K-Bops in K-Pop

I know BTS are my boys so my first instinct is always to just scream incoherently in blind excitement about anything they do. But for the sake of decency, I’m going to restrain myself. That’s why I’ve waited all day to do this review. I wanted to have some perspective and some time to reflect and I think I have some genuinely coherent thoughts about the new remix.

The Song

I’ll admit: I hate remixes. I heard BTS remix and my initial reaction was “Oh boy.” But I put that aside when I heard the hype about Steve Aoki and Desiigner being on the track. I’m grateful that I did because though the remix was unexpected, it was actually really good. I don’t just say that as an ARMY, I genuinely believe that the composition of the song stood well on its own.

Desiigner’s verse was a fun start to the song. It definitely was as energetic as promised and I felt like ARMYs will be quick to love the addition to the song, especially with his unfiltered enthusiasm for the boys (just check his Twitter and Instagram).

I heard some people on Twitter were upset with the use of AAVE (African American Vernacular English) which is a fair concern. They did switch out the Korean lyrics of the pre-chorus and chorus for much more stylized English lyrics, declaring “Did you see my bag? It’s hella trophies and it’s hella thick. Whatchu think bout that? I bet it got my haters hella sick.”

And I’ll say that the lyrics did shock me. They seem a lot more brazen than the Korean lyrics. While I enjoy them and I’m definitely proud of the boys for being able to execute it so well, I do hope–like many of my friends on Twitter–that this does not become a regular thing. The fact they used AAVE correctly and succesfully does not mean that they get automatic permission to use it whenever. It’s not exactly my place to speak on it, as I am Afro-Latina and not African American, but even I felt a little uncomfortable thinking about them doing this in the future.

The Video

This was a masterpiece. Not only did we get to see the boys performing the choreo but the actual visual effects were incredible. I particularly liked the moment in Yoongi’s verse when Jungkook and Jimin flew off as if by an explosion, but as a Hobi stan I was also happy to see the braids were gone in favor of his usual bucket hat.

I also loved the switch-up to black and white near the end for the final part of the song and I thought the imposition of Steve Aoki as the weird shadowy figure towering over the boys in the background was actually kind of cool if a little spooky.

It was a little sad to see Desiigner missing from the video but I understood that the boys’ verses got shortened to include him in the audio track, so it made sense to have a version without him so that they each got to recite their verses in their entirety.

Final Thoughts

I love seeing my boys succeed and any criticisms I have is just a part of understanding that real fans critique helpfully and encourage their idols. But the video is trending on YouTube, the song is number one on iTunes, and no one is going to forget about BTS any time soon. I bet it’s got their haters hella sick.