Smooth like a criminal, there’s no other way to describe BTS‘s charm that has stolen the hearts of ARMY around the world. And through “Butter”, BTS also describe how they were born with a charm that was natural for them. “Butter” is BTS’s second English song after “Dynamite”. “Butter” is a refreshing summer song that can cool the air and wipe the hot summer into fun. Released as a digital single, “Butter” was launched on May 21st, 2021.
Background of “Butter”
Not expecting that the global COVID-19 pandemic would be lasting as long as it has, BTS thought it would be nice to release a summer song to bring out some fun and brightness in summer. Unlike other summers, this summer, people had to go out wearing masks, restrict meeting with other people to manage the spread of the virus, and it all felt gloomy and lonely. That’s why BTS thought it would be nice to come with a fun song to dance to this summer. The announcement of BTS’s new song was made on April 26th, 2021, through an hour-long Youtube stream that showed an animated stick of butter that eventually melted. In the video, there’s a countdown featuring kitchen sounds in the background and toward the end of the stream, the title “Butter” and the release date set on May 21st, 2021, also appeared in the video. The following week, the concept photo was released followed by a video teaser released on May 18th, 2021.
The Story of “Butter”
Aiming to freshen the summer, BTS’s intention was to make music that can brighten the summer this time. Not like their previous music that was heavily influenced by the message, this time, BTS rely on their charm and let go of themselves. But it’s what makes “Butter” interesting, cause BTS are charming as themselves. In the song, BTS talk about how smooth their charm is just like butter. And their charm is given by their mother which can also be interpreted that they were born into charm. The line smooth like butter, like criminal undercover, refers to Michael Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal” that was a hit song in 1988. Not only making a reference to Michael Jackson who’s pretty much the King of pop, but “Butter” also refers to Usher’s song “U Got It Bad”. But, in this song, BTS make reference to their superstar status making them capture another person’s heart because they can’t help it that they are indeed charming. Most importantly, they’ve got ARMY that realize their charm even before they become aware of how charming they are. So when they say that they are charming, there’s ARMY to back up their words. Both BTS and ARMY are hand in hand in their support of each other. “Butter” has a full-on retro disco strutter that was built for parties; it is a song written by Jenna Andrew, RM, Alex Bilowitz, Sebastian Garcia, Robert Grimaldi, Stephen Kirk, and Ron Perry. While writing the music, the lyricist and composer went through many revisions and made it suit BTS who they believe have their own color and charm. “Butter” reminds us of the retro vein of Bruno Mars; it is produced by Robert Grimaldi, Stephen Kirk, and Ron Perry.
“Butter” MV
The music video of “Butter” basically shows BTS having fun by themselves and unapologetically being themselves; a bonus is that they show their charm. A lot of charm. The music video is opening with a black and white scene with the camera switching between BTS members. The black and white music video shows that BTS don’t need grand color to attract others, but being themselves is enough to capture their fans’ hearts. When they finally get caught for being criminals in their fans’ hearts, the scene moves to BTS members holding mugshots and showing that they are associated with a serial number. There’s also a dance scene that shows the smoothness of their choreography. Soon after the mugshot scene, the scene changes to a dazzling location with full-color lighting and a flamboyant backdrop. The music video for “Butter” became the fastest Youtube video that has reached 100 million views within a record of 13 minutes. Within 24 hours, it became the most-viewed Youtube video and gained 108,2 million views. Up to November 2021, the music video of “Butter” has been watched more than 623 million times.
“Butter” Performances
BTS first performed “Butter” at the 2021 Billboard Music Award on May 23rd, 2021. And then they also promoted “Butter” in music shows and several American shows. In November 2021, BTS performed “Butter” at the American Music Awards.
“Butter” Achievements
“Butter” received positive reviews for its catchiness and once again stole the hearts of listeners. The song charted well in several countries and won several awards from music shows. Music Show Awards Chart Achievements “Butter” Awards BTS also released a remix version of “Butter”. The remix version was released on May 26th, 2021. There are three editions of the remix version, namely “Hotter”, “Sweeter”, and “Cooler”.
