thought it was time for a live concert video. Part of the amazing appeal of BTS is how amazing they are in their live performances and lets face it, Jungkook's Euphoria never fails to capture the crowd.
4) BTS (방탄소년단) - Save Me full live perf NPR Tiny Desk Home Concert [Stripped down version]
Again, I chose to travel backwards on the chronology and deeper into the discography by going back to 2016's The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: Young Forever album to the song Save Me. However, I chose one of their most modern versions of the song - the version they did in September of 2020 on the NPR tiny desk concert. I think their voices have matured in the few years since they recorded Save Me in the studio and it sits differently on them than it did back then.
The intimate attitude and the fantastic arrangement in this video also serves to showcase how good BTS is when they're casual and just grooving. When you have fun with your music and get into it the way they do in this performance of the song, it changes how that music comes across. It makes it better. It's also a song a bit more upbeat than Euphoria to bring the pace of things just slightly up so that there is enough of a bop to make up for the lack of subtitles.
5) BTS SPRING DAY WITH LYRICS ENG SUB CLASS OF 2020
In all honesty, I seriously considered following up the NPR Save me with the NPR version of Spring Day, but then I remembered the extra echo that the venue from the 2020 Graduation concert gave to the song and so I went and found this video. It has the extra bonus of clean and clear subtitles too - which I think are a bit necessary for an English speaker on their first listen of this song.
It's unfortunate that the video doesn't have the whole song - but I didn't discover that until after I'd already finished the playlist so.... oh well. Spring Day is one of those songs that BTS continues to perform in so many of their appearances, so I knew that it had to be on the playlist and I thought that this was a good position to put it.
6) BTS (방탄소년단) '작은 것들을 위한 시 (Boy With Luv) (feat. Halsey)' Official MV
It was time to bring the tempo up a bit and time to bring in a bit more western flair to make sure that her interest didn't flag and she didn't get overwhelmed. Boy with Luv feat. Halsey was the best song I could think of that fit the bill.
I went with the official music video rather than any of the concert or music show performances because I think it's the cleanest, crispest, and most western version of the song. That means, it's the best palate cleanser version.
7) BTS (방탄소년단) 'IDOL' Official MV
This is where I decided to hit her hard. I figured that after six videos, she had either lost interest and wandered off - or was likely in it for the long haul at this point. So - it was back to Love Yourself: Answer for IDOL. Because.... IDOL! I opted for the version without the guest appearance of Nicki Minaj, because let's face it Nicki Minaj does NOTHING to make the song better. In point of fact, the version where she appears is far inferior to the original.
There are TONS of amazing live performances of this song - but I love how unapologetically crazy and Korean the video is.
8) 열린음악회 - 방탄소년단 - DNA.20171022
I decided to keep the tempo up for another song and chose to move back two albums in the Love Yourself trilogy to Love Yourself: Her with DNA.
I love the grove of this song, and I love how creative the choreography is - so I knew I wanted to do a live performance. Furthermore, I knew I probably wanted a music show performance to get better camera angles of the fun choreo. However, I wanted a performance with less crowd noise and without fan chants loud enough to obscure the intro.... because I really love the intro. I also wanted a video without subtitles because while the translation of the song is good, I think it stands alone musically without translating the lyrics and didn't want to distract her with subtitles.
A bonus is that Min Yoongi (SUGA) is really on his game in this video and since he's my bias ("bias" in k-pop is basically your favorite in the group), I found it even better.
9) Serendipity - live Performance - Love Yourself: Speak Yourself Japan
It was time to slow it down again. Watching DNA inspired to stay in the Love Yourself: Her album and so I chose Jinmin's solo track Intro: Serendipity. There's nothing wrong with the music video for this song, but let's be honest - it doesn't hold a candle to the way he performs the song live in concert. As much as I love the Wembly performance.... the audio isn't the best (his mic volume fluctuates), and the bubble fails. So, even though I like some of the camera angles, and his outfit better in Wembly, I chose the daytime performance in Japan instead.
It still amazes me how steady he keeps his tone while doing those dance moves. Jimin is a beast. His English pronunciation is also impressive and makes the chorus a super catchy ear worm for those of us who are native English speakers.
10) BTS - Best Of Me (방탄소년단 - Best Of Me) [Color Coded Lyrics/Han/Rom/Eng/가사]
On a Love Yourself: Her kick, I decided to bring the tempo back up with Best of Me. And since this is one of those songs where the melody gets tossed between the members like crazy, I figured it was time to introduce her to her first line distribution video. Line distribution videos are how I came to know the difference between members and how to identify which voice belonged to who. I thought video 10 was a good place to start learning who is who. Best of Me is a good song for that too, because it's one of those songs where their voices really are showcased in their individual styles.
