"Fake Love" is a song recorded in Korean and Japanese by South Korean band BTS. It was written by "Hitman" Bang, RM, and Pdogg, with Pdogg as producer. The Korean version was released through Big Hit Entertainment on May 18, 2018, as the lead single from the band's third album Love Yourself: Tear (2018). Columbia Records serviced the song to US contemporary hit radio on June 12, 2018, as a single in the country. A remix, titled "Rocking Vibe", was released on June 4, 2018, and appears on the band's third compilation album, Love Yourself: Answer (2018). The Japanese version of the song was released for digital download and streaming on October 16, 2018, by Universal Music Japan as a single album that included the remix and "Airplane Pt. 2", both also in Japanese. "Fake Love" is an emo hip hop, rap-rock and electropop song which relies on rock instrumentals. The lyrics talk about a love that was once believed to be destiny, but turned out to be fake at the end.
The song received generally positive reviews from critics who praised its dark production, eclectic sound, and the band's vocal delivery. It received several accolades, including the Song of the Year and Best Pop Song at the 2019 Korean Music Awards, and appeared on the decade-end lists of NME and Consequence of Sound. Commercially, the Korean version of "Fake Love" debuted at number one on the Gaon Digital Chart and number ten on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming the band's first top-ten single in the US. The Japanese version debuted and peaked at number one on the Oricon Singles Chart, becoming the 12th best-selling single of 2018 in Japan. It was certified platinum for both streaming and digital download sales by the Korea Music Content Association (KMCA) and double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ).
Two music videos, for the original and the remix, were directed by YongSeok Choi. Premiering on May 18, 2018, the first video follows the story-line of BTS' fictional narrative universe and depicts the band dancing on various sets. The second video, an extended version of the first, was released on June 1, 2018, and has some additional footage. The debut performance of "Fake Love" at the 2018 Billboard Music Awards received positive reviews from critics. BTS later promoted the song with televised live performances on several South Korean music programs in 2018, including M! Countdown, Music Bank, and Inkigayo. It was also included on the setlist of their Love Yourself World Tour (2018–19).
Background and release BTS embarked on their extended three-part series "Love Yourself" with the release of their fifth extended play Love Yourself: Her in 2017. On April 16, 2018, the band announced the sequel of Her in the form of their third Korean-language studio album, Love Yourself: Tear. "Fake Love" was confirmed to be a part of Love Yourself: Tear, when the band shared the track-listing of the album. On May 14 of that year, it was announced as the first single from the album. The song was written by "Hitman" Bang, RM and its producer Pdogg. It was engineered by Pdogg and Jeong Wooyeong, while mixing was handled by James F. Reynolds at Schmuzik Studios. Backing vocals for the track was provided by band member Jungkook alongside Supreme Boi. BTS recorded the song at Big Hit Studios in Seoul, South Korea.
Talking about the song, RM explained in a V Live broadcast that among all songs on the album, "Fake Love" was most difficult to work on. The main foundation of it was created by him, while the rest of the song-making process was handled by Pdogg and "Hitman" Bang. He also shared a demo version of the track during the broadcast, which he felt was "completely different" and "more depressing and deeper" than the recorded one. Speaking about how the song was conceived, he said:
"Fake Love" was released for digital download and streaming in various countries by Big Hit Entertainment on May 18, 2018, as the lead single from Love Yourself: Tear. On June 12 of that year, Columbia Records serviced the song to contemporary hit radio in the United States as a single in that country. A "Rocking Vibe" remix version of the track was recorded and issued digitally on June 4, 2018. It was subsequently included on the band's third compilation album, Love Yourself: Answer (2018). The remix has identical songwriting credits to the original version with the addition of Slow Rabbit serving as producer. A Japanese version of the song was made available for digital purchase on October 16, 2018, by Universal Music Japan as the band's ninth Japanese-language single album, together with the Japanese versions of the remix and previously released Korean track "Airplane Pt. 2" (2018). It was also released as a four-version CD single in Japan on November 7, 2018, with a regular edition and three different limited editions: A, B and C. All four editions contain Japanese versions of the original and remix of "Fake Love", "Airplane Pt. 2", and a "stadium" remix of their 2018 Korean single, "Idol". In addition, edition A includes a DVD containing the music videos for "Fake Love" and "Airplane Pt. 2". Edition B also comes with a DVD that contains behind the scenes footage of the music video for "Airplane Pt. 2" and the making of album jacket photos, while C contains a 36-page photobook. The lyrics for the Japanese version were written by KM-Markit. It was later included as the eighth track on the band's fourth Japanese-language studio album, Map of the Soul: 7 – The Journey (2020).
