How the song "Dynamite" came to be

When "Dynamite" came out in August 2020, it was a fairly big exception in BTS's discography. The members didn't write it, it wasn't part of some bigger story or concept, and it was also their first song entirely in English. It reached BTS as a demo at a moment when the pandemic had practically wrecked their plans for the entire year.

BTS was supposed to be on the massive Map of the Soul Tour in 2020. Concerts were planned across Asia, Europe, and North America, but the pandemic stopped all of it. The members later talked more than once about how hard it hit them not being able to perform or meet ARMY. During that period, the idea came up to release something upbeat and light, a song that could at least briefly lift the mood, both theirs and their listeners'.

"Dynamite" was written by British songwriters David Stewart and Jessica Agombar. Stewart also made the demo that reached BTS's team through their label, and the members liked the song almost immediately. That was a somewhat unusual way of working for them. BTS already had years of music behind them that the members regularly helped create, RM, SUGA, and j-hope especially, while "Dynamite" came to them from outside and was recorded without their own writing credits on the lyrics or music.

The decision to keep it in English wasn't part of some plan to conquer the American market at first, either. The members explained that the demo simply sounded good to them as it was. They considered a Korean version too, but concluded that translating it would change the song's rhythm and feel. That's how "Dynamite" became their first single sung entirely in English.

There wasn't some complicated BTS Universe story behind the music video that needed decoding frame by frame, either. Retro outfits, a record store, a donut shop, a basketball court, disco, and bright colors matched the upbeat song. After months of pandemic and canceled plans, they wanted to make something fun, and that's exactly what the whole visual turned out to be.

What happened afterward is a whole other story. The single "Dynamite" debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and brought BTS their first Grammy nomination, along with a pile of other records. But when they decided to record the song, none of that existed yet. They had a demo they liked, an open spot in a schedule they never wanted to have, and a wish to release something cheerful in an otherwise pretty rough 2020.

And that's how one of the biggest songs of their career came together in a way that wasn't typical for BTS at all. No big pre-planned concept, no members among the writers, just a song that reached them from outside at the exact moment all their other plans had changed.