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Serendipity (BTS song)

"Serendipity"
Song by BTS
from the album Love Yourself: Her and Love Yourself: Answer
ReleasedAugust 24, 2018 (2018-08-24)
Recorded2017–2018
Studio
  • Carrot Express
  • Adorable Trap
  • Big Hit Studio
Genre
Length2:19
4:37 (Full length edition)
LabelBig Hit
Songwriter(s)
  • Slow Rabbit
  • Ray Michael Djan Jr.
  • Ashton Foster
  • RM
  • "hitman" bang[2]
Producer(s)Slow Rabbit
Music video
"'Serendipity' Comeback Trailer" on YouTube

"Serendipity" is a song by South Korean boy band BTS, sung as a solo by member Jimin. It was originally released digitally as an introductory song on September 8, 2017 in the extended play Love Yourself: Her, with the full length edition of the song being released on August 24, 2018 in Love Yourself: Answer. It was written by "hitman" bang, Ashton Foster, Ray Michael Djan Jr., RM, and Slow Rabbit, who was also credited as the producer.

Background and release

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According to writer Ray Michael Djan Jr., "Serendipity" started out as a deep, meaningful paragraph. The producers concentrated on making a strong melody for the song as usually the lyrics are changed from English to Korean.[3]

When the trailer was released both "Jimin" and "Serendipity" trended worldwide.[1] In a V Live broadcast, RM revealed Jimin's goal with the song was to "push himself as a vocalist" resulting in him coming to RM for advice. RM also showed a snippet of his version.[4] When the music video was released it garnered over seven million views and one million likes in twenty-four hours.[5]

Promotion

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The music video was released as a teaser for the upcoming EP Love Yourself: Her.[6] The song was promoted at the 2018 KBS Song Festival in December 2018.[7]

Music video

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The music video was directed by Choi Yongseok and Lee Wonju of Lumpens, with the choreography for the song created by Brian Puspos, who had worked with BTS before on "Butterfly".[8]

Composition

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Musically, the song has been described as sensual and soothing, with hints of delicate electronic-tinged R&B in it.[9] The genre was termed Alternative R&B by Billboard, with the intro version running 2:20 and the full version being 4:36.[10] It is in the key of A♭ major and is eighty-seven beats per minute.[11] With gender neutral lyrics it talked about following your dreams, love, identity, and purpose.[12]

Reception

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"Serendipity" received critical acclaim, with IZM stating "'Serendipity' has a dreamlike quality to it, unraveling the joy, conviction, and curiosity of love".[13] Chester Chin from star2 stated the song was a "soft and sensual ballad [and] an exquisite display of the group's maturity".[14] The intro version of the song sold 114,128 digital copies in South Korea, with the full length version peaking at number twenty-nine for digital sales in the United States and selling more than 10,000 copies.[15][16] In Canada, the full length version was the thirty-ninth best selling song upon release and was the eighth best seller worldwide.[16][17]

Credits and personnel

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Adapted from the liner notes of Love Yourself: Answer.[18]

Charts

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Chart performance for "Intro: Serendipity"
Chart (2017) Peak
position
New Zealand Heatseekers (RMNZ)[19] 8
South Korea (Gaon)[20] 18
South Korea (K-pop Hot 100)[21] 7
US World Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[22] 2
Chart performance for "Serendipity" (Full length edition)
Chart (2018) Peak
position
Canadian Hot Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[23] 39
French Downloaded Singles (SNEP)[24] 93
Hungary (Single Top 40)[25] 19
South Korea (Gaon)[26] 77
South Korea (K-pop Hot 100)[27] 9
Scotland (OCC)[28] 78
UK Downloads (OCC)[29] 64
US Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[30] 29
US World Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[31] 5

Release history

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Version Country Date Format Label
Intro version Various September 18, 2017
Full length version August 24, 2018

