Hi
@BBCNews
I’d like to just correct some factual information for you. In this piece about Seventeen at Glastonbury, your journalist reveals his ignorance about k-pop & the role of BTS specifically. I have nothing against Seventeen but this is factually incorrect reportage+
Been reading abt minimoni & finally watched. We know Jimin’s emotional intelligence is high but wow he coaxed it out of NJ in a way we’ve not seen before with album promo. If you’ve been listening to Namjoon the last 18mo today isn’t a total surprise. The directness is. I’m +
1.BTS’ biggest hits were not solely a collab with Coldplay. If we take the UK they had big hits with Dynamite and Butter which were not collaborations but were in English.
Dynamite, Butter & My Universe all reached
#3
on the official charts. They’ve also had
#1
albums here+
2. “Unlike most Korean pop acts, they also write and produce their own material”
Fair enough. But you just listed the juggernauts that are BTS in a list above in a way that implies they do not do this.
So just to be crystal clear - RM the leader of BTS has 225 songs credited+
Here is an official source on that:
I could say more about their sell out Wembley dates in 2019 (before all those) and we could also mention in the US a Grammy nomination and
#1s
on Billboard 100 etc etc+
to him by KOMCA as of May 2024. He is the youngest & 2nd most credited songwriter in the association's history. All members have written and produced. Suga has 169 and j-hope 139. Here is a source for this:
++
3. Balming Tiger - a Korean alt musical collective are also playing Glastonbury this year. It’d be interesting to reflect on the diversity of Korean music in relation to western markets and festivals - and how Glasto is picking up on that.
4. There are many factors behind FML+
get to grips with this industry to inform the public appropriately.
This is a nice piece but please do a bit more research on the facts. You’ve time to get up to speed before BTS reunite after their military enlistment in 2025. Make no mistake. It will be huge.
Thank you!
And its success. A Google search would be interesting for understanding some of the culturally unique dynamics of K-pop given that Seventeen have a profile spot at Glasto. All credit to them for this.
As the UK’s public service broadcaster it would be great to really+
Omg. Guys. Guys. I went on my own but WHO CARES. There were only 23 people in the WHOLE CINEMA.
All I feel is just overwhelming joy. If you went you were so lucky. They didn’t show the sad bits so much but I did cry twice because I was so happy & so happy to see Tannies again+
PS. One thing. The data for RM credits was from May - my link is to data from Feb. And that’s where the Suga/Hobi figures are from. To be absolutely crystal.
really glad he met San Yawn - because he could obviously read Namjoon & see what he really needed to do creatively & for himself. He also showed him a different collective way. The Indigo-RPWP comparison is so crystal. We learned a LOT about Namjoon & some of it my heart really+
But for me I have no expectations from them. They owe me nothing. We see the love Jimin has here - if you love someone let them go. Let them wander. And be there when they find where they are. That is how I want to be. It is how the people who loved me the most in life have been.
broke for him but also I am so happy he is lighter & feels himself.
They are all aware that 2025 onwards will be diff & they’re preparing us for that too. The direction they’re all talking abt though is so healthy - here esp but also Suchi etc.
I hate to think that they would+
I have spoken to the author of this article in the DM's. I don't have permission to share our conversation, but he said that he will look into changing the wording 💜
Bowie said, ‘Never play to the gallery (…) It’s terribly dangerous for an artist to fulfil other people’s expectations of them.’
This man is a once in a generation artist, a musical genius & a modern Bowie. I’ve said it so many times I’ve lost track.
He is so beyond K-pop+
experience that pressure again.
How to balance the on switch/feeling owing the team with being your authentic selves and not carrying all the weight. That is the thorny tangle they’ll all navigate together. But I trust them completely - and they’ll find a new way I think 💜🥹🫰
FOLKS I MADE IT! I drove half way across the country in rain & fog to the only imax. I am so excited!!!
BUT there’s no poster, no fellow army, you’d literally never know. And in the booking it’s like 20% full. But it’s ok because I am in purple and can sing/scream for everyone!
As a Brit, my obsession with whether or not he went to Greggs has been answered
Nah, our man be posh & upper middle class. He had a Waitrose takeaway sandwich. Good old John Lewis 😂
The pigeon is accurate in London it must be said
#RightPlaceWrongPerson
RPWP CONCEPT PHOTO 3
Lots of people saying lots of things I think about the MV. But just a few points that struck me (I mean I could really go on, but will try to keep it short!)
I'm very struck by how 'normcore' it is - abt societal expectations that in the first half of the MV he doesn't fit+
I love it so much!
