BTS’s Jin, RM, And J-Hope Reveals Their Dark Side
Of course, BTS still has their “dark side”, but they’ve learned how to live with it and become better every day.
In an interview with Rolling Stone India, BTS were asked about their 2014 Dark & Wild album and their 2015 The Most Beautiful Moment in Life series. These works tell us about the highs and lows of growing up, speaking to the hearts of young people everywhere.
“Now when you look back at these records as successful adults, how has your perspective on what the youth need to hear in music evolved?” Rolling Stone India asked.
“When I was younger,” RM replied. “I thought that sadness had to be dealt with sadness. Now that I am older, I realize that is not always the case. We need a balanced mix of happiness and sadness and light and dark to act as nutritive elements in our lives.”
RM later figured out the balance of light and darkness in his 2018 solo mixtape, mono. Its soft-spoken vulnerability was a major departure from the bold, hip-hop heavy RM mixtape he released in 2015.
"My color and identity have completely changed again since mono, but I wanted to address that dark and monochrome side of myself then. I hope it can comfort anyone who is in a similar chapter in their life."— RM
BTS‘s Jin is a famous star who loves making fans smile. He is also Kim Seokjin, an ordinary man in his twenties, who prefers to keep his “dark side” deep down inside.
Like RM, Jin brought a side of himself out of the shadows and into the stage. His solo song “Epiphany” is about self-love and insecurity; topics that were not comfortable for Jin to share.
“As Jin, I don’t really want to show people that side of me,” he expressed. “since I’m a person who likes games and movies. So I try my best not to show my darker side. I try hard to act more cheerful or show only my bright side.”
“So I tend to separate Jin and Kim Seokjin.”
He is aware of how emotionally in tune ARMYs are with BTS; they feel the members’ happiness and sadness as their own.
"Sometimes I go on the internet and look at the fans’ reactions. When something makes me happy, the fans are all happy for me, and when something sad or distressing happens to me, they all sympathize with me, feel sad for me, and even feel down."— Jin
In the past, RM shared a piece of insight that made a lasting impression on Jin and shaped the “persona” that we know about Jin today.
"Namjoon once said that fans love us because they want to feel happy, but if they see us feeling down they feel sad along with us. After hearing that, I realized I shouldn’t show myself looking down or my darker side. So that’s what I’ve been trying to do."— Jin
“Fans get positive energy from seeing us,” he continued. “‘This is who they are, and seeing them makes me happy.’ If that’s what they feel, that makes me happy too. That’s what I love about it.”
"Self-acceptance and insecurity are topics that I honestly didn’t want to address. I didn’t want to reveal my dark side, but talking to our Chairman and producer Mr. Bang helped me open up. I think I have now accepted that part of me and learned to understand and love myself."— Jin
J-Hope is a source of positive energy for the ARMY, but yup, he still has a dark side that worked its way into his music. His solo song “Blue Side (Outro)” is much different than his usual, upbeat tracks.
“Blue Side” gave us a glimpse of a more melancholic, reflective side of your artistry. Is that something you’d like to explore in detail in the future? Is there a darker side to j-hope that you have yet to unleash artistically?— Rolling Stone India
“I believe we all have shadows as humans,” J-Hope explained. “I am grateful that music can act as a mechanism to beautifully express those dark sides. I want to continue to try new things by exploring new genres and telling my stories. I’m doing my best to prepare at the moment, so please look forward to it.”