Look No Further than "Butter" for Your Summer Bop
Written by Chelsea Tiso
Graphic by Rebekah Witt
Starting summer off with a bang, global phenomenon BTS (short for Bangtan Sonyeondan) have released their second English single, "Butter.” Following the massive success of their last two singles, "Life Goes On,” a comforting track from the BTS members to their fans, the BTS ARMY, and their 2020 summer hit, "Dynamite," BTS has released a fun dance-pop track guaranteed to steal your heart. In less than a week, "Butter" claimed the major achievements of "fastest music video in history to achieve 100 million views" and "biggest music video premiere on YouTube" amongst many other records broken, showing just how addictive and catchy this song is.
As a testament to the South Korean boy band’s genre-bending and expansive discography, "Butter '' provides its audience with a snippet of the lyrical and musical talent of the septet. Lyrical references to other major artists and childhood gaming staples and the musical production of the track highlight this talent. "Butter" is just as ‘smooth’ as was pointed out to us in the intro of the track. As the opening vocals, performed by Jeon Jung-kook and Kim Tae-hyung, overlay a punchy drum kit, the gradual building of instruments, including basses and 70s inspired synths, transports you through the song to its staple—its infectious chorus. With lyrics like "Rock with me, baby" and "Let me show you 'cause talk is cheap," the latter giving way to a multitude of possible meanings that simply heighten the experience of the song, its hook will stay stuck in your head and make you dance in your seat.
My favourite parts of the song have to be the harmonies and adlibs, performed mostly by Park Ji-min, laced throughout the track. The first post-chorus verse is the perfect example of this. With each re-listen of the track, different elements of the song reveal themselves, but what stood out most to me was the varying degrees of harmonies in the post-chorus section. In particular, Kim Seok-jin’s line "Ain't no other/ That can sweep you up like a robber" features one of the more sonically satisfying harmonies of the song and perfectly sets up the next section of satisfying harmonies. All in all, it’s clear that one of the major focuses of BTS' craft is the lyrical exploration that is possible and the musical experience that makes for a pretty good combination when put together.
As a dance-pop track, the performance of "Butter" contains a groovy footwork focus that is just as captivating as the track itself. Per the band's performance videos, The Billboard Music Awards, iHeartRadio Awards and the track's music video to name a few, "Butter" features subunits of the members' ‘smooth’ and charming dance moves during the talkbox synth solo before ending on a group move that transitions its audience into the bridge led by members Min Yoon-gi and Kim Nam-joon. Within the bridge lays a bouncy bass groove different to that of the chorus and an endearing confession from the members to their fans. All this occurs before we revisit the song's catchy chorus full of synths, ranging from pianos to a talkbox synthesizer that makes itself the star of the show once more during the song's addictive call and response conducted by member Jung Ho-seok.
All these elements in one track showcase "Butter" as a celebration of the individual members' talents and how these talents complement one another. From its music production and groovy bass lines to its visual aspect and vocal exploration, "Butter" is the perfect track to start and soundtrack your summer.