Best of Me is another of those tracks like Boy With Luv that I think melds East with West supremely well. The Chainsmokers put their stamp on the vibe of this track and it never fails to make me move. I thought this would be a good way to keep her interested with a more familiar feel.
11) BTS (방탄소년단) 'Not Today' Official MV (Choreography Version)
And after I gave her something with a more familiar feel, I decided to hit her hard again. I finally broke out of the Love Yourself era and went back to You Never Walk alone for Not Today. This song hits hard and is far more Hip-Hop/Rap than anything I'd thrown at her on the playlist yet.
I chose the official choreography version of the music video instead of a line distribution video or anything with subtitles because for me, this song is aaaaalllll about the beats and the rhythms and just watching their footwork in the choreo does far more to emphasize that than any other format. I thought that this was a good time to introduce to her what BTS can sound like when they hit the beat hard.
I did consider putting FIRE in this slot for a while - but I was trying my best not to let my bias color my selections too much and I had to admit that Not Today just sounded better as a follow up of Best of Me.
12) BTS - GOGO, 방탄소년단 - 고민보다 GO (Heart Perfomance for ARMY♥_♥) @2017 MBC Music Festival
As a reward for getting through Not Today, I wanted to pull off the hard hits and give her something more refreshing. That meant either Anpanman or GOGO in my mind. As much fun as Anpanman is... I just LOVE this Heart Performance of GOGO that the boys did for the 2017 MBC Music Festival - so back to Love Yourself: Her it was.
I adore how silly and fun this performance is and how extreme their fan service is here. I also love how loud and strong the fan chant is.
Watching the Heart performance made me start thinking about BTS's relationship with ARMY and made me want to slip in either the Young Forever surprise ARMY sing from Wembly or the live Mikrokosmos. Since the Wembly ARMY sing wouldn't mean much to someone just learning about BTS, I decided on a live Mikrokosmos performance and I knew JUST which video that meant I had to find.
Please put on the English subtitles for this video of Mikrokosmos. A video similar to this one (that is no longer up on YouTube) is what introduced me to the song and what made me finally understand the symbiotic relationship between BTS and ARMY. The beautiful poetry and hopeful lyrics give such a layered message of mutual love and support. It's clearly an ode to their fans and an admission of how much strength the BTS members gain from their army of fans. It's a love letter that gets sent both ways - and not something a new listener might expect from the same band that put out Not Today a few tracks back on the playlist. But then, Mikrokosmos is off of Map of the Soul: Persona which is three albums after Not Today and BTS is always evolving.
14) The Truth Untold (Feat. Steve Aoki)
Having skipped Anpanman and knowing that I was going to leave Fake Love off the playlist completely, I decided to keep the mellow mood with The Truth Untold off the Love Yourself: Tear album that I had only touched on before with Intro: Singularity.
The Truth Untold was one of my gateway songs when I was first discovering the band. It is so amazingly soulful. It's also the first unit song I put on the list. Sub-units are not an idea common in western music. Boy bands in the U.S. don't split themselves into things like rap lines, vocal lines, performance lines, maknae lines or the like. Songs here tend to be either solos or the whole group - so I wanted to be sure to introduce this concept as well.
Visually, the concept of a vocal line song would have come across clearer with a live performance video..... but I've never found a live performance video of The Truth Untold that I like all that much. I'm too in love with the sound of the song on the studio recording. It's so clean and dynamic that the crowd noises from live performances of this song just piss me off - hence the studio cut made the list.
15) BTS RM, SUGA, j-hope 'DDAENG (땡)' Lyrics
Since I did a vocal unit song, I thought it was only right that I move to a rap unit song - and DDAENG is my absolute favorite. (Why have they not released a studio version of this on a cd??? WHY??? I want to own an official cut of this song sooo bad).
I admit that for a non korean speaker just learning about BTS that DDAENG might be... a bit advanced. That's why I did a lyric/ line distribution video that had the English translation to help soften the blow/shock.
This is the point in the playlist that I suddenly mourned my lack of ability to leave notes for my friend on how to best appreciate this song. So... ideally if you've never heard DDAENG before and you don't speak Korean, I think you should watch the lyric video first, then the explanation video that I placed in slot 16 on the playlist, than the video that shows how the rap line crafted DDAENG, and finally move to the Prom Party live performance. But... I thought dedicating 4 videos to one song on the playlist was... a bit much so...
16) BTS - DDAENG Explained by a Korean
I settled for only dedicating two videos to DDAENG. This video is the only one on the playlist that isn't pure BTS - but I think it is the most excellent explanation of DDAENG and he says so much about how BTS plays with words in their lyrics and how smart they are that I couldn't leave it out. I think it's an important video for anyone who is new to BTS to watch.
17) [Comeback Stage] BTS - Dionysus , 방탄소년단 - Dionysus Show Music core 20190420
Afraid that my DDAENG tangent might have lost my friend's interest, I went back to the safety of Map of the Soul: Persona and the super catchy Dionysus with it's fabulous beat.
