K-Pop and K-Dramas: BTS and Rolling Stone

Hey! Hallie here!

We’re back! A few days ago my sister and I went to get our second vaccine so we took a day off yesterday to recover from some mild symptoms. But we’re back and feeling amazing, so today I’m going to talk about what occupied all of my thoughts while I was relaxing yesterday! Of course, that would be the BTS interview released by Rolling Stone with some amazing photos to accompany it. This interview was actually decent! You do have to be careful with most American interviews, and not all of the questions were winners here, but I did enjoy most of the interview! There are also individual interviews with the members slowly being released. I will cover all of those once more are released, but J-Hope’s is out now if you want to check it out! Anyways, let’s talk a bit about the kinds of things BTS talked about and how gorgeous all of them looked in the photoshoot.

The BTS Interview:

This interview started out hitting extremely hard with the interviewer asking Namjoon about what he thinks of BTS’s success with the disgusting anti-Asian climate we’re seeing. Namjoon smartly responded that they were, unfortunately, a rare thing to see in the music industry and although there isn’t anything specific they can say contributed to propelling them over the racism, they hope their success will lead to a more accepting world in the future. As the interview went on the interviewer seemed to attempt to get everyone to say at least one thing of note about themselves, though the amount of speaking we saw from each member does fit with how often they speak in regular interviews. Jungkook talked about how he joined BTS because of how impressed he was with Namjoon’s talent. Yoongi talked about how his parents didn’t understand his dream to pursue rap. They also spoke to Yoongi about the songs that he has written to reflect his mental health. He clarified that he is doing fine now, but that all emotions should be expressed. Hobi was introduced into the interview with an adorable interaction between the members that Taehyung started by noting that Hobi’s warm personality would make him a good president of the entire world. Hobi then recalled how intimidating it was to join the group without having rap skills, especially because the initial idea for BTS would have included only those who could rap. The interview then shifted to Jin who jokingly bragged about his looks and then immediately started saying he wasn’t as talented as the other members. How does he not know how amazing he is? Tae spoke a bit about how confused he was over the fact that he was the “hidden member” when they debuted, which Bang PD (He was also there!) smoothed over by saying he felt Tae’s charms would get the group more publicity if he was to be announced last. Lastly, Jimin spoke about his perfectionism and how close the group has become.

The interviewer was very knowledgable about the entire “Dynamite” situation which we’ve talked about on this blog multiple times. The interviewer asked the group what they thought of the refusal by US radio stations to play “Life Goes On” because it’s in Korean, despite the special treatment “Dynamite” received. Namjoon answered that he hoped the prejudice that caused that decision would be gone soon as society is changing. They were also asked about “Butter”! According to this interview, it seems “Butter” won’t be about the entertainment industry so far. So those who were hoping for something like a diss track may be disappointed. The interview even goes as far as to say that it won’t have any deep themes at all. I’m a bit concerned about this, but I guess we’ll see what happens. The interview ended with the very precarious topic of the potential military service they will all serve. Jin spoke about how he was grateful that his country allowed him to wait before he had to serve and said again that he would be honored to serve when they call him. Jin didn’t seem like he was actually considering the group going on without him. He said he’d be sad but understanding if they chose to do so, but that didn’t seem to be what he thought was going to happen if he left to serve. Actually, from what all of them said, it seemed more like the company is leaning towards sending them together. But who knows? Either way, Jimin was clear that nothing would put an end to BTS for a very long while. I would like to note that by far the worst part of the interview was when the interviewer asked BTS if they worried about how their fans would react to the news that any of them were dating. Yoongi very bluntly disregarded this by saying that all ARMYs are different and will respond to different things in different ways. I really appreciated how he dealt with yet another dating-related question.

The Photoshoot:

This cover photo reminded me a lot of “Magic Shop”. In it, all of the members are peeking out of a window with various degrees of shock on their faces. For “Magic Shop” it was a doorway, but the concept is similar. You can tell this was done slightly before “Butter” because Hobi is sporting bleached hair before it was dyed a more prominent yellow. Similarly, Jimin’s hair is still brown and Jungkook’s hair is the gray it was before it was dyed purple. And, of course, this was before Namjoon revealed he had lied to us when he said he wouldn’t go back to pink hair. In this shoot they’re working with more neutral tones, and all of them switch between more casual and more dressy looks depending on the photo. In one photo they all lounge around a couch in various dark-colored suits. The lightest colors we see here are worn by Namjoon, in white, and Yoongi and Jin, both in different light gray coats. In the cover photo we see a black and white color palette that ties them all together beautifully. There’s also some fun checkered designs on Hobi and Jungkook that are eye-catching. Some more fun looks that better fit each member’s personal style are being released with the individual interviews. Because Hobi’s interview has already been released, we’ve already seen him in a gorgeous, black, oversized sweater with some multicolored cursive on it to bring in the bright colors that he loves so much. That over an extremely well fitting white tee tucked into some yellow pants. They all look insanely good here, as usual, and I’m excited to see more of their individual shots.

Those are my thoughts! I’m really enjoying the Rolling Stone coverage so far! Once more interviews are released I’ll be back to cover more of the topics they discuss and their amazing looks. For now, I seriously recommend you check out what’s been released. The initial interview is so long, I didn’t manage to cover nearly everything that was said. There’s so much they discuss and plenty of good information if you’re new to ARMY and want to be filled in on what they’ve been doing recently. There’s also insights on what it was like when they started. Even if you’re a long-time ARMY there’s plenty to enjoy. As for me, I’m constantly revisiting those photos. Just wow.

Don’t do anything fun until I get back!

Hallie