Welcome back everyone,
I hope you guys have been well and that you haven’t been feeling too down from the last few posts. They were exceptionally heavy and raw 🙁 I also realised a few days ago that there is another way to interpret a word from Always. Thus, I have made an update at Section 4, so please go and check it out!
But for all the angst and tears… remember that tis is life and flowers can only bloom after the rain.
However, flowers need more than just rain. They also need care, love and support for them to bloom strongly and beautifully.
So without further ado, let’s see what IDOL can tell us about this process.
Assumed Knowledge & Assumptions
I have written this post assuming you know:
- my theory, that all of the songs in LY albums are connected and reveal storylines when read in a specific order; and
- Joon, Yoongi and Hobi’s stories discussed in my blog so far.
New Readers
Hello there and welcome to my blog! I’m sorry to say that if you haven’t read any of the above posts… I may lose you in the detail as my lyrical analyses are built on existing knowledge!
This is simply because all of the songs are interconnected and need to be read in a specific order for it to make sense, just like a book.
If you’re wondering where to start, please start here.
Please also note the assumptions I apply when I analyse songs.
Enjoy! 😊
1. Multiculturalism
I would be doing injustice to IDOL if I first don’t take the time to appreciate all of its amazing multicultural elements.
The following is an extract from Wikipedia:
As described by Billboard’s Tamar Herma, “IDOL” is a “traditionally inspired track” featuring different classical Korean instruments.
According to media outlets, the song and the music video were inspired by Korean genre pansori and John Woo’s 1997 movie Face Off.
Yonhap reported, “The song is electronic dance music in the style of South African dance music. The African beats are layered with traditional Korean rhythms, as well as the pounding of a Korean folk percussion instrument used in the performance of traditional Korean farmers’ ensemble.
Rolling Stone India said, “According to the group’s label Big Hit Entertainment, “Idol” was inspired by gqom, a style of house music that originated in Durban, South Africa. Gqom combines powerful traditional thumping drum with bass and house synths in a balance between tradition and trend.” adding, “The track’s blend of Korean instruments like the gakgung (the Korean horn-bow which explains the shehnai-like sounds) with African rhythms, trap rap and electronica contribute to expanding its culturally rich, diverse, global sound”.
As per the above, one of the things IDOL was inspired from was the Korean music genre pansori. Pansori is a traditional South Korean form of storytelling, operatic in style, that relies on the authenticity, intensity and power of the singer’s voice to express stories of love, death, tradition and honour.
Per Ahn Sook Sun, a living pansori legend in Korea’s cultural history, a perfect pansori performance does not strive for purity or perfection of voice; rather it embraces all sides of the human experience.
In addition, Ahn Sook Sun shared that a perfect pansori performance has three elements:
- a singer;
- a percussionist; and
- an audience.
Applying these elements to IDOl, they are:
- BTS;
- A blend of South African and Korean percussion instruments; and
- ARMY.
Further, Ahn Sook Sun said the following about practising pansori: “It truly is a spiritual journey. That is the way of life for a grand performer. That is the authenticity of a pansori singer.”
As we will soon see, besides the three elements, IDOL embodies this same idea and philosophy: That BTS (should) treat their “idol” title as a way of life as a grand performer, and in this spiritual journey, find their authentic voices.
Hence, similarly to a Pansori performance, IDOL relies on the authenticity, intensity and power of BTS’ voices to tell a story of the human experience.
In addition to the above, according to doolset lyrics, the following lyrics from the chorus have the following meanings:
얼쑤 좋다
Ur-soo, it’s great!
얼쑤 (pronounced ur-soo) is a sound you make out of excitement (or to make it more exciting) when you’re singing or dancing to traditional music in Korea. See this clip, a performance of Heungbuga, and listen to what the audience shout during the performance. 얼씨구 (pronounced ur-ssi-goo) is a common variation from 얼쑤 (ur-soo).지화자 좋다
Jihwaja, it’s great!
지화자 (pronounced jihwaja) is a sound that functions similar to 얼쑤 (ur-soo), boosting the mood of performers or viewers with traditional music played in the background. Jessi, a Korean-American rapper based in Korea, collaborated with another rapper Crispi Crunch and Kim Young-Im, one of the most famous Korean classical musicians, and made a hip-hop rendition of 쾌지나 칭칭나네, a traditional folk song. You can hear the singers sing “얼씨구 좋다 (ur-ssi-goo, it’s great!) 지화자 좋다 (jihwaja, it’s great!) at the end.덩기덕 쿵더러러
Deonggiduck Koongdeoreoreo
This is a traditional Korean music beat called 굿거리 (pronounced Gutgeori).