References

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  1. ^ a b Herman, Tamar (September 4, 2017). "BTS Reveal 'Serendipity' Comeback Trailer for 'Love Yourself: Her' Album". Billboard. Retrieved September 7, 2018.
  2. ^ "LOVE YOURSELF 結 'Answer'". Naver. Retrieved October 9, 2018.
  3. ^ Herman, Tamar (December 22, 2018). "Western Songwriters Discuss Working on BTS' 'Love Yourself: Answer' Album". Billboard. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
  4. ^ "OMG: Rap Monster just showed off his own version of Jimin's 'Serendipity'". SBS. October 9, 2017. Retrieved September 7, 2018.
  5. ^ Sadaya, Marie (September 6, 2017). "BTS Trailer 'Serendipity' garnered over 7 million views on YouTube in 24 hours". Blasting News. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
  6. ^ "BTS (방탄소년단) LOVE YOURSELF 承 Her 'Serendipity' Comeback Trailer". YouTube. September 4, 2017. Retrieved September 7, 2018.
  7. ^ Woobin (December 29, 2018). '2018 KBS 가요대축제' 방탄소년단X엑소 최초 공개 무대부터 워너원의 눈물까지 (종합) ["2018 KBS Song Festival" From BTS X EXO's first public performance to Wanna One's tears (General)]. Tenasia (in Korean). Archived from the original on November 4, 2019. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
  8. ^ References:
  9. ^ Melendez, Monique (September 25, 2017). "Review: BTS Aren't Sure Where They Want to Go on the Entertaining But Uneven Love Yourself: Her". Spin. Retrieved September 7, 2018.
  10. ^ References:
  11. ^ "Serendipity". tunebat. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  12. ^ "Eleven Reasons You Should Stan K-Pop Sensation BTS". The Daily Vox. December 7, 2017. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
  13. ^ Kim, Doheon. "방탄소년단(BTS) – Love Yourself 承 'Her': Album Review". IZM. Retrieved September 7, 2018.
  14. ^ Chin, Chester (October 18, 2017). "'Love Yourself: Her': K-pop group BTS plays by the book". The Star. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved October 24, 2017.
  15. ^ "Intro: Serendipity" sales:
  16. ^ a b "BTS Digital Song Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
  17. ^ "Canadian Digital Song Sales". Billboard. Retrieved September 8, 2018.
  18. ^ Love Yourself: Answer (booklet) (in Korean and English). BTS. South Korea: Big Hit Entertainment. August 24, 2018. p. 56.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  19. ^ "NZ Heatseekers Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. September 25, 2017. Archived from the original on February 4, 2020. Retrieved September 26, 2017.
  20. ^ 2017년 38주차 Digital Chart [Digital Chart – Week 38 of 2017]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Archived from the original on January 12, 2019. Retrieved September 7, 2018.
  21. ^ "K-pop Hot 100 (August 20-26, 2018)". Billboard Korea. Archived from the original on September 8, 2018. Retrieved September 7, 2018.
  22. ^ "World Digital Song Sales (The week of October 7, 2017)". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 10, 2019. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  23. ^ "BTS Chart History (Hot Canadian Digital Song Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  24. ^ "Le Top de la semaine : Top Singles Téléchargés – SNEP (Week 35, 2018)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved September 9, 2018.
  25. ^ "Single (track) Top 40 lista – 2018. 35. hét (2018. 08. 24.-2018. 08. 30.) No.: 832" (in Hungarian). Archived from the original on September 11, 2018. Retrieved September 9, 2018.
  26. ^ 2018년 34주차 Digital Chart [Digital Chart – Week 34 of 2018]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Archived from the original on August 30, 2018. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  27. ^ "BTS Chart History (Billboard K-Pop 100)". Billboard. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  28. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 1, 2018.
  29. ^ "Official Singles Downloads Chart Top 100 (31 August 2018 - 06 September 2018)". Official Charts Company. August 31, 2018. Archived from the original on September 9, 2018. Retrieved September 9, 2018.
  30. ^ "BTS Chart History (Digital Song Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  31. ^ "World Digital Song Sales (The week of May 7, 2022)". Billboard. Archived from the original on May 3, 2022. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
  32. ^ Herman, Tamar (August 24, 2018). "BTS' 'Love Yourself: Answer' Is Here: Stream It Now". Billboard. Retrieved August 25, 2018.