One thing I teach about is grime & hip hop. If you look at what young people make & upload - grime videos especially - it really has this aesthetic. Quick cut, fragmented (here we have added visual shards for resonance) but the interesting thing is abt+
HEY! Hugh McIntyre of Forbes! Just thought I’d offer you a few bits of feedback on your latest piece. If Forbes need informed commentary on BTS I’m available and my writing CV is great. 😘
It’s also a great album if you actually listen to it.
WE ARE SO PROUD OF YOU HOSEOK 💜💜
Did I sing when he asked?
YES I DID
Did I sing most of the time
YES I DID
Did I clap and woop and shout every song?
YES I DID
And I may have been the only person doing it at the start but by the end everyone was doing it.
My joy overcame my fear
Did I shout OMG Jimin is
What I see is lots of people saying how bad they are with words, how shy they are, and how they can’t express themselves properly, only to then write the most beautiful letters. Everyone’s voice is beautiful and I love seeing everyone’s handwriting so much. It’s so personal. 💜
so gorgeous after Tony Montana?
YES I DID. And the cinema laughed.
Did I scream when I saw RM?
YES I DID. My heart was in my throat it raced in a way I literally cannot remember which reminds me he really is my absolute ult. & I would shibal the whole thing if I ever met him.
Those days are gone. I will go or die trying.
We all know Yoongi is an amazing performer. He is amazing, his vocal technique is amazing esp heavy metal but what he said about doing this to fill a gap for army. I cried. So 3 times.
Thank you so much Yoongi. Thank you SO much 💜
Did the whole cinema shout at the thing that you know they did for the Shiibaaaaal film version…..?
Yes. It did.
Did I meet Army?
Two! Who went to the US concerts AND the one we watched and she was second row at the front and showed me all her vids and pics AND BLIMEY HOW+
Unbelievably good looking is RM close up. Harudfuffujafhsindahdnfjc!!!!!!!!
And I got Army gifts!
I said to myself after not going to this concert irl that I wouldn’t miss out again. I’ve never managed to afford it or been able to with v small kids & difficult pregnancies but+
@polar_nighttt
Except for the UK where we worked really hard to get him charted in an extremely competitive week. Far more so than when Fri(end)s or Neuron released
Some of us are trying. We focus on our chart rules. Not spot global. The UK is 3rd biggest music market globally & UKMY are small
This is a great observation and one that ultimately makes me kind of sad. Because after all that musical & self expressive exploration he has left us as RM. As a figure questioning us “who am I to you” “what am I to you?” - he’s literally back in the box (in the UK there’s extra+
#CreditRoll
is the only
#RightPlaceWrongPerson
MV where
@BTS_twt
Namjoon’s appearance is mentioned as
#RM
under cast.
Perhaps because he is singing as RM?
In “Come Back To Me” & “LOST!” MVs he was mentioned as Kim Namjoon.
No cast mentioned in “Groin” & “Nuts”.
#BTS
#ㅠㅠ
Finally listened to this & I really enjoyed the analysis & interpretation from a hip hop AND life perspective. A great reminder of why we stan BTS as musicians. Great to revisit this song, think about life & following your dreams. Tysm
@SleepDeez
This is such a huge deal. UK Army isn’t huge but the UK music market is for our size - and it can be weird, eclectic (look at our current top 10) unpredictable.
We get our official chart tomorrow evening. Amazing amazing amazing work! 💜🎉🔥🥳💜
I mean can you imagine if you worked in the K-pop industry rn?
You’d be feeling very left behind. Stunned probably. Somebody just blazed their own trail, told you to suck it and left you in ashes in their wake.
I love it so much. 😂🔥🤩😍
of these frames or navigating them on your own terms (btw, see that nice Alexander Calder nod in the previous pic? We'll come back to the art....). The trick is to move beyond societal expectations - out of the frame - and to be yourself. That's why you need a deep breath first+
he looks at, and can't get through until he's settled - happy and himself, but the really important thing is what is through this door. Spring leads him here, barefoot (mark of respect in many countries) but it is of course, "meta", the real mark of being yourself is outside all+
But for me, whilst he 'fits' and seems happy in the second half of
#Comebacktome
- with his friends, parents, lover, family - it's not really where he belongs either.
