“Dynamite” by BTS: Their Powerhouse Song of 2020
BTS is a powerhouse group in their own way. And even though they have many songs one might consider to be strong, there’s always one song associated with them now. “Dynamite” by BTS has swept the music world since its release and has only brought more recognition to the seven-membered group. As I and other ARMYs can see, “Dynamite” has truly been a game changer for BTS since it came out. There’s no denying the impact this song has had for the members and for k-pop.
The Basics about “Dynamite” by BTS
Originally, “Dynamite” came out on August 20, 2020 on the Big Hit Labels YouTube channel. The music video is three minutes at forty-four seconds long, but the song itself is only three minutes and twenty seconds long.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdZLi9oWNZg[/embedyt]
David Stewart and Jessica Agombar co-wrote this song, and Stewart produced it. The overall sound of “Dynamite” is a mixture of disco and pop in the modern era. It’s energetic, funky, and everything you need to bring a smile to your face.
From “Dynamite” alone, there’s about eight different music videos you can watch. Including the original music video, the B-Side video, the ’70s remix video, the Choreography video (not the dance practice, an actual choreography video), the Sing with Me (BTS version), the Sing with Me (ARMY version), the Sing with Me (Big Hit Labels version), and the Holiday Remix video. And that’s not all. There’s many dozens of performances you can watch for “Dynamite” alone. All different from each other and just as amazing. Including the one they did for the Late Late Show, the CDTV Live! Christmas Special, the MAMAs, and so many more. If you want to check out the performances, you can take a look through this playlist on the BangtanTV YouTube channel.
And, if you’re not one for straight disco-pop sound in music, don’t worry, BTS has about ten different remixes of “Dynamite” you can check out.
The Ten Different Remixes of “Dynamite” by BTS
I’ve already mentioned one remix, the Holiday remix. But there are nine other remixes that you can check out.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8pTFwksO7s[/embedyt]
There’s the Acoustic Remix, the Instrumental, the EDM, the Tropical, the Poolside, the Slow Jam, the Midnight, the Bedroom, and the Retro.
With all of these variations of “Dynamite,” it’s really hard to say that there’s not a sound for everyone or every occasion. Each remix brings their own sound and feeling to “Dynamite” and truly expands on the impact the song already brings.
Major Accomplishments of “Dynamite” by BTS
If I were to list all of the accomplishments “Dynamite” has, then I would have to create a separate blog just about it. There’s that many. But I think it’s important to note a few major accomplishments that “Dynamite” has obtained since its release.
1. YouTube Views
Within the first 24 hours of its release, “Dynamite” got over 100 million views. Yes, 100 million views. In fact, this is a Guinness World Record for the most viewed YouTube video in 24 hours.
As an ARMY, I remember how hard we streamed the music video. And I also remember when we got the news of hitting 100 million. I think my friends and I all cried in joy that we had done it—we had reached our seemingly unreachable goal. Nothing beats that.
Currently, the music video sits with over 800 million views—just over five months after its release.
2. The Billboard Hot100 Chart
Though other BTS songs have appeared in the Billboard Hot100 chart, none of them had nagged the number one spot. “Mic Drop” reached #28, “Boy With Luv” reached #8, and “ON” reached #4. But none of these songs had stayed in the chart for long and none climbed the charts any higher.
“Dynamite” made its debut on the Billboard Hot100 Chart the week of August 30th—September 5th. Not only did it make its debut, but it debuted at #1 on the chart. In the entire history of the Billboard Hot100 Chart, there’s only been forty-eight songs total that debuted at #1 (so far). Quite the feat for a chart that gets released weekly. (BTS’ song “Life Goes On” also debuted at #1 on the chart on December 5, 2020.)
Not only did it debut at #1, but “Dynamite” has consistently been in the Billboard Hot100 Chart since its release. With its 23rd week on the chart, “Dynamite” is #46 this week. This is the longest charting song that BTS has had on the Billboard Hot100.
And with the upcoming birthdays of two of the members, I’m sure ARMY will keep it on the chart for even longer. (ARMY has a tendency to re-chart songs as important events happen.)
3. The Gaon Digital Chart
If you want to take a look at Korean music charts, one of the more popular charts is the Gaon Digital Chart. “Dynamite” dominated this chart after its release, as well.
It spent a total of eleven weeks in the #1 spot on the chart and is sitting at #3 (from the week of January 17th—January 23rd).
4. Weekly Korean Music Programs
In Korea, there are weekly music programs that songs can win #1 in. These shows include Show! Music Core, Inkigayo, Show Champion, and Music Bank. Since its release, “Dynamite” has won about thirty #1’s throughout these shows.
The next closest song BTS has in terms of #1’s is their song “Boy With Luv,” which had twenty-one. Compared to any other song from BTS’ discography, “Dynamite” holds the number one spot for the most music show wins.
5. Grammy Nomination
This would not be an article about “Dynamite” if I didn’t mention the Grammy nomination it received.
One of the biggest accomplishments of “Dynamite” has to be the nomination in the “Best Pop Duo/Group Performance” category for the Grammys. Prior to this nomination, BTS and k-pop in general had not received a nomination for the Grammys. This truly makes “Dynamite” a phenomenal song.
