BTS’ V’s new song FRI(END)S tells a touching story of friendship turning into love. This is V’s first project after his military enlistment.
Big Hit Music released the music video of V’s new digital single “FRI(END)S.” on various music sites and the Hype Labels YouTube channel at 1pm on the 15th (Korean time).The song is written entirely in English.
FRI(END)S, is a sweet confession song that matches the pink spring. The sweet melody, witty lyrics and V’s devilish voice create a perfect harmony.
It is a song about him confessing that they have been friends for a long time, but now he wants to end their friendship and move on to a relationship beyond that. The notation of the song title, which implicitly expresses the song’s message, is impressive. In ‘FRI(END)S’, ‘END’ is put in parentheses to emphasize the ‘end’ between friends. Wittiness can also be felt in lyrics such as “Now I’m over pretending, So let’s put the “end” in friends.”
The melody that starts out calmly and warmly gives the listener a sense of stability. The heavily repeated beat makes the song more dramatic and V’s attractive voice, which goes between low notes and falsetto, enriches the song. In the second half of the song, V’s vocals and choir sound, which gradually increase according to the flow of emotions, bring the song to its peak.
BTS’ V’s new song FRI(END)S highlights the charm of empathy and reversal. The focus is on V’s contrasting faces when he is alone and with his lover, and the composition, which breaks away from the typical format, provides unique fun. The music video shows V going through the same daily life twice. Once, V spends a boring time alone among countless couples, and the other time he has an ecstatic time with her loved one. In the first half of the video, V looks cynical and lonely, while in the second half, V never leaves a happy smile. V changed not only his facial expressions and eyes, but also his clothes, hairstyle, and props, making repeated situations feel like a completely different story.
V’s excellent acting, which expresses conflicting characters in three dimensions, is also outstanding. The overall video gives the feeling of watching a short film, with a dry yet romantic atmosphere. In particular, the directing that divides the daily lives of a ‘lonely man’ and a ‘man in love’ into ‘death’ contributes to increasing the immersion of the music video. It’s refreshing that ‘END’ in the song’s title is connected to the subject of ‘death’, which is difficult to think of in a confession song, in addition to the ‘end’ of a friendship. Meanwhile, V will hold a fan event ‘Friends Party’ on the 16th at a cafe in Seongdong-gu, Seoul, where you can enjoy ‘Friends’ in various ways
V previously confirmed that he had prepared a few projects to release during his time away. He wrote in a statement that he’d “prepared a lot of things” for the 18-month period. “I will miss you so much. “Actually, I’m really sad that I can’t make happy memories with my ARMY for the time being […] it’s the hardest not to see the ARMY.”
He added, “I’ll be back!”