That's why 'Spring' leads him through the door. The door he can only open when he's happy and settled, the one+
Yesterday I turned off my work computer forgetting to save all my Jin ss 😱 Today went in. Computer wouldn’t start properly. IT man came. Got it working. This is what he saw when the files autorecovered. He raised an eyebrow & said should I ask? I said oh it’s just Eat Jin 😂
Location. Like ppl do it in their neighbourhoods as an act of claiming place, territory. They make music against all those forces that try to stop them & want them to move out- the police, councils & commercial interests. It is resistant & it’s about claiming their right place+
I mean he looks like he's wandering around IKEA at the end (!!) but the camera moves up & above - we have to step outside & see these 'frames' we are placed in & either be outside them, or navigate them on our own terms. V intertextual with 'Still Life', also v Lars von Trier+
Looking on other platforms at the response to this MONOCHROME drop, I see why it's been released on Twitter. It's not that we're smarter (I'm not a fan of saying that) - I think the type of ppl here are more invested in figuring it out for fun & pushing ourselves to do it.
Dogville - more twisted - but equally 'stage-y' & set like, playing with realism & social roles/expectations.
For me, 'Spring' is a character almost like 'hope' as a concept, the new beginning, but also the light beyond - the hope to find a way of living & being authentically+
Listened to ep3. Agree with everything
@SleepDeez
says having also worked with artists in "Asia" a long time.... Recognition is so important but siloing is not how to do it. Enviable explanation skills - so nicely paced too. Thanks! 💜
Ok apart from the big wide open track bit but the brick walls, rendered houses, any major city, heck, even the city I live.
He isn’t claiming place as such though. So there’s for me a dissonance between the lyrics and the visuals that’s interesting.
Right person, wrong place?
about the umber-blue aesthetics of Yun - from the get go of rpwp (not this account.... but here too, see....). And there are Yun works in the background of this mv.... you see two here..... so I really think that connection with Yun, seeking something+
He’s back! He’s back! Hello baby!
rpwprpwprpwp is back!
This time is it round 2 of teasing us? Or are we leading up to a new phase?
We’ve seen him in this studio before. We are back to the umber blue analog aesthetics.
You know how we are getting 5 MVs plus a live video?
What if……
They all add up together to make a short film?
I would put nothing past him.
#RightPlaceWrongPerson
Ok. I did it. I wrote an extended essay on RPWP.
I wrote it long form because I couldn’t deal with xwitter & it just felt the right way for me to write. This is just where I am at for now. It's very long, sorry (!) so I've ss'd it - which I don't normally do, but anyway....
1/
Well that’s finished me off. He sent us a lengthy love letter again. I sent a lengthy reply. I am on my way to work now. Tears dripping from the side of my face as I’m walking in. Thanks Namjoon. Gosh I do miss you.
So it really resonates with
#Groin
#RM
right? No. Don’t you shove those expectations onto me - no I am being myself right here. BUT even though we immediately found out where it was filmed 👇 I found it oddly generic. Like, that could have been many UK outer city landscapes+
almost made me wonder if, when we get the album, it will be a continuous piece of music - because of how it transitions. So we are getting the end of the previous album song, as much as the beginning of this one? Just a thought, prob wrong.
Finally - I've said it SO MANY TIMES+
resonance as box is slang for tv). We know in album/mv terms that he will go on & be at peace with himself & in navigating the maze of a constructed life. He’s come back to himself. But he’s left us not only asking if we will stay but if we really see him, & only can as RM 🥹😭
oneself, working around /beyond the frames of expectation placed upon him/all of us. But the ending - you know how I said about the MVs all linking together 👇 - well, if they're walking off at the end, it could be the set up!!
Also - the opening bars+
You know how we are getting 5 MVs plus a live video?
What if……
They all add up together to make a short film?
I would put nothing past him.
#RightPlaceWrongPerson
He goes back for the true friend who helped him navigate the mess, right?
Right? He didn't just leave....😭😭
The shifts in perspective & orientation in this mv, the transitions, they are so good. They really convey the disorientation of navigating people, not knowing where+
I think he'll always be exploring, but Yun, is ofc, there....
Lots of other people making the links to Midnight Library, Everything Everywhere All At Once, the multiverses, all that.
I love seeing it all. Sorry this was long. If anything else strikes me, I'll add.
This is what gets me about the whole ME thing. It’s so amazing that they prepared so much for us. Literally incredible and I well up when I think abt it. I can’t imagine preparing so much - albums, mvs, film footage, docuseries, merch, live vids - & not being there to see it +
Final thing - because the adidas tracksuit top could be many memes, but in a UK music context - the Gallagher brothers - esp Liam.......