By combining South African beats and dance with traditional Korean percussion instruments, opera and cheers, modern electronic dance music, and Western Hollywood movie references, IDOL conveys its respect and love for cultural diversity whilst paying homage to its cultural roots.
2. Namjoon’s Vlive
Namjoon’s Vlive (from 41.04 onwards) is always so helpful and informative. I discuss the key takeaways below.
1a. The true writers of IDOL
Though Namjoon is an accredited writer, Pdogg and Supreme Boi wrote most of IDOL.
In his Vlive, Namjoon shared with us that Pdogg and Supreme Boi wrote most of IDOL and that he contributed to the chorus.
What this means for us is that similar to Euphoria, the lyrics for IDOL are not substantially written by Namjoon… meaning that IDOL is not substantially based on Joon’s experience.
However, unlike Euphoria, Pdogg and Supreme Boi wrote this song for BTS. This is distinctly different from Melanie Fontana who originally wrote Euphoria for Justin Beiber before giving it to BTS.
This is an important distinction as it means Pdogg and Supreme Boi wrote it from their perspectives as colleagues, about BTS, for the boys to sing.
1b. The title of the song
Next:
Namjoon thought that the title “IDOL” was aggressive and it was too much to have it as the title.
He also shared with us that the title sounded strange and unfamiliar to him.
This tells us that as at the time this song was being written, Namjoon:
- did not actually relate to the song. This song conveyed an attitude and energy that was not authentic to him at that time; and
- was not used to being associated with the title of an idol. We can infer he was not in the habit of proudly and loudly referring to himself as one.
This is consistent with what we know about BTS who used to struggle with their identity as a mainstream idol group vs a hip-hop idol group.
We saw this struggle in Yoongi’s lyrics from The Last: “I’ve denied my nature many times, my address is idol and I won’t deny the anguish that dug into my mind countless times… selling ourselves [out]…”
This is also evident from what Joon said in his Vlive about the title “IDOL”: “I was so worried about it. But I got used to saying that.”
This uncomfortable feeling towards the title “IDOL” and what it represents is not surprising given the context of the stories we have read so far. After all, Namjoon, Yoongi and Hobi only just met their real selves and only just started reconciling with their true selves and their respective “Her(s)”. They have only just begun the long and hard process of learning to love themselves… let alone learning to love themselves as an idol.
So, if IDOL wasn’t written from the perspective of Namjoon, Hobi or Yoongi about them being proud of being an idol, what does this mean for our analysis? What is the true purpose of IDOL?
1c. The purpose for IDOL
As above, we discovered that Pdogg and Supreme Boi wrote IDOL for BTS. Ali Tampsi, one of the writers who worked on the melody, also stated that the representative from Big Hit wanted the song to feel intense.
This indicates that Pdogg, Supreme Boi, and Big Hit commissioned IDOL, which is clearly written for BTS to sing to their haters.
This is a cheeky and brilliant move by Pdogg, Supreme Boi and Big Hit because through the process of making BTS record the song and perform IDOL again and again on stage… they effectively made BTS:
- aggressively and forcefully repeat to themselves over and over again what is essentially the message of:
- “F**k what other people say, I am what I am”;
- “I’m never gonna change”; and
- “I AM AN IDOL AND I’M PROUD OF IT”;
whether they actually believed it or not; and
- cheer for themselves and ARMY for loving themselves and for being an idol (얼쑤 좋다!! 지화자 좋다!!).
What a brilliant therapy plan. I wonder who came up with the idea for IDOL. Fake it till you make it.
This is why Namjoon said in his Vlive: “I sing this song to love myself.” Note the subtle meaning in this sentence. This sentence indicates Namjoon is still practising learning to love himself.
In other words, IDOL is Pdogg’s / Supreme Boi’s / Big Hit’s way of saying “FIGHTING!!” to the boys, and their way of helping the boys learn to love and accept themselves.
Further, the beauty of this song is that it comes full circle.
By getting ARMY to sing along with BTS IDOL’s lyrics, ARMY also repeats the message of learning to love and accept themselves, to themselves.
3. IDOL care
Alrighty, let’s get into the lyrics! As the writers could be Pdogg, Supreme Boi, or anyone at Big Hit, for simplicity purposes, I’m going to use “the writers” and the pronoun “they/them”.
IDOL starts with the following lyrics:
You can call me artist (artist)
You can call me idol (idol)
Or you can call me anything else
I don’t care
The writers remind the boys that “artist” and “idol” are simply titles. They could be called artists, fishermen, or Covid-19 (see the awful racist comment here), but in the end, they are just titles and labels. Though titles and labels do bring along a certain set of expectations, they do not necessarily reflect the true substance of the person.
