Life Goes On (BTS song)
"Life Goes On" is a song recorded by South Korean boy band BTS and released on November 20, 2020, through Big Hit Entertainment and Columbia Records as the lead single from the group's fifth Korean-language studio album Be, released the same day.
"Life Goes On"
"Life Goes On" debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and became the band's third number-one single in the United States as well as the first primarily Korean-language song to debut atop the chart.
Music and lyrics[edit]
"Life Goes On" was written by band members J-Hope, RM and Suga alongside Ruuth, Antonina Armato, Chris James and its producer Pdogg. The song has been described as an alternative hip hop and synth-pop song underlaid with an acoustic guitar.[5][6] The folky[7][8] production consists of 808 drums,[9] electronic beats,[7] melodic rhymes, a stripped-down melody[10] accompanied by "acrobatic" vocals and harmonies on the chorus.[11] The lyrics of the song have been described as uplifting and seeking to provide hope to fans during the pandemic.[12][13] The song has been compared to the group's own 2017 single "Spring Day".[8]
Commercial performance[edit]
"Life Goes On" debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, on the chart issue dated December 5, 2020, becoming BTS' third number-one single in the United States in exactly three months, following "Dynamite" in September and "Savage Love (Laxed – Siren Beat) (BTS Remix)" in October.[14] This marked the fastest accumulation of three number-one songs on the chart in 42 years since the Bee Gees, who previously achieved the feat in two months and three weeks with "How Deep Is Your Love", "Stayin' Alive", and "Night Fever" from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack between December 1977 and March 1978.[14] The song topped the Digital Songs chart issue of the same date, having sold 150,000 units (pure sales) in its opening week, including 129,000 digital downloads and 20,000 physical copies.[14] It is the first Korean language song in Hot 100 history to debut atop the chart, as well as the first song sung predominantly in a non-English language since Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee's "Despacito" remix with Justin Bieber in 2017.[14] The following week, "Life Goes On" charted at number 28, marking the third-largest drop from number one by a song in Hot 100 history after Taylor Swift's "Willow" and 6ix9ine and Nicki Minaj's "Trollz", which fell to numbers 38 and 33 respectively in their second weeks.[15][16] It charted at number 93 in its third week and left the chart afterwards.[17]
Supported mainly by sales and streaming, "Life Goes On" received "minimal" US radioplay in comparison to its predecessor "Dynamite", prompting discussions from publications such as Slate and The Atlantic about, among other things, the difficulties facing non-English-language performing/speaking artists to break into the mainstream. Senior Culture editor for The Atlantic Lenika Cruz was unsurprised by the "lackluster radio spins", but felt that this made the single's debut at number one "that much more unbelievable" because while "'Dynamite' was everywhere...'Life Goes On' is currently the biggest song on the charts, released by the biggest musical group in the world—and there's a good chance you haven't heard it." She acknowledged that "non-Korean-speaking audiences would, of course, not understand most of the lyrics", but believed that the song "could resonate with many listeners in a difficult year" if given the chance by radio.[18] After outlining other performance differences between "Dynamite" and "Life Goes On" and possible influencing factors, Slate's Chris Molanphy concluded "One thing we do know, basically indisputably, is that radio, the third component of the Hot 100, decidedly prefers BTS singing in English." The "stark disparity" in radioplay between the former, which opened to an 11.6 million radio audience, and the latter, which opened to a 410,000 audience, supported his observations. Molanphy also pointed out that "Dynamite"'s holding at its peak of number 11 on the Radio Songs chart—the only other mostly-Korean song to previously peak on the chart was Psy's "Gangnam Style" which reached number 12 in 2012—suggested that the band would "fall short of the radio Top 10, even after singing in English."[19] Echoing sentiments similar to Molanphy's findings, Cruz additionally wrote that "The takeaway seems clear: If you don’t primarily perform in English, you need to outsell your closest competitors many times over—or secure a radio-friendly collaboration or remix—to have a shot at reaching No. 1 on the Hot 100."[18]
Music videos[edit]
Original[edit]
Two teaser trailers preceded the music video. The first, released on YouTube on November 17, 2020, is a 26-second long clip—accompanied by "ambient piano and guitar music"—of the band outdoors at night, seated around a campfire, then indoors watching a video while dressed in pajamas and loungewear.[20][21] Jungkook's name appears in the teaser's end credits as the music video director.[22] The second, released the following day, is a 22-second long clip comprising black and white stills of the individual band members set to audio of them singing the lyrics "'I remember, I remember' over wistful pop production." A photo of Jungkook holding a camera and staring into its viewfinder, in honor of his role as director, closes out the visual.[23]
Live performances[edit]
BTS performed "Life Goes On"—and "Dynamite"—at the American Music Awards on November 22, 2020.[3] The following day, two pre-recorded performances of the song were shown on American television programs. The first, on Good Morning America, featured the group performing inside a decorated house, wearing pajamas and bathrobes.[47][48][49] The second performance was broadcast during The Late Late Show with James Corden. The group sang the song while dressed in pajamas again, this time on a set consisting of a series of conjoined living rooms.[50] The performance ended with them unboxing gifts in a Christmas-themed room.[51] Elle's Ariana Yaptangco said that the group "traded in their regular top-notch choreography to show off their impressive acting skills."[52] BTS also performed "Life Goes On" as part of their four-song set at the Melon Music Awards on December 5,[53] and their three-song set for the Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA) on December 6. Suga, who was recovering from shoulder surgery at the time and did not attend in person, appeared as a hologram for the song's performance at MAMA.[54][55]