15 details you may have missed in BTS's 'Dynamite' music video
- The music video for BTS's first entirely English single, "Dynamite," dropped midnight Friday.
- BTS is a seven-member K-pop group that is one of the most popular boy groups to date. "Dynamite" has already set the new record for the number of views for a new YouTube video release.
- The music video is filled with Easter eggs for the group's diehard fans. Here are 12 details you may have missed.
The most popular boy group in the world is back with a new music video, and it's full of fun moments and granular details that help build its retro feel.
BTS, the 7-member K-pop group, dropped a new music video for their new digital single "Dynamite" on Friday. Upon its release, "Dynamite" has already set the new record for the highest number of viewers for a YouTube video premiere, with at least 3 million viewers around the world tuned in when the music video dropped. It also swept iTunes charts and landed a spot on Spotify's "Today's Top Hits" playlist.
At the virtual press conference ahead of the music video premiere, BTS's leader RM introduced the new song as a "new challenge" for BTS. For the first time since the group's debut, its lyrics are entirely in English. It was also dropped in a timezone friendly to fans in the US.
More importantly, "Dynamite" clearly signals a new territory for BTS's musical endeavors. Describing "Dynamite" as a "feel-good song," V told the press that the song "felt new and a different" from what the group's tried before.
"Everyone in the world is going through tough times," Jimin told reporters. "Dynamite is a song that can lift anyone's spirits."
As with the finest music videos, the one for "Dynamite" is filled with Easter eggs for fans to pore over. Here are 12 you may have missed.
In the new music video, "life is dynamite." Literally.
The music video for "Dynamite" is full of references to the album itself.
Some are easy to catch, like when Jimin holds up the album for a close-up, or when RM literally holds up a record of Dynamite at the disco shop.
But here are a few that might have slipped by while you were watching.
The burger and donut shop in the music video is called "Dynamite burger and donut."
Jin dances in front of a wall that says "Dynamite."
A sign for "Dynamite" hangs on one of the walls of the shop.
The ice cream truck V dances in front of is also supposedly under the "Dynamite" franchise too.
Jungkook starting the music video by drinking a glass of milk once again highlights his long-documented love for milk.
Jungkook has for long expressed his love for milk — in particular, banana milk — and his fans are very well aware of this.
In the music video, Jungkook starts off by drinking a glass of milk, and sings in the lyrics as well that he gets up in the morning with a "cup of milk."
In an appearance on Indonesian e-commerce platform Tokopedia, Jungkook emphasized his love for banana milk:
Jungkook choosing banana milk over soju is also a popular meme among fans on social media:
Jungkook raises a toast with a donut. There's a popular video of Jungkook wanting to eat a donut that dates back to 2013, the year BTS debuted.
Partly through the video, Jungkook steps out of the "Dynamite" burger and donut shop, initially freezing on the spot as his members stop and stare at him eating a donut.
That moment doesn't last long. Jungkook then smiles and raises a toast with the donut.
The donut appears to be a reference to a popular video of a teenaged Jungkook wanting to eat a donut back in 2013, the year BTS debuted.
RM's hair and sunglasses from "FIRE" made a return after four years.
In the "Dynamite" music video, RM rocked white sunglasses and turquoise hair. Think you've seen this before? RM's new sunglasses and hair resembles his look from the 2016 music video "FIRE."
The music video is full of vibrant pastel colors, a recurring motif for the group.
Many of BTS's music videos, including "IDOL," "Boys with Luv," and "DNA" have used vibrant color schemes.
"Dynamite," contrasting from the group's more recent music videos for "ON" and "Black Swan," which aired on a darker tone for visuals, uses a lot of bright hues. But a particular focus for "Dynamite" is pastel.
An airplane briefly flies overhead the "Disco" building, another recurring motif.
Airplanes have been a recurring motif in some of BTS' music, signifying the group's growing international success.
J-hope's song "Airplane," off of his 2018 solo mixtape "Hope World," speaks to his feelings about success as an artist.
"I was sitting in an airplane when I was writing these verses, a first-class seat no less, and it dawned on me that I was in the airplane, in the seat and living the glorious life I'd only dreamed about when I was young, and had somehow gotten used to now," he told Time in 2018.
Then, there's "Airplane pt.2" off of the group's 2018 album "Love Yourself: Tear." Per a Genius translation, Suga raps, "My passport is about to die from overworking," and the group sings about traveling to and from cities like Mexico City, Paris, London, and Tokyo.
BTS pays homage to Michael Jackson throughout the video.
Fans of both BTS and Michael Jackson were quick to notice that many of the poses and dance moves throughout the "Dynamite" music video were reminiscent of Jackson's signature style.
As Twitter user @ForeverPurple23pointed out, Jimin's dance outside of the donut shop appears to be synchronized with a clip of Jackson performing.
Other notable Jackson references throughout the MV include Jin moonwalking a Jungkook and V doing Jackson's signature crotch grab, but a compilation edit from @kjngofpops showcases a number of the music video's references to the King of Pop.
"The guys do MJ proud with plenty of his dance moves," Jackson's nephew, Taj Jackson, wrote of the music video on Twitter.
A "Make it Right" sign appears briefly next to the basketball court
During Suga's verse, there's a brief wide shot that shows the basketball court he's on as well as a few other signs. One of the storefronts to the left of the court shows a sign that reads "Make It Right," the title of a track that was first released on "Map of the Soul: Persona."
Jungkook's room shows a variety of posters of classic rock artists
Jungkook's bedroom set is full of posters that appear to be tied to artists like David Bowie, The Beatles, Queen, AC/DC, and more. While some of the posters — like the one for The Beatles' "Abbey Road" above the desk — are easily recognizable, there are others like a Queen poster above the desk that's listed on Getty Images as being taken during the band's "Hot Space Japan Tour" that are slightly less instantly recognizable to a layperson.
There are additional posters in the record store.
The record store in which RM does his first verse is also full of references to artists like Guns N' Roses, Wham!, Billy Idol, The B-52s, and The Beatles. Some of the covers here include Wham!'s "Fantastic" and Billy Idol's "Rebel Yell," as well as a poster for The Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band."
Suga is wearing a Tune Squad jersey from "Space Jam."
Throughout the music video, Suga is seen wearing a Tune Squad jersey from the movie "Space Jam." The 1996 movie is a hybrid live-action/animated comedy that stars Michael Jordan and the Looney Tunes.
BTS hits the "woah" after the second chorus
During a brief dance sequence during the song's second chorus, several members of BTS hit the "woah," doing a viral TikTok dance move.
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