Review

Song Review: BTS – Permission To Dance

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BTS - Permission To DanceThere’s a fine line between polished, sugary radio pop and cloying commercial jingle, and that difference was perfectly illustrated by BTS’s Dynamite and Butter. The two songs are quite similar in sound, style and execution, yet one feels fresh and fun while the other comes across as trite and overcooked. I’m not sure I could even tell you why they strike me so differently, but we’ve crashed right back into Dynamite territory with new single Permission To Dance. Co-written by the omnipresent Ed Sheeran (who also worked on the group’s 2019 Map Of The Soul: Persona album), the track is utter radio slop.

Now, I enjoy a bit of radio slop from time to time. That descriptor doesn’t have to be a bad thing! But, there’s a point where these kind of self-empowerment, ‘let the good times roll!’ anthems tip into a place where they simply feel patronizing. This is the sort of music you hear placed over montages of people dancing with their cats and babies on Good Morning America. It’s fake fun – an over-enthused pep rally you desperately want to escape.

Worse yet, the group’s producers go full bore on Big Hit’s notoriously bad vocal mixing. BTS’s voices are so processed that they begin to lose shape, melting into mumbly-mouthed phrasing that’s difficult to discern. This might actually be a blessing in disguise, given the song’s bad-self-help-book lyricism. I mean, I’ve never felt I needed permission to dance (has anyone, outside of Footloose?), but I wish the track actually made me want to move.

It’s clear what Permission To Dance is aiming for. Beyond replicating the success of Dynamite and Butter, the song seeks to uplift. It’s an admirable goal, but this feels like a particularly cynical way to go about it. I hear no BTS within this product. Back in 2013, if you would’ve told me the young upstarts who challenged the K-pop industry with biting tracks like No More Dream and N.O would be reduced to shuffling along to some lame Ed Sheeran ditty, complete with plonky keys and a music video that feels like an awful pharmaceutical ad, I would’ve thought the world had gone crazy. But, here we are – “da na naing” our way through a jump-the-shark crisis happening in real time.

Fans often say that BTS aren’t K-pop anymore — that they’ve somehow “transcended” the industry. Given their incredible global success, I guess that’s partially true. But if “transcending” means reducing yourself to the lowest common musical denominator, is that really something to be proud of?

 Hooks 6
 Production 7
 Longevity 6
 Bias 5
 RATING 6

400 thoughts on “Song Review: BTS – Permission To Dance”

  2. This is honestly the worst single I’ve ever heard from BTS and I’ve been a casual listener of theirs since 2014. I knew I wouldn’t be a fan of it right from the moment I heard Ed Sheeran was gonna be involved, but this went far below my expectations and feels like something a generic boy band would put out. To make things worse, it seems like BigHit/HYBE are getting even worse with the godawful vocal processing they usually do for their boy groups.

    I find it so ironic how just a few years ago a lot of the hardcore fans were adamant that the group would never release generic English tracks just to target radioplay and yet here we are now. I’m just hoping their next Korean album reels me back in.

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    • It’s funny how you can have the best, mediocre and the worst possible song for the exact same kind of music. Best being Butter, mediocre going to Dynamite, and worst possible going to this.

      I think they did everything they could have done to make this song (and video) as not-to-my-taste as possible. Generic pop production? Vocals mushed like mashed potatoes so that everyone sounds like V for some reason? Cringey all-English lyrics? Another song ripped-off from Can’t Stop The Feeling? And seriously, a VIDEO ripped off from Can’t Stop The Feeling? You can do better than this, HYBE.

      Nick had said something like this before – “As K-pop has gained western prominence, expectations around the industry have changed. It’s no longer enough to cater to your own niche fanbase. Agencies’ ambitions are global. The net is cast wide and shallow, rather than narrow and deep.” Honestly, if this is the kind of music BTS strives to represent, all I can say is that it would not be to my taste.

      If anyone asked who my favourite K-Pop group right now is, I would probably tell them BTS, but its mainly because I don’t remember a single song from them I’ve disliked from them from their debut right up to 2018. Boy With Luv, Black Swan, On, and Dynamite are all songs that I didn’t like, or have been the opposite of a grower (looking at you, On.) And Butter had my hopes really really really high up. I think I’ve said this before, but Butter is my favourite song from them since Idol. And this has the honour of being the worst single from them since Black Swan, maybe even ever.

      If I had my way, I would take them out of this kind of radio-pop route and take them to something like Boy In Luv, Danger, Dope, I Need U, Fire kind of music. Please, producers.

