BE and the Global Singles Era

When the pandemic brought the world to a halt in 2020, BTS answered with music of comfort. This era, marked by the album BE and a run of bright, English-language songs, is threaded through with hope, joy, and togetherness despite difficult circumstances, and it was precisely this era that carried the group to the very top of the world.

The turning point came with the song Dynamite, their first single recorded entirely in English. A bright, disco-pop track, it was made with a clear purpose, to bring a smile back to people during a bleak stretch of time, and it became their first song to top the American chart. It was simple, infectious joy dressed in retro clothing.

The album BE stands out because the members took part in shaping it more deeply than ever before, not only as performers but in devising the concept, the visual identity, and the overall story themselves. Made in isolation, BE speaks directly to that moment, to the search for meaning and peace when everything comes to a stop. Out of it came the song Life Goes On, a gentle message that life carries on despite everything, which became the first Korean-language song to reach the top of the American chart.

New global triumphs followed, Butter and Permission to Dance, both carried by brightness and positive energy. Permission to Dance brought a thoughtful gesture with it as well, since the video and choreography incorporated signs from International Sign Language for the words dance, joy, and peace, so that the message would be accessible to everyone. It was an era in which BTS, at a moment of the world's greatest vulnerability, offered exactly what was missing most, hope, and a reminder that better days were coming.