Map of the Soul: Persona | ||||
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EP by | ||||
Released | April 12, 2019 | |||
Recorded | 2019 | |||
Studio | Big Hit (Seoul) [lower-alpha 1] [2] The Village (Los Angeles) [2] | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 26:05 | |||
Language | Korean | |||
Label |
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Producer |
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BTS chronology | ||||
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Singles from Map of the Soul: Persona | ||||
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Map of the Soul: Persona is the sixth extended play by South Korean boy band BTS. It was released on April 12, 2019, via Big Hit Entertainment with "Boy with Luv" as its lead single. It is the follow-up to their 2018 albums Love Yourself: Tear and Love Yourself: Answer , and preceded the band's Love Yourself: Speak Yourself world tour. American singer Lauv appeared on a version of the track "Make It Right" that was released on October 18, 2019, as the album's second single.
The EP debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, making BTS the first band since the Beatles to have three number-one albums in less than a year. The album also topped the UK, Scottish, New Zealand and Australian charts, making BTS the first Korean act to achieve a number-one album in each of these countries. Moreover, the album sold 3.2 million copies in one month, making it the best-selling album in South Korea, replacing the previous record-holder of 24 years.
BTS first announced Map of the Soul: Persona on March 11, 2019, pre-orders began on March 13. [8] The EP marked a "new era" in the band's discography, after the completion of its Love Yourself series in 2018 with the release of the Love Yourself: Tear and Love Yourself: Answer albums. [9] It was set for release before the band embarked on the stadium extension of its Love Yourself world tour, named Love Yourself: Speak Yourself . [10]
On March 27, the group released the official "comeback trailer" for their album, named "Persona" which would later become the introduction to the extended play. The solo featured RM, the leader of BTS, and was described by Refinery29's Natalie Morin as "a colorful, dynamic song" and "nodding to the band's coming-of-age and self-discovery themes," which lyrics such as "Who am I? The question I had my whole life..." and "The flaws of mine that I know... The regrets that I don't even get sick of anymore." [11]
On March 31, Big Hit released the first two of four sets of concept photos labelled as Versions 1–4. "Version 1" showed "BTS playing around in a photo booth", with solo shots "show[ing] off each member in a variety of poses". "Version 2" highlighted "different sides, or personas, of each BTS member", as described by Billboard . [12] The final two versions were released on April 3. "Version 3" showed the band members posing with roses in rose-toned rooms. "Version 4" featured them posing with either grapes or strawberries while wearing elegant clothing and jewelry. [13]
On April 7, the band released the first music video teaser, revealing that American singer Halsey would be on the track and that the name of the title track would be named "Boy with Luv." [14] One day later, on April 8, the group released the tracklist and album cover of the album, unveiling the seven tracks of the EP. [15] On April 10, BTS released the final, second teaser of the song which featured a longer sample of the track. A new version of the B-side track "Make It Right", featuring American singer Lauv, was released on October 18 as the second single from the album. [16]
Map of the Soul: Persona has influences from various places. The album itself is based on the book Jung's Map of the Soul, about the theories Carl Jung created for psychology. [17]
The lead single, the Halsey collaboration "Boy with Luv," has been described as a funk pop song about happiness and love. [18] It serves as a parallel track to their earlier song "Boy in Luv". [19] In the video for "Persona" words such as "persona", "shadow", and "ego" were in it which directly references Carl Jung's theories. [20] It has been described as a song that is trying to answer the question of "Who am I?" [18]
