Since last year, BTS has set out to comfort ARMY and those who will listen through their music. Their album BE holds some of their rawest songs. Especially their song “Blue & Grey,” where they talk about feeling down and rather alone. You can also find some comforting, raw songs in their previous album Map of the Soul: 7, where they truly dig deep into the pressures of fame in their song “Interlude: Shadow” or the fan-emotional song “We Are Bulletproof: the Eternal.” With their latest song release, “Permission to Dance,” BTS aims at wrapping us in warm hugs once again. The new song is fun and comforting and will put a smile on your face. Just like BTS wanted.
Concept Photos for “Butter” and “Permission to Dance”
With the release of a two-track CD, there came new concept photos from the boys. The Butter CD contains four songs total—“Butter,” “Permission to Dance,” and the instrumental versions of both songs. There are four amazing versions for the concept photos.
Concept Version 1 had a rockstar vibe—the members with slicked-back hair, leather, and even some fur boots.
Image from BTS’ Twitter
Concept Version 2 stuck a bit more to criminal/bad boy vibes. The members stood in front of a solid background with a few heartbeat lines on it. They held their own placard and took photos similar to a mug shot.
Image from BTS’ Twitter
The next concept, Concept Version 3, went to a lighter mood. The members took to becoming car washers for this concept, each picture with the members either washing a car or playing with the water. Out of each concept, this one was probably my personal favorite. The visuals were insane.
Image from BTS’ Twitter
The last concept version, Version 4, continued the bright and lighter mood of Concept 3. Majorly, Concept Version 4 gave us beach vibes as the members lounged in beach chairs in the sand. The members’ sun-kissed skin brought the summer vibe we’ve all been craving.
Image from BTS’ Twitter
You can check out all of the concept pictures on BigHit Music’s Twitter account or BTS’ Weverse account.
Butter CD
Like I mentioned earlier, the Butter CD is a four-track album. Though it’s technically only two songs with two versions. You can find the Butter CD in a variety of locations. You can find it on the Weverse Shop, on Amazon, on Apple Music, or in your local Walmart or Target.
“Permission to Dance” Official Teaser
The official teaser for BTS’ new song “Permission to Dance” came out on July 6th. This short, thirty-three-second video provided us with a few things:
Firstly, an adorable-looking SUGA.
Secondly, cowboys.
And lastly, “Purple balloons signal the end of Covid-19.”
The song playing in the background was a bit on the feel-good side and already had us bopping along. And the ending lyrics, “Cause we don’t need permission to dance,” gave us a similar feeling.
You can watch this trailer here:
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLycuRm1V0Q[/embedyt]
“Permission to Dance” Basic Information
Releasing their third all-English track, BTS brought a song full of comforting lyrics and a happy vibe. The three-minute song was released on July 9th, ARMY’s birthday. The release date alone is enough to know that this song was from BTS for ARMY. But the lyrics are full of positivity and feel-good words that bring their own sense of comfort.
Unlike “Butter,” “Permission to Dance” was actually not written by BTS. It was written by Ed Sheeran, Steve Mac, and a couple others. It was produced by some of the people who wrote the lyrics. If you thought this was the first song Ed Sheeran gave to the boys, though, you’d be wrong.
In BTS’ 2019 mini album Map of the Soul: Persona, Ed Sheeran participated in another song with BTS. Their song “Make It Right” included Ed Sheeran on the songwriter credits. It’s a catchy and amazing song. Later, this song was remixed to include vocals from singer Lauv.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXBu09fwe3I[/embedyt]
The Music Video and Choreography
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuklIb9d3fI[/embedyt]
The music video for “Permission to Dance” is bright and comforting just like the song. It starts with a sly shout-out to “Butter” as a waitress carries a stack of pancakes with a chunk of butter on it. Then, when the music comes in, member Jungkook appears sitting on a truck’s trailer.
Throughout the entire video, you can spot positive messages on various surfaces. This includes various lyrics and just some random positive messages.
And, to give an even greater impact to the song, there’s actually some sign language incorporated into the chorus’ choreography. This brings inclusivity and togetherness even further than the song does by itself.
The positive message of purple balloons and the removal of the face masks we’ve all been wearing because of Covid-19 brought unexpected emotions. Many ARMY were overrun by their emotions when this moment happened in the video (myself included). It was something so inherently BTS for them to bring this emotion out of us.
What’s Next?
Well, on the 13th and 14th of July, BTS will appear on the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon for a two-day BTS takeover. The group will be performing “Butter” one night and then “Permission to Dance” the next night. Be sure to tune in for this show on NBC at 11:35 pm EST both nights.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPG0yUm2giQ[/embedyt]
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxVANxJKmjM[/embedyt]
Further, SUGA mentioned that he would like “Butter” to pass the baton off to “Permission to Dance” for the Billboard Hot100 Chart. “Butter” has kept its spot at number one on the chart for seven weeks straight now, and SUGA would like to see “Permission to Dance” replace it in the number one spot. So keep an eye on the Billboard Chart next week—July 19th—to see if ARMY can grant his request.
Finally, if you’d like to read more about BTS, you can check out our Blog Page! We’ve written tons of blogs on BTS—with more on the way, of course. You can also check out our K-Pop Category or our Music Category if you’d like to expand your music library a bit. We’ve written about many amazing artists that you can check out.