Singularity (song)

"Singularity" is a song by South Korean boy band BTS, sung as a solo by member V. It was released on May 6, 2018, as part of the album Love Yourself: Tear. It was written by Charlie J. Perry and RM, with Charlie J. Perry being the sole producer. The song was released a second time on the compilation album Love Yourself: Answer on August 24, 2018.

"Singularity"
Song by BTS
from the album Love Yourself: Tear
ReleasedMay 7, 2018 (2018-05-07)
Recorded2017-2018
Studio
  • Dogg Bounce
  • Carrot Express
GenreR&B, Neo soul, Jazz
Length3:17
LabelBig Hit Entertainment
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Charlie J. Perry
Music video
"'Singularity' Comeback Trailer" on YouTube

Background and release

The music video for "Singularity" was released as a teaser for the then upcoming album Love Yourself: Tear.[2] The video reached over ten million views in less than fifteen hours.[3] According to Dictionary.com, searches for the word also increased 7,558%.[4]

Promotion

The song was promoted at the 2018 KBS Song Festival on December 29, 2018.[5] V has performed Singularity at "KBS Daejun 2018".

Music video

Goldbin and Soohyoun Nam, writing for Mnews, described the setting of the music video as an enclosed space in which member V moves between areas of light and shadow, and, later, a dark room filled with flowers. They interpreted the "restrained" choreography, performed with white masks, as symbolising that he has concealed his true self to attain love, and the images of broken ice as indicating his realisation that he has been acting in a way that isn't genuine.[6] Billboard's Tamar Herman pointed out that he seemed to be acting out the Greek tale of Narcissus, whose love of his own reflection caused his death.[7]

It was revealed that the choreographer who made the dance was Keone Madrid, who has worked with BTS on several other dances such as "Dope", "Fire", "Not Today" and "Blood Sweat & Tears".[8] The director for the music video was Choi Yongseok from Lumpens.[9] The assistant directors were Lee Wonju, Jeong Minje, and Park Hyejeong of Lumpens. Other key personnel were Nam Hyunwoo of GDW who was the director of photography, Song Hyunsuk from Real Lighting who was the gaffer, editor Park Hyejeong, and the art directors Park Jinsil and Kim Bona of MU:E.[10]

Composition

Musically, the song has been described as R&B with touches of neo soul and jazz by Rolling Stone India.[11] Burlington County Times described it as "a relaxing beat supplemented by V’s honey-like voice", which "gets better with every listen".[12] It is in the key of D♭ minor and is 104 beats per minute.[13]

In an interview with Billboard, writer Charlie J. Perry recalled that the song started out as a poem and it was built up from there. They wanted it to have a Daniel Caesar/D'Angelo type of vibe in the realm of neo-soul.[14] According to MTV News, the song is about V "questioning the mask he wears to conceal his true feelings, [asking himself], 'Did I lose myself, or did I gain you?'"[15]

Reception

Overall, the song was received well, with Alexis Pedridis from The Guardian stating the song was "blessed with a particularly haunting tune, [pitching] its sound somewhere between vintage 70's soul and a latter-day R&B slow jam".[16] IZM stated the song added a distinctive neo soul voice to the album and spin.com said V provided a quiet confidence that set the tone to the album.[17] Pitchfork called "Singularity" the album's thesis.[18] In a blog post, journalist Monique Jones described "Singularity" as "pure R&B" and "a song tailor made for Taehyung's voice".[19]

The song was ranked at number thirteen for digital sales in the Unites States upon release and sold more than 10,000 copies.[20]

Accolades
Year-end lists
Critic/Publication List Rank Ref.
Los Angeles Times Best of 2018 4 [21]
KultScene Best K-Pop Music Videos of 2018 N/A [22]
The New York Times The 65 Best Songs of 2018 20 [23]
SBS Top 100 Asian pop songs of 2018 24 [24]

Credits and personnel

The song's credits are adapted from the CD liner notes of Love Yourself: Answer.[25]