      It’s weird how the more popular you are, the more generic you have it become. I’d think that you have to explore more genres the more people you reach out to, but apparently, that’s not the case. At least, I as a part of the audience would not like the entire group just being stuck in a wheelhouse of the same kind of songs over and over.

      I guess there are two things that can help heal my broken expectations. First being that, the members had no hand in this and hopefully is not the kind of sound they would like to pursue. Second being that some people actually do enjoy this apparently. To those who do, no offense, I hope I could enjoy it as much as you could. 7 for me, raised from 6 because of my biases.

      Looks like July is NOT going to be good.

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      • “If anyone asked who my favourite K-Pop group right now is, I would probably tell them BTS, but its mainly because I don’t remember a single song from them I’ve disliked from them from their debut right up to 2018.”

        My exact thoughts. I know they want to satisfy a wide range of audience but, I don’t know, people move on from this kind of music after a few days.
        Numbers seem to be the only target they have in mind.

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  3. Nick, this just might be your most accurate review yet and instead of just making my own original comment, I’ll just quote a few stuff which are absolutely true.

    “There’s a fine line between polished, sugary radio pop and cloying commercial jingle, and that difference was perfectly illustrated by BTS’s Dynamite and Butter. The two songs are quite similar in sound, style and execution, yet one feels fresh and fun while the other comes across as trite and overcooked.”

    “This is the sort of music you hear placed over montages of people dancing with their cats and babies on Good Morning America. It’s fake fun – an over-enthused pep rally you desperately want to escape.”

    ” Back in 2013, if you would’ve told me the young upstarts who challenged the K-pop industry with biting tracks like No More Dream and N.O would be reduced to shuffling along to some lame Ed Sheeran ditty, complete with plonky keys and a music video that feels like an awful pharmaceutical ad, I would’ve thought the world had gone crazy. But, here we are – “da na naing” our way through a jump-the-shark crisis happening in real time.”

    “Fans often say that BTS aren’t K-pop anymore — that they’ve somehow “transcended” the industry. Given their incredible global success, I guess that’s partially true. But if “transcending” means reducing yourself to the lowest common musical denominator, is that really something to be proud of?”

    With that out of the way, We all should probably hide right now.

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    • Ah, the age-old dilemma: better to say your piece now and beat the crowd or wait a few days to avoid the potential worst of it?

      I’d say this blog remains the safest place to chat about our disillusion with certain music — I’ve not seen much beyond mild-moderate animosity around here at the worst of times, though how much of that is due to comment moderation is unknown to me 😉 Kudos to Nick regardless! I really like to see disagreements around here for that exact reason. People are, for the most part, quite civil when explaining what they consider to be good or bad about X song, and you get some interesting insight into where your opinion may differ with someone else’s and why.

      That said, it is rather sad that having to “run and hide” is even a concern, no matter how jokingly you said it. Seems to me that this blog has experienced some serious growth in the last couple years! I realized the other day that the Fake Love review only has five comments that aren’t pingbacks — how weird is that, compared to now? Five! That growth is a bit of a double-edged sword, however, with more mainstream popularity equating to exponentially increased chances of the more vicious side of fan culture creeping in.

      (Apologies if this word vomit gets posted twice! My phone is unkind to me when working with WordPress and I usually have to hit post a couple times.)

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      • I said it for a joke, but I am genuinely scared that people will find this page and start shitting on it everywhere. There was this time, My friend just told he didn’t like BTS and holy friggin- People were just ganging up everywhere on him. But he really did not care for whatever they said, he just passed it off.

        I don’t have the effortlessness to be as cool as him, How can I SURVIVE?!

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      • Wow… it’s like you perfectly summed up my past two years! A growth in readership (and interaction) can definitely be a double-edged sword, but I’m very grateful for it.

        Would you believe I can count on one hand the number of comments I’ve actually had to delete/moderate over the years? Let’s keep it that way!

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  5. I took your suggestion to listen to their second English single due to your review of the song and I was pleasantly surprised. I was turned off with what the first English single depicts (aka the fake fun territory)
    Now, seeing both my timeline (saying it reminds them of CSTF by Timberlake and Happy by Pharrell) and this review…I can imagine how this would already sound already. My repelling feeling from the first single is back. I guess…there’s a reason it wasn’t a lead single. (please, please any fan, correct me if I’m wrong that PTD is not a lead single) But that doesn’t mean I won’t be hearing it ever, seeing how their English singles go.

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  7. ‘I hear no BTS within this product. Back in 2013, if you would’ve told me the young upstarts who challenged the K-pop industry with biting tracks like No More Dream and N.O would be reduced to shuffling along to some lame Ed Sheeran ditty, complete with plonky keys and a music video that feels like an awful pharmaceutical ad, I would’ve thought the world had gone crazy. But, here we are – “da na naing” our way through a jump-the-shark crisis happening in real time.’

