Hey! Hallie here!
It’s Jimin’s birthday in Korea! There are actually two birthdays being celebrated in groups I follow (Happy Birthday to you too, Jongho!), but on this blog we’ve made it a tradition to give each of the BTS members a wholesome birthday post. Jimin, as one of the most wholesome members of BTS, definitely deserves a post celebrating all the things we love about him for his birthday! Jimin has recently been hard at work on his solo music, but in the meantime he’s been doing ‘Run BTS’ episodes, preparing for the upcoming concert, and ensuring us ARMY know how much he loves us. In order to show my appreciation, here are only a few things I love about Jimin!
His Kindness:
It’s really hard to talk about Jimin without mentioning how huge his heart is and how openly empathetic he is. He’s always the first one to rush over whenever a member is hurt or distressed. He was the first person to comfort Taehyung both when he got in a fight with Jin backstage at a concert, and when he was dealing with the loss of family members. When Jungkook was hurt onstage, Jimin refused to leave his side. He’s the best at not only offering sympathy, but wiping away tears and trying to get the other members of BTS to laugh. You can’t help but wish Jimin was there to help you through your distress every time he helps the members out. But he is there for ARMY, and he shows it constantly. There’s much to be said about his ments during concerts and his interviews. He takes those opportunities to remind us that he’s there for us and that we should love ourselves. But he shows his love through his actions too. He’s frequently on Weverse interacting with fans and reminding ARMY to take care of themselves. He’s gone into posts where ARMYs confessed they were struggling with their mental health to tell them that they aren’t alone. He’s gone into posts from ARMYs struggling to find food that won’t upset their stomach with suggestions of things to eat so they won’t go hungry. He even encourages other members to post there more often when he can’t be as active on Weverse. Jimin is one of those idols that seems to have a lot of love to give, and he can always be seen giving it to both his members and fans. It feels like ARMYs genuinely matter to him, not just as support, but as people. And that type of care is so rare to see from a celebrity.
Duality and Defying Gender Norms:
I praise a lot of idol’s duality on this blog, but I think Jimin is probably the king of duality. He embraces both cute and intimidating concepts fully. Jimin loves bright colors and flowers, which he uses frequently to demonstrate the ways he views himself. He slots very easily into cute content because of this. It’s really not uncommon to see his wide smile onstage, and he’s always one of the first of BTS to strike a cute pose. But then Jimin can switch to sexy in no time at all. Suddenly his vibe becomes more dark and sleek, focused more on form-fitting pieces in different shades of black and white. His impressive dance skills become sharper and his eyes kill with intensity. It’s hard to look away from, and it’s just as much his style as the cute themes. It certainly reflects his solo music, which goes from something sweet like “Promise” to the infamous “Filter”. But it also reflects his self image. For the ‘BE’ album, he opted to go for a room full of flowers for his photoshoot, but the outfit he wore was sleek and black to reflect more of the clothes he likes to wear. At the same time this represents his duality, it also represents his love of androgyny. Because regardless of what type of theme he’s going for on-stage, he really doesn’t care for gender norms. And that’s so admirable. It’s so cool to see Jimin embrace slimmer fitting clothing, corsets, and skirts. He’s taken the time in interviews more than once to question what masculinity even is. His view on what it means to be a man feels healthy and confident. So confident that it’s become part of his brand to attract anyone of any gender and any sexuality with his stage performances. It certainly works on me.
His Performance Capabilities:
I can’t finish this post without talking about the main performance elements Jimin brings to BTS. Like every other member of BTS, his presence stands out and the work he puts into the group deserves praise. His voice is always recognizable as the highest register of all the members. Because of that, he’s able to balance out the other members very well, and carries many BTS choruses with his beautiful voice. A song I go back to frequently to hear his notable contributions is “Disease”. Jimin wrote the bridge for this song and it makes the ending of the song so addictive. It builds the song’s momentum beautifully, and is made perfect by Jimin’s gorgeous voice. Of course, you can go to his solo songs as well to hear the impact of his voice. My favorite remains to be “Filter” simply because of how well the seductive feel of the song suits the sweetness of his vocals. But beyond his clear vocal talent, Jimin is also known for his dancing. He’s the contemporary dancer of BTS and has classical dance training. It shows in BTS’s choreography, but it’s best seen in dance breaks or solo dances. His “Black Swan” dance is infamous for his mesmerizing gracefulness. We also got to see him perform a traditional Korean Fan Dance for the beginning of “Idol”, another example not just of gracefulness, but of androgyny considering this dance is usually done by women. We’ve also seen him dance “Boy Meets Evil” with J-Hope which, while not contemporary, he did completely blindfolded and still managed to remain completely in sync with Hobi. Every time I watch that particular dance I have to replay the video at least three times so I can fully appreciate how otherworldly Park Jimin’s talent is. There really is nothing you can do but be in awe of Jimin.
That’s where I’m going to end this birthday post! I really wish Jimin the best with his solo album. According to Namjoon he’s been making a good amount of progress on it. I know myself and ARMYs everywhere will rush to listen to it once he’s finished. I also hope, though, that he takes his time and makes sure he’s not putting pressure on himself to release something before he’s completely happy with it. I also hope that, despite all the work he’s doing right now, he gets lots of rest! BTS is currently less active right now because all of them really need time to focus on their mental health, and Jimin is no exception. I know around now he’ll be doing last minute preparations for the upcoming concert, but after that’s done I hope he makes up the time he spent working on his birthday by resting. He deserves it! We love you, Jimin! Happy Birthday!
Don’t do anything fun until I get back!
Hallie
Oreos & Peanut Butter 