BTS 'YET TO COME (THE MOST BEAUTIFUL MOMENT)
ARMY! Hear ye, hear ye. BTS has dropped a new track for their PROOF album and already circles online are going mad. They’ve managed to do it again. The video dropped, succeeding a nostalgic pre-listening party on their BANGTANTV channel which compiled and mixed some of their most prominent songs.
Following along live to this countdown was the perfect appetizer to the main course that was ‘’Yet to come (The Most Beautiful Moment)’’. As far as comebacks go, BTS certainly understood the assignment.
The video itself is a beautiful homage to their past. With subdued visuals on a backdrop of the dry and desolate desert, the MV picked apart and borrowed physical elements from some of their most visually notable videos. Scattered among the sandy trails of the desert, each element felt like it was stolen or misplaced. It gave the feeling of strolling through a time capsule, lonely and reminiscent.
The members themselves acted as echoes of the past by taking up the visage of their younger selves, the clothes, the movements even the facial expressions were a tight match to what we have seen before over the course of their career. They too, also look misplaced, wandering in a purgatory-like world waiting for direction to move on, like they had unfinished business. This is a brilliant instance that shows exactly how meticulous they are as artists and creators; they came to tell a story, and nothing went amiss. If you missed some of the tidbits, let’s take you on a journey to remind you.
(Image: Credits to the rightful owner)
The video starts off simple, with extreme wide shots and slow cuts. We see Jungkook walking adrift on top of a sandy dune, too far out of reach for us to see. As if someone is staring out at him. The next shot is Jungkook himself, as he stares off into the distance through a makeshift telescope through his hand, like in “On Stage: Prologue.”
It cuts to a group shot of all the members wearing white suits sitting in chairs as if they are waiting for something. Straight away we can tell these outfits are direct flashbacks to the Life Goes on MV.
(Image: Credits to the rightful owner)
(Image: Credits to the rightful owner)
(Image: Credits to the rightful owner)
(Image: Credits to the rightful owner)
Fans have also pointed out that the seating arrangement can be traced back to their MV for “Just One Day.” Is there a pattern we should be paying attention to here? This set-up seems to follow the members just as much as their love for easter-eggs do.
(Image: Credits to the rightful owner)
Next, the truck from “On Stage: Prologue '' and “Euphoria” appears. It is racing in the desert, in an aimless trajectory, going from right to left on the screen which- just like the turning of a clock anticlockwise- is like someone is racing towards time rather than against it, trying to reach the past.
(Image: Credits to the rightful owner)
(Image: Credits to the rightful owner)
The next we see is V, holding a rose, redolent of his “Singularity” video. The expression of looking forlorn on his face as he grips the rose to his chest is evocative in a way that we feel he is experiencing a loss of some kind. Given the theme of the video and the precedent it sets for BTS’s future, perhaps he is sad to put the past behind him, or even scared to look to the future.
(Image: Credits to the rightful owner)
(Image: Credits to the rightful owner)
We meet Jungkook again in a recreation of the iconic carousel shot from “Spring Day’’, which is a song remarked as a comfort song for ARMY. Appropriately, the carousel is embossed with the words ‘You Never Walk Alone’, which is a famous line of the BTS-verse.
Perhaps this acts a reminder to how BTS are always with us, and how that will be the one thing that doesn’t change when we explore this new chapter with them.
(Image: Credits to the rightful owner)
(Image: Credits to the rightful owner)
Jin is reunited with the statue from “Blood Sweat & Tears…”, which is partway buried in the sand, suggesting that enough time has passed for the ground to have risen above it, burying it as an artifact. If this teaches us anything about this MV it is that we are revisiting the past like perusing the exhibits of a museum.
(Image: Credits to the rightful owner)
And Jimin with a direct match to the outfit he wore in “Spring Day.” The clever costuming shows that the clothes may change, but the inherent pieces that make up the person don't. Jimin is walking with a calm stature as if he is on his way to visit an old friend.
Unlike in the Spring Day MV, where Jimin looked quite morose and forlorn, in this video, he looks hopeful and content. Observantly this could also mean the opposite of the previous notion; the clothes are the same, but Jimin is not.
(Image: Credits to the rightful owner)
(Image: Credits to the rightful owner)
Suga sits and stands on a red piano, in a callback to “First Love,” “Blood Sweat & Tears,” and “Fake Love.” The flowers that surround him as he stands tall above ground, is quite the miracle. Even in a place that breeds no life, where life cannot survive. Growth and prosperity are still possible. In a way, Suga is his own budding flower here.