    Thank you for putting into words what I’ve been feeling about their discography for the last four years! They were the group that first got me into kpop in 2016, my most listened album of that year too. It’s so disappointing to see them lose all artistic licence and get phased into the system they used to criticise.

    Best of luck, Nick! May god have mercy on this comment section

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  8. (just in case people take this seriously, this whole comment is a joke meant to poke fun at toxic stans (and the goanimate community too). oh and i may have taken inspiration from Sargun Gill’s comment from DKB’s Still review so consider it the spiritual successor)

    OH OH OH OH OH OH OH OH OH OH OH OH OH OH OH OH OH OH OH OH!!! NICK, WHY?! AS A READER OF YOUR BLOG SINCE 2069, I AM HIGHLY DISAPPOINTED!!! I CAN’T FREAKING BELIEVE YOU GAVE THE KINGS OF POP A FREAKIN 6/10 ON THIS CURSED PAGE OF YOURS!!! IT SHOULD’VE AT LEAST GOTTEN A 420/10. DON’T YOU KNOW HOW HARD THEY WORKED TO GET TO WHERE THEY ARE NOW!!!??? PERMISSION TO DANCE IS SOTY MATERIAL, ALONG WITH OMEGA X’S VAMOS AND ITZY’S MAFIA IN THE MORNING!!! THAT’S SO FREAKING IT, YOU ARE GROUNDED GROUNDED GROUNDED GROUNDED GROUNDED FOR 9273637290192763719109598865719018626251890928374646467199 MILLISECONDS!!! GO TO YOUR ROOM NOW!!!

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  9. Been a silent reader for a while, but I think it’s time for me to step out and start talking.
    Truth be told, there isn’t really anything that I disagree with. The song is really not my taste and I will make sure to steer clear from it in the future haha. The song is catchy… but that’s all it has to offer for me. I love BTS and I genuinely do like many of their songs but this one just isn’t it for me.

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    • Welcome in! Catchiness definitely isn’t everything when it comes to a song — I had Bad Boy by Red Velvet stuck in my head for months, despite it being (hot take!) probably my least favorite offering of theirs. Still, earworms can be a boon, too! Sometimes songs just take two or three years to grow on you 😉

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  10. I’m a hardcore ARMY but I agree. By far the most characterless single they have released. It’s quite disappointing that they’ve taken this turn after releasing one of their strongest summer tracks (Butter). Honestly the only thing that takes the sting out of it is that BTS had no hand in writing or producing this track. It doesn’t sound like them. Their voices fade into the weird processing as you stated. This was a clear miss and it feels more like an open mocking of radio earworms than a serious single. I hope they get back on track with their next release.

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    • I have similar thoughts and I think the fact that they didn’t have a hand in writing in is partly why it is so bad (and so unlike them). BTS got popular by writing and producing their own stuff and having their own style…now it feels like Big Hit is trying to fix something that wasn’t broken, which just feels…very unwise, to put it mildly.

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      • Yes exactly! Sigh, I don’t know when they’ll release a track/album that gives me chills like their 2016 releases BST, Run, House of Cards which were so unique. Big Hit seems to be quite confused lately.

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      • That “no emojis” thing always irks me in comments section. Whoever first started the lie that emojis delete YT views is probably laughing their ass off that thousands of naive K-pop fans actually believed it. The comments section under music videos are already cesspits of spam comments (yeah, K-pop fans have somehow managed to compare number of comments under MVs as well. What a time we live in!).

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  16. Nick, do you have death wish, or…?

    But, truthfully, I agree with you. Big Hit, what are you doing?? The vocal processing is so awful I could barely get through it. We KNOW BTS can sing, there is literally no need for any of that. They are MILES better than this material.

    I feel like the stereotype people who have never listened to K-Pop have of K-Pop is that it is all overprocessed fluff (I know, because that is shamefully what I thought it was before I actually heard any of it). BTS was never like that, but their latest material is careening in that direction awfully quickly. I hope their next Korean release gets things right again. How disappointing.