My favorite version of this is the 2019 MMA performance with the intro performances.... but that's a nearly 20 minute video on its own and so I thought that was a bit much. I tried to find a nice clean cut of just the Dionysus section of that performance - but no luck. So I settled on this Music Core video since it had the cleanest sound and performance. Oh sure, I could have used a studio cut or a lyric distribution.... but Dionysus is one of those songs I think just needs to be seen for the first time on its feet with all the drama.
18) BTS - Make It Right [Color Coded Lyrics/Han/Rom/Eng/가사]
Dionysus hits HARD and is exhausting, so I decided to ease off a bit and pull back into something softer and easier to listen to with another track from Map of the Soul: Persona - Make it Right. There's enough English in the chorus of this one to make it get stuck in your head and make it a more comfortable selection for someone who just went deep into things with DDAENG and Dionysus back to back.
To rest the eyes, I chose a line distribution video as well. Consider this a breather with a good beat.
19) BTS (방탄소년단) 'ON' Kinetic Manifesto Film : Come Prima
Visual break over - time for a visual FEAST! The ON Kinetic Manifesto video is SO DAMN GOOD. Western audiences are not as familiar with this track as they are with Dynamite and Boy With Luv - but their performance of this in Grand Central Station HAS gotten it's fair amount of play. And while the Grand Central performance is damn good.... I don't think any version holds a candle to the Kinetic Manifesto video.
So, back to Map of the Soul: 7 for the first time since Black Swan as I thought it was a good time to bring the more recent BTS sound back to the playlist.
20) BTS (방탄소년단)|JIMIN,V|- Friends-【Live Video】with ENG lyrics
Sticking with Map of the Soul: 7, I decided to soften things up with the fun of Friends - the duet between Jimin and V. I chose this live performance too because it's just so much damn fun. It makes you smile to see how genuine the friendship is between these two artists. Plus - it's catchy.
21) 0:32 / 4:34 BTS (방탄소년단) 'MIC Drop (Steve Aoki Remix)' Official MV
Aaaaaand back to Love Yourself: Her we go.... you'd think I'm partial to that album or something? In actuality, it's not the album I listen to the most but I think it's an amazing album for songs to use as an introduction to BTS.
Mic Drop is classic. I couldn't fathom putting a list together and leaving it off. Also, my secondary bias is J-Hope and he is showcased beautifully in this one - so in that aspect, yes, I'm partial. This track is very Hip-Hop - it is considered by many to be a dis track after all - but I chose the Steve Aoki Remix which has more of an Electronic touch to it. I think the remix is more fun to listen to.
I wanted to use a live version of the song.... but the crowd gets SO LOUD when this song comes on that unless you already know the song, it's actually kinda hard to hear it clearly in those live videos - so... an official music video seemed my best bet.
22) BTS (J-Hope) - MAMA (Color Coded Lyrics/Han/Rom/Eng)
As I mentioned in the last track, J-Hope is my secondary bias and listening to MIC Drop made me think of MAMA. I think it is the sweetest song. I love the live versions with the choirs - but I really wanted my friend to have a clear understanding of the lyrics since they really make the song, so I chose a lyric translation video instead.
23) BTS (방탄소년단) 'Life Goes On' Official MV
After 21 BTS songs, I figured my friend now had enough of an understanding of the ever evolving sound of BTS to finally appreciate some music off of their newest BE album. I started with the title track that's been topping the charts - Life Goes On. After some seriously hard hitting songs, and some definite Hip-Hop feel songs, Life Goes On feels even more like a breath of fresh air in this position on the playlist. So many reviews have called this track a hearkening back to the feel of Spring Day - and I do see it.... but it hits differently than Spring Day. Yes, the nostalgia and wistful feel is there, but there's more hope and affirmation in Life Goes On in my opinion. Or maybe it just feels more comfortable to me since there's more English in it.
There are a lot of performances out there that would have worked - but I decided to just stick with the official music video (though I did briefly consider using the On my pillow version of the music video .... ok, it was more than a brief consideration).
24) BTS Dis-ease Lyrics (방탄소년단 병 가사) [Color Coded Lyrics/Han/Rom/Eng]
I stuck with BE but changed up the mood by heading over to Dis-ease. As good as this song is standing on its own, I think it's even more amazing when you know what they're saying - so I picked a translation video.
The rap line shines in this track and after Mic Drop & DDEANG I wanted to remind my friend of how soft and gentle the rap line can be and how well they can blend into the song with the vocal line - like in Black Swan and Spring Day.
25) BTS (방탄소년단) '피 땀 눈물 (Blood Sweat & Tears)' Official MV
After back to back songs from BE, I began to realize at this point that I had left some majorly signature songs off of the playlist. Traveling back to Wings for Blood Sweat & Tears was a step towards remedying my oversight.
