Wings is the second Korean studio album (fourth overall) by South Korean boy band BTS. The album was released on October 10, 2016, by Big Hit Entertainment. It is available in four versions and contains fifteen tracks, with "Blood Sweat & Tears" as its lead single. Heavily influenced by Hermann Hesse's coming of age novel, Demian, the concept album thematically deals with temptation and growth.
Wings
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Released: October 10, 2016 Recorded: 2016 Genre: Hip Hop EDM R&B Dance-Pop K-pop Length: 53:41 Language: Korean Label: Big Hit Entertainment Producer: Pdogg
It received positive reviews from critics. Wings and its repackageYou Never Walk Alone sold a combined 1.8 million physical copies worldwide, the group's highest record sales at the time. This earned BTS the title of "million sellers" due to the outstanding financial reception. According to Gaon Chart, Wings was the best-selling album of 2016 in Korea.
Background and Release On August 31, 2016Big Hit Entertainment released a statement announcing BTS's third global official fan club concert where they would perform new material for the first time. From September 4 to 13 Big Hit Entertainment released a series of short films for each member to promote the upcoming album. The short films started with Jungkook's "Begin", followed by Jimin's "Lie", V's "Stigma", Suga's "First Love", RM's "Reflection", J-Hope's "Mama", and ended with Jin's "Awake".
On September 25, BTS released a comeback trailer on YouTube, featuring member J-Hope rapping solo. The video depicted a boy's mind meeting a devil called 'temptation'. From September 28 to October 4 Big Hit Entertainment released concept photos of the album on official Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook pages revealing the album will be available in four physical versions designated: W, I, N and G. The album's track list was then released on October 5 on the official website and Twitter account. A music video teaser was also released on October 7 on YouTube, indicating "Blood Sweat & Tears" would be the lead single. Big Hit Entertainment lastly revealed the design and details of the physical album which would include a photobook, polaroid, mini standee and poster.
During the press conference for the release of the album, leader RM explained, "The harder a temptation is to resist, the more you think about it and vacillate. That uncertainty is part of the process of growing. 'Blood Sweat & Tears' is a song that shows how one thinks, chooses, and grows." Symbolism such as the 'wings' were representations of growth, with Suga adding, "The song relays an optimistic determination to use our wings to go far, even if we are met with temptations in life." Jungkook explained during the group's preview show on V Live, that his solo track, "Begin", was about his journey to Seoul and meeting the BTS members. V described his song, "Stigma", as "a song under the neo-soul genre". J-Hope described his song, "MAMA", as unforgettable, as it was about his childhood emotions for his mother. "Awake" was Jin's first experience in co-composition. RM revealed the 14th track, "Two! Three! (Still Wishing For Better Days)" ("둘! 셋! (그래도좋은날이더많기를)") was the first official fan song. The song "Am I Wrong" samples Keb' Mo's 1994 jazz/blues song "Am I Wrong" and the album credits Kevin Moore as co-writer and co-producer
