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SINGLE REVIEW: BTS– “DYNAMITE”
Written by: Polaris_Tae
In late August, BTS came back to bless us with an all-English single titled, "Dynamite" in anticipation for their upcoming album that is set to be released later this year and will likely break all of their previously established records yet again. BTS is a group that has always had a long-established western fanbase which was essentially the gel that held the group together when they were fading into obscurity in the eyes of the Korean general public all the way back in 2013 & 2014, the latter of which is around the time that I first became a fan of the group. In late 2019, I found myself following the group less and less (largely due to irl problems) however, I have found myself recently getting back into the group following this release — and their recent Japanese release "Stay Gold" — which I believe acts as the perfect song both for attracting in new fans of the group, as well as drawing back old fans who for some reason may have fallen out with the group in recent years.
In the depressing months that have become the current reality of an all but depressing future due to multiple natural disasters including — but not limited to — Monsoons in SEA, LA wildfires, Australian bushfires (during which I was coincidentally living in one of the affected areas) along with the continuous threat of global warming - to sum it up, 2020 has not been a good year. Add on to that the continuous threat of the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on the ever-declining economy. Australia, for instance, has dropped to levels that we have not seen since our last financial crisis during the 1980s oil crisis (we thankfully skipped the GFC) with a very little positive outlook in the near future. As such, "Dynamite" is a welcome reprieve from all the depressing news as of late.
"Dynamite" is an upbeat EDM dance track that, as always, delivers the groups signature sound while telling us that even if we don't have the freedom of movement that we once had due to the current pandemic, BTS is here to alleviate all of our stress and worries by promising to light up the sky like "Dynamite" and bring a splash of fun to what has been a depressing year. This single, just like BTS' previous releases continued the trend of breaking their own records all over again. The song shot straight to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 — and against all odds, maintained that position in its second week — becoming the highest-charting (and longest peaking) song by a Korean artist, overtaking PSY's "Gangnam Style" which peaked at #2. Despite being an all-English track, "Dynamite" has also seen great success in the group's home country, South Korea, where it gained multiple hourly Perfect-All-Kills and gained multiple music show wins without being promoted in the country.
"Dynamite" is yet another summer banger that shows us that, no matter the season, the group will always find a way to bless us with amazing releases! It has all the elements of a certified hit song — a catchy chorus, simple lyrics and an amazing instrumental! I found that the only major issue that I had with "Dynamite" was in regards to the vocals of the song, where there was a major overuse of auto-tune. "Dynamite" just like one their earlier releases, "DNA", overuses autotune, not to the point of their voices being unintelligible, but it still seems to strip the vocalists' raw quality that is found in their vocal performances. The Spotify version, in comparison to the YouTube version, corrects this aspect slightly but still manages to have an over-processed quality to it. If there was one thing that the group needs to improve on, song production-wise, it would be toning down on this aspect. The lyrics established in "Dynamite" are also generally understandable to a general audience — save for a line about drinking milk of course — thus making it a perfect introduction to the group regardless of your level of interest in Kpop.
I found that the music video, directed by their long-time collaborators LUMPENS, acted as a perfect complement to the song as just like the single itself, "Dynamite" is a bright explosion of colours. This music video, in terms of its aesthetic appeal, essentially acts as a direct sequel to last year's "Boy With Love". However, rather than having the warm tone with accented colours that were presented in the latter, it has a more muted washed out tone, while still giving off warm colour grading that acts as a perfect accompaniment to an already amazing song, making "Dynamite" the perfect tone to close off the summer with!
If there is one thing that I hope people take away from "Dynamite" it is that no matter how hard it is, there will always be a pot of gold on the other side of the rainbow and that things aren't always as bad as they seem. All you need is a little slice of happiness to light up your life like "Dynamite".
__________________________________________________
Artistic Creativity: 8/10
Vocal Quality: 9/10
Music: 9/10
8.6/10
__________________________________________________
PROOFREAD BY: @Dragon of the West
GRAPHICS BY: @Polaris_Tae
Written by: Polaris_Tae
In late August, BTS came back to bless us with an all-English single titled, "Dynamite" in anticipation for their upcoming album that is set to be released later this year and will likely break all of their previously established records yet again. BTS is a group that has always had a long-established western fanbase which was essentially the gel that held the group together when they were fading into obscurity in the eyes of the Korean general public all the way back in 2013 & 2014, the latter of which is around the time that I first became a fan of the group. In late 2019, I found myself following the group less and less (largely due to irl problems) however, I have found myself recently getting back into the group following this release — and their recent Japanese release "Stay Gold" — which I believe acts as the perfect song both for attracting in new fans of the group, as well as drawing back old fans who for some reason may have fallen out with the group in recent years.