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  18. I’m not exactly the biggest fan of this song esp after the incredibly catchy Butter. However I’m gonna take a more optimistic point of view for this song. BTS is now a global brand. I mean they had a freaking McDonalds meal named after them. Their entire appeal that made them from huge k-pop stars to the worlds biggest pop group is that you can enjoy their music no matter what age, race, or gender. This is also a big problem because in order to appeal to lots of people you can’t be too niche in terms of sound. I personally love Fake Love but my mother wouldn’t listen to that song on her own but Permission to Dance she for sure would. 2013 BTS could sound how they wanted because they weren’t famous and probably couldn’t even fathom the amount of fame they would have in 2021. While I do hope BTS comes out with a korean comeback that is more their style, I can def see why they came out with this song to appeal to the general masses. It kinda sucks to see but I’m guessing what goes on behind the scenes in the music industry is something that we can’t guess and maybe BTS can’t even totally dictate. I think a 6 is a bit low tbh though. I’m ngl I would prob turn off an Ed Sheeran song right when it came on but for Permission to Dance I could at least listen to it all the way thru.

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    • this is an interesting way to look at the 2 songs and their generic nature!

      I dont have anything to add but that generically appealing songs also have their fair share of dislikes, so I would rather the artist (bts or otherwise) release more. characteristic stuff than otherwise haha

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    • this is an interesting way to look at the 2 songs and their generic nature!

      I dont have anything to add but that generically appealing songs also have their fair share of dislikes, so I would rather the artist (bts or otherwise) release more. characteristic stuff than otherwise haha

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  19. Even the music video is basically replicating the “everyone loves dancing to our music check it out!” vibe. That instantly reminded me of Can’t Stop the Feeling and Happy’s videos, and you know how big those songs got. Even the music’s the same vibe too. And real talk, even the dancing is a little uhh.

    Thing is, I don’t actually hate the previously aforementioned songs. As Nick said, it’s radio slop, but that doesn’t mean it’s automatically bad. Hell, I really like Better When I’m Dancing and that’s basically another one of these kinds of songs.

    Still, I already wasn’t much of a fan of Dynamite and Butter to begin with so I kind of expected not to like this too considering I was warned about the auto-tune. They really to stop with it. That’s the one that’s really making me dislike this song, though the lack of character also kind of drives it down.

    It’s basically what I imagine Kidz Bop would release if they made original music. Although truly, the Kidz Bop version would have better vocals. I’m not even joking.

    Good luck, Nick. Butter has a whopping 162 comments. I wonder how much this one will get. At least this blog is definitely getting some exposure after that scathing review.

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    • I think this is a good illustration of how much expectations can influence one’s perspective. My favorite BTS album is O!RUL8,2? – they haven’t put out anything in the last couple of years that gets even close, and every release like this just turns me off even more. On the other hand, I remember loving “Happy” – I didn’t have any expectations, it was (and is!) good clean fun, and sometimes that’s exactly what one needs from

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  20. The fact that their stuff from 2018-2020 got criticism for being pretentiously self-aware about being a rich and famous celebrity and now they’ve swung the pendulum the other way to where they’re being received even more negatively is really interesting. It’s like the way whole group is marketed is like a worse version of “American Life” by Madonna…. if we wanna get into how THAT backfired

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  21. Yeah I don’t hear BTS in this. And I really wanted to hear a rap verse (preferably faster paced) from one of the guys. Alas 😦

    This release (for me) is a testament to how charming the guys are. They’re so charismatic it made me smile to watch them, even when the song itself is safe and bland.

    You voiced a lot of things I’ve felt about BTS and their career trajectory in this article (jumping the shark! why didn’t I think of that?). I wouldn’t call this song “fake fun”, but “safe fun”. It plays so safe it’s drained of any uniqueness.

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    • Yeah, it’s not quite as fake as Nick says. The BTS members probably don’t hate this as much as everyone else tries to paint it. I’ve seen comments where they kind of assume BTS dislikes their music now, and I don’t think that’s true at all? They probably even enjoy dancing along the music and having a good time.

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        • This is exactly what I’ ve been thinking – I do not think that artists will ‘hate’ songs that are light fun, but they just do not have a lot of room to show off their skills in songs like this.

          I think its alike to how professional string players feel about playing Canon in D – yes, it is a pretty piece but it is so far below their skill level that it is not interesting for them to play. They can’ t show all the interesting techniques and dynamics that they know of.

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          • Well, I am a weird one. I haven’t played the violin in years, but I loved Canon. I guess to me, the sound mattered more than technical difficulty. And it still does, as I love simple as ever pop music which dominates the whole world.

            But I get the point you are trying to make nonetheless.

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            • Yes, not every musician of course – and more power to you! This is just what I hear from orchestral and ensemble players around me.

              I agree that more complexity or technical difficulty does not necessarily make a piece more enjoyable (in fact, I also love simpler melodies – it’s why I’m here!).