Hard to believe this track is from only 4 years ago. The BTS boys have grown so much since the Blood Sweat & Tears video.
26) [Eng] Born Singer live - 2015 BTS Live Trilogy Episode I : BTS BEGINS
This is the one and only pre I Need U song that I included on the playlist. "Born Singer" is an adapted version of J.Cole's "Born Sinner". The song has the same composition as the original, but the lyrics were re-written by RM, Suga, and J-Hope. I understand that being the reworked version of another artist's song has kept BTS from releasing a studio version of this song..... but that doesn't mean I can't mourn the lack. I love this song to bits - so I just had to add it to the list and share it with my friend.
27) BTS (방탄소년단) - Magic Shop LIVE PERFORMANCE [ENG SUB]
Another nod to classic hits missing from the playlist, I headed back to Love Yourself: Tear to pick up Magic Shop. It's another of those songs that I think works better when you can see how BTS delivers the song to their fans - so I used a live version with subtitles.
28) BTS (방탄소년단) 'We Are Bulletproof : The Eternal' MV Hard Eng Sub
At this point in putting the playlist together, I started wondering if I should add in some non music based BTS content. After all, part of being introduced to BTS is discovering Bon Voyage, Run BTS!, Eat Jin, In the Soop, all their Bangtan Bomb and V Live videos too. BTS not just the music, they are the social media presence, the way they share their lives and their friendships and thoughts with ARMY.
Instead of falling down that rabbit hole, I decided to include this fan made video for We Are Bulletproof: The Eternal off of Map of the Soul: 7 as I think the creator does a wonderful job of summarizing so much of their behind the scenes content, the struggles, the work, the relationships and the journey that lead to the inspiration for this song.
29) BTS – 'FLY TO MY ROOM' (내 방을 여행하는 법) Lyrics [Color Coded_Han_Rom_Eng]
I decided that more than 30 videos would be too much for anyone. So, at this point I needed to decide what two songs to use to tie up the playlist.
I decided on Fly to my Room from BE as the playlist penultimate video. I've talked about Fly to my Room on this blog before. This is a lyric/translation video that uses my favorite translation of the song. It's my favorite song off the new album. I couldn't NOT put it on the playlist.
30) BTS Telepathy Lyrics (방탄소년단 잠시 가사) (Color Coded Lyrics)
There were lots of songs I could have used to close out the playlist - especially since some of the really big hits still hadn't made appearances. Butterfly, I Need U, Fire, Run, Dope, Anpanman, Silver Spoon, Spine Breaker, 21st Century Girls, Boy In Luv, Epiphany, Singularity, Seesaw, Just Dance, Love, Boy Meets Evil, Ego, 4 O'Clock, Dimple, Dream Glow, Tony Montana, Outro: Tear, Stay Gold - all big name hits that didn't appear on the list and could have acted as perfectly good finale songs. And of course, most people would argue that it's near blasphemy that I didn't include Fake Love. Fake Love was such a huge hit after all.... but in all honesty, it's the BTS song that I like listening too the least. As an English speaker, Fake Love is the ONLY song of theirs where their pronunciation of English words rubs me the wrong way. "Fak-ah love" is how the chorus is sung, and that extra vowel on the end of Fake annoys the crap out of me.
Instead, I decided to end the playlist with the song that nearly every member of the group says is their favorite off of the new album BE - Telepathy. I think when the whole group agrees that they love Telepathy that much, that it's a good indication of where their sound might be headed next. With that in mind, I thought it the best song to use for someone starting their BTS journey in the BE era. After all, while my friend may have fun discovering the old music from the back catalog of BTS, her journey starts here with BE and if she decides to continue with the group, she'll be continuing with the from this point of the road. This evolution of their sound will be what she and anyone else getting on the BTS train these days will consider what HER BTS sounds like. Once that idea was in my head, I couldn't close the playlist with any other song.
So
That's the thought and reasoning that went into my curation of this 30 video YouTube playlist that I created for my friend as her introduction to BTS. I entirely skipped whole albums and every single Japanese version, and I didn't even touch on BT21 - but with 9 studio albums, 11 compilation albums, 1 soundtrack album, 3 single albums, 4 movies, 6 tv shows, 9 online shows, 2 video games, and an animated character universe..... there's a LOT of material out there to try and sample in an introductory video playlist.
I think I'm happy with the job I did - I can only hope my friend actually likes their stuff. If she doesn't, that's fine too - I know k-pop and BTS is not everyone's cup of tea. I'm new to all this myself.... I just seem to have jumped into the deep end without looking back. After this, I don't think there's anyway that I can deny that I'm an ARMY. If you too are ARMY, or even if you're not - I have to wonder what you think of my curation.
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