  • Charlie J. Perry- Producer, Keyboard, Bass
  • RM- Producer
  • Pdogg- Vocal Arrangement, Recording Engineer @ Dogg Bounce
  • Slow Rabbit- Vocal Arrangement, Recording Engineer @ Carrot Express
  • ADORA- Digital Editing
  • Hiss noise- Digital Editing
  • Yang Ga- Mix Engineer @ Big Hit Studio

Charts

Release history
Version Country Date Format Label
Intro version Various May 18, 2018
Regular version August 24, 2018
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References
  1. "LOVE YOURSELF 結 'Answer'". Naver. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  2. "BTS (방탄소년단) LOVE YOURSELF 轉 Tear 'Singularity' Comeback Trailer". YouTube. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  3. "BTS' "Singularity" is the fastest solo K-pop MV to hit 10 million views". SBS. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  4. "Toadyism And Other Trending Words This Week". Dictionary. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  5. "'2018 KBS 가요대축제' 방탄소년단X엑소 최초 공개 무대부터 워너원의 눈물까지 (종합)". Tenasia (in Korean). December 29, 2018. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
  6. "BTS's MV 'Singularity' Exceeds 20 Million Views in Just Four Days". Mnews. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  7. Herman, Tamar. "BTS' V Reveals Haunting New Song 'Singularity' Ahead of 'Love Yourself: Tear' Album Release: Watch". Billboard. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  8. "Who's the choreographer behind BTS' "Singularity"?". SBS. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  9. "YouTube: BTS estrenó el video oficial de "Fake Love"". Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  10. "BTS (방탄소년단) LOVE YOURSELF 轉 Tear 'Singularity' Comeback Trailer". YouTube. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
  11. Chakraborty, Riddhi. "BTS Drop Intoxicating New Comeback Trailer 'Singularity'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  12. Blum, Marjorie; Maitland, Anna. "Latest BTS album worthy of all the hype". Burlington County Times. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  13. "Singularity". tunebat. Retrieved 28 September 2018.
  14. Herman, Tamar (December 22, 2018). "Western Songwriters Discuss Working on BTS' 'Love Yourself: Answer' Album". Billboard. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
  15. Bell, Crystal (December 14, 2018). "ALBUMS OF THE YEAR: BTS TRANSCEND LANGUAGE AND CULTURAL BARRIERS WITH LOVE YOURSELF: TEA". MTV. Retrieved December 23, 2018.
  16. Petridis, Alex (May 18, 2018). "BTS: Love Yourself: Tear review – K-pop's biggest band keep ploughing on". The Guardian. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  17. References:
  18. Pearce, Sheldon (May 24, 2018). "BTS: Love Yourself 轉 'Tear', Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 24, 2018.
  19. "BTS' new single, "Singularity" impresses with its smooth R&B sound". 8 May 2018.
  20. Benjamin, Jeff. "BTS Breaks Their Own Record for Most Simultaneous Hits on World Digital Song Sales Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  21. Wood, Mikael (December 24, 2018). "Best of 2018: The 10 (or so) songs that demanded to be replayed, featuring Cardi B, Ariana Grande, John Mayer and Sophie". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
  22. "Best K-Pop Music Videos of 2018". KultScene. January 10, 2019. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  23. Jon Pareles, Jon Caramanica (6 December 2018). "The 65 Best Songs of 2018". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  24. "PopAsia's Top 100 Asian pop songs of 2018: 50-1". SBS. Popasia. December 24, 2018. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
  25. Love Yourself: Answer (in Korean and English) (Original ed.). Big Hit Entertainment. 24 August 2018. p. 66 of 114.
  26. "Le Top de la semaine : Top Singles Téléchargés – SNEP (Week 21, 2018)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved May 29, 2018.
  27. ""Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ"". zene.slagerlistak.hu (in Hungarian). Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  28. ""Billboard Japan Hot 100 2018年9月3日"". Billboard Japan. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  29. "2018년 21주차 Digital Chart". Gaon. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  30. "KPOP HOT 100 May 21-27, 2018". billboard.co.kr. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  31. "BTS Chart History (World Digital Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  32. References:
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