Review: BTS Album Map of the Soul: 7

“You will know when you listen to our new album and watch the performance that liking BTS was the best decision ever,” said BTS’s J-Hope in an interview with Ryan Seacrest at the 2020 Grammy Awards. When BTS’s new album Map of the Soul: 7 finally dropped on February 21, 2020, fans known as ARMY (Adorable Representation M.C of Youth) all around the world, including me, couldn’t agree more.

ARMY has speculated in the past about the name of BTS’s new album, including names such as Map of the Soul: Ego and Map of the Soul: Shadow. Because of this, it was a great surprise when BTS announced that the album would be named Map of the Soul: 7. First, the number seven in the album name is an important number that refers to multiple things. There are seven members in the group; the band has been together for seven years since their debut in 2013; and this is BTS’s seventh full-length studio album. In addition, “seven” is a lucky number in BTS’s home country, South Korea. The album is a nod to the band’s previous works, especially songs in their debut year. Many of the album’s songs speak of the journey from seven years ago to now and each member’s growth and change since then. “When you don’t know where to go, the best way is to walk down the road that you have been walking on,” said RM, the leader of the group, in an interview with Variety. 

The album features 20 songs, including five tracks from the previous EP and 15 new tracks. The songs “Intro: Persona,” “Dionysus,” “Make It Right,” “Jamais Vu”, and the mega-hit “Boy With Luv” featuring Halsey are the five songs that made their first appearance in the last mini-album. The title track “On” was released through a “Kinetic Manifesto Film: Come Prima” that features dancers and members of a marching band. Another music video of the song dropped on February 28, 2020. In addition, an alternate version of the song features Sia. The fierce song is a reflection of their 2013 single “N.O” and talks about fear, pain, and how they can be motivational. The choreography of this song is elaborate and difficult, and it brings the intense tune and lyrics to a whole new level.

“Louder than Bombs,” a song co-written by the Australian singer, Troye Sivan, is about how sadness and fear grow as one encounters stories of pain around the world. “Black Swan,” a track released ahead of the album, is a raw and powerful song that spills the group’s deepest fear. The powerful lyrics talk about a day in the future when “the heart no longer races when hearing the music play,” referring to their fear of a day when their music won’t spark feelings and passion within them anymore. I love this song for its beautiful melody and choreography. The graceful and more subdued vibe of this track compared to “On” gives me a bittersweet and pensive feeling, and it makes “Black Swan” a nice complementary song to the fierceness of “On.”

“We Are Bulletproof: the Eternal” concludes a series that has extended from “We Are Bulletproof Pt. 1” and “We Are Bulletproof Pt. 2,” in 2013. The two original tracks reference the band’s Korean name (Bulletproof Boy Scouts), and the songs talk about being strong and acting as shields for the youth from the hardships of the world. The conclusion indicates the band’s hopes to interact and become one with the audience, “Yeah we are not seven, with you.” The lyrics of the song tell the story of how BTS has endured hardships thrown their way to become stronger than they had been seven years ago. I was expecting the song to have a dark rock theme like the other two songs, but the haunting melody almost made me cry instead.

Each member has a solo song in the new album that will be performed on BTS’s world tour beginning in April. Suga’s “Interlude: Shadow” and J-Hope’s “Outro: Ego” served as comeback trailers for the album while RM’s “Intro: Persona” was featured in both this album and the previous mini-album, Map of the Soul: Persona. Jimin’s “Filter” shows the world the different aspects of himself and what he is capable of. V’s “Inner Child” is a song written to his past self about difficult times. Jungkooks’s “My Time” reflects on his time with BTS and growing up in the spotlight, and Jin’s “Moon” is a song that shows his love for ARMY. In addition, songs with member mix-ups were also released. Jimin and V teamed up for “Friends,” a song that speaks of their significant friendship. Meanwhile, Suga and RM worked together for “Respect,” rapping about the admiration they have for one another as the first two members to join BTS. The entire vocal line, Jin, V, Jimin, and Jungkook released “00:00 (Zero O’Clock),” while the rap line, RM, Suga, and J-Hope, released “Ugh!”

This is no doubt my favorite BTS album yet, as I love the way they reference their past but take it to the future. BTS’s music is so inspiring that it’s a shame that some people in the music industry still don’t acknowledge them as real artists. I can’t wait to watch BTS perform their new music on their new world tour when they stop by Metlife Stadium in May, but for now, I’ll just keep streaming their songs on Spotify and Youtube.