The writers remind BTS that their sense of self-worth should not be tied to a title that someone gives them, and they make Namjoon bellow, “you can call me anything… I don’t care!”
Whether or not this is intentional wordplay or not, the lyrics “I don’t care” is rapped with a rhythm so that Namjoon sounds like he is saying “IDOL care”. How very fitting for this song.
Next:
I’m proud of it (proud of it)
I’m free
No more irony
Because I’ve been me all the time
The lyrics convey to us that the writers knew that BTS were feeling trapped by their titles and the expectations that come along with it. We can infer that these expectations were not pleasant and often went against their authentic selves, resulting in “irony” as they battled to understand which of their sides were their “real” selves.
To help set themselves free and gain clarity of who they really are, the writers help BTS acknowledge their nature as idols and make Hobi shout, “I’m proud of it!… No more irony!“
Next, Yoongi raps:
You can point your fingers at me, I don’t care at all
Whatever reason you have to denigrate me
These lyrics are particularly special in the context of Yoongi’s story as we saw that Yoongi was struggling to deal with hostile unhelpful criticisms.
I stated in The Last of DT Suga – Agust D:
As per the above lyrics, Yoongi struggled with his decision to become an idol and thus (initially) “denied my nature [as an idol] many times” .
This denial caused him a lot of “anguish” ; and these feelings of “anguish” were so pervasive and intrusive, it “dug into” his soft, sensitive and caring mind “countless times” .
The words “Dug into” carries negative connotations about destroying something, and give off the same powerful and hostile meaning as “take over” discussed earlier.
The repetition of:
– the lyrics “selling ourselves” ;
– variations of the verse “you all say we couldn’t do it but we didn’t, shit” , and
– the act of Yoongi having to deny his nature “many times”;convey to us that the unkind criticisms and demeaning remarks Yoongi received from everyone (“you all say…“) about BTS being Idols were relentless and countless.
In other words, the comments thrown at Yoongi accusing him of being an idol, that he was selling himself, and that BTS and him were never going to be succeed attacked, invaded and destroyed Yoongi in his mind over, and over, and over, and over, and over…
It is thus incredibly fitting that Yoongi is given the part to aggressively rap to his haters that whatever people are denigrating him for, he does not give a flying f***.
Through IDOL’s lyrics, the writers help BTS reinforce to themselves the three steps of IDOL care:
1) Stop caring about titles. Titles don’t make you, “you”;
2) Be proud of who you are; and
3) Stop caring about unhelpful hostile and unnecessary criticisms.
4. Love yourself
I know what I am
I know what I want
I never gon’ change
I never gon’ trade
(Trade off)
Why do you talk loud “blah blah”
I do what I do, so mind your own business
You can’t stop me loving’ myself
The writers remind BTS that what is important is that they know their own value and who they are. They make:
- Namjoon say to himself, “I know what I am, I know what I want” and promise himself and ARMY that he will never change or trade himself for something else;
- Tae offishly shrug off the haters by teasing them that they don’t even know what hurtful things they have said cause they ain’t listening (“blah blah” ); and
- Jimin growl assertively that their hateful words “can’t stop me loving myself!”
By then subsequently adding the chorus full of Korean cheers, the writers effectively cause:
- BTS to cheer for themselves and for ARMY; and
- ARMY to cheer for BTS and themselves.
In other words, the chorus effectively acts as a confidence booster for BTS and ARMY.
얼쑤 좋다! You can’t stop me loving myself!
5. A different type of superhero
Face off, as if I’m John Woo, ay
Top star with that spotlight, ay
Sometimes I become a superhero
Keep spinning, your Anpanman
24 hours are not enough
I can’t afford to be confused
I do my thang
I love myself
The writers challenge BTS’ and ARMY’s perception of superheroes. Though BTS may have lots of flaws and weaknesses (as discovered through the previous songs), the writers make BTS promise ARMY that they will keep spinning because they are ARMY’s Anpanman.
The decision to associate BTS with Apanman is a beautiful and symbolic choice. If you don’t know about Apanman, Anpanman is the main character in a picture book series by Japanese cartoonist Takashi Yanase.
He is a red bean bread man and the world’s weakest hero. He doesn’t have any superpowers like Batman or Superman, but is a kind hero who helps those in need and gives to hungry people pieces of his face, which is made out of red bean bread (or more precisely, a Japanese pastry called Anpan). If Batman and Superman are star heroes that can fly anywhere in a flash, Anpanman is a bourgeoisie hero who is always nearby and stays by your side for a long time.
Anpanman is essentially a quintessential Hufflepuff. He is a hero who embodies the values of kindness, altruism and loyalty.
And although he is perceived to have very little to offer, whatever little he has, he offers them all.
What a wonderful and generous superhero to aspire to be.
