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Idol (BTS song)
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Wikipedia article
{{Infobox song
| name = Idol
| cover =
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = BTS
| album = Love Yourself: Answer
| released = August 24, 2018 (KOR version)
July 3, 2019 (JPN version)
| recorded =
| studio =
*Dogg Bounce
*The Rock Pitt
| venue =
| genre =
| length =
(with Nicki Minaj)
| label = Big Hit
| writer =
| producer = Pdogg
| chronology = BTS
| prev_title = Fake Love
| prev_year = 2018
| next_title = Waste It on Me
| next_year = 2018
| misc =
}}
"'Idol'" (stylized in all caps) is a song recorded by South Korean boy band BTS, released on August 24, 2018, by Big Hit Entertainment as the lead single from their third compilation album 'Love Yourself: Answer' (2018). An alternative version of the song, which features Nicki Minaj, was also included as a bonus track with the digital album. The single debuted at number 11 on the 'Billboard' Hot 100, and the two versions combined sold 43,000 downloads in their first week of sale in the US. It is certified platinum by the RIAA.
On July 3, 2019, the Japanese version of the song was released as a B-side track, along with the Japanese version of "Boy with Luv" and an original Japanese track titled "Lights".
Background and release
The day before the release of the single when its trailer was released, rumors about a collaboration track between BTS and Nicki Minaj had surfaced when Shazam identified the teaser video of the track as "Idol by BTS (feat. Nicki Minaj)". On August 24, 2018, two hours before the official release of the album, Big Hit Entertainment confirmed that an alternative version of "Idol" featuring Nicki Minaj would be included in the digital version of the album as a bonus track.
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After its release, the song inspired an Internet dance challenge known as the "Idol Challenge", in which people dance to the chorus of the song, to try out the song's choreography.
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* The challenge has been done by different celebrities such as B.A.P member Zelo and Stephen "tWitch" Boss on 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show'.
Composition
As described by 'Billboard's Tamar Herman, "Idol" is a "traditionally inspired track" featuring different classical Korean instruments. According to media outlets, the song and the music video were inspired by Korean genre pansori and John Woo's 1997 movie Face/Off. 'Yonhap' reported, "The song is electronic dance music in the style of South African dance music. The African beats are layered with traditional Korean rhythms, as well as the pounding of a Korean folk percussion instrument used in the performance of traditional Korean farmers' ensemble. 'Rolling Stone India' said, "According to the group's label Big Hit Entertainment, Idol was inspired by gqom, a style of house music that originated in Durban, South Africa. Gqom combines powerful traditional thumping drum with bass and house synths in a balance between tradition and trend." adding, "The track's blend of Korean instruments like the gakgung (the Korean horn-bow which explains the shehnai-like sounds) with African rhythms, trap rap and electronica contribute to expanding its culturally rich, diverse, global sound".
"Idol" is in the key of C# minor and incorporates various styles such as pop, world, contemporary R&B, and K-pop. Both versions are 126 beats per minute. One of the writers, Ali Tamposi, stated the rep from Big Hit wanted the song to feel intense.
Music video
On August 22, 2018, the teaser video of the track was released, while the full music video was released on August 24. YouTube's official tally saw the music video garner over 56 million views within 24 hours of its release, breaking Blackpink's previous record for "Ddu-Du Ddu-Du", of being the most viewed K-pop group music video within the first 24 hours and making it the most watched music video within the first 24 hours, surpassing American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift's music video for Look What You Made Me Do, which recorded 43.2 million views in 2017. On August 29, 2018, the music video became the fastest to reach 100 million views on YouTube in 2018. The record was eventually broken in December 2018 by Ariana Grande, with the song "Thank U, Next".
On September 6, 2018, the music video featuring Nicki Minaj was released. The music video is similar to the original music video, but with some additional scenes and Nicki Minaj rapping her part with Korean transliteration of the lyrics at her back. The video ends with several "Idol Challenge" video clips uploaded from their fans.
The music video was created by the director Choi Yong-seok of Lumpens. Assistant directors include Guzza, MinJe, Jeong, Park Hye-heong all from Lumpens. The director of photography was Man Hyun-woo from GDW. Other key personnel are Song Hyun-seok who controlled the gaffer, Kim Bona and Park Jin-sil as art directors, Ahn Ye-min and Lee Hyun-seung making up the art team. Song Sukki as the construction manager, Ma Seung-keun working the show light, and Kang Jong working the lift operator. The key scenic artists were Hong Yeong-jun, Lim Kwang-hyun, and Seo Sang-hyeok.