The messaging is powerful, calling to the idea that even when BTS feel stuck- which they certainly did over the course of the pandemic- they still strive and push through to keep going, to keep growing and moving on with life. It can also be a symbol for the fact that they’ve now bloomed from the baby-faced boys they were when they first debuted and are now the beautiful, mature men that lead an entire ARMY with their sincerity, love and good-will.
(Image: Credits to the rightful owner)
(Image: Credits to the rightful owner)
RM stands in front of a freight car like the ones from “I Need U” and “Run’’. Again, like with Jin’s angel statue half swallowed by the winds of sand over time, this shot gives off the deep feeling of digging up the past. It is clear to see both in RM himself and the rusty state of the freight car that time has passed since those days. But RM is still holding on by appearing in front of it.
(Image: Credits to the rightful owner)
(Image: Credits to the rightful owner)
(Image: Credits to the rightful owner)
While J-Hope stands beside the express train from “Spring Day.” Interestingly, the train here looks like it's long since its destination and the fact that it remains stagnant, unable to fulfill its true function reflects perhaps the parts of the members that feel like they don't want to yet let go of the things that have brought them to the place they are.
They remain humble despite all their achievements and it’s possible all these moments so far are there to teach us the preciousness of our memories and the importance of looking forward whilst not forgetting our journey.
(Image: Credits to the rightful owner)
(Image: Credits to the rightful owner)
Towards the end of the MV we get a shot of V looking off into the distance, curiously looking at something before Jin comes up behind him to cover his eyes in a reversal shot from “Blood Sweat & Tears.”
(Image: Credits to the rightful owner)
(Image: Credits to the rightful owner)
When Jin brings his hands away, the viewer is shifted to see through the lens of V’s eyes, as a yellow school bus is revealed to be what V was gazing at in the previous shot. Perhaps the most important element in this MV, as it marked the beginning for them, the bus first appeared in the ‘No More Dream’ MV. It stands there, perhaps as a beacon, to take the members on.
Unlike the previous vehicles in the MV, which were all facing backwards, the bus is looking from left to right, ready to drive.
(Image: Credits to the rightful owner)
(Image: Credits to the rightful owner)
In a match-shot of all the members running, like they do in many of their HYYH era videos (most notably “Run”), they are excitedly pursuing the bus, both running to their past, but also ready for the future. Inferring that to go forward in your journey, once again, you must keep the past and all you learned with you.
(Image: Credits to the rightful owner)
(Image: Credits to the rightful owner)
Jungkook walks on top of the bus, like he does on the walls in “On Stage: Prologue” and “Euphoria”. This is a clear stall, from the last shot of them all running, as if now that they’ve got the opportunity to leave the nothingness of the desert, they’re still waiting for something. There’s a childish nature to the way Jungkook walks on the bus, innocent and pure.
(Image: Credits to the rightful owner)
(Image: Credits to the rightful owner)
(Image: Credits to the rightful owner)
Next V does the “focus” gesture he and Jin performed in “Spring Day.” As if he is trying to bring us into focus on the present, and the future that is waiting for them. Reminding us of and the youngest that it is time to go.
(Image: Credits to the rightful owner)
(Image: Credits to the rightful owner)
(Image: Credits to the rightful owner)
The video ends with the members recreating their seating positions from “Spring Day.”, with a notable contrast with the sunlight that is streaming through the curtain-less windows, as if they’re not scared of where they’re going. The light also acts as a ray of hope. Their facial expressions also speak of excitement.
The biggest contrast in this shot compared to the original shot in the Spring Day MV is Jimin. Rather than hiding himself in his knees and looking sorrowful, in Yet to Come he is looking up and is Happy. All the members look happy as the bus drives forward. And then the video closes with a letter-box screen-wipe to black, like the closing of a book. The end of their first chapter.
(Image: Credits to the rightful owner)
(Image: Credits to the rightful owner)
The MV along with the breathtaking lyrics create a watching and listening experience that feels so bespoke and precise. BTS truly created something beautiful for ARMY. The song itself is deeply reminiscent of their ‘hyyh’ era.
A piano ballad with elements from indie-pop and a strong musical mix with complex layering of beats and backing vocals to create a symphony with a high frequency. It has depth and the story it tells with the premise of the MV truly speaks of a moment of reminiscing, that still moment where you remain as you are before you take what you’ve learned on your journey to carry on towards the future.
This entire comeback really does feel like ‘the moment in between’. Like an intermission.
(Image: Credits to the rightful owner)
The lyrical genius that appears in the song is also something to appraise BTS’s musical talent for. It starts with asking a question, which any great story should do. “Was it honestly the best?’’ calls ARMY and BTS themselves to contemplate on their past and not just look at it. The song is like a love letter, a message for ARMY to not worry, to calm our fears of losing sight and provide comfort to ourselves.