The members of BTS and every ARMY (including me) sat waiting for the nomination announcement on November 24, 2020. When we saw “Dynamite” in the list, the entire fandom had fallen into fits of tears (in happiness) and celebration. BTS themselves put out tweets celebrating this accomplishment.
The Queen: “Spring Day”
Changing gears a little bit, I think we should also talk about another powerhouse song of BTS. Though this song is powerful in its own way, “Spring Day” is one of the most iconic songs in BTS’ discography. Not because of the accomplishments it’s held or the records it’s broke, but because of its legacy.
Basic Facts about “Spring Day”
“Spring Day” was released on February 12 of 2017. Almost four years ago now.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEeFrLSkMm8[/embedyt]
The song itself is four minutes and thirty-four seconds long, one of their longer tracks. It was written by “Hitman” Band, Pdogg, member RM, member Suga, Adora, Arlissa Ruppert, and Peter Ibsen. It was produced by Pdogg. “Spring Day” is on their 2017 album You Never Walk Alone.
Why is “Spring Day” Known as the Queen?
Throughout the fandom, you’ll see most refer to “Spring Day” as the Queen. During comeback season, you’ll find constant tweets and memes about “She’s Coming back! The Queen!” or “The Queen has returned!” in response to her climbing the charts. (Out of habit, I will most likely refer to “Spring Day” as she/her throughout the article.)
But why is she the Queen? If it’s not about her accomplishments or her records… then what is it?
Honestly, I don’t think there’s one correct answer for this. Though she’s got many reasons for being the Queen, “Spring Day” might just hold this title because of her perseverance in the music world. Since her release, “Spring Day” has never left the Melon Top 100 song chart. That’s over 200 weeks that she’s sat in the top 100 songs.
This past week, she was #49 on the Melon Top 100 Chart.
Furthermore, if you look at other music charts around the time of comebacks, you’ll see that “Spring Day” always seems to climb her way back into the charts with the new songs. This is why ARMYs mention her “coming back” during comeback season. Because, for some reason, she will always appear on the charts.
Compared to other title track songs, “Spring Day” certainly hasn’t reached their level of accomplishment or awards. Heck, she hasn’t even reached many of their YouTube views. The music video for “Spring Day” only has 383 million views. Far less than that of “Dynamite,” “DNA” (which is over one billion views now), and more. “Life Goes On,” released only a couple months ago, is only 100 million views away from surpassing her.
So why is she always in the charts? Simple: because she’s the Queen.
How does “Dynamite” compare to “Spring Day”?
Though “Spring Day” may be the Queen, “Dynamite” has surpassed her legacy in more ways than one. Not taking account for the amount of views and awards alone between the two songs, the spread of “Dynamite” has been far greater than “Spring Day.”
Well, for starters, we might be able to assume that “Dynamite” is the “Spring Day” of the Billboard Charts. When good things happen (or bad things) or when new songs get released, “Dynamite” seems to climb the Billboard charts just like the Queen would.
Another difference is the amount of remixes that each song has. Whereas “Dynamite” seems to have a million different versions, “Spring Day” does not. This, I believe, has a lot to do with how far each song has spread. “Dynamite” has so many different versions that it can appear in many different environments. For instance, the Holiday remix is perfect for the holiday season. Or the EDM version is perfect for when you just want to jam out.
Because of the different versions, you’ll hear “Dynamite” in more places than you expect. Samsung uses the song in phone advertisements, Hyundai uses it in car commercials… and so many more. Many sports arenas will even include it in their playlist for the background music. Because of the remixes, “Dynamite” has expanded to more places than “Spring Day” can.
And, of course, the biggest difference is that “Dynamite” came at a time in BTS’ career where they were already getting a lot of recognition. “Spring Day” came out years before they hit this kind of popularity. And I think this plays such a large factor as to why “Dynamite” has succeeded as well as it has.
What’s next for “Dynamite” by BTS?
What else could there be for “Dynamite”? Actually, a lot of things.
Though most end of the year award shows have already passed for k-pop, many awards shows in America are starting soon. For instance, the Grammys. Though they were originally scheduled for January, the Grammys were moved to March. So the results of Dynamite’s Grammy nomination is something we have to look forward to.
Of course, if we’re strictly talking numbers, “Dynamite” is getting closer every day to 900 million views on YouTube. I’m sure ARMY will reach that goal within the next few weeks or so.
But, despite anything that may come in the future, it’s obvious that “Dynamite” has gone above and beyond any other song BTS has released thus far. There’s no comparing “Dynamite” to any other song, even the Queen herself.
If you would like to read more about BTS, you can check out the blogs we’ve written about them in the past—including a Year In Review and a Review of their “BE (Deluxe Edition)” Album (there’s also a video for this one). Or you can watch the video below on BTS 2020 review.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqKbuOJ8pp8[/embedyt]
If you want to read more about other Korean culture topics, feel free to scroll through our Blog Page. There’s more than enough topics that may pique your interest.
