Celebrity

The reason why BTS’s RM doesn’t listen to his solo album after it’s released

RM’s first solo full-length album “Indigo” was out on December 2nd.

BTS announced in June of this year that they would focus on individual activities. Following J-Hope in July, Jin in October, RM released his solo full album with 10 songs four years after the 2018 mixtape “Mono.” Inspired by the color ‘blue‘, the name ‘Indigo’ was born.

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In the introduction video of ‘Indigo’ released by Big Hit Music on December 2nd, the day RM’s first solo album ‘Indigo’ was out, RM talked about the preparation process for this album.  What he first conceived in 2019 came out to the world in about three years. Since it contains all the emotions, feelings, worries, and thoughts felt by RM, or Kim Nam Joon (RM’s real name), he introduced it as “a kind of diary.”

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BTS has been a team that has consistently put the honesty of ‘the present me’ and ‘the present us’ into music. RM said, “All of our music tries to contain our very honest appearance at that time as it is. It is the result of intense contemplation. But this album is a new starting point.”

The meaning of a new starting point is also revealed in the album name. If black and white were the focus in ‘Mono’ four years ago, this album started with blue, a ‘more natural color’. RM said that even if each person’s idea of ​​’indigo’ is different, they will be able to feel “various color gradations” through the 10-song album.

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When the track list for ‘Indigo’ was released, what caught the eye the most was the numerous ‘names of collaborating artists’. RM sang 8 songs with other singers except for two songs, ‘Change pt.2’ and ‘Lonely’. DOCSKIM, Pdogg, Honne, eAeon, and John Eun also participated as producers.

RM said, “While working on this album, there are songs that I feel like I have to complete alone, while there are songs that I want them to be much more complete and have vitality if someone else’s color is applied together. This time, there were a lot of songs that I wanted to include others’ narrative and emotions. I also learned a lot while working on it. It also became a new experience and lesson.”

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From the first track ‘Yun’ to the last track ‘No.2’ (with Park Ji Yoon), RM unraveled the story behind each song. He said that he calmly expressed what he realized and what he was thinking through the works and messages of the late artist Yun Hyung Geun, whom he had always admired. 

About the second track, ‘Still Life’, RM said, “This is a song that I interpreted with the dual meaning of ‘this is still life’ and ‘I’m still living’. Although it is a life that has been drawn, it is still alive and moving, and I wanted to tell a story that continues to move forward and live without being confined to the frame of the canvas.” 

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The third track, ‘All Day’, in which Tablo, RM’s ‘childhood hero’, took part in writing, composing and singing, the lyrics are also the highlight. RM said, “It’s a story about a world living in an algorithm, and then finding each person’s taste and originality. Actually, it’s a song that you can listen to comfortably, but it would be nice if you could look at the implications of the lyrics.” 

‘Forgetfulness’ is a folk genre song with cozy, lonely and calm emotions.  RM introduced that the song was recorded with all ‘unplugged’ sounds, such as acoustic guitar, whistling, knocking on the desk in the studio, rubbing jeans, and playing toys. 

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Produced by Honne, a male duo with many fans in Korea, ‘Closer’ also featured Paul Blanco and Mahalia. RM added, “It would be fun to think back to those thoughts and emotions beyond the cell phone.”

Regarding the 6th track ‘Change Pt. 2’, RM said “This is actually the most comfortable pop song to listen to.” The 7th track “Lonely,” which he worked on at a hotel, is a song that comfortably contains universal emotions that everyone must have felt at least once in their lives. 

BTS RM

The 8th track ‘Hectic’ is a city pop song. RM said, “Actually, I don’t think there are many city pop songs performed by male singers. It seems that there are many cases where female vocalists do it, so I started working on what it would be like if men did city pop. I worked with my old friend Colde. The song was enriched because Colde has a very urban tone.”

The title song is ‘Wildflower’ with Youjeen. RM said, “It’s a song that talks about my desire to live like a calm wildflower rather than a fireworks display that disappears quickly and has a lot of things to clean up. With the addition of Youjeen’s extremely rocking and powerful vocals, I think the scalability of the story I want to tell has been secured a little more.”

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RM got the idea for the last track ‘No.2’ from the lesson of “Don’t look back” in Greek and Roman mythology. He said, “No matter what we went through, it was the best and it made all of us now, so I wanted to tell you not to look back.”  He thought of Park Ji Yoon from the beginning, adding, “I thought that the song’s message would be much more convincing if Park Ji Yoon’s voice is included.”

RM said, “I think the people who sang and wrote the songs are more important than the music itself, so it would be nice if you could view ‘Indigo’ as an album that contains my will and reasons.”

BTS RM

He added, “Also, from the moment it comes out, I don’t listen to my album anymore. So from that moment on, it’s up to the audience and listeners, so I hope that the people who listen to this album share what I felt and breathe the vitality of the song into the future with their own interpretation. I’ve prepared hard for almost 4 years, so I’d be very grateful if you enjoyed listening to it.”

Source: Daum

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