You can feel how excited and re-invigorated the members still are for all they have achieved and all they’ve yet still aspired to accomplish. ‘’Cause I just wanna see the next/…Yeah, the past was honestly the best. But my best is what comes next”.
The song is also about staying humble despite all the records they’ve broken and how high they’ve risen to the top. Yet again, we are reminded that they don’t care about the awards and accolades they’ve received “We ain’t about it, the world’s expectations…We ain’t about it, that step of being the best (We ain’t about it) …. Crowns and flowers, countless trophies (We ain’t about it)”
(Image: Credits to the rightful owner)
Moreover, even though the members are now mature adults, they still have that same yearning in their hearts for who they were when they first started, which shows how even BTS can feel the normal feelings that anyone can, not wanting to let go of your inner child. “Somewhere deep inside your heart/There still lives a young boy.”
As if that isn’t poignant enough, RM reminisces about when he first started to rap, even before training as an idol: “Every moment is my new best…Like I’m thirteen years old again…Spittin’ bars just like I did back then”.
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If this MV tells us anything, it’s that BTS are not done yet. They still have a dream, and we have not seen the last of them. ‘’Yet to Come’’ is a promise BTS is making to us. The end of the song closes with an instrumental with the sounds of soft crashing waves.
It leaves us with a feeling of calm and safety. BTS look content with the conclusion of their ‘heroes’ journey’, they’ve grown, they’ve fallen and failed, made mistakes, and learned, and now they’re ready for what’s next. And so are we.
(Image: Credits to the rightful owner)
Along with the release of the title track to PROOF, we also got bangers like ‘Run BTS’ and ‘For Youth’.
‘Run BTS’ is a rambunctious hype-song that has a style that calls back to their earlier hip-hop sound of their ‘2 cool 4 skool’ and ‘Danger’ eras. The song is fierce and energetic. It speaks of the confidence BTS exudes in themselves and their music.
The groovy mix is something to get your blood pumping. The song speaks of their reverence and calls back to their original ‘bulletproof’ nature, speaking on how they’re still here and they’ll keep going despite all the things that have been pit against them.
(Image: Credits to the rightful owner)
‘For Youth’ is another song for ARMY. It adds to the collection of ‘2,3!’, ‘Spring Day’, ‘Epilogue: Young Forever’ and ‘Magic Shop’; to name a few. The song starts off with a deeply emotional voice-tape of ARMY and BTS singing along to ‘Young Forever’ in the Wembley stadium arena. If memory serves you well, then you will know that this is a preserved moment in the BTS/ARMY love story, as ARMY prepared this as a special tribute to BTS during their stadium tour, during their London-leg.
It interrupted their set-list and moved the members of BTS to tears. It was truly a beautiful moment, and of course with the devotion you could feel as ARMY sang their hearts out to BTS, it was a happy break in the concert schedule. This is the reason this song is perhaps the most emotional one yet. It shows BTS’s devotion to ARMY. The song talks of a deep longing for someone.
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The song starts off with the lyrics ‘’If I never met you… Oh what am I like baby. Every time I miss you [miss you], those words become a habit [baby] it's so true…’’. With this song BTS are speaking directly to ARMY, addressing us like an old friend. Their devotion reigns so raw and true here and the lyrics ‘’You’re my best friend for the rest of my life/ I’ll be with you for the rest of my life…rest of my life’’ is a clear declaration of the love and devotion BTS hold in their hearts for ARMY.
They promise us forever, and prove that their love runs deep, that it is not shallow and that they’re sincere when they say they love us. Never have you seen a group match the love for their fanbase that their fanbase shows them. Maybe even that love surpasses the level of love ARMY has for BTS. After all they are merely 7 men who hold love for millions. Their hearts must be filled to the brim.
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BTS are truly Born Singers, with the passion, devout love, and talent that they bask in with the family they created with their music. BTS has proven with these songs and more, that PROOF is more than just an album.
They are more than just singers, and we as ARMY are more than just fans to them. And with the promise they make for the future with ‘Yet To Come’, ARMY promises in return to be with BTS for the rest of our lives.
The MV has already surpassed 29 million views on YouTube and trended on twitter with #YetToComeOutNow, #YetToComeMV, #YetToComeBTS, with over half a million tweets in the first few hours. It is currently trending no.1 on YouTube trending videos, showing the power and influence of ARMY.
Let’s strive for more and show OT7 our unconditional support. ARMY fighting! BTS Fighting!