"Mikrokosmos" and "Home" are songs dedicated to the fans, as they are the home that comforts BTS when they are tired and lonely. [18] The track "Mikrokosmos" is named after the Greek word for "microcosm", and the song's Korean name, 소우주 (romanized as so-u-ju), means the same. [21] BTS stated that "Mikrokosmos" would "paint the world through human interest". [19] "Mikrokosmos" co-writer Ryan Lawrie, who releases music as KOOLKID, has explained he wrote the song's signature guitar riff in his bedroom at 3 in the morning, and says that working with BTS "literally changed [his] life." [22]
"Make It Right" is a collaboration between BTS and Ed Sheeran, [19] and "Jamais Vu" is a unit song consisting of the members J-Hope, Jin, and Jungkook. [18] The EP also features references to Greek mythology, with a track called "Dionysus", the Greek god of grapes and wine, and their concept photos depicting a few of the members holding grapes. [17] It was described as a strong hip hop track with an intense beat, significant rock influence, vocoder effects and features Jin's rocking adlibs throughout the song. [18]
The introductory video played before the band's performance at the 2018 Mnet Asian Music Awards in Hong Kong had hinted at the title before its official announcement. [8] The album is reportedly the "beginning of a new chapter" for the band, [23] and the first in a new series of albums. [24]
On March 27, the trailer for the album was released named "Persona". [25] The solo featured RM, the leader of BTS. The trailer for the song "Boy with Luv" featuring American singer Halsey was released on April 7, 2019. [26] The second teaser trailer was released on April 10 and featured a longer sample of "Boy with Luv". [27]
BTS made several appearances on television and in live shows to promote Map of the Soul: Persona. The group performed "Boy with Luv" for the first time on April 13, 2019, on Saturday Night Live [28] as the first Asian act to perform live on the show. [29] [30] BTS also performed "Boy with Luv" with Halsey for the first time at the 2019 Billboard Music Awards. [31] On May 15, BTS kicked off Good Morning America 's 'Summer Concert Series' as headliners at Central Park in Manhattan with performances of "Boy with Luv" and "Fire". [32] On May 16, BTS recreated The Beatles' iconic 1964 U.S. television debut in their black-and-white performance of "Boy with Luv" at The Late Show with Stephen Colbert . [33] They also sang "Make it Right" in the same show on May 18. [34] On May 21, BTS appeared on the finale of The Voice to perform "Boy with Luv". [35] They also performed the song at Britain Got Talent's fourth semi-final on May 30. [36]
On November 30, BTS performed "Intro: Persona", "Boy with Luv", "Mikrokosmos", and "Dionysus" at the 2019 Melon Music Awards with throwbacks to "Boy in Luv" and "N.O" from their earlier works. [37] BTS then traveled to Japan to perform early singles "N.O" and "We are Bulletproof Pt. 2" before wrapping the set with "Boy with Luv", "Mikrokosmos", and "Dionysus" at the 2019 Mnet Asian Music Awards. [38] Two days later, BTS appeared as a headliner at the KIIS-FM Jingle Ball in Los Angeles, performing earlier track "Mic Drop" along with "Boy with Luv" and "Make it Right". BTS performed in South Korea at the SBS Gayo Daejun and KBS Song Festival on December 25 and 27, respectively, [39] [40] before traveling to New York's Times Square to usher in the new year with performances of "Make it Right" and "Boy with Luv" at Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve . [41]
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AnyDecentMusic? | 7/10 [42] |
Metacritic | 74/100 [43] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
The 405 | 7/10 [44] |
AllMusic | [45] |
Billboard | favorable [4] |
Consequence of Sound | A− [46] |
The Fader | favorable [47] |
The Independent | [48] |
The Line of Best Fit | 9.5/10 [49] |
NME | [50] |
Pitchfork | 6.1/10 [51] |
Rolling Stone | [3] |
Map of the Soul: Persona received generally favorable reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, Map of the Soul: Persona received an average score of 74 based on 11 reviews. [43]
Neil Z. Young of AllMusic gave the album a positive review, stating, "Although it's only the first piece of the puzzle, on its own, Map of the Soul: Persona is a fitting celebration for a group at the top of their game." [45] Rhian Daly of NME wrote that "Map Of The Soul: Persona impressively and cohesively flies from genre to genre, but sounds more confident than ever." [50]
