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i’ll be attending the BH online press conference for the dynamite release tonight (what a weird sentence) so, uh, stay tuned! 
oh it’s at 9:30 pm EST tonight!
quick fyis:
-i did not get to submit a question, unfortunately. (i asked!)
-i cannot and will not stream or post screenshots of the presser bc ethics
-i will tweet in this thread once the presser starts. feel free to mute if you don’t care!
-happy comeback, and have fun!
-i did not get to submit a question, unfortunately. (i asked!)
-i cannot and will not stream or post screenshots of the presser bc ethics
-i will tweet in this thread once the presser starts. feel free to mute if you don’t care!
-happy comeback, and have fun!
intros: tae is wearing a lovely black ruffly black suit. yoongi in a light down button down with open sleeves. jin and jungkook in more conventional black suits. namjoon + jimin in white button down suits with thin stripes. hobi in a magnificent ruffly pinstripe button down
RM: we've been doing a lot of things. we've been sharing how we're doing through bangtan TV and we've been working on our new songs on the album we're going to release the second half of this year. we've been spending time doing our hobbies. we also held bangbangcon in june.
jimin: while working on this new album we came across this song dynamite. it wasn't in our plan, but we decided to release it as a digital single first.
suga: dynamite is disco-pop with a bright and cheery vibe. i'm sure many people can dance to it. and it's very fun!
suga: dynamite is disco-pop with a bright and cheery vibe. i'm sure many people can dance to it. and it's very fun!
rm: we've been working on our new album aiming to release it at the second half of this year...we came across this song dynamite. as soon as we heard it we thought it was fun and exciting...we wanted to release this fun song as soon as possible.
tae: when we were recording the guide version, we thought the english lyrics fit the melody a bit better.
hobi: [he loved the demo version] the release of this digital single is a new challenge for us.
hobi: [he loved the demo version] the release of this digital single is a new challenge for us.
jimin: everybody in the world is going through tough times. we really wanted to be onstage we really wanted to meet the fans. we also felt empty. we felt helpless and we needed a breakthrough to overcome this helplessness and we came across this opportunity to try something new.
suga: dynamite sends a message of happiness and confidence ... i'd say it's a song to all the people who felt like they had fallen down while running a marathon.
jungkook: there are some easy moves you can try yourselves; i'm sure the fans can do some covers in your own room. there are some moves that bring out our unique personalities and vibes. we enjoyed practicing for it.
[i am typing the live dubbed translation!]
[i am typing the live dubbed translation!]
after asking to demonstrate his pointing dance moves, jimin just pointed at the camera with his fingers seductively and pretended to shoot a gun. the emcee said, "okay, that's good!" you could hear someone burst into laughter in the background.
please excuse any typos. the speed of this is really testing my mavis beacon skills. am trying to type verbatim but some quotes are going to be abridged bc lots of repetitions.
jimin: we are still working on our album. it's still a go. our goal is to release it in the second half of this year.
this artist has the highest [member] participation rate than any other album we have released. we cannot plan on the exact release date yet.
this artist has the highest [member] participation rate than any other album we have released. we cannot plan on the exact release date yet.
jimin: i am the project manager (PM). v is in charge of visuals. i'm not sure if i did a good job as a PM. the members are working really hard to produce a good result! [i think he just said tae worked really hard, the hardest on the schedule for the album]
now for questions from MEMBERS OF THE PRESS. (not me)
the first question is about aspirations for chart performance and Hot 100
the first question is about aspirations for chart performance and Hot 100
suga: i am really curious about this too! chart rankings are always something we watch with a lot of nervousness and excitement. rather than have some sort of result we have as a target, i think it's better to do our best so we can repay the attention and love our fans show us.
suga (cont): our goal for dynamite is special. we built this song to give a little strength to people to listen to it. so our goal is for as many people as possible to listen to it.
second question is about behind the scenes stories about dynamite and the new album:
j-hope: we felt this was a song that was very therapeutic. it was kind of a last-minute decision and the schedule was tight [but they rushed it and they all had a lot of fun].
j-hope: we felt this was a song that was very therapeutic. it was kind of a last-minute decision and the schedule was tight [but they rushed it and they all had a lot of fun].