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As of August 2021, the video has surpassed over 980 million views on YouTube.
Critical reception
Raisa Bruner of 'Time' described the song as "a clubby, beat-heavy track that pulses with energy and a sax melody line off the top", with the song being "hard-charging" during its runtime. Regarding the collaboration with Minaj, Bruner thought that the "collaboration mark[s] the beginning of BTS impending arrival on the U.S. scene."
Commercial performance
In the United States, "Idol" debuted at number 11 on the 'Billboard' Hot 100 and was ranked first in sales for the week, the two versions combined selling 43,000 downloads in their first week of sales, and generated 24.4 million first-week streams combined. The song dropped 70 positions in its second week, charting at number 81. 'PopBuzz' ranked it on their list "The best music videos of 2018 (so far)".
In January 2019 it was announced that BTS would collaborate with the manufacturer Mattel to create dolls modeled off the outfits from the music video "Idol".
Accolades
{| class="sortable wikitable"
|+Awards
! Year
! Organization
! Award
! Result
! Ref.
|-
| align="center" rowspan="8"| 2018
| align="center" rowspan="2"| E! People's Choice Awards
| align="center"| Song of the Year
|
| align="center" rowspan=2|
|-
| align="center"| Music Video of the Year
|
|-
| align="center" rowspan="1"| Korea Popular Music Awards
| align="center"| Best Digital Song
|
| align="center"|
|-
| align="center" rowspan="2"| Mnet Asian Music Awards
| align="center"| TikTok Best Music Video
|
| align="center" rowspan="2"|
|-
| align="center"| Favorite Music Video
|
|-
| align="center" rowspan=3| MBC Plus X Genie Music Awards
| align="center"| Dance Track (Male)
|
| align="center" rowspan="3"|
|-
| align="center"| Song of the Year
|
|-
| align="center"| Best Music Video
|
|-
| align="center" rowspan="3"| 2019
| align="center"| Gaon Chart Music Awards
| align="center"| Song of the Year August
|
| align="center"|
|-
| align="center" rowspan="2"| Korean Music Awards
| align="center"| Song of the Year
|
| align="center" rowspan="2"|
|-
| align="center"| Best Pop Song
|
|}
Promotion
BTS promoted the song on various music programs in South Korea including 'M Countdown', 'Music Bank', 'Show! Music Core', and 'Inkigayo' garnering a total of eight wins despite its short promotion. On December 1, 2018, BTS performed the single at the Melon Music Awards. In the same month they promoted it at SBS Gayo Daejeon. The song was promoted at the 2018 MBC Plus X Genie Music Awards and MBC Gayo Daejejeon as well.References:
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* In 2019 it was performed at the Seoul Music Awards.
BTS performed the single on 'America's Got Talent' Season 13 semi-final which was aired September 12, 2018. They also performed it on 'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon' and 'Good Morning America'.
On October 12, 2018, the group performed the single on 'The Graham Norton Show' in the UK.
Track listing
Credits and personnel
Korean version
The song's original credits are adapted from the CD liner notes of 'Love Yourself: Answer'.*Pdogg producer, keyboard, synthesizer, vocal & rap arrangement, digital editing, recording engineer @ Dogg Bounce
*Supreme Boi producer, chorus, gang vocal, vocal & rap arrangement, digital editing, recording engineer @ The Rock Pitt
*Hitman Bang producer
*Ali Tamposi producer
*Roman Campolo producer
*RM producer, gang vocal
*Jungkook chorus, gang vocal
*J-Hope gang vocal
*ADORA digital editing
*Hiss noise digital editing
*James F. Reynolds mix engineer
Usage in media
"Idol" is featured in the heavily panned 'YouTube Rewind 2018: Everyone Controls Rewind'.
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Release history
See also
* List of number-one songs of 2018 (Malaysia)
* List of number-one songs of 2018 (Singapore)
Notes
References
Category:2018 singles
Category:2018 songs
Category:Billboard Korea K-Pop number-one singles
Category:BTS songs
Category:Gaon Digital Chart number-one singles
Category:Macaronic songs
Category:Music videos directed by Lumpens
Category:Nicki Minaj songs
Category:Number-one singles in Malaysia
Category:Number-one singles in Singapore
Category:Songs written by Ali Tamposi
Category:Songs written by Bang Si-hyuk
Category:Songs written by Nicki Minaj
Category:Songs written by Supreme Boi
Category:Songs written by RM (rapper)
Category:Songs written by Pdogg
Category:Hybe Corporation singles
Category:Songs about fame
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