Douglas Greenwood of The Independent , however, gave the album a mixed review, pointing out that, "When they stand on their own two feet without the major co-stars, BTS are still fully confident of their own sound" but "the music, production-wise, falls a little by the wayside when it comes to breaking new ground." [48]
According to iriver Inc, the distributor for the Map of the Soul: Persona, stock preorders for the EP surpassed 2.68 million copies over the first five days of the preorder period. [52] The number was later updated to 3.07 million on April 11, the day before the EP's release. [18]
In South Korea, the EP recorded 2.13 million first-week sales, the highest number for an artist in the country since the Hanteo Chart began tracking weekly sales at its inception. [53] Map of the Soul: Persona debuted at number one on the Gaon Album Chart with all tracks debuting on the Gaon Digital Chart, including the lead single "Boy With Luv", which debuted at 17 and reached number one the following week. [54] [55] [56] The songs "Mikrokosmos" and "Make It Right" also reached the top ten in their second charting week, debuting at 31 and 39 before peaking at number eight and ten respectively. [56] [57] Map of the Soul: Persona sold 3,229,032 copies in its first month the country, making it the highest-selling release on the Gaon Music Chart since its inception in 2011. [58] The EP also became the best-selling album of all time in South Korea, surpassing Kim Gun-mo's 1995 album Wrongful Encounter. [lower-alpha 3] [63] In May 2019, the album received 3x Million certification from Gaon for surpassing three million total sales. BTS are the first group to be awarded the certification. [64]
In the United Kingdom, Persona's midweek sales were higher than the first week sales of BTS' three previous Top 20 releases combined, including Love Yourself: Tear, the only BTS album to hit the UK top ten. [65] Map of the Soul: Persona eventually became BTS' first number one album in the United Kingdom, as well as the first Korean musical act to reach number one, with 26,500 album-equivalent units, 68% of which (roughly 18,020 albums) came from pure sales. [66] The EP's lead single "Boy with Luv" debuted at number 13 on the UK singles chart, becoming BTS' first top-15 track in the United Kingdom. [67] Two other tracks from Persona, "Mikrokosmos" and "Make It Right", debuted on the singles chart at number 71 and 74 respectively. [68]
The EP debuted at number one on Australia's ARIA Albums Chart, becoming the first chart-topping album sung in an Asian language. The album became BTS' fourth top-ten album in Australia, following their three Love Yourself series albums: Love Yourself: Her , Love Yourself: Tear, and Love Yourself: Answer , released in 2017 and 2018. "Boy with Luv" debuted at number 10 on the ARIA Singles Chart, becoming BTS' first top-ten single in the country. [69]
In the United States, Map of the Soul: Persona debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with 230,000 album-equivalent units, including 196,000 pure album sales, becoming the band's biggest week in terms of units. [70] It is BTS' third number-one album in roughly 11 months, making them the first band to achieve three number-ones in a year since the Beatles in 1995 through 1996. BTS also became the band with the second-fastest accumulation of three number-one albums since the Billboard 200's inception. [lower-alpha 4] [71] The EP's lead single "Boy With Luv" debuted at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 with 31,000 pure sales and 19.5 million streams. [72] The track was at the time BTS' highest-charting song and second top-ten song following "Fake Love", which peaked at number 10, and made them the first K-Pop group with multiple top-tens as well as the second Korean artist, following Psy. [73] "Make It Right" also charted on the Hot 100, debuting at number 95 with 11,600 pure sales and making BTS the first Korean artist to have two simultaneous songs appear on the chart. [72] [74] All songs from the EP appeared on the Billboard Digital Songs chart with a cumulative 82,100 purchases across all seven tracks. [72] It was certified Gold by the RIAA on August 22, for selling over half a million units, and is their second album after 2018's Love Yourself: Answer to achieve this. [75]
