Celebrate Jungkook of BTS’s Birthday with These 10 Songs
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The post Celebrate Jungkook of BTS’s Birthday with These 10 Songs appeared first on Consequence.
Happy birthday to Jeon Jungkook: BTS‘s golden maknae, incredibly talented vocalist and dancer, and all-around industry treasure turns 25 today! What better way to kick off a new month than with a celebration of all things Jungkook?
It’s impossible to imagine BTS without even one piece of the septet, and that remains true in the case of Jungkook. Just a teenager when BTS was being formed, Jungkook experienced his high school years with six silly and protective big brothers guiding him along. He’s now spent a major part of his life in the public eye, and, through the rollercoaster of life in the biggest act in the world, has managed to maintain a humble disposition, a warm and welcoming demeanor, and an incredible work ethic.
For anyone new to the big, bright world of BTS (or anyone just curious about this person whose name has already been trending for a good 24 hours), you’ve come to the right place. Jungkook has the kind of clear, dexterous voice built for pop music — and, as almost any behind the scenes clip of BTS indicates, Jungkook also just loves to sing.
Starting out so young in BTS meant that Jungkook has been honing his skills as a dancer for over a decade as well; just take a look at his dance cover of Megan Thee Stallion’s verse on the group’s own “Butter” alongside bandmates Jimin and j-hope as a quick reference point.
To celebrate Jungkook’s 25th, we’ve rounded up ten of our favorite JK-centric songs. Grab a lemon kombucha and settle in — and stream along via the playlist below.
“Euphoria”
What is there to say about “Euphoria” that hasn’t been said before? “Euphoria,” from the Love Yourself era, is an absolute all-timer, a true gem of a BTS song that really never loses its shine. It’s got a story of endless love; it’s got the excitement of new beginnings alongside the steadiness of longtime relationships; it’s got a wonderful vocal performance from Jungkook. “Euphoria” remains that girl.
The music video for the song, which clocks in at nearly ten minutes, is more like a short film. The BTS Universe of music videos is intricate and complicated and ultimately a story for another time, but the world captured in “Euphoria” is as joyful and peaceful as the title suggests. There’s a reason the image of Jungkook in the yellow jacket, arms thrown open to the wind, has endured for years now.
The song, of course, became truly legendary during the “Love Yourself World Tour,” in which Jungkook flew across stadium audiences. The orchestral DJ Swivel remix, which can be found on Soundcloud, takes flight with the additions Jungkook recorded just for the sweeping strings rendition. In short, “Euphoria,” you will always be famous.
“My Time”
2020’s incredible Map of the Soul: 7 is packed to the brim with philosophical and tender tracks — Jungkook’s solo offering, “My Time,” is an essential window into his experience coming into his own and maturing as part of BTS.
“Friends ridin’ subway, I’ll be in the airplane mode,” he says, referring to how different his life was as a 24-year old, unable to take part in the simple things his peers experienced day to day. “Don’t know what to do with, am I livin’ this right?/ Why am I alone in a different time and space?”
What’s more, “My Time” features a great vocal performance from Jungkook, who thrives on an R&B-inspired pop track, then further elevated with production touches from Sleep Deez. Although it’s the task at hand, the vibe when Jungkook then took to the stage to perform the song for the first and only time during the “Map of the Soul: ONE” concerts is tough to pin into words.
“Still With You”
That’s right — we’re pulling out the Soundcloud exclusive.
We open on the sound of falling rain before moving into a jazzy, sentimental coffee shop track. This Jungkook solo was released during 2020’s Festa, the annual celebration marking BTS’s anniversary. During a time of isolation and loneliness, Jungkook captured those feelings of yearning — “When will it be, if I see you again?/ I’ll look into your eyes and say, ‘I missed you,'” he promises. One particularly cute detail worth nothing — the url for the Soundcloud link ends with /thankyouarmy2020. No, thank you, Jungkook.
“Stay Alive” prod. SUGA
Suga knows Jungkook very well, which is why it’s safe to assume that producer Min Yoongi knew exactly what he was doing by starting off “Stay Alive” with a breathy vocal riff from BTS’s main vocalist.
