BTS: RM Reveals the Connection Between ‘Boy With Luv’ and ‘Boy In Luv’ — Spoiler Alert: It’s Beautiful
Recently, the seven members of BTS — RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook — have been celebrating their past, present, and future within their music. At the Melon Music Awards on Nov. 30, the South Korean band performed 2014’s “Boy In Luv” and “Boy With Luv” from 2019, illustrating the impeccable growth the group has gone through within the past five years. Then at the Los Angeles Jingle Ball concert on Dec. 6, RM opened up about the difference between the two BTS tracks, consequently hitting longtime ARMYs right in the feels.
BTS previously explains what ‘Boy With Luv’ is about
When “Boy With Luv” was first released in April 2019, BTS stopped by The Elvis Duran Show and explained the meaning behind the Map of the Soul: Persona song, briefly comparing it with “Boy With Luv.”
“In 2014, we released a song called ‘Boy In Luv.’ And that’s about young love, teen love,” RM said at the time. “This time, you know, we grew up. And we sing about what true love is.”
The BTS leader then shared that the group’s view on love isn’t one grand gesture. But rather, a large sum of small things.
“It comes from a tiny, little thing,” RM said. “You wonder what your day is, wonder what you eat, wonder what you’re doing right now, how you guys spend your day. So it’s about the tiny, little things. That’s what we found what love is about.”
RM opens up about the difference between BTS’s ‘Boy With Luv’ and ‘Boy In Luv’
Then on Dec. 6, BTS spoke with J-14 at the 2019 Jingle Ball. The publication asked about the band’s recent references to old tracks and how the group ties new music into their overarching storyline. And while RM admitted everything isn’t always connected, he noted BTS’s concepts stem from how the septet feels at the time.
“If we say that this whole thing is a puzzle, it would be a lie,” RM said, chuckling. “But the most important thing is how we are currently feeling right now. That’s what we focus on when we make our album or concept.”
The 25-year-old then delved deeper into the difference between “Boy In Luv” and “Boy With Luv,” once again revealing the members learned what it’s like to truly love someone.
“When we made Boy With Luv, we thought that we should just step back — stop a little bit and loop back — at what we’ve been through, what we have right now,” RM said. “So that’s how we came up with ‘Boy With Luv.’ You know, because ‘Boy In Luv,’ the love is outside. But ‘Boy With Luv,’ it’s inside. That’s the difference.”
How ‘Boy With Luv’ ties into BTS’s ‘Love Yourself’ Era
RM’s remarks can also relate to the beautiful message behind BTS’s Love Yourself era. And by feeling love within, the group also alludes to discovering how to love yourself in order to love others. When speaking with Paper Magazine for the Break the Internet issue in November 2019, BTS said:
Our LOVE YOURSELF series bears the message that “loving yourself is the beginning of true love.” The “love” that we aim to convey can be both the individual experience and a message to our society today. We once saw somewhere that “being able to love is also an ability. If you don’t love yourself, you can never love anyone else.”
Reflecting on the ways you love yourself, we thought that this question could give the answer for many different aspects. We wanted to focus on that searching process and find the answers. [We] think LOVE YOURSELF has a positive impact. [We] also ask ourselves, “Do I really love myself?” So, [we] looked back one more time and put that notion into the lyrics.
As with many music artists, BTS is constantly moving through concepts. But the South Korean group often reflects on their journey, highlighting their growth throughout the years. And the connection between “Boy With Luv” and “Boy In Luv” is the epitome of just that. So here’s to a new BTS era as we approach 2020 — let’s get it.
Read more: BTS: RM Expands on an Old Concept and It’s Perfect for the Post-‘Love Yourself’ Era
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