With strong – yet underreported – global sales of 2.5 million pure album units, [76] Map of the Soul: Persona was named as the third best-selling album of 2019 by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. [77] Map of the Soul: Persona was also the second best-selling global album by a band only behind Arashi's 5x20 All the Best!! 1999–2019. [78] Attributing to the album's critical and commercial success worldwide, the IFPI named BTS as one of the best-selling artists of 2019 for a second consecutive year, making them the first Korean artist to achieve this. [79] [80]
Track listing adapted from the liner notes of the physical album. [2]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Intro: Persona" (performed by RM) | Hiss Noise | 2:54 | |
2. | "Boy with Luv" (작은 것들을 위한 시; Jageun geotdeureul wihan si [lit. "A Poem for Small Things"]) (featuring Halsey) |
| Pdogg | 3:49 |
3. | "Mikrokosmos" (소우주; Souju) |
| Arcades | 3:46 |
4. | "Make It Right" |
| F. Gibson | 3:42 |
5. | "Home" |
| Pdogg | 4:00 |
6. | "Jamais Vu" (performed by Jin, J-Hope, and Jungkook) |
|
| 3:46 |
7. | "Dionysus" |
| Pdogg | 4:08 |
Total length: | 26:05 |
Notes:
Personnel adapted from the liner notes of the physical album. [2]
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|
Organization | Year | Award | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
Melon Music Awards | 2019 | Album of the Year | Won | [82] |
Mnet Asian Music Awards | 2019 | Album of the Year | Won | [83] |
Gaon Chart Music Awards | 2020 | Album of the Year – 2nd Quarter | Won | [84] |
Retail Album of the Year | Won | |||
Golden Disc Awards | 2020 | Album Bonsang | Won | [85] |
Album Daesang | Won | |||
Seoul Music Awards | 2020 | Bonsang Award | Won | [86] |
Album Daesang | Won |
Critic/Publication | List | Rank | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
AllMusic | AllMusic 2019 Year In Review: Favorite Pop Albums | — | [87] |
Billboard | The 25 Best K-pop Albums of 2019: Critics' Picks | 16 | [88] |
Consequence of Sound | Top 50 Albums of 2019 | 32 | [89] |
NME | The 50 best albums of 2019 | 36 | [90] |
PopCrush | Best Pop Albums of 2019 | — | [91] |
Weekly charts
| Monthly charts
Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Belgium (BEA) [159] | Gold | 10,000‡ |
China | — | 546,165 [160] |
France (SNEP) [161] | Gold | 50,000‡ |
Hungary (MAHASZ) [162] | Gold | 2,000‡ |
Italy (FIMI) [163] | Gold | 25,000‡ |
Japan (RIAJ) [164] | Gold | 353,847 [165] |
Poland (ZPAV) [166] | Platinum | 20,000‡ |
South Korea (KMCA) [167] | 4× Million | 4,021,771 [168] |
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [169] | Gold | 20,000‡ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [170] | Gold | 100,000‡ |
United States (RIAA) [171] | Gold | 500,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
Country | Date | Format | Label |
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South Korea | April 12, 2019 | ||
Europe |
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North America | |||
Various |
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BTS, also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010. The band consists of Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook, who co-write or co-produce much of their material. Originally a hip hop group, they expanded their musical style to incorporate a wide range of genres, while their lyrics have focused on subjects including mental health, the troubles of school-age youth and coming of age, loss, the journey towards self-love, individualism, and the consequences of fame and recognition. Their discography and adjacent work has also referenced literature, philosophy and psychology, and includes an alternate universe storyline.
South Korean boy band BTS has released nine studio albums, seven compilation albums, and six extended plays. In December 2018, BTS surpassed 10 million albums sold, setting the record for reaching that milestone in the shortest span of time among all Korean acts to have debuted since 2000, with five million of those albums being sold in South Korea that year alone. By April 2020, the group had sold over 20 million physical albums in South Korea, becoming the best-selling Korean act of all time in less than seven years. As of May 2023, they have sold over 44 million albums domestically.