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  24. I have been going on through this comment section and I have also been going scrolling through to twitter and seeing people betraying Nick and giving their condolences to him. I am also listening to Infinite’s tears…

    My gosh, We are truly holding Nick’s funeral.

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  25. Been waiting for this review and am glad that am not the only one who is disappointed in this. I have been reading your reviews regularly since last year. But this one truly propelled me to comment here. That vocal processing made sure that I will be skipping this if it comes on shuffle. I don’t do that even with Dynamite. After the teaser I lowered my expectations but nothing could have prepared me for this. Yikes, this is one of the worst that 2021 has given so far, especially because it is BTS.

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  26. I didn’t really like Butter and Dynamite so I had high hopes that this single would get me back into BTS. Let’s just say that I am quite dissapointed. These last 3 songs just sound alike to me, while that is not really a bad thing (dope and fire), I still hope that they do something new next time, since they have shown that they can do so many different concepts perfectly.

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    • At this point, anything they release bis bound to be a hit, so I feel like they can release what they really feel like and not just cater to trends and international audiences. We need more musically superior songs like I need u and bst.

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  27. tbh I want them to stop making english tracks that are like this, even english versions of “spring day” or “i need u” would be great. i just feel like they are pandering too much to the western market with this generic happy-happy-joy-joy stuff and it feels sooo… misleading and unrepresentative of who bts are and what fans love them for. i hate how americans and other westerners hear this and go “oh, this is kpop?” bts are too talented to just be tokenized and turned into something they are not. i really hope their next releases are better

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    • They should really get back to their releases like wings and ly:tear. I’m sure it will be very big if they could release songs like that now combined with their global popularity. I get it, they’re having fun and creating an amiable and uplifting atmosphere but this just isn’t it.

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      • Oh, gosh. I don’t think I have it in me to ever be a full-blown ARMY, but toss another Wings/YNWA my way and I’ll gladly contribute to the stream count. Haven’t listened to any BTS in ages — all these threads are making me nostalgic!

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    • Misleading and unrepresentative are the exact words I use to describe all of their English stuff. Like imagine your friend judging you for liking BTS but the only songs they heard are these.

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  28. Its kinda sad they’re being reduced to this just to appeal to the American market even more
    They’re so talented and should be pushing forward tracks that reflect that fully, not this commercial stuff
    This is why I loved Black Swan art film, no poppy english singing and gucci flare pants, just pure art, the lyrics perfectly captured their musical journey and their presence was just as strong without them being there

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  29. I wish someone would tell BTS that aiming for the Western market doesn’t necessarily mean you have to sandpaper down all your unique qualities. Because while western pop gets a bad rap in K-pop circles even the stuff that gets pushed to radio has some flare to it. Like right next to Butter on the hot 100 rn is a pop punk song that uses it’s very teenager-ness for emotional resonance and it’s basically ruling radio as of recently. It could be done, especially as their fanbase is big enough to except anything. Even Ed Sheeran, who’s getting a reputation for making boring slop (and this song’s not helping) has hit songs like Castle on the Hill to his name and can make somewhat boring songs interesting with enough lyrical flare to it (justice for Afterglow!).
    Also they need ideas. All their English singles have been xeroxed copies of Dynamite. Do they not have any other notions of what western pop sounds like right now?

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    • The Top 10 on the Hot 100 right now is pretty good actually! Butter, good 4 u, Kiss Me More, Levitating, Leave The Door Open, Save Your Tears…all really good pop songs in my opinion

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      • NCT’s success can really be attributed to them being an SM group and having a large fanbase full of solo stans, rather than producing music that wins over people by the millions. That’s not to take away from their incredible sales numbers, but radio play was never going to be part of their discussion.

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    • Oh, that’s lovely – thank you for sharing! I have no idea how well the latest EP has been doing – clearly it hasn’t been the big break fans have been hoping for since forever – but all I want is for A.C.E to make enough money to keep making music, and I’ve got to think a nice steady side-hustle in OSTs can only help.

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      • Yay ! A fellow A.C.E enthusiast ! I’m glad you like it too ! I’m desperate for ACE to finally release that song that will have more people recognize them… but I don’t think “Higher” will achieve that 😦 I’m not sure how their latest album charted but the views count on YT is quite low… and since now sadly everything is about views… :/
        I feel the same way about ONF, I really want them to get the recognition they deserve ! It’s so frustrating to see the huge monster that BTS has become get all the attention, no matter the quality of the releases… (I loved Butter, Dynamite grew on me but I hate this soup they served with Permission to dance)

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    • I think that might be part of the reason why so many are disappointed. Why did they think this song was a good follow-up to ‘Butter’? I mean I know it’s going to do really well commercially, but it comes nowhere near ‘Butter’ in terms of replayability for casual listeners.

