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BTS’ Love Yourself: Her completes 7 years; Revisiting impact of iconic album via hit tracks DNA, Mic Drop, and more
BTS’ iconic hit album Love Yourself: Her has turned seven today. Let’s revisit its iconic tracks including DNA, Mic Drop, Best of Me, and more.
Love Yourself: Her is the fifth extended play by South Korean boy group BTS, released on September 18, 2017, by Big Hit Entertainment. The album was launched in four versions and features nine tracks, with DNA as its lead single. Today marks the seventh anniversary of this iconic album. Let’s take a moment to revisit its impact, celebrating hit tracks and the message of self-love.
Love Yourself: Her’s hit tracks
If one pays attention to the lyrics throughout the series, they’ll see that it reflects a journey we all undertake at some point in our lives. It explores the theme of indulging in our desires only to lose ourselves in them, realizing that loss, and then finding our way back as we pave our own path toward self-discovery, acceptance, and love.
The album includes eight songs and one skit, featuring a solo intro by member Jimin, a track from the vocal line, and an outro from the rap line. The album’s concept primarily highlights the positive, happy, and somewhat clichéd aspects of love, while also addressing more serious social issues and featuring two diss tracks.
The track Intro: Serendipity beautifully sets the theme of the album, describing a love that has saved the narrator’s life and brought him joy, which he believes is destined by the universe. Meanwhile, DNA delivers a bright, poppy sound with EDM influences, also exploring the concept of a universe-ordained love, but in a more upbeat and energetic way.
Best of Me is a B-side track from this album, featuring a beat produced by The Chainsmokers. This mid-tempo romantic number showcases the softer side of the rappers, allowing them to shine throughout the album. Meanwhile, Dimple features a future bass sound and is sung by the vocal line (Jin, Jimin, V, and Jungkook). The song celebrates the adorable dimples on their loved ones’ faces and was written by RM, who expressed a desire to sing it because he has dimples himself.
Pied Piper is a diss track with a twist: instead of targeting haters, it playfully critiques the fans! This song showcases the down-to-earth sense of humor that endears the members to everyone. In contrast, Mic Drop is a more traditional diss track aimed at their critics and haters, where the seven-member K-pop boy band confidently acknowledges their growing prominence in the industry.
Go Go is a track that critiques society, a hallmark of BTS albums that sets them apart from many other artists. Although it comes across as one of the group’s goofiest and most playful songs, it actually addresses the struggles faced by today’s youth. Finally, Outro: Her may not delve deeply into societal themes, but it offers subtle hints that connect to the broader more darker narrative of the Love Yourself era.
Love Yourself: Her themes and impact
Sonically, the EP presents a dual exploration of the group's electro-pop and hip-hop influences. The first half features dance tracks that highlight the group's vocal abilities, while the second half showcases their hip-hop side, delivering powerful rap performances.
The album’s tone and musical style reflect a romanticized vision of love. Her is filled with upbeat, positive tracks, featuring an EDM-inspired title song that celebrates a love that feels destined. However, it's important to note that the album retains BTS’ signature musical diversity. The love explored in this first album represents the initial step on the journey to self-love, highlighting the realization of self-rejection that can lead to unhealthy relationships.
Love Yourself: Her recorded an impressive 1,051,546 stock pre-orders from August 25 to 31, making BTS the first K-pop group to surpass one million pre-orders for a single album. The EP debuted at number one on the South Korean Gaon Album Chart, while its lead single DNA entered the Gaon Digital Chart at number two, with all tracks from the EP landing in the top 40.
According to the monthly Album Chart released on October 14, the album was the highest-selling release of September 2017, with 1,203,533 copies sold since its release on September 18. It also achieved the second highest monthly sales in Gaon Chart history and was the first album in 16 years to exceed 1.2 million copies sold since g.o.d's fourth album, Chapter 4 which was released in 2001.
The EP debuted at number seven on the US Billboard 200 with 31,000 album-equivalent units—18,000 of which were pure album sales—marking the biggest sales week for a K-pop album on the chart and making it the highest-charting K-pop album in Billboard history until the release of BTS' own Love Yourself: Tear in 2018.
BTS also became the first Asian artist in seven years to debut within the top ten, surpassing the record set by Filipino singer Charice, who debuted at number eight in 2010 with her self-titled album. The album stayed on the Billboard 200 for 44 weeks, becoming the first Korean album to achieve this milestone. Its revolutionary impact served as a significant stepping stone in the careers of the music giants BTS.
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