BTS reveal inspiration behind 'Telepathy,' cover Coldplay in historic MTV Unplugged performance
BTS A to Z Outtakes: Wrong Answers Only
To honor the release of BE, here's all the outtakes from our A to Z interview with BTS. Spoiler Alert: It's all chaos and we love it.
The ARMY won a major victory tonight.
BTS treated their loyal, notably Gen Z fanbase to a historic Tuesday night, becoming the first Korean act to perform on MTV Unplugged, the storied home of some of the best, stripped-down performances of the Millennial age.
The septet — RM, Jin, J-Hope, Jimin, V, Jungkook, and SUGA, who rejoined the group tonight for the first time since undergoing shoulder surgery — broke out some never-before-heard versions of their hits, debuted songs from their new album BE, and even covered Coldplay.
"It's really an honor to be a part of the MTV Unplugged legacy, where so many legends have performed," leader RM said at the opening. "We're definitely thankful, honored we got to be a part of this."
The special, which jumped from performances on changing sets to intimate conversations between the group, kicked off with their first-ever televised performance of "Telepathy," the lead single from BE. SUGA, who wrote the song, explained its inspiration: "We're in a situation where we can't meet our fans around the world in person due to COVID-19. So the song's lyrics describe our current situation of temporarily being apart from each other."
Next, BTS popped over to a concrete garden stage to perform the emotional ballad "Blue & Grey." V, who helped write the song, explained that it was written as a tribute to their fans, dubbed the ARMY, who've they've missed performing for at live shows. The song is also an expression of their collective feeling of burnout over the past year.
For their next song, BTS changed into matching khakis and blazers to perform a seated rendition of "Life Goes On" from BE with live music from Ghost, a band that has played with the group for years.
As a surprise, BTS also played a special cover of Coldplay's "Fix You," explaining that the song gave the group comfort during a difficult year, which they hope fans will also feel while listening.
And of course, for their grand finale, the group ended with a rousing rendition of their No. 1 hit "Dynamite," which they performed for the first time on MTV at the 2020 VMAs.
"First, we miss you ARMY so much!" Jungkook told fans while saying goodbye for the evening. "We look forward to seeing you again, and until then, we will continue to stay by your side this year with good music."
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