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      • I get that, but you’ve got to remember Butter is succeeding records like Dynamite and Life goes on, and my god, was it a breath of fresh air! Permission to dance just feels like a cute, little, less important spin-off anyway, Butter is the main attraction! And I will happily keep jamming to it until we get a 2nd Blood, Sweat and Tears lmao

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  34. Honestly, everyone here has already said what I feel about this song so I’m not gonna bother repeating it. Hoping BTS returns with a great Korean album next or if it *must* be another English single, can they write it + ditch the utterly generic feel-good “let’s dance” pop thing? Sigh. I will be listening to Butter as I await that.

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  35. As an ARMY,I just badly wish they come back with better ‘BTS’ey material.I dont agree with people saying that they should do something like wings or tear again,Tear is my favourite album from them but they dont have to do something over and over again just because it was good although that is what they are doing right now,sadly.I just want BTS to get themselves into writing and producing again and put out material that feels like them,that’s all.Hopefully,that happens with the next album although I have this really bad feeling that,they might be coming up with an English album,hopefully,they dont.

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    • I too feel that next album will be in English. That newspaper Suga was holding in teaser said beginning of a new era or something like that. I think they’re preparing an English album.

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    • Good point. I think when people say they want this song or that album again, they mean they want something in that style, because they know the group is capable of it, and they want to see what else the group could come up with if they try that style again.

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  37. This is a 4/10 for me. I watched the MV either: (a) with a heavily unenthused face; or (b) cringing so bad. The song left a bitter taste in my mouth that I can’t really describe. It’s like a random advertisement playing in the middle of the night with smiling people endorsing something revolutionary. I clicked off the caption. I understood nothing of the words that I’ve heard. I guess BTS has become “western generic” now, huh? Well, I guess something from HYBE gotta be that “sacrificial lamb.” At least we still have the experimental ones: TXT, Enhypen, et al.

    Yup, Imma stay in Butter land, thank you very much.

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  38. Eh, I think the song’s alright. There a place for plain by-the-numbers pop and there’s nothing wrong with that. Not every song has to be a high class arty snooze fest.

    My only problem is that their last three songs have all sounded identical, maybe a lack of motivation to create something different as a hit is almost guaranteed at this point.

    Butter wasn’t exactly much of a revelation either but people seem to gravitate towards that more, no idea why. Part of what I love about k-pop is its willingness to fully commit to a form of what I would consider as pure pop music. I just don’t get why people can so easily lambast this song but praise Shinee or BigBang at the height of their most people pleasing sound is weird to me.

    I don’t really enjoy Ed Sheehan’s but the habit to criticise his music for being radio friendly trash is just ridiculous, hit songs don’t just appear out of thin air, to write something that appeals to a mass market is not as easy as everyone seems to think it is, if it was every group would be doing it and raking in millions.

    I understand maybe people expect more from BTS and that can lead to heightened disappointment but I’m more frustrated that I got the reaction I expected from people the moment I heard the songs instant hooks and melody, any other group this song would have gotten an easy pass.

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    • Peoples opinions may vary, but their views always stay. This song is feel-good uplifting tinned happiness but it lacks the character of the artist that’s what bothers us. While butter had that in it, this song feels largely characterless, it’s not that anyone spitefully hates it.

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    • I think there is a couple of differences tho: I seriously and honestly can’t tell the boys apart listening to this song (I’m not watching the video rn), they have been autotuned to an inch of their lives, whereas someone like SHINee or Big Bang I can instantly tell who is singing without looking even if they use autotune.

      You can still create by the numbers pop music without losing a sense of identity, if I heard this song in passing, I wouldn’t be able to tell it was BTS. I think that people are more disappointed that an already sanitised BTS sound is becoming even more sanitised. Groups can change over time but with BTS their change has been very jarring to many people. SHINee or Big Bang haven’t changed as dramatically and still release songs that have their core identity at the centre.

      Idc about the Ed Sheeren part, both artists gonna make their money. It’s wise to collab with the big names while you still can. But it seems by collabing with Ed, they have sacrificed their own input in the music.

      I disliked when one of my faves (A.C.E) tried to release a watered down American audience single too so I disagree that any other group would have got a pass.

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    • On Ed Sheeran: he has a great sense for writing radio hits. His songs are also recognizeable – there is a certain Ed Sheeran vibe in most of the songs he writes/produces. Usually, this is a good thing – especially when he performs the songs himself. I enjoy a lot of his stuff.