In the depressing months that have become the current reality of an all but depressing future due to multiple natural disasters including — but not limited to — Monsoons in SEA, LA wildfires, Australian bushfires (during which I was coincidentally living in one of the affected areas) along with the continuous threat of global warming - to sum it up, 2020 has not been a good year. Add on to that the continuous threat of the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on the ever-declining economy. Australia, for instance, has dropped to levels that we have not seen since our last financial crisis during the 1980s oil crisis (we thankfully skipped the GFC) with a very little positive outlook in the near future. As such, "Dynamite" is a welcome reprieve from all the depressing news as of late.
"Dynamite" is an upbeat EDM dance track that, as always, delivers the groups signature sound while telling us that even if we don't have the freedom of movement that we once had due to the current pandemic, BTS is here to alleviate all of our stress and worries by promising to light up the sky like "Dynamite" and bring a splash of fun to what has been a depressing year. This single, just like BTS' previous releases continued the trend of breaking their own records all over again. The song shot straight to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 — and against all odds, maintained that position in its second week — becoming the highest-charting (and longest peaking) song by a Korean artist, overtaking PSY's "Gangnam Style" which peaked at #2. Despite being an all-English track, "Dynamite" has also seen great success in the group's home country, South Korea, where it gained multiple hourly Perfect-All-Kills and gained multiple music show wins without being promoted in the country.
"Dynamite" is yet another summer banger that shows us that, no matter the season, the group will always find a way to bless us with amazing releases! It has all the elements of a certified hit song — a catchy chorus, simple lyrics and an amazing instrumental! I found that the only major issue that I had with "Dynamite" was in regards to the vocals of the song, where there was a major overuse of auto-tune. "Dynamite" just like one their earlier releases, "DNA", overuses autotune, not to the point of their voices being unintelligible, but it still seems to strip the vocalists' raw quality that is found in their vocal performances. The Spotify version, in comparison to the YouTube version, corrects this aspect slightly but still manages to have an over-processed quality to it. If there was one thing that the group needs to improve on, song production-wise, it would be toning down on this aspect. The lyrics established in "Dynamite" are also generally understandable to a general audience — save for a line about drinking milk of course — thus making it a perfect introduction to the group regardless of your level of interest in Kpop.
I found that the music video, directed by their long-time collaborators LUMPENS, acted as a perfect complement to the song as just like the single itself, "Dynamite" is a bright explosion of colours. This music video, in terms of its aesthetic appeal, essentially acts as a direct sequel to last year's "Boy With Love". However, rather than having the warm tone with accented colours that were presented in the latter, it has a more muted washed out tone, while still giving off warm colour grading that acts as a perfect accompaniment to an already amazing song, making "Dynamite" the perfect tone to close off the summer with!
If there is one thing that I hope people take away from "Dynamite" it is that no matter how hard it is, there will always be a pot of gold on the other side of the rainbow and that things aren't always as bad as they seem. All you need is a little slice of happiness to light up your life like "Dynamite".
__________________________________________________
Artistic Creativity: 8/10
Vocal Quality: 9/10
Music: 9/10
8.6/10
__________________________________________________
PROOFREAD BY: @Dragon of the West
GRAPHICS BY: @Polaris_Tae
Last edited:
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Thanks for the great review! Personally I give Dynamite a 10/10 because it's not only my favorite song of the year but probably in my top 3-4 of BTS songs and I'm glad so many people seem to enjoy it! It's not the most experimental or "deep" song BTS has ever done but it still bops hard and that's all that matters! 
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Thanks for the great review! Personally I give Dynamite a 10/10 because it's not only my favorite song of the year but probably in my top 3-4 of BTS songs and I'm glad so many people seem to enjoy it! It's not the most experimental or "deep" song BTS has ever done but it still bops hard and that's all that matters!
Had to recheck what score I gave it bc of this skdkjkssjk
I think I'd honestly place it higher now after listening to it over and over again
I wrote this like four weeks ago kek and only now got around to publishing it.
I'd probably give it a solid 9 - 9.5 tbh, solely bc I like some of their other summery sounding songs slightly better.
I don't get people focusing on the "deep" aspect to their sound bc sometimes I just want a fun song that doesn't require intellectual thinking to understand the meaning to a song.
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Shining through the city with a little funk and soul~
So I'ma light it up like dynamite, woah-oh-oh
So I'ma light it up like dynamite, woah-oh-oh