I'm half expecting RM to turn up in an anorak next looking a right scruffbag 😂🤣 (yeah, he never looks scruffy, it's never gonna happen).
in yourself, but also bigger than yourself, & Yun's trajectory artistically - away from the Indigo cover, Yun's last study 'Blue' before he found his signature style. So is
#RightPlaceWrongPerson
RM's signature style (but still Yun pics in the b/g with blue, so maybe not yet?)+
Distraction 💭🧵We’re excited abt
#RightPlaceWrongPerson
- I wondered abt role of Balming Tiger in it all. They’re a great alt collective & he’s obvs found his team. Members of BT also directed j-hope’s MVs - Arson, More (Leesuho…. Monika is an ALT album!!) & Neuron (Jan Qui)+
To clarify - when I said normcore it’s not just about fashion or being subcultural but also uncanny & out of place. The mv feels like that to me.
Normcore lacks individuality - the end is perhaps also about going out & finding it. V excited for the album now!
You’ll never believe me. Wish I’d tweeted it!! The choreo outside the cinema w/the boy/girl groupings reminded me of West Side Story. I watched parts of the film back to look at Robbins’ choreo. Not saying it’s that but Who has that feel but updated/modern. Ha! 💜 seeing him work
I had a little time away. Thanks for all your messages. They were lovely to receive & I appreciate it as they really did reset my brain. I woke up to another pile of DMs & it was a bit much.
I’ll stay private for a bit but want to scream about Jimin & whatever this new thing is!
So UK army have figured out the exact street in that photo shoot with Tae in Syndenham.
Meanwhile I am having a mini scream because it looks like legendary Welsh music producer David Wrench is working on
#RM4
. He is unreal & now I look at Namjoon’s song recs & think he was+
Well.... that became bigger than expected! I seem to have doubled my followers in 24hrs! To new followers, thank you but I'm not always that polite! I tweet a lot, go a bit crazy over cbs, and can be a bit 'much' so if after a while you decide I'm not for you, it's ok. One thing+
I’ve deleted my update post about the edit. I’m on the verge of deleting the entire original thread to the BBC. That thread is muted. I’ve closed my DMs
I was army a long time perfectly happily without being on here
I am stepping away from this place. I refuse to wake up to it.
Oh FFS. You win Kim Taehyung! That Weverse notification dragged me out of my cave & I needed to see other people have a collective meltdown over your pout & *waves finger* all THAT
Gather up those shreds of sanity folks, we’ll need them this next month 🫠
Yes. I do think he’s an album artist. This is perhaps why I struggle to pick out a single song on his albums or mixtapes that is my favourite. It’s one reason I prefer listening to the Indigo vinyl (manifesting RPWP on vinyl). I’m sure one day everyone will catch up with him.
“With his top five-charting Indigo and Right Place, Wrong Person solo sets,
#RM
has established himself as one of the most thoughtful, ambitious and creative albums artists in modern pop (…)”
Many thgs make me feel
#ClosertoJoon
song/book/film recs, exhibits, nature, skies, CrossFit! But rly it’s this:
He expands my intellectual, emotional & creative worlds. When I listen to his music he reaches out & touches my soul & I connect with things beyond myself. Such a gift
I love that Namjoon quotes that famous David Bowie clip here. I’ve said so many times I think he’s a modern day Bowie. A pioneer.. I made a piece inspired by that Bowie int a couple of years ago & use him in teaching. Maybe you can see the resonances too?
the way namjoon said he will be releasing an EP but here he comes with a full-length 11 track album that he was working so hard on till the last moment until he enlisted. my forever artist namjoon i love you & i’m so so excited for your new album! 🥹
@BaseLineWoo
Honestly I can't be bothered with giving these people the time of day. They'll conform to their own expectations, whine about life, feel incomplete after 35, and be profoundly unhappy. Time will pass for them too. Meanwhile I will continue to have a great time 🤣😂
Ah this was so much fun. I laughed such a lot.
“We don’t start it but we know how to end it.”
This was everything we needed right at this moment.
Mono is such a comfort for so many - me included. Reached me when literally no-one else could.
Ahh walking along the street listening to
#SGMB
and seeing all the flowers out. It’s a vibe. A bit early for sunflowers in my neighbour’s garden but found a hydrangea pretty close to a Smelderado flower?!?! (Ok ok let me have it) 😂🥰🤩🌼🌻🌸
#Smelderado_Garden_Marching_Band
@Lamyjj
I am like this too. It’s so funny. I love the bit where Jin can’t take his electric skateboard on the plane because of the battery. I die laughing every time. He’s like I just wanted to take it and try 😂🤣😭
through. Not being able to fully enjoy sharing it with the fans or the audience. We know they see our reactions & critical responses but if it were me, it would sting. Even though once you make an artwork & release it into the wild it’s no longer yours - I feel so sad for them+
I have spoken to the author of this article in the DM's. I don't have permission to share our conversation, but he said that he will look into changing the wording 💜
@rmisapoet
@BTS_twt
That’s so cool. That’s the perfect station for his music. Thanks for sharing.
