Map of the Soul: 7 is the fourth Korean-language and seventh overall studio album by the South Korean boy band BTS. The album was released on February 21, 2020, by Big Hit Entertainment. It is the follow-up to their 2019 extended play Map of the Soul: Persona, with five of its songs appearing on the album. Described by BTS as "deeply personal", the album is influenced by their journey and growth of seven years since their debut. Map of the Soul: 7 has been described as a pop, R&B, and hip-hop record that contains influences from urban contemporary genres like rock, trap, and EDM. Lyrically, it touches upon themes of reflection, introspection, and self-acceptance.
For the album, BTS worked with Halsey on "Boy with Luv", Ed Sheeran co-wrote "Make it Right", Troye Sivan co-wrote "Louder Than Bombs", and Sia was featured on their track "On". The record was primarily produced by Pdogg, also in the producing credits were Suga, Jimin, Fred Gibson, Hiss Noise, El Capitxn, Supreme Boi, and Arcades, among others. Upon release, Map of the Soul: 7 received critical acclaim, with praise towards the record's reflective narrative and cohesive production that experiments with various styles.
Map of the Soul: 7 was a huge commercial success, reaching number one in over 20 countries and becoming the world's best-selling album of 2020. BTS became the first Asian group to top the charts in all of the top-five music markets in the world. "Map of the Soul: 7 has now risen to No. 1 on the albums charts in all of the top five music markets in the world. This marks the first time an Asian group has done so, and it remains a rare sight, even when the biggest names in the world are competing for the top spot." In the United States, it became BTS' fourth consecutive album to debut at number one album on the Billboard 200 chart, earning 422,000 album-equivalent units (including 347,000 sales) in its first week. In under nine days of its release, the album sold more than 4.1 million copies for the first time in Gaon Album Chart's history, setting the Guinness World Record for the best-selling album in South Korea and was certified quadruple million by the Korea Music Content Association (KMCA). It was certified platinum in the United States and Japan, and earned gold certifications in seven other countries.
The album was supported by two singles, both entering the US Billboard Hot 100: "Black Swan" debuted and peaked at number 57, while "On" reached number 4, becoming the band's first top-five hit on the chart. Map of the Soul: 7 won Album of the Year at the 2020 Genie Music Awards, 2020 Mnet Asian Music Awards, 2020 Melon Music Awards, and the 46th People's Choice Awards, while "On" won Best Pop, Best Choreography, and Best K-pop at the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards. The band promoted the album with televised live performances on The Late Late Show with James Corden and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and various South Korean music programs including M Countdown, Music Bank, and Inkigayo. The group planned a world tour, the Map of the Soul Tour, to promote the album, but it was delayed and ultimately cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Background
Following the release of their sixth extended play Map of the Soul: Persona (2019), BTS took an "extended period of rest and relaxation" in the midst of their Love Yourself World Tour to "recharge and prepare to present themselves anew as musicians and creators" and to "enjoy the lives of young people in their 20s". Prior to Map of the Soul: 7s official announcement, music journalists and fans speculated that Map of the Soul would be a trilogy, and upcoming albums would be titled following the themes of Jungian psychology—Persona, Shadow and Ego. RM later confirmed that the record was originally intended to be part of a trilogy until the group changed plans and went on an extended break. He commented, "We thought, 'Why don't we combine them into one album?' Shadow means our wounds and Ego is about accepting our fate. So 7 is a very appropriate title since we've come back after seven months." Prior to the album's release, Map of the Soul: 7 was listed as one of the most anticipated albums of 2020 by Billboard, Rolling Stone, Vogue, Vulture and numerous others.
Music and lyrics
Map of the Soul: 7 is a continuation of their previous EP Map of the Soul: Persona, which itself was based on Murray Stein's Jung's Map of the Soul. The album expands on the themes and concepts of human psychology – "persona", "shadow" and "ego" and traces back the band's journey and growth of 7 years since their debut. Consisting of twenty tracks with fifteen new tracks and five from their previous release, the record is their longest studio album to date. Talking about the creative process behind the album, Suga stated, "It took us a little longer, and this is our first full album in quite a while. But making an album isn't just making the music. We have the songs, there's the choreography and a lot of other elements that come with it, so it took some time." Described by BTS as "deeply personal", Map of the Soul: 7 is self-referential that sees the group looking deeper to share their individual stories through their music.
