‘Dynamite’ is the BTS’ first fully recorded English single that was released in 2020. Ever since the release, the group has been receiving even more love and praise from many industries around the world and they have also broken records.
One of which was with Billboard Japan by becoming the fastest song in its history to cross 600 million streams.
The song is an upbeat disco-pop song with elements of funk, soul, and bubblegum pop, and takes influence from 1970s music—it features snapping handclaps, echoing synths, and celebratory horns.
Upon release, ‘Dynamite’ received positive reviews from music critics, with praise towards its catchiness and broadly appealing retro sound. It garnered the band their first Grammy nomination, for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance at 63rd Annual Grammy Awards, making them the first Korean pop act to be nominated for one.
‘Dynamite’ was also a commercial success, debuting at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming the band’s first number-one single in the United States and making BTS the first all-South Korean act to top the Hot 100.
The song sold 265,000 downloads in its first week, marking the biggest pure sales week since Taylor Swift’s ‘Look What You Made Me Do’ (2017). ‘Dynamite’ stayed atop the Hot 100 for three total weeks.
On Spotify, the track debuted with 7.778 million streams, marking the biggest opening-day for a song in 2020. Additionally, the song peaked at number one on both the Billboard Global 200 and Billboard Global Excl. U.S. charts, topping the latter for three consecutive weeks.
The song charted in the top 10 in 25 different countries and topped the charts in Hungary, Israel, Lithuania, Malaysia, Scotland, Singapore, and South Korea. The accompanying music video reached 1 billion views on April 12, 2021.
BTS went on to make another record breaking English track called ‘Butter’ but many fans still love the popping and thumping sounds of ‘Dynamite’.
The song came at a time when the world was down with the pandemic and they added a bit of brightness with their music, allowing tons of new baby ARMYs to join the club!
