Like many recording acts, BTS had to scrap their global Map of the Soul Tour due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but they got really creative during their time off by learning to sing completely in English, a move that paid off for the K-Pop superstars.
The band released three singles in English — “Dynamite,” “Butter” and “Permission to Dance” — all of which shot to #1 on Billboard’s Mainstream Top 40 Airplay chart. However, not everyone in the band — which includes of RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook — thought it was a good idea.
RM, the band’s de facto spokesperson, tells Billboard he wasn’t fond of the idea, but admits it was a crucial way to keep buzz alive during the pandemic and, quite frankly, “There was no alternative.”
Jin tells the music publication that singing in English felt totally unnatural at first, explaining that he learned to mimic the guide track’s pronunciations by writing them down in Korean characters.
“The English I learned in class was so different from the English in the song,” he adds. “I had to erase everything in my head first.”
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