Map of the Soul: 7 has been described as a pop, R&B, and hip-hop album that incorporates rock, trap and EDM influences in its beats and production. It explores a broad range of other musical styles and genres including emo rap, rap-rock, pop-rock, Latin pop, pop-rap, electropop, disco-funk, synth-pop, and Afro pop. Instrumentation through the record is provided by guitar strings and drums. Sonically, the concept album is diverse with rap songs, slow-paced sentimental ballads, and prog-style music. Lyrically, the album touches upon themes of reflection, introspection and the band's path to self acceptance. In an interview with Zach Sang, Suga explained: "One message that penetrates the album as a whole is that you must face your inner shadow, but resist becoming submerged into its depths."
Songs Map of the Soul: 7 opens with the solo track "Intro: Persona", a hip hop and trap song, performed by RM. It samples "Intro: Skool Luv Affair" from the band's 2014 EP Skool Luv Affair and employs guitars, "scratchy riffs" and AutoTune in its production. The track uses an echoing backdrop to create a retro sound similar to the works of American group Beastie Boys. RM raps the verses aggressively over Warped Tour-esque rock guitars, "pitched choruses" and Game Boy samples. Lyrically, the song directly references to Jung's archetypes and sees RM trying to answer the question, "Who am I?" AllMusic said that the song "delve[s] into the struggle between the darkness within and a manicured outer image." The following track, "Boy With Luv" is a playful and fun bubblegum-pop, nu-disco and electropop song, with disco, EDM, funk, synths and '80s pop elements. It features vocals from American singer Halsey, who performs mainly on the song's chorus and hook. Serving as a parallel track to the band's 2014 song "Boy In Luv", the lyrics are about finding happiness and joy in the smallest things in life.
R&B track, "Make It Right" is co-written by British singer Ed Sheeran. Driven by synthesizers, the band makes use of falsetto-heavy vocals and belting, singing the verses "with a breathy, close-miked intensity." The production further includes a looped horn throughout the song that was compared to the '00s sound of Amerie's "1 Thing" and Mario's "Let Me Love You". The New York Times noted the song "has some of [Sheeran's] signature soft-soul gestures, but BTS renders them with complexity." The fourth track, "Jamais Vu" is the first sub-unit song on the album performed by band members Jungkook, J-Hope and Jin. A ballad, "Jamais Vu" lyrically talks about the emotion when something familiar feels weirdly foreign. Described by RM as "the joy and pain of creating something", the fifth track "Dionysus" derives its name from the eponymous Greek god of debauchery and excess. A rap rock, synth-pop and hip hop song, "Dionysus" includes multi-part hooks, a trap breakdown and double-time drums in the ending chorus. Featuring Jin's "rocking adlibs" throughout the song, it is driven by rock instrumentals in which BTS use "metal inspired high notes", "angry rap verses" and "autotuned vocals." Lyrically, the song talks about stardom, legacy and artistic integrity by using drinking as a metaphor to the band's desire to create lasting art. Noah Yoo of Pitchfork compared the song to Kendrick Lamar's 2012 single "Swimming Pools (Drank)" which is also "a meditation on alcoholism" and described "Dionysus" as "a moment of existential introspection disguised as a party-starter."
The sixth song on the album is a solo track "Interlude: Shadow" performed by Suga and samples the intro track of the band's first EP O!RUL8,2? (2013). The emo rap track starts off with a medium-paced beat in an arrangement of electric guitar. During the song's lyrics, Suga raps about the fear and insecurities that come with fame and success. Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone called it "a prime example of BTS at top strength: a pop moment that feels both intimately personal and exuberantly universal". "Black Swan" is an emo hip hop track which uses instrumentation from trap drum beats and doleful lo-fi-style guitar tunes. It also features cloud rap and contains a catchy hook. Set in an arrangement of somber instrumentals, the lyrics confess the fear of losing passion for music. Built over a rhapsodic melody, the song features distorted vocals and traditional 12-stringed Korean instrument gayageum. It was served as the first official single for the album. NME called it "a haunting, melancholy curveball" that deviates "from an immediate, radio-friendly choice", putting "artistry ahead of mass appeal". Several critics have compared the track to the band's 2018 single, "Fake Love". "Filter" is a Latin pop-esque song performed by Jimin, featuring his different sides as a person. "My Time" performed by Jungkook is a strobing R&B song about forgoing the teenage experiences because of his career. Billboard noted the use of "gritty" guitar riffs in the song, adding a mild rock effect to it. Co-written by Troye Sivan, "Louder Than Bombs" is a trap-inflected electropop ballad. It features metronomic beat and falsetto vocal harmonies led by bass.