Yet to Come (The Most Beautiful Moment)
"Yet to Come (The Most Beautiful Moment)" is a song by South Korean boy band BTS, released on June 10, 2022, through Big Hit Music and Universal Music Group, as the lead single from their first anthology album Proof. It is the band's first original Korean-language single since 2020's "Life Goes On". An alternative hip hop track, the song's lyrics are a reflection on the past nine years of the band's career while also looking forward to what the future holds. It was written by Dan Gleyzer, J-Hope, Max, Pdogg, RM, and Suga, with Pdogg serving as producer. The song received generally positive reviews from critics.
"Yet to Come" reached number one in India, Japan, the Philippines and Vietnam. It charted in the top 10 in Hong Kong, Hungary, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Singapore and South Korea, and the top 20 in Australia, Canada, Lithuania, Peru, Sweden and the United States. BTS promoted the song in South Korea with performances on M Countdown, Music Bank and Inkigayo.
An accompanying music video, set in the desert, was released alongside the single. It contains numerous visual references to past music videos from different eras in BTS' career. An animated music video, featuring avatars of the band from their mobile game BTS Island: In the Seom, followed on June 20. In July, a tribute video featuring submissions from the band's fans was released as part of a promotional YouTube campaign.
Composition[edit]
"Yet To Come (The Most Beautiful Moment)" was co-written by the group's rap line (RM, J-Hope, and Suga), their longtime producer Pdogg, and American artists Max and Dan Gleyzer. The song is in 4
4 common time in the key of D-flat major with a tempo of 86 beats per minute. BTS' vocal range span from A♭4 to B♭5.[7] References to songs like "Young Forever" and Kanye West's "Touch The Sky" are abundant, and the production is laid-back with striking background synths, and old-school hip hop beats from the early 2000s.[8] Lyrically, the group reflects on their career of the previous nine years and looks forward to the future. The track finds the members weighing up "everything from the accolades that have been bestowed on them over the years, their purpose and their future."[9] It was described as a "feel-good alternative hip-hop track with a medium tempo steering the melody ahead" that features a "chipmunk soul sampling style".[10]
Critical reception[edit]
Writing for NME, Rhian Daly awarded the song five out of five stars, praising the track for being "simultaneously tinged with nostalgia and brimming with optimism for the future". Daly pointed out V's and Suga's performance on the song.[9] Billboard highlighted the "powerful chorus".[11] Rolling Stone magazine described the single as "a classic BTS blend of sparkling pop and old-school hip-hop that offers a hopeful promise of an even brighter future."[12] Abbie Aitken of Clash wrote that "Yet To Come" compels listeners to pay close attention to the members words and "emphasize nostalgia surrounding the group and their music."[13]
Consequence included "Yet to Come" on its year-end list of the 'Top 50 Songs of 2022', at number 21, with Mary Siroky writing that the track served as "a loving ode to [the band's] past and a hopeful look towards the future", as its members are "more interested in the business of 'dreams and hope going forward,' a vision they're already making good on since the song's heartfelt release."[14] Other publications who ranked it among the best songs of 2022 include South China Morning Post (14th),[15] Teen Vogue,[16] Esquire,[17] and Tidal.[18]
Commercial performance[edit]
In South Korea, "Yet to Come" debuted at number 13 on the Week 24 issue of Gaon Digital Chart as the highest-charting new entry for the period dated June 5–11.[19] The song also entered the Download and BGM Chart at number 2,[20][21] and number 71 on the Streaming Chart.[22] After that, the song peaked at number 4 on the digital chart[23] and number 7 on the Streaming Chart.[24] In Japan, the single debuted at number 1 on the Oricon Daily Digital Single Chart with 6,672 copies sold,[25] and number 2 on the Weekly Digital Single chart for the period dated June 6–12, with 13,118 copies sold in total during that time.[26] It debuted at number 5 on the Weekly Streaming Chart with 5,952,112 streams,[27] and peaked at number 1 on its second week with 14,428,730 cumulative streams.[28] The single debuted at number five on the Billboard Japan Hot 100[29] and at number three on the component Download Songs chart.[30] The song rose to number 1 with 12,435,525 streams on the country's Hot 100 chart the following week.[31][32] In the United States, the song debuted at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also topped the World Digital Song Sales.[33] Globally, "Yet to Come” charted at No. 1 on the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart with 96.5 million streams and 42,000 sold in territories outside the U.S. on the June 10–16 tracking week. This marks the group's sixth appearance on the chart since the chart was created.[34]
Music video[edit]
Background[edit]
On June 8, 2022, BTS posted a teaser of the music video.[35] The 35-second teaser shows the members in a desert, with each referencing one of the group's past music videos.[36] The official four-minute music video was released on YouTube on June 10, 2022.[37] On June 18, 2022, BTS shared behind-the-scenes footage of the members filming in a desert outside Las Vegas, where they were seen confronting several problems: the Day One shoot had to be cancelled due to a massive sandstorm.[38]
An animated video of the single was released on June 20, 2022. It features the group’s avatars from the mobile game BTS Island: In the Seom.[39] On July 12, 2022, BTS released a tribute video that included fan videos from their #MyBTStory YouTube campaign.[40]
Live performances[edit]
BTS performed "Yet to Come (The Most Beautiful Moment)", together with their B-side track "For Youth", on Mnet's M Countdown, KBS2's Music Bank, and SBS' Inkigayo. It was the first time since their 2020 single, "On", that the group performed on South Korean music shows.[60] The group, accompanied by Anderson .Paak on drums, performed the single for their "Proof Live" in celebration of their 9th anniversary on June 13, 2022.[61] On October 8, 2022, they performed "Yet to Come" and "For Youth" at The Fact Music Awards.[62] BTS performed the single at the "Yet To Come" concert on October 15 in Busan.[63]