One thing about BTS is they don’t do things halfway — “Stay Alive” was written to accompany a webtoon called 7FATES: CHAKHO, and these two did everything but phone it in for the project’s theme song. This sweeping, string-laden winter 2022 release genuinely makes the case for BTS to provide a bond theme in the future. Whenever the time comes for Jungkook to drop a solo album, we wouldn’t be surprised if one or two of the tracks was produced by Suga once again.
“Begin”
2016’s Wings was a big swing for the group, seeing the members dive into some intimate, personal themes. It was also the very first BTS album, three years into their career, that offered solo tracks. “Begin,” Jungkook’s addition to the album, is a thank you to his bandmates — “When I was fifteen years old, I had nothing/ The world was too big and I was too small,” he says, referring to his age at the time of the group’s debut. “Love you my brother/ Now I’ve got brothers… you make me begin.”
Still only just newly 18 years old when Wings was released, “Begin” offers a window into the introspective and, often, incredibly others-focused mentality with which Jungkook operates. His pain, he explains throughout the song, only stems from when he sees the fellow members of BTS in pain. Beyond just the loving messages communicated in the song, the smooth production is a perfect complement to his vocal performance. Naturally, it was RM who contributed most of the lyrics, internalizing Jungkook’s feelings about his “brothers” and helping craft them into this memorable solo debut.
“Stay”
Originally written for a mixtape Jungkook had in mind — any updates on a solo project timeline, friend? — “Stay” ended up landing on 2020’s wonderful BE as a subunit track with RM and Jin. This EDM-inspired song was even more explosive during the “Permission to Dance: Live On Stage” residencies and took on a new life for anyone lucky enough to catch BTS irl during that time. And, for what it’s worth, one of the best moments in BE is the blend between this track and the album closer, “Dynamite” — the cascade into Jungkook’s opening from the 2020 smash is a dream.
“Jamais Vu”
This Jin, j-hope, and Jungkook subunit song is an underrated gem from the Persona/Map of the Soul: 7 era. Not only is it a fun opportunity to hear from a rarer combination of members from the group, the song (co-penned by RM) features a wistful, melodic chorus and a take on the themes of memory and reunion that run throughout BTS’ discography.
The title, French for “never seen,” translates to the opposite of deja vu, describing a phenomenon in which someone finds themself feeling like they’re in a brand new circumstance or experience, despite it being something a person can rationally understand they’ve done before. “Please give me a remedy,” Jungkook begs with his ever-emotional vocals.
“Love Is Not Over”
Even when love is painful, goodbyes are sometimes worse — this is the idea behind this lovely piano ballad from 2016’s The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: Young Forever. Everyone’s verses are great on this aching track, but it stands out in Jungkook’s repertoire for the fact that it marks some of his work as a producer, too. “Love Is Not Over,” like “Autumn Leaves” and many other BTS songs, is one of those tracks that’s also just great to vibe to, even for those of us who aren’t fluent in Korean.
The members of BTS love making music, and they’re also consistently curious about finding ways to expand their skills across so many different stages of the process. For Jungkook, who also has a knack for video production and editing, this is just another feather in his very full cap.
“Left and Right” feat. Jungkook
A more recent addition to Jungkook’s solo work, the undeniably catchy “Left and Right” is the result of a collaboration with fellow pitch-perfect pop boy Charlie Puth. The two linked up the first time back in 2019 for a performance of “We Don’t Talk Anymore” in South Korea, and would appear they’ve maintained a friendship since then. “Left and Right” is so playful and fun, and it seems like Jungkook had a blast working on it and filming the accompanying music video with Puth. The concept in said video finds Charlie in therapy, struggling with the fact that he sees Jungkook everywhere he goes — who could possibly relate to such a premise?
“FAKE LOVE”
While not a Jungkook solo or even a subunit, this song is a milestone moment for any JK-biased fans. Not only does his part in the chorus remain iconic to this day — for more reasons than one — it’s all just an all-around classic part of the BTS canon. With “FAKE LOVE,” there’s desperation, there’s desire, and there’s heartache, and Jungkook nails every single moment. Plus, for anyone who hasn’t seen the behind the scenes footage of the members filming this music video, there’s some wild clips of Jungkook running in a practical set while the floor falls out from beneath him.
Jungkook Birthday Playlist:
Celebrate Jungkook of BTS’s Birthday with These 10 Songs
Mary Siroky
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