BTS Black Swan MV drops ahead of Map Of The Soul: 7 release – Metro.co.uk

The road to the BTS comeback Map Of The Soul: 7 has officially begun as the K-Pop group has dropped the new single from the album ahead of its release in February.

After unveiling Suga-led track Shadow, this new track has given ARMY – their fanbase – an indication of what to expect from them this time around.

It was released alongside a contemporary dance film featuring Michal Rynia and Nastja Bremec Rynia of the MN Dance Company, from Slovenia.

The video opens with a quote from Martha Graham, reading: ‘A dancer dies twice – once when they stop dancing, and this first death is the more painful.’

Black Swan video
The video focuses on contemporary dance (Picture: Big Hit)

The soulful, slowed down track is miles away from the boys’ Map Of The Soul: Persona comeback, Boy With Luv, which was much more upbeat and pop-driven – and the video is fully focused on contemporary dance.

Black Swan’s video does not feature any of the BTS members, and hints that this era will draw in more artistic influences for the band.

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According to the band, Black Swan sees BTS ‘dive deep into their inner selves as artists and faces the shadows they had once hidden’: ‘The song lends voice to their fears that one day music will no longer be able to move or touch them. The very moment they come face to face with the Black Swan within themselves, however, they are stricken with a paradoxical realization that music is all they have. It is a confession of an artist who has truly learned what music means to himself.’

Along with the release of Black Swan on streaming platforms, we got a look at the artwork for the new album.

It features a large ‘7’ in blacks and blues against a white chequered background.

BTS Map of the Soul 7
The album artwork has been revealed (Picture: Big Hit)

Intriguingly, the ‘phases’ of BTS’ comeback build up also include ‘Connect, BTS’ in different locations around the world – London, Berlin, Buenos Aires, Seoul and New York City – to amp up the anticipation for what the K-pop group will offer us next.

Map Of The Soul: 7 arrives on 21 February, and is the follow up to their 2019 album Map Of The Soul: Persona.

Fans might have a tour to look forward to this year as well, with BigHit sharing a cryptic photo teaser with the date April 2020.

The seven members – RM, Jin, Jimin, Jungkook, J-Hope, Suga and V – recently launched a collaboration with artists from around the world for Connect, BTS.

The website explains: ‘CONNECT, BTS is a global project to connect five cities and 22 artists, each of whom contributes their unique philosophy and imagination to it. This project aims to redefine the relationships between art and music, the material and immaterial, artists and their audiences, artists and artists, and theory and practice.

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‘CONNECT, BTS may be described in terms of a collective curatorial practice by curators around the world who resonated with BTS’s philosophy.’

The project began right here in the UK, with Danish artist Jakob Kudsk Steensen’s work Catharsis being exhibited at the Serpentine Gallery from 14 January until 6 March.

epa08103915 Members of South Korean boy band 'Bangtan Boys, BTS' pose as they arrive for the 34st annual Golden Disk Awards ceremony at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, South Korea, 05 January 2020. The Golden Disc Awards is recognized as the most traditional music awards ceremony in South Korea, with an award ceremony to select the best albums, singers and producers in the Korean pop scene. EPA/KIM HEE-CHUL
The K-Pop group is spearheading an art project for the comeback (Picture: EPA/KIM HEE-CHUL)

Meanwhile Argentinian contemporary artist Tomás Saraceno is going to attempt something incredible, inspired by the art collaboration. He will launch a self-powered balloon from the UK capital to Seoul in South Korea.

ARMY will be able to get involved by tracking the balloon’s progress online and stepping in to help out if the craft gets stuck or stranded.

‘It’s a way to connect people across countries, across energies, across generations,’ he told the BBC.

Black Swan is available to stream and download now.

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