Music and lyrics
"Fake Love" is a emo hip hop, rap-rock and electropop song with elements of pop-rock, trap and adult contemporary music. It is composed in time in the key of D minor, with a moderate tempo of 78 beats per minute, and runs for 4:02. Though the song keeps up with the band's signature hip hop sound, it employs a dark production consisting of thumping trap beats, "gritty guitars", "ambient synth quirks" and "doomy bass." The song primarily relies on rock instrumentation which includes electric guitar, drums, keyboards, and synthesizers. The drums have a repeating kick and snare sequence, which remains constant throughout the song. The verses are led by both arpeggiated and rhythm guitars.
The song makes use of dissonant and dark chord progressions and contains a "tense" chorus which is boosted by heavy bass. It features a "tenacious" and "blocky" bassline, which was compared to that of Atlanta hip-hop. The opening verse uses a "serpentine" delivery characterized by "breathy" vocals while the refrain is accompanied by "wailing" vocals from band. The song features "anguished" singing blending "warm" melodies and "dreamy, echoing" verses with "brusque" raps. The staccato-driven rapped verses follow the triplet flow saturating hip hop. The remix version adds "dynamic" electronic and acoustic string instruments over the original melody, introducing rock vibes to the song. The latter is also composed in the same key as the original recording, but with a moderately fast tempo of 155 beats per minute.
Lyrically, the song talks about love that was once believed to be destiny, but turned out fake at the end and reflects the theme of the entire "Love Yourself" series — "that any love wherein one does not love oneself is not real." It also recounts the emptiness that comes to a person who has invested too much in a relationship, only to lose one's own identity in the process through lyrics such as, "I even became quite unsure of who I was / Try babbling into the mirror, who the heck are you?" The lyrics further reference to the notion of holding onto a toxic relationship: "I grew a flower that can't be bloomed in a dream that can't come true." Lines like "Mold a pretty lie for you" and "Try to erase myself and make me your doll" suggest themes of "hiding depression" and "pressure" to maintain relationships despite struggling with mental health. During the chorus, the band chant the titular phrase singing, "I'm so sick of this fake love" admitting "disenchantment."
Critical reception "Fake Love" received generally positive reviews from critics. Jeff Benjamin of Paper praised the track's sound and the band's vocal delivery, writing that the song "might very well be the best representation of the pop excellence BTS brings to music." In The Korea Herald, Dam-young Hong wrote that the musical style "offers an overwhelming sense of darkness and maturity" to the song. She also appreciated its lyrical content, writing that the "poetic refrains" used throughout it "adds to the song's ineffable sensitivity." Hyun-su Yim, also of The Korea Herald, praised the song for "brilliantly" capturing the "genre-bending" and "emotion-heavy" musical essence of BTS. Rhian Daly of NME commended the "dark" production and labelled the song "beautifully gloomy," adding that the track is an "early instance of BTS tackling the idea of one's persona." IZMs Do-heon Kim compared the song to the band's previous tracks "I Need U" (2015) and "Blood Sweat & Tears" (2016), and praised the blend of "aggressive" guitar riff, "tensed synth samples," and "dreamy sounds" in the production which recreates "depression and anxiety" that is expressed through the "emotive" lyrics of the song. Markos Papadatos of Digital Journal said the song was "sonically and lyrically powerful" and "embodies the emotions of saying goodbye in a raw yet sincere fashion." He called the lyrics "exceptional".
"Fake Love" was positively reviewed by the writers of Rolling Stone, who likened the guitar line to that of '80s rock band, Def Leppard and stated that the track "is an impressive fusion, simultaneously bruised and bruising." In a separate review, music critic Elias Leight of the same publication viewed the song as "a jolt of angst-ridden, arena-ready rap-rock." Jess Lau of The 405 wrote that the song displayed significant growth in the band's sound and deemed it as the strongest track on Love Yourself: Tear. Writing for Spin, Blanca Méndez stated that the song "turns dark and marries the drama of Wings with the angst of their 2015 album The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: Young Forever." Dan Weiss of Consequence of Sound deemed it as a "breathy anthem-ballad," while Idolators Mike Nied called the song "mega-infectious." Reviewing for Vulture, Kim Youngdae and Park T.K. opined that the song's music was "carefully selected to amplify" the central message of the album. They further wrote, "the tension between electric guitar and a hip-hop beat creates a sense of dark resolve, unique among contemporary K-Pop and even among BTS's other music."