BTS have delivered their music to fans around the world for almost a decade now. Released on June 10 at 12am KST, the Proof anthology pays homage to all of BTS’ previous releases, documenting their journey as artists with the new tracks included. With three discs and five new songs, as well as demo versions of previous tracks, the Proof anthology album is evidence of what the seven bulletproof boys who came together in 2013 have accomplished thus far.
Armored With Title Tracks
The anthology starts with BTS’s declaration of being a “Born Singer” destined for the stage. This remastered version of their unofficial 2013 release is the perfect start to the first disc, which recaps BTS’ history as a group.
Following “Born Singer” are all of BTS’ title tracks (excluding “Permission to Dance”) in chronological order. The disc then ends with “Yet to Come (The Most Beautiful Moment),” the title track of the anthology.
“Yet to Come (The Most Beautiful Moment)” reflects on BTS’ career so far and dispels the notion of greatness only being held in past moments. With the line “the past was honestly the best / But my best is what comes next,” BTS promise to dream and keep going forward. “Yet to Come” ties in the entirety of BTS’ career thus far with sprinkles of mementos for fans to recognize. From the statue from “Blood, Sweat, and Tears,” to the swing wheel from “Spring Day,” the music video visuals take viewers through the narrative that is BTS’ music.
The track is ultimately a reassuring promise to ARMY, BTS’ fans, that BTS will return as a whole, after the group announced they will be focusing on solo work for the time being.
Clashing with Unit Songs
From there, disc two begins with a taste of BTS’ drive and passion in a more high tempo track. “Run BTS” plays with the idea of BTS’ bulletproof identity in an edgy and biting hip-hop/rock track reminiscent of BTS’ earlier music. The song reflects on BTS’ ten year race from the bottom to superstardom, cheekily singing “we’re a bit fast.”
Although the disc starts with a group song, it diverges henceforth to explore unit songs and solo tracks. This disc highlights the members strengths as individuals and units. BTS cover all grounds with rap intense song “BTS Cypher, Pt. 3: KILLER ft. Supreme Boi” and the sweet vocal track “00:00 (Zero O’ Clock).”
With genres such as Pop to EDM to Neo Soul, the second disc also highlights the diversity of tracks in BTS’ discography. Contrasting the first song on this disc, the disc ends with the soft pop-song “Dimple.”
Diving Deeper with Demos
The third and last disc of the album, which is only available with the physical album, gives fans an intimate inside look into BTS. The members all show their funny, serious and loving moments to ARMY. The disc is a gift to ARMY and includes multiple demo versions of songs which the fans have always requested, such as J-hope’s version of “DNA” and the demo of “Boy In Luv.”
The last disc also includes three new songs. The first being “Ambiguous Relationship (Young Love),” in which BTS’ youngest Jung Kook and BTS’ leader RM come together to share their sweet voices. The song details a youthful love that goes unnoticed. The insecurities that come from a one-sided love are explored in the song.
Members J-Hope, RM, and Jung Kook participate in the second new song of this disc “Quotation Mark.” It is a love song in which the members wish they can confess but don’t have the courage to do so.
Closing off the anthology is “For Youth,” a song dedicated to ARMY. The song begins with a recording of the fans singing “Young Forever,” and continues with lyrics about BTS and ARMY. BTS comforts the fans, sing about how fans have helped them, they reflect on their journey, and declare “You’re my best friend / For the rest of my life.”
New Paths
The Proof anthology album marks the end of a chapter for BTS. The members are currently taking a break as a group and are embarking on solo projects for the next chapter of their lives.
Jung Kook released a new song with Charlie Puth called “Left and Right,” V participated in Paris Fashion Week with Celine, and J-hope is releasing a solo-album. With all the members partaking in their own activities, ARMYs will be kept busy.
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Want more BTS content, check out our piece on BTS’ Top 13 B-sides!
Thumbnail credit to BIGHIT MUSIC.