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Skool Luv Affair is the second extended play by South Korean boy band BTS. The ten-track album was released by Big Hit Entertainment on February 12, 2014, with "Boy in Luv" as its lead single. Two music videos, including a choreography only version, accompanied the single's release. A second single, "Just One Day", was promoted in April. Four different music videos were subsequently released in support of the song.
"Fire" is a song recorded by South Korean boy group BTS for their first compilation album, The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: Young Forever (2016). The original Korean version was released by Big Hit on May 2, 2016, in South Korea with the Japanese version being released September 7, 2016, on their full album Youth, under Universal Music Japan and Virgin Music-Def Jam Recordings.
Min Yoon-gi, known professionally by his stage names Suga and Agust D, is a South Korean rapper, songwriter and record producer. He debuted as a member of the South Korean boy band BTS in June 2013 under Big Hit Entertainment. His first solo mixtape, Agust D, was released in 2016 and re-released in 2018 to digital download and streaming platforms, reaching number three on Billboard's World Albums Chart. In 2020, he released his second solo mixtape, D-2; it peaked at number 11 on the US Billboard 200, number seven on the UK Albums Chart, and number two on Australia's ARIA Album Chart.
Love Yourself: Her is the fifth extended play by South Korean boy group BTS. The EP was released on September 18, 2017, by Big Hit Entertainment. The album was released in four versions and contains nine tracks, with "DNA" as its lead single.
Love Yourself: Tear is the third Korean-language and sixth overall studio album by South Korean boy band BTS. The album was released on May 18, 2018, by Big Hit Entertainment. It is available in four versions and contains eleven tracks, with "Fake Love" as its lead single. The concept album explores themes relating to the pains and sorrows of separation. On May 27, 2018, the album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, earning 135,000 album-equivalent units and becoming BTS' highest-charting album in a Western market at the time, as well as the first Korean album to top the US albums chart and the highest-charting album by an Asian act.
"Fake Love" is a song recorded in Korean and Japanese by South Korean band BTS. It was written by "Hitman" Bang, RM, and Pdogg, with the latter as producer. The Korean version was released through Big Hit Entertainment on May 18, 2018, as the lead single from the band's third album Love Yourself: Tear (2018). Columbia Records serviced the song to US contemporary hit radio on June 12, 2018, as a single in the country. A remix, titled "Rocking Vibe", was released on June 4, 2018, and appears on the band's third compilation album, Love Yourself: Answer (2018). The Japanese version of the song was released for digital download and streaming on October 16, 2018, by Universal Music Japan as a single album that included the remix and "Airplane Pt. 2", both also in Japanese. "Fake Love" is an emo hip hop, grunge, rap-rock and electropop song which relies on rock instrumentals. The lyrics talk about the love that was once believed to be destiny, but turned out fake at the end.
Love Yourself: Answer is the third Korean-language compilation album by South Korean boy band BTS. The album was released on August 24, 2018, by Big Hit Entertainment and is available in four different versions: S, E, L, and F. The album contains twenty-five tracks, including seven new songs, with the track "Idol" serving as the lead single. Most tracks are from Love Yourself: Her and Love Yourself: Tear, including some remixes. The album debuted at number one in South Korea, Canada, Japan, and the United States, becoming BTS' second chart-topping album in the US market.
"Idol" is a song recorded by South Korean boy band BTS. It was released on August 24, 2018, by Big Hit Entertainment as the lead single from the band's third compilation album Love Yourself: Answer (2018). An alternative version of the song featuring Nicki Minaj was included as a bonus track on the digital version of the album. The single debuted at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100, and the two versions combined sold 43,000 downloads in their first week of sale in the US. It is certified platinum by the RIAA.
