After weeks of promotional teasers, K-pop boy band BTS released their Love Yourself: Her album on Monday (Sept. 18).
Love Yourself: Her is BTS’ first album since February’s You Never Walk Alone, and the first since the group took home the top social artist award at this year’s BBMAs in May. The album is a dual exploration of the group’s electro-pop and hip-hop leanings, fronted by the lead single “DNA,” a bright track with a whistle-led hook.
Utilizing dynamic strings, sudden drops, and the Selena Gomez “Kill Em With Kindness“-esque whistling, “DNA” is one of the most upbeat singles the group’s released in some time.
Inspired by the passion of youthful love, the song balances powerful EDM elements and softer harmonies, with the auto-tune laden chorus and pulsating raps leading into melodic verses that allow the group’s vocalists a chance to showcase the softer meaning of the lyrics. “The two of us are connected fatefully from the beginning, and we’re together from DNA,” the boy band members sing.
Fittingly, the accompanying vibrant music video is enhanced by images of actual DNA, as BTS mimics the chemical structure of the molecule through choreography. Unlike many of their music videos, “DNA” is devoid of any extensive plot and instead features the boy band performing while bathed in vibrant hues on a variety of CGI-enhanced sets. Varying between complex, floor-sweeping dance moves and playful shrugging, the video comes to a close with a sultry lead-in to the final chorus delivered by V, with the rest of the group’s vocalists joining in to deliver a dramatic finale as the song ends with J-Hope’s taunting “la la la.”
Love Yourself: Her contains eleven tracks in total between skits and two hidden tracks contained on the physical album. “Best of Me,” co-written by The Chainsmokers’ Andrew Taggart, and the mid-album track “Skit: Billboard Music Awards,” which features Rap Monster’s speech from the award show, are joined by a variety of other styles on the album, which is split into two parts.
The first half of Her, consisting of the melodic “Intro: Serendipity,” “DNA,” “Best of Me,” the smooth “Dimple,” and the playful “Pied Piper,” a track dedicated to the boy band’s thrall over their fan ARMY, features dance tracks that emphasize the group’s vocals. But after the “Skit,” the act’s hip-hop side arrives in earnest, with the bass-heavy “MIC Drop,” the reggae-tinged “Go Go,” and the mellow “Outro: Her” delivering powerful rap performances.
Upon its release, Love Yourself: Her went to the top of the U.S iTunes chart, boding well for the group’s future on local charts as fans of the act wait eagerly to see if it can break Wings’ record on the Billboard 200; last year, the album became the highest-ranked K-pop album on the chart, peaking at No. 26.
Watch the music video for “DNA” here: