BTS has been in the K-pop industry for almost a decade and have been making music since day one. Their extensive discography includes a wide variety of genres such as hip-hop, R&B, pop, future bass, and more. One of K-pop’s distinguishable features is the wide array of genres that K-pop groups have in their music. Classifying music into different genres helps individuals understand their music taste and also introduces new creators to the general public based on the music they make. Due to BTS’s range of genres (among countless other factors), many fans have been attracted to BTS, thus forming the large fandom of ARMYs today.

[Disclaimer: We are not music professionals; these are simply guesses or the guesses of ARMYs.]

The Discography

In 2013, BTS debuted with their 1st single album, 2 Cool 4 Skool. The title track was "No More Dream" which is a 90s hip hop song filled with intense rapping and accompanied by heavy electro-trap horns at the climax.

A few months later on September 11 BTS came back with O!RUL8,2? with "N.O" as the title track. "N.O" is a hip hop song with a R&B touch.

In February 2014, BTS released Skool Luv Affair with "Boy In Luv" as the lead track. "Just One Day" was then promoted in April. The genre of "Boy In Luv" and "Just One Day" is hip hop and ballad, respectively.The B-side “Tomorrow” is a mid-tempo hip hop/R&B song.

In August 2014, BTS released Dark & Wild with "Danger" as the lead single and "War of Hormone" as the secondary single. The genre of "Danger" and "War of Hormone" is emo rock and hip hop respectively.

In 2015, BTS had a comeback with The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 1. Both "I Need You" and "Dope" were promoted. "I Need You" is a pop/R&B song with an intense trap beat and "Dope" is hip hop/punk. The album features the track “Hold Me Tight” which is a contemporary R&B track with soulful vocals and laid back rapping. The beginning of the Youth era is marked by the release of 花樣年華 (HYYH) Trilogy and we can see an abrupt change in their focus on rap and hip-hop to more vocal pop.

In the same year, BTS came back with their 4th mini album, The Most Beautiful Moment in Life Part 2. The title track is “Run” and it is a R&B/pop song with a fast tempo. In May 2016, BTS released the last part of their trilogy, The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: Young Forever. This album had three songs which had music videos, “Young Forever”, “Fire” and “Save Me.” Their genres are pop, hip hop and future bass/EDM, respectively. “Fire” is a dance anthem song that can set up any party in flames with its heavy electronic beats.

Later in 2016, BTS released their 2nd full-length album, Wings, with "Blood, Sweat & Tears" as the title track. "Blood, Sweat & Tears" is a melodic mix of the Moombahton/tropical house, reggaeton and trap genre.

BTS’s next comeback was their 2nd special album, You Never Walk Alone. "Spring Day" and  "Not Today" were the promoted tracks. "Spring Day" is a pop/R&B song and "Not Today" is a hip hop song.

In September 2017, BTS released the first part of their Love Yourself trilogy, Love Yourself 承 'HER'. The title track "DNA" is a hip hop song. "Mic Drop" was also promoted and it is a hip hop/punk song. “Best of Me” is an EDM track in collaboration with Andrew Taggart from The Chainsmokers.

In 2018, BTS released Love Yourself 轉 'TEAR' with "Fake Love" as the title track. "Fake Love" is under the emo rock genre. The B-side,“13430” falls under the genre of acid jazz, a genre not generally touched upon in the K-pop industry. “Singularity” is a low-fi alternative R&B/neo-soul track bedazzled with V’s soothing vocals.

The last album of the Love Yourself trilogy, Love Yourself 結 'ANSWER' has "Idol" as its title track. "Idol" is a pop song that is heavily inspired by traditional Korean music.

In April 2019, BTS made a comeback with Map of the Soul: Persona. The title track is "Boy With Luv" and it is a pop funk song. The B-side ”Dionysus” can be described as a rap laced party rock.

In February of 2020, BTS released Map Of The Soul: 7. The lead tracks were "Black Swan" and "ON". "Black Swan" is a pop song with trap beats and classical instrumentals, while "ON" is a dance pop anthem laced with drum rolls and sounds of a marching band. Jimin brings back Latin pop in this album with his flirtatious single “Filter”, and V explores a new genre with his indie pop track “Inner Child”.

In August 2020, “Dynamite”- an upbeat disco pop single with all English lyrics was released.

Before the onset of 2021, BTS released their album “BE” in November with the title track “Life Goes On” which is an alternative hip-hop track. Although the album features only seven tracks (excluding the skit), a wide variety of genres like retro-pop in “Fly To My Room” to old school hip-hop like “Dis-ease” and EDM-like “Stay” have been incorporated.

Evolution

Around the time BTS debuted, loud pop songs were one of the most popular genres of the time. Many idols were releasing hip hop, loud and noisy songs which gained a lot of attention. Some examples are “Gangnam Style” by Psy (2013), “Bang Bang Bang” by Big Bang (2016), and “I am the Best” by 2NE1 (2011). “Gangnam Style” became extremely popular worldwide and the music video has about four billion views as of March 2021. As such, it made sense for BTS to debut with a 90s hip hop song, “No More Dream.” For their next few comebacks, most of their songs were also hip hop or pop based.

While their albums mostly had loud pop songs, BTS also experimented with genres which were the complete opposite of mainstream K-pop sounds. One such example is “Just One Day” and “Tomorrow” which is a ballad. Over the years, BTS’s music progressed into more ballad and/or R&B/EDM inspired songs like “Spring Day,” “Save Me,” “I’m Fine,” etc. As the hype for loud hip hop songs died down, BTS started producing lesser hip hop songs. Alongside these ballad/R&B songs, BTS released some hip hop, punk, funk and more upbeat songs but they were not as brassy as their prior releases.

After a few years in the industry, BTS explored other genres like moombahton with their song “Blood, Sweat, & Tears.” This attracted many new fans to the fandom, contributing to BTS’s success. Another genre is latin-inspired pop, with their song “Airplane Pt. 2.” It had a very different sound compared to BTS’s previous releases but it had an addicting tune and gained a lot of popularity from the fandom despite being a B-side.

Bonus~

Let’s talk about future bass in K-pop. According to kpop stuffs on Youtube, future bass is a genre of edm that heavily uses synths and bass. BTS has produced quite a number of future bass songs, most of them being b-sides. Some of these songs are “Don’t Leave Me,” “Euphoria,” “Save Me” and of course, “Magic Shop,” which is the namesake of this publication.

After nearly a decade in the K-pop industry, BTS have created their own unique and recognisable sound. From ballads to hip hop, the variety of their music has no limit. BTS’s willingness to experiment with different genres throughout their musical career has helped to build a fanbase through accommodating to different individuals’ tastes in music.

References

Lead Image: Jemmersclub. (2020, July 12). A Complete Guide to BTS Discography. [Digital File]. Reddit. https://www.reddit.com/r/bangtan/comments/hq85l2/update_i_made_a_complete_beginners_guide_to_bts/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share