"Persona" is a song by South Korean boy band BTS, rapped as a solo by member RM. It was released digitally on April 12, 2019, as part of the extended play Map of the Soul: Persona. It was later included in the band's 2020 studio album Map of the Soul: 7.
"Boy with Luv" is a song recorded by South Korean boy band BTS, featuring American singer Halsey, as the lead single for their sixth extended play Map of the Soul: Persona. It was released on April 12, 2019, by Big Hit Entertainment. The song's music video was the most viewed online music video in 24 hours at the time, garnering over 74.6 million views within its first day of release. The song was certified Platinum by the RIAA in June. "Boy with Luv" held the record for the song with the most music show wins after the 2000s in South Korea with 21 wins, until the record was broken by "Dynamite".
"Dionysus" is a song by South Korean boy band BTS. It was released digitally on April 12, 2019, as part of the extended play Map of the Soul: Persona. Inspired by the Greek god Dionysus, a mix of rap-rock, synth-pop, and hip-hop with deep lyrics reflecting on stardom and artistic integrity.
"Make It Right" is a song by South Korean boy band BTS. It was released digitally on April 12, 2019, as part of the extended play Map of the Soul: Persona. It was remixed and re-released, featuring Lauv, as the second single from the EP on October 18, 2019.
"Lights" is a song recorded by South Korean boy band BTS for their fourth Japanese-language studio album, Map of the Soul: 7 ~ The Journey ~ (2020). The song was released as a double A-side single with the Japanese version of "Boy with Luv" on July 3, 2019, through Universal Music Japan. This marked the band's first original Japanese single in two years since 2017's "Crystal Snow". The song was written by Sunny Boy, Yohei, and UTA, with the latter of the three solely handling production. Musically, it is an electropop power ballad in the style of dance music, featuring a bassline and piano-driven chord progression. An uplifting song, the lyrics describe BTS and the listener as each other's light.
Map of the Soul: 7 is the fourth Korean-language and seventh overall studio album by South Korean boy band BTS. The album was released on February 21, 2020, by Big Hit Entertainment. It is the follow-up to their 2019 extended play Map of the Soul: Persona, with five of its songs appearing on the album. Described by BTS as "deeply personal", the album is influenced by their journey and growth of seven years since their debut. Map of the Soul: 7 has been described as a pop, R&B, and hip-hop record that contains influences from urban contemporary genres like rock, trap, and EDM. Lyrically, it touches upon themes of reflection, introspection, and self-acceptance.
"Black Swan" is a song by South Korean boy band BTS from their fourth Korean-language studio album, Map of the Soul: 7 (2020). The song was written by RM, August Rigo, Vince Nantes, Clyde Kelly and Pdogg, with the latter of the five also handling production. It was released on January 17, 2020, as the first single by Big Hit Entertainment as a countdown to the album. Musically, it was described as an emo hip hop song featuring cloud rap and trap drum beats. The song uses lo-fi-style guitar instrumentation and contains a "catchy" hook. The lyrics are introspective and find BTS confessing, as artists, the fear of losing their passion for music.
BTS Map of the Soul Tour was a planned worldwide concert tour headlined by South Korean boy band BTS to promote their Map of the Soul album series, including their Map of the Soul: Persona EP and Map of the Soul: 7 studio album. The all-stadium tour was announced on January 22, 2020, and set to begin on April 11, 2020, at the Seoul Olympic Stadium in Seoul, South Korea until it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A two-day online concert, titled BTS Map of the Soul ON:E, was held on October 10–11, 2020, in place of the postponed world tour; the event garnered 993,000 viewers from 191 countries and territories. The postponed world tour was cancelled on August 19, 2021, due to continued uncertain circumstances and concerns over COVID-19.
"On" is a song recorded by South Korean boy band BTS. It was released on February 21, 2020, as the second single from the band's fourth Korean-language album Map of the Soul: 7. A version featuring Australian singer Sia was also released and features on the digital and streaming version of the album.
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