Why "2! 3!" is a special song for BTS and ARMY

When it comes to songs that tie BTS and ARMY together, "2! 3!" holds a special place. It was released in 2016 on the album Wings, and it was the first song BTS officially dedicated to ARMY. It came out during a period when the group was already growing fast, but was also going through a lot of pressure, criticism, and tension around every new success.

The full Korean title is "둘! 셋! (그래도 좋은 날이 더 많기를)," roughly "Two! Three! (Still, let's hope there are more good days)." The title itself leans on the well-known countdown "hana, dul, set," meaning "one, two, three." It's that short shared count before you get going, so the title fits a song that's really about pulling yourself back together after hard moments and moving forward.

2016 wasn't an easy year for BTS. After the success of The Most Beautiful Moment in Life era, they'd become far more visible, but with that rise in popularity came a wave of criticism, accusations, and fan wars. The group and ARMY were going through a stretch where almost every major success turned into a new controversy, so "2! 3!" didn't sound like just another fan song written out of obligation.

The song's tone matters too. BTS doesn't promise that everything will be fine from here on out, and doesn't try to erase what's already happened. The message is much simpler and more honest: bad things exist, but they don't have to be the only thing waiting for us. That's exactly what makes the song more than just a thank-you to ARMY, it's also a kind of shared encouragement.

Over time, "2! 3!" picked up even more meaning in concert. One of the most emotional moments happened during The Wings Tour: The Final in Seoul in 2017, when ARMY sang the song back to BTS. The members listened to the crowd singing back a song they'd written for the fandom, and the emotion on stage was hard to hide.

You can find that moment on YouTube among fan recordings. We're not linking it directly since it was never posted on an official BTS channel, but it's easiest to find by searching "BTS 2! 3! Wings Tour Final ARMY singalong" or "BTS 2! 3! Seoul 2017 fan project."

"2! 3!" later got successors in other songs dedicated to ARMY, but it's stayed special because it was the first. It came at a point when BTS and the fandom already had enough shared ups and downs behind them that the song never sounds like an empty gesture.

Maybe that's why it still feels so emotional today. It wasn't born out of a perfect moment, but out of a period when everyone needed something simple to hold onto. One, two, three, and keep going.