BE is the first self-directed special album by BTS, released on November 20, 2020. Released nine months after the same year's MAP OF THE SOUL : 7 and after the planned tour for that album was cancelled, this album was created in response to the COVID-19 Pandemic. It has themes of loneliness, anxiety, sadness, hope, connection, comfort, and joy.
Included on the album is "Dynamite", their debut English single and first major radio hit in the West, which was released as a stand-alone single a few months earlier. "Dynamite" is an upbeat disco-pop song designed to get people's hopes up in the pandemic. It also has the distinction of being the first song by an all-Korean group to top the Billboard Hot 100.
This was the last album of original material BTS released before going on hiatus from 2022-25 due to military commitments. It was followed 6 years later by Arirang March 2026.
Track list:
- "Life Goes On"
(3:27) - "Fly to My Room" (Suga, j-hope, Jimin, and V) (3:42)
- "Blue & Grey" (4:15)
- "Skit" (3:00)
- "Telepathy" (3:22)
- "Dis-ease" (4:00)
- "Stay" (Jin, RM, and Jungkook) (3:25)
- "Dynamite" (3:19)
Trope it up like dynamite:
- Alternate Music Video:
- Aside from the original music video, "Dynamite" also has a performance-focused one, a funny blooper-style titled B-Side version, and a 70s remix of the original music video.
- Similar to "Dynamite", "Life Goes On" also has three different versions based on the three different sets of the original music video titled "on my pillow", "in the forest", and "like an arrow".
- Breaking Old Trends:
- Excluding most of the Japanese releases, this album marks the first BTS album not to include an Album Intro Track and Album Closure; instead, it began with the lead single "Life Goes On" and concluded with the initially pre-release English single "Dynamite".
- "Life Goes On" marks the first comeback and lead singles to not features a dance performance.
- Concept Album: BE is a loose one inspired by the members' struggles throughout COVID-19 Pandemic and how they coped through it.
- Genre Roulette: True to BTS experimenting with different genres from one album to another, the album has a lot of genres and style influences, but not limited to Alternative Hip-Hop, Synth-Pop, R&B, Neosoul, Electronic Folk, Pop Ballad, Bedroom Pop, Disco Funk, Old School Hip-Hop, Future House, and Disco Pop and Soul....And that's only a few to name.
- Genre Throwback: "Dynamite" is heavily inspired by the 70s disco-pop with some sprinkles of funk, soul, and modern bubblegum pop genre. The music video aesthetic and stage outfits were also inspired by the 1970s retro style.
- Lonely at the Top: "Blue & Grey" has BTS singing about still feeling blue and wanting happiness despite their fame and fortune, while introspectively asking if they're being greedy for feeling that way and wanting more in life.
- Lyrical Cold Open: "Dynamite" goes straight to the first chorus.
- Minimalistic Cover Art: The cover is the "Life Goes On" chorus in cursive, sandwiched between the album title and the BTS logo on a plain white background.
- One-Word Title: "Skit", "Telepathy", "Dis-ease", "Stay", and "Dynamite".
- Record Needle Scratch: "Dis-ease" features a mimicking sound one provided by j-hope throughout the post-chorus.
- Reverse Cerebus Syndrome: BE's first half consists of the tracks "Life Goes On", "Fly to my Room" and "Blue & Grey", which are the most emotional, gloomy (in "Blue & Grey"'s case in particular) or at least mellow songs in the album. After the Skit however (where the members talk about the news of "Dynamite" charting at #1 on Billboard), the album immediately picks up in mood with "Telepathy" (a funk-inspired disco-pop track), followed by "Dis-ease" (a wild old-school hip hop track), and "Stay" (an explosive future house track), finishing on a (literal?) high note with the cheery disco-pop song "Dynamite".
- Truck Driver's Gear Change: The last chorus of "Dynamite" shifts from E major to F Sharp major.
- Word Salad Lyrics: "Dis-ease" references different kinds of disease in a punny way, including making fun of themselves of addicted to work.
- Xtreme Kool Letterz: "Dis-ease" was written by applying the hyphen between "dis" (a prefix referring to the opposite/not) and "ease" to draw the song's parallel concept.