Love Yourself 轉 ‘Tear’ is the third Korean studio album by South Korean boy band BTS. The album was released on May 18, 2018, by Big Hit Entertainment. This album is the second installment of the Love Yourself 起承転結 series. This album follows a darker concept than the first installment ‘Her’, as mentioned by the leader of BTS, Kim Namjoon. In this album, the members expose the complexity of love by touching upon the dark aspects of it.
This album included so many talented producers and songwriter’s working on multiple tracks including the likes of MNEK, Steve Aoki, DJ Swivel and so much more.
BTS shares eleven songs with us that explore different types of love in so many different ways. The songs in this album are part of a bigger picture, with some of them being related to the BTS universe which started with “HYYH: The Most Beautiful Moment in Life” era and continued through the Wings era and now into the Love Yourself era. There are multiple theories made by ARMY on how everything links and how it is all related to the other eras in terms of the visuals seen in the comeback trailers and the title track music videos and the lyrics.
1. Singularity is the comeback trailer for BTS’ third studio album as well as being the introduction to the second installment of the Love Yourself Series titled, ‘Tear’. The introduction of this album is sung by another member of the vocal line, Kim Taehyung. Singularity has a slow R&B feel to it. The electric guitar and drum bass in conjunction with Taehyung’s deep husky voice also gives the song an alternative R&B feeling. Taehyung has an incredible vocal range which is seen in his solo song, ‘Stigma’. However, in Singularity, we don’t hear much of that incredible vocal range. On the other hand, that vocal range that Taehyung possesses did not need to be shown in this song as it would’ve taken this song in another direction and wouldn’t have been able to convey the emotions that Taehyung does so effortlessly. The song was written by Kim Namjoon aka RM, leader of the group and apart of the Rap Line. It is very dark and complex just like the word ‘Singularity’ which has multiple meanings. There are multiple theories about this song and how it connects to the cinematic universe in BTS. In short, looking at a few lyrics of the song, they are related to the concealment of emotions/love as well as facing our loneliness and confronting our own emotions and being true to who we are as individuals. “Try to cover it // I don’t have a voice // Today I hear that sound again”. This could indicate trying to cover up your emotions which show your true self. He is unable to express his feelings or say the truth. There is a struggle in trying to communicate and explaining yourself which leads to being misunderstood. There is the fading in and out of his vocals in the song which in my opinion adds a haunting feeling to the song. In this track, Taehyung is able to encompass all emotions and passion by singing effortlessly and it was the perfect introduction before going straight into the title track, Fake Love.
2.Fake Love is the title track of this album and it is certainly something we have never heard from BTS. The setup and thought process that went into choosing the songs for the album and the way in which they structured the track list is incredibly important and makes a big difference when you listen to the album in order. Singularity being the introduction which set up the scene for us and laid the foundation. Fake Love coming in straight after made perfect sense. No time was wasted on BTS’s part as they went straight for the kill in this song. The song doesn’t follow the generic format of a song as well, starts with Taehyung singing the hook which flows into the chorus and then RM raps the first verse. Most artists wouldn’t layout a sing in this way because it essentially makes it harder for listeners to remember. Majority of songs written are in the format, ABABCB (A = verse, B = chorus, C = bridge or solo) and AABA (A = verse and B = bridge) as they are easy for listeners to remember. Fake Love defies what is seen as the ‘norm’ in songwriting. Without looking at the lyrics of this song, we still know that the story and message that BTS is telling us is so powerful. Fake Love is a testament to how versatile BTS is. One thing that is becoming clear through the music that BTS shares are that there is no one genre that can be fixated on BTS. They make music that they love and if that fits the hip-hop, pop, rock, Latin pop or jazz genre then so be it. Fake love encompasses a side to BTS we haven’t seen before and choosing this song as the title track was more than a job well done. In a recent interview with Liam McEwan & J-14 Magazine, RM says that the meaning of ‘Fake Love’ is, “If you don’t truly love yourself then it’s never going to last. It can between a person and a person but it could be between me and myself”