💜
Through the lyrics, the writers help:
- Hobi and BTS challenge their perception of weaknesses by showing them that no matter how “weak” they think they are, they can always be our sun (“top star“) and superhero; and
- Yoongi and BTS reinforce to themselves that life is too short to be getting affected by what other people say. They simply need to do “my thang” and love themselves.
6. Face off
I love myself, I love my fans
Love my dance and my what
There are tens and hundreds of myself within me
Today, I greet my another self
They are all me after all,
so I just run rather than worrying
Runnin’ man
Runnin’ man
Runnin’ man*
*Runnin man is a hilarious variety game show that Run BTS is based on
The writers remind BTS that whatever the haters are saying isn’t what’s important. What is important in life are themselves, their fans and loving what they do.
The writers state that “there are tens and hundreds of myself within” BTS themselves. We can see that this is such an interesting contrast to the way Namjoon, Yoongi and Hobi saw themselves.
As we have previously discovered, Namjoon, Yoongi and Hobi saw things in black and white: That there is only one real side to them hiding behind the mask.
The writers put forward a bold and daring proposition: What if both the one with the mask and the one behind the mask are real? What if Agust D is the same as Suga DT? What if there are simply many sides to you and they are all real?
If you see another side of you that you have never seen before, the writers suggest to BTS, greet your new self instead of questioning and worrying whether this is the fake or real you. Just keep on running, exploring and having fun!
After all, just like in Face Off, changing faces (or masks) didn’t change who the person really was.
Further, just like a pansori performer, wearing different masks is simply part of the job as a grand performer.
What is important is for the grand performer to practice their craft diligently to find their authentic voice and tell stories of the human experience.
7. Patience and forgiveness
I refer to the following lyrics:
I’m so fine wherever I go
Though sometimes I go around the long way
It’s okay, I’m in love with my my myself
It’s okay I’m happy at this moment
The writers remind BTS that it is okay if “sometimes [they] go around the long way.” The lyrics are filled with encouragement and the writers make Jimin and Jin repeat to themselves that they are “fine” and “okay” throughout the bridge.
The repetition of “I” and “my” convey the writer’s belief that as long BTS went around the long way because of themselves (as opposed to getting lost because they acted based on something someone else said to them), then that is completely okay.
This is because it is simply the human condition to make mistakes and to get lost. So just be patient and kind to yourself.
It’s okay. Really.
What is important, the writers tell BTS, is that you’re in love with “my my myself” and you’re happy and enjoying the moment.
After all, if you’re experiencing a moment that was created as a result of your choice, then by logic, you’re being your authentic self. Enjoy it!
지화자 좋다!
Author’s Thoughts
Did I surprise you with IDOL? Was my analysis of IDOL what you were expecting?
The fact that the writers wrote this song about BTS’ haters… indicates that the root cause of the pain and troubles we saw in Hobi, Yoongi and Namjoon’s stories were caused by the hate they received from being an idol, and the pressure they were enduring from being an idol. Though one can argue that it is the way of life for an idol, as RM pleads to us to remember what it means to be human (that they feel pain, love, despair, happiness, etc), and remember that they exist… as a human.
I honestly wish I could find out who was the person behind the concept for IDOL. The more I think about it, the more grateful I feel towards this mysterious person(s). I love the blending of cultures in the song, the dance, and the way they made Yoongi gruffly rasp “I love myself!” (Yes you should dongsaeng!)
If you haven’t already, I would recommend watching this short Youtube video where they interview Ahn Sook Sun about Pansori. I found it incredibly insightful and beautiful.
As always, thank you thank you for reading. Remember to check out the new part for Always and, please retweet, share, follow me on Twitter and subscribe!
If you would like to discuss this lyric analysis and make new friends, please join discord and go to Blog > Analysis to chat about it!
Borahae! 😊
💜 G
Lyric sources: Doolset lyrics and Genius lyrics
Please note I made some minor updates where I thought things could be expressed better. These minor updates do not result in any substantial change in meaning.
Disclaimer:
As per my first author’s note, please, no hate!
I do not have a shipping or individual bias, I love all seven members equally and I do not write my blogs because of a particular personal desire for one of them. I reached my conclusion on Joon and Jin being together based on the lyrics, logic and patterns as I have discussed in all my posts (i.e. I did not ship Namjin first, and then started trying to find things to prove my point). I genuinely enjoy all ships because I enjoy watching the different chemistries between the boys.
It does not matter one bit to me if they are straight, gay, intersex, a skrull, a mutant or if they could lay eggs. I love them wholeheartedly (as a sister who would love her younger brothers) for their individual selves.
This theory of IDOL is based on my interpretations of its lyrics. Please enjoy.