JH (cont): for my part, my key was very high! so it was a little difficult for me when i was recording this song. but i think it turned out really good. when making the music video there was a lot of room for improvisation. we made up a lot of choreo on site to keep it fresh!
how is dynamite a fresh challenge?
rm: suga mentioned earlier that dynamite is a fun song and it's a disco-pop song (and sounds fresh). the choreo is very easy. when this song came to us, we wanted to keep it in english so we can preserve the charm we first felt.
rm: suga mentioned earlier that dynamite is a fun song and it's a disco-pop song (and sounds fresh). the choreo is very easy. when this song came to us, we wanted to keep it in english so we can preserve the charm we first felt.
[as an aside, some of these non-answers are painful for me as a journo but i gotta admire how much they're keeping under wraps before the song debuts lol.]
tae: from the early part of this year we had been working on this new album for the second half of the year. we have all be working on our own areas actively. this album will show the unique color of bts more than any other album before.
[i love tae's turns of phrase]
[i love tae's turns of phrase]
how did you feel appearing on I-LAND? any message for aspiring singers/idols?
JH: i would like to say that even if you're doing your best, i know as well as anybody else, that you still have this anxiety and nervousness. i want to cheer you and encourage you.
JH: i would like to say that even if you're doing your best, i know as well as anybody else, that you still have this anxiety and nervousness. i want to cheer you and encourage you.
JH (cont): when i saw them [the trainees], i learned a lot of things about not resting on my laurels and how i should keep going.
JK's message to aspiring idols: i know you will be tired. there will be difficult moments. but i would like them to remember that these are the experiences that allow you to grow and develop. and show your growth by going through these experiences and being confident.
how has BTS changed its attitude toward music in this unprecedented age of hardship?
tae: right now, not just us but everyone is going through a v difficult times. we did not plan to release this song. we also had a lot of plans many of which didn't happen.
tae: right now, not just us but everyone is going through a v difficult times. we did not plan to release this song. we also had a lot of plans many of which didn't happen.
tae (cont): we love music more than anyone. i think we can say we're as passionate about singing and dancing as anyone else. we need to have people love our music. we wanted to even more strongly to inspire people and heal people.
Suga: bc of covid, things have become v difficult. it was decided our world tour concert would have to be postponed. it made us feel very powerless and frustrated. these were things we couldn't really change even if we tried; something we felt for the first time since we debuted.
it felt like we were running this whole time and we had tripped. [after BBC] we realized that singing+dancing is when we can really be BTS. even tho it was online, we felt thankful + happy to be with fans. we were able to feel encouragement + love, even tho our bodies were apart
i missed a question about Hot 100!!!
RM on dynamite: we think of this as our recharge project. and we hope you can use it to recharge your own batteries.
ending ments!
tae: i know you are all very busy. i thank you for joining us for the dynamite press conference. i hope you can write nice words for us. i'm sure there will be great articles about us. please be healthy and safe!
[aww]
tae: i know you are all very busy. i thank you for joining us for the dynamite press conference. i hope you can write nice words for us. i'm sure there will be great articles about us. please be healthy and safe!
[aww]
suga: we couldn't say hello in person but i hope that through this, we were able to share some things in our hearts. thank you for sending so many good questions!
jin: i am really happy we can say hello with our new song! thank you for tuning in!
jin: i am really happy we can say hello with our new song! thank you for tuning in!
jk: this press conference, i am v thankful we were able to share some of these things with you. while we were preparing for dynamite we experienced a lot of fun and joy, and we hope some of this will make its way to you.
jimin: it's bc you have these questions and you want to know about us that we are able to have this event. we are sincerely grateful you have this interest in us. dynamite is our hope you can be happy even amid his situation. i hope everyone can be healthy. please wear your mask!
jh: this is a very fun and cheerful song! we will be try to be energetic as possible. wear your masks, don't get sick, pls be happy!
rm: thanks to your articles, people know about what is happening with us. [more stuff i didn't catch] you are our valuable partners in this journey together...we'd like to meet face to face in person. stay safe, stay healthy!
i did my best mostly to transcribe and not editorialize too much. not a ton of brand new info but they seemed really happy and very much like themselves. composed but excited. i am personally looking forward to listening and having more adjectives to describe this song!
i got a terrifying number of new followers in the last 13 hours. hello! about me: i am a fan but this is not a fan account; it is my professional twitter that i use fairly indulgently as a part-time stan account. i wrote this last year: https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2019/07/bts-paved-the-way-army-fandom/592543/
