Surprisingly Facts About BTS’ Song ‘Singularity’
V, or Kim Tae-hyung, is a member of the boy band BTS. Born in Daegu, in 1995, V has been having an artistic side ever since he was a child. In 2018, BTS released the album Love Yourself: Tear. One of the teaser trailers is V’s song titled “Singularity.” In the music video and lyric, there are many interesting parts that make the song richer. Here are some interesting facts about “Singularity!”
LOVE YOURSELF 轉 Tear Singularity
“Singularity” is a song for the album Love Yourself: Tear‘s trailer. The song was released on May 18th, 2018, and released for the album on August 24th, 2018.
BTS leader, RM, was the producer of this song along with Charlie J. Perry, who is also a producer. Previously, Charlie J. Perry was the producer for singer Jorja Smith’s album, Project 11. Unlike other BTS’s songs, ‘Singularity” has R&B and jazz elements in it which makes the song sound calming and relaxing. V’s deep voice also gives a more chilling side to the song. Based on Charlie J. Perry’s interview with Billboard, he keeps the song sounds simple to make V’s vocals shine more. Not only the music, but the lyrics also tell about how people feel lonely after being left by someone that they used to love.
Interesting Facts
First, V’s position in the group is as vocal. In “Singularity,” he shows more of his vocal abilities. His deep and nasally voice fits perfectly with the song’s concept.
Second, “Singularity” is written and produced by RM, after having nose surgery because of a deviated septum. RM tells this story to Army on the fancafe. When he makes the song, he is so enthusiastic thinking V will like it very much.
Third, the music video. Did you already watch the “Singularity” music video? Maybe you’re wondering, who is the one behind this masterpiece. The music video itself is directed by Choi Yong-seok by Lumpens. For the photography side, the one who is in charge is Nam Hyun-woo of GDW. And as far as the art piece of the video is concerned, it is directed by Park Jin-sil and Kim Bo-na of MU:E.
Not only aesthetically pleasing, but the music video also has many hidden meanings. Many people have shared their theories, among which is the theory that the video tells the story of Narcissus’s life. Based on the Greek myth, Narcissus is known for his beauty and falls in love with himself. At the beginning of the music video, from afar, V is pictured dancing with a girl. When the camera gets closer, it turns out that V is dancing with a coat hanger that has girls clothes on. From this, we can see that V feels lonely and as a result, he is dancing with things.
In the music video, V also touches the water and admires his own reflection in it. This part is the same as Narcissus’s painting by Caravaggio where he is looking at water that has his reflection because he loves himself too much. We can see that V loves himself because of loneliness. Even though he looks at his reflection, he still looks emotionless and gloomy.
The other part of the video is the phantom mask at the end. V is dancing with white clothes in front of a black background. Behind him is a moving phantom mask following his dancing. This part tells about how V lost himself after losing the one he loved. He seems confused about which shadows he should follow.
In the end, V decides to follow the mask and wear it. His earrings after putting on the mask have ‘LOVED’ written on them, which is the past tense of love. In conclusion, V is no longer loved and decides to cover his face with the mask and lose the uncertain version of himself.
But, those are fan theories, neither BTS nor Bighit have given any further explanation about the meaning behind all the scenes in the music video. What do you think?
Fourth, they lyrics. Based on the translation from the website Genius, “Singularity” has some metaphoric lyrics. From the overall look, the lyrics revolve around a person who has lost himself and looking for help.
“The pain in my throat gets worse / Try to cover it / I don’t have a voice / Today I hear that sound again”
This part shows how desperate V is looking for help until he loses his voice. Then, he tells how he hides himself in the next part.
“It’s ringing again, that sound / A crack again on this frozen lake / I threw myself into the lake / I buried my voice for you”
The word ‘Lake’ is used as a metaphor for the hiding place for V. This is also related to the Narcissus concept that was used in the music video. In the second chorus, before the last part, V finally has a dream to get himself out of hiding even though he is still helpless.
“But in the end, spring will come someday / The ice will melt and flow away / Tell me if my voice isn’t real”
The word ‘hide’ means V is hiding his true self from the world because of the unfamiliarity. Then, he decides to cover himself to avoid the pain that he feels. Again, it’s all only fans’ theories. There’s no right answer to this because each person’s interpretation is different.
Fifth, the choreography. The dance is choreographed by Keone Madrid who has been choreographing other BTS songs, such as “Fire,” “Not Today,” and “Blood Sweat & Tears.” For this song, he used contemporary dance moves. Keone Madrid tweeted about this on his personal Twitter.
Another piece I choreographed for @BTS_twt but this time for my guy Kim Taehyung featuring some of my dancers and good friends 👍🏼 #singularity #loveyourself轉tear #BTShttps://t.co/lPqzYHHzOZ pic.twitter.com/RSf78ZXAQC
— Keone Madrid (@KeoneMadrid) May 6, 2018
Before the choreography was done by V, Keone Madrid released the choreography video where it was done by Johnny Balik. You can check the full concept in this video below.
Live Performances
After making a comeback with the album, V has been performing the song at many events, some of them are on the show 2018 KBS Song Festival and on his tour concert in Los Angeles. Here are the videos of “Singularity” live performances!
