“Butter” by BTS

Simply put the title of this BTS song (“Butter”), as you have likely already deduced on your own, is a metaphor. And what it points to is the ‘smoothness’ of the vocalist(s) at hand.

Generally speaking, we all know what it means to be “smooth like butter” in a pop-musical context. Such a statement implies for instance, as Suga connotes throughout the third verse, that the dudes are physically attractive. Or more specifically, they are so towards the opposite sex. 

In fact on this track, the Bangtan Boys have let the cat out of the bag by portraying themselves more or less as “playas”. However, they are not necessarily doing so within the American context of the word. For instance, even though we know that BTS being rich AF would be part of their overall appeal to ladies, they never actually take it there directly. 

Instead they boast of possessing a general “superstar glow”. Also, as suggested in the chorus, part of being “smooth like butter” also entails being able to bust a move or two on the dance floor. In fact it should be noted that BTS actually namedrops Usher in the second verse, even though they don’t do so within the context of dancing.

But either way we have to presume that artists such as Big Ush, who never shies away from the bright lights of a dancehall, also influenced this song, if not the BTS’s entire image in general.

Theme of “Butter”

And yes, we have noted in the past that as time progresses the content of K-pop songs appear to be coming more globally streamlined – or braggadocious for lack of a more comprehensive word. And verily, compared to some of their previous outings, Jungkook and the rest of the homeys are very much focusing on their own shine this time around, even at some points their superiority over shall we say romantic rivals. 

But as far as the thesis sentiment of “Butter” goes, that would in fact be the notion that the Boys are smooth overall, with this argument being put partially into the context of their appeal to women. And that is also a bit unconventional, in terms of being forthrightly stated, as far as K-pop as we know it.

Release of “Butter”

Being released on 21 May 2021, “Butter” holds the distinction of being only the second English-language single that BTS has ever dropped. The first would be a track that came out the year prior entitled “Dynamite“, which proved to be one of the biggest hits of 2020.

Music Video

And by the looks of things, Butter is headed in a similar direction. For instance, the music video to that track, as directed by Yong Seok Choi, broke the YouTube premiere record that had actually been set by “Dynamite“. More specifically, approximately 3,900,000 people viewed the debut simultaneously, making it the largest YouTube premiere to date. 

Additionally it reached 10,000,000 views in 13 minutes and 20,000,000 in 54, which are also records on the globally-popular streaming platform. And as of the writing of this post, within four hours of the video debuting, the clip is averaging approximately 10,000,000 views per hour.

The beginning of said music video is in black and white.

More Fact about “Butter”

This track is a product of Big Hit Music, the primary label which BTS is signed under.

“Butter” is a standalone single. And to note, it was first teased on 26 April 2021.

As you may already know, BTS is actually seven-members deep. And according to Genius all of those individuals are officially acknowledged as ‘performers’ of this song. These individuals are as follows:

• J-Hope
• Jimin
• Jin
• Jungkook
• RM
• Suga
• V

However “additional vocals” are credited to J-Hope, RM and Suga as well as a non-band member named Jenna Andrews, who is actually a singer/songwriter from Canada.

In fact Jenna Andrews is also listed as one of the authors of “Butter”, as is the aforementioned RM. And its other writers are as follows:

• Alex Bilowitz
• Sebastian Garcia
• Rob Grimaldi
• Stephen Kirk
• Ron Perry

The latter three also served as the track’s producers. And just to note, Ron Perry is not your average musician but rather is concurrently serving as Columbia Records’ (another label that BTS is signed to) Chairman & CEO.

“Butter” is only the second single BTS has released thus far in 2021. The first was a track entitled “Film Out“, a Japanese-language piece actually, which acts as the closing theme song to a movie from Japan entitled Signal the Movie Cold Case Investigation Unit, which came out in April.

Performance on the Charts

“Butter” was well received in these countries, taking the #1 spots:

On top of the above success, it was also listed in multiple Top-10 charts in various countries.