      However- when you pair him with artists that have (or had) their own unique identity, and take those artist out of the writing/producing process, it can become a problem. Ed Sheeran’ s touch is visible in that case, but it drowns out the identity of the artists, who were not involved themselves.

      I think that could be the case against Ed’ s involvement instead of disliking it for being radio-friendly (so was Butter, after all).

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  39. Ed Sheeran did a good work with Make It Right and I actually became an army after watching BTS sing it live in Stephen Colbert Show. So I had high hopes for Permission to Dance. This sentence summed it up for me though – “I hear no BTS within this product”. Very spot on, it’s like Ed wrote it for a completely different group.

    At least Butter has fun rap lines, so it still sounds like them. But this song…. it’s a massive letdown after we’re bombarded with bubblegum pop Dynamite and Butter. I thought they’d give us something like Go Go or 21st Century Girls, apparently my expectation is way too high.

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  40. Personally… I mean I’d dance to it and sing along while doing some cleaning. That’s about it.

    It seems to be as generalized as possible, and couldn’t hear BTS in it at all.

    The part I did enjoy was J-hope singing, since I do wish he’d do it more.

    Respect for Nick… Not sure I’d be as brave to post this!

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    • The fact that it even has to be considered “brave” is so very sad.

      I’ve been looking around at other reviews from established sites, and I’m just so disappointed to find glorified fluff pieces. Music “journalism” is in an awful place when a venue like NME gives this track a glowing review.

      The NME I used to know would have raked this over the coals, and pop music was all the better for it. You can’t just have an echo chamber of “yes” men and women fawning over any piece of crap that’s put out. That only encourages complacency. Honest criticism is a vital part of art and entertainment. It’s sad to see it die just because media is struggling for ad revenue and clicks.

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      • The NME has really suffered from moving from a print magazine to fully online. I used to go every week after school to buy it in like 2003, the NME then suffered from problems ofc (their excessive Arctic Monkeys coverage comes to mind) but they were critical when they needed to be and unafraid to give albums less than 3 stars. Now I’d estimate about 80% of their reviews get a 4 star review with nothing more than fluffy praise. They cover an inordinate out of kpop “news” too these days, desperate to get those stan clicks. This is why I’ve switched to BrooklynVegan for music news instead. It may not do many reviews but they cover a whole lot more than NME these days.

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  41. Being a 5 year old Army, I totally agree with Nick. I have been following Nick way back and liked his honest reviews. I am always delighted that we have quite similar taste in music therefore I trust his reviews. This song was so generic and the vocal mixing so muffled that some parts I think they mixed woman’s background vocal into it. I am sorry to say that this can qualify as one of their worst songs recently. Even thought the lyrics and the story behind is fitting with the current pandemic, but the music just does not satisfy that.

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  42. Didn’t they literally just release Butter 5 mins ago? Idk I’m feeling over saturated and it doesn’t help that none of the songs stand out from each other. I’m just wondering how far the BTS train can go now if they are fully committing to the American radio jingle scene.

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  43. “BTS’s voices are so processed that they begin to lose shape, melting into mumbly-mouthed phrasing that’s difficult to discern.”

    Lmao the pronunciation was so confusing in the beginning that I actually thought they were speaking Spanish. So for a quick millisecond I was like “Okay BTS going for the Spanish route huh?” But yeah, like Serajann said it feels very High School Musical in some of the worst ways possible

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  44. Unfortunately, and it pains me to write this, I would not give it a 6 even… I am not a fan of their English output at all. I really wish they would go back to writing their own stuff, singing in Korean, and not caring if the US general public would buy it. Honestly, this blatant catering to the US general public’s taste offends me a little as a non-American fan. I mean look at the videos for Dynamite, Butter and now this one – the styling and staging… this is not what I signed up for as a fan and it makes me sad.

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    • As a western fan, it really does feel a bit patronizing if I think about it: ‘Look guys, a really non-complex song with generic lyrics in your language! See? This is what you want, right?’

      Now I know that’ s not really the underlying intention, but it is a little weird that catering to a western audience apparently means making music as formulaic and bland as possible.

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      • I wonder if American armys feel offended by Big Hit Music’s interpretation of American general public’s music taste.. The boys did brilliant with their recent Japanese releases – Your Eyes Tell and Film Out. The difference in quality is stunning.

        Even more stunning that they are targeting the Grammys with Butter/Permission to Dance….

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        • As an American (USA) fan of BTS, I wouldn’t say I’m offended, but I am disappointed. I feel like the fans who loved them for their early work are not being catered to, and Big Hit is looking for a BTS audience that isn’t those fans.