And… was it you?!?! 😉
Btw, can you remember if there was a DJ who played CBTM - was it on 6Music? I have a vague recollection of this but my memory is so bad …
So thank you to them all. For they all have done it - other than Jin and now I’m glad we are all together for this one. I hope he finds his groove and we can all support him with that. 💜💜💜
Today I went epic
#Namjooning
to an area that was rainforest. It's still impt globally. I could have gone by motorbike but it was over 60km each way & it's rainy season so vv muddy. It is a tourist site, but few westerners go. You want to come for a ride?+
Can you imagine going “I want to work with these people” and getting your wish list? I mean I would expect this but crikey I still can’t get over it. As someone who works in arts it’s still….. I mean who would ever say no?!
Yoon Mirae said that to Hobi too - who’d say no? 💜🔥
👀 Production design by Ryu Seong-Hie (류성희) whose credits are incredible, and very notably include Namjoon’s movie obsession from a couple years ago, Decision to Leave (!!), and the kdrama Little Women (which shared his love of on his insta back in 2022 while watching)
I write threads about what strikes me. I won't be told what I *should* write or include in any analysis I make. I love interpreting & discussing ideas. Always happy to be wrong & corrected, but I don't appreciate being told what I should say. Let's just have fun! Thanks!💜
This expression - this smile of his with that look down slightly shy laugh he does - gets me every time. He's completely devastating to me. It's impossible not to feel like this, right?!
I've been doing a little project which meant I streamed less BTS/Ch2 the last few days. As part of thinking about RPWP & AOTY I listened to ALL the other albums recommended as Best Album of 2024 SO FAR by NME & most of those by RS. Yes. Next level. I had already listened to some+
So…. Kim Namjoon….
Sundance is a reality?
It opens now for submissions if I remember correctly?
Team RM has submitted?
And what are you submitting? LOST! Or something else?!?!?!
Or are you simply reflecting on the good times?
All will be revealed. Rooting for you lovely
💜💜
If you don’t have anything nice to say about the London promo poster for
#RightPlaceWrongPerson
literally don’t say it.
You realise it’s all part of his concept exploration? By a photographer he chose?
He may have selected or at least agreed to that image and all the promo….
@dominguez_cg
For sure. It was the brutal honesty of it - it surprised Jimin too in those first few minutes. I think it’ll be hard for some army (not ppl I follow etc here) to really hear and digest what this means. But it is v NJ to learn from experiences & I appreciate his openness here.
May have replied to Namjoon on Weverse
May have been so excited that I did it in Welsh first without thinking
May have realised & changed to English 🙈
May find it dissatisfying - the texture of expressing love without expressing it directly is kind of lost.
The sound on this is incredible. So rich and deep. Combined with his performance and confident relaxed vibes……🤌 He is the music, it radiates from his bones. Just fantastic.
Analogue can still have the upper hand!
Namjoon! Babes! Are you sad? Don’t be sad! I love this song so much. I play your album multiple times a day.
You’ll come back. It’s ok. It’s not long. You left us with a rich, beautiful gift. Even if you feel clouds gathering, your work is bringing sunshine to others 💜
@BTS_twt
I love this choreo so much. It’s fab and it’s fun. They are so sharp with it too - but with all the Tannies it looks effortless. He’s just such a cut above. And the wet hair, leather jacket biker Grease with a grey vest vibe is 🔥
Song thoughts later…
Ah man. Who else can do it like this? This relaxed, this cool, this magnetic?
The killer smile at the end.
FINALLY the blonde hair! It was great seeing all the picture pieces fit together to complete the puzzle.
I took photos of dandelion heads!!! Obvs me & him 😂
#Nuts
#RM
Everyone’s sharing this review as it’s so on point.
It makes me wonder how in his wv letter he added ‘please’ after hoping we would listen to it for a long time. I think he knows.
It makes me sad as it never quite seems to be his time but he deserves it
Set myself a work goal for when Hobi comes back. Today I start working on it again - I think I'll miss it - but I need his get up and get it. Then next step by the end of the year. I have to do it but it's not easy.
I am missing him extra hard today. That's all.