          I think a good example of a K-pop push in America is SuperM’s “Jopping”.
          It unapologetically oozes SM’s style of K-pop (which pleases USA fans that already love SM groups),
          And it’s something bold and different compared to what’s on the USA radio (which may not be everyone’s taste, but at least it’s a memorable song).

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          • That’ s exactly it- the fans who got them to this point, so to speak, are now being ignored by BigHit/HYBE as they chase global fame instead.

            Thank you for bringing up SuperM – a great example! Now that’ s a song I’ d like to hear play on the radio, haha. I wonder if it’ ll happen sometime.

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    • I agree. Even as someone “from the West” (though not from the US), the American setting makes me feel really weird – people all over the world are listening to their music (and struggling with Covid if we consider the message of the song), so why only show these Americanized scenes? In a way, the whole music video feels more like a parody or – like this review said – a bad US pharmaceutical ad than a genuine BTS mv. It’s starting to feel really desperate for US approval.

      Overall, this whole release makes me a bit sad.

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  45. From the perspective of a casual listener – I quite liked both Dynamite and Butter because it was fun and catchy. Those aren’t songs I’d go out of my way to listen to, but those also aren’t songs I was unhappy about because to me, anyone could have released them – I didn’t really care as much that it was ‘BTS’ releasing these songs, if that makes sense (though I’d certainly have had more thoughts if artists I consider myself a bigger fan of had released them). The music itself was fun for me, Butter more so than Dynamite but all the same, I didn’t really mind it. All of this is to say that I personally don’t really mind BTS’ musical direction or whether a song sounds like ‘them’ because I’m not invested enough in that discussion – I just want a song I can vibe with, so to speak.

    But Permission to Dance… doesn’t give me that same fun vibe even musically. It’s not like sugary pop isn’t to my tastes even, but this one feels somehow… less assured and somehow more grating than the others? I don’t know if I’m articulating my thoughts well, but the production and the vocal processing was much harder to ignore here. I don’t think this song is an absolute unsalvageable travesty, I wish I enjoyed it more than I do, but I don’t feel that same ‘okay this is something I can vibe with’ feeling I had with Butter and Dynamite. I’m also not really a fan of the celebrations because it comes across as very premature and hollow – the pandemic is far from being over and is currently becoming even worse where I’m at and the celebratory vibe of PTD is very, very different from the more simple ‘this is just to give you some joy’ vibes of Dynamite and Butter, which did its job much better IMO. How I wish I could like this one more than I do!

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  46. It’ s not the song itself that irks me here (apart from the horrendous mumble-processing). I don’ t have any gripes with music that others tend to call ‘fake fun’ – I mean, still like Disney soundtracks.

    The context however makes me agree with Nick and the comments section.

    First off, there’s the video which includes Covid-related images. The phrase ‘we don’ t need permission to dance’ feels a little off in a context where we are desperately waiting for permission to do things that were normal a year or so back.

    Secondly, everyone already mentioned it- all of BTS’ identity has succesfully been stripped to be more radio-friendly. Ed Sheeran is a pro at writing cookie cutter radio hits, but I would prefer it if he did not write for Kpop artists.

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    • Who’s calling Disney soundtracks “fake fun” and where can I fight them?

      Joking aside, if we’re talking Disney Channel or High School Musical, maybe it’s a little generic but it has it’s own charms. I grew up watching Renaissance-era Disney (Beauty and the Beast, Tarzan, Hercules, Mulan, Aladdin, Hunchback of Notre Dame, etc.) and those songs still slap and will hold up for all time.
      As for their newer releases (Moana, Frozen), there’s still heart in those songs, even if some feel underwhelming.

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      • Oh yes- I forgot to specify I meant the Disney Channel and their more cheesy movies (like High School Musical and all the other, similar stuff). The music is a bit ‘ flimsy ‘ but I still really enjoy it.

        I agree about the movies! That music stands on its own- and this is not just nostalgia because I did not grow up with them.

        I really miss hand drawn animation and the masterful way music and story were interwoven around that Renaissance-era. The ‘live action’ remakes especially show that good, effective soundtrack songs are not easy to make.

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  48. I think it’s cute but I also think the autotune makes it difficult to decipher the lyrics.
    One of BTS’ major strengths is their lyrical ability so I appreciate their Korean releases because they’re extensively involved in lyric writing. The move towards English has sucked the soul out of them in a way. I know this newer BTS isn’t for me, but I can still miss their old musical identity.

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  49. I think we all know now that BTS gave up their musical identity to appeal to the American market which no one asked them too in the first place but … it is how it is I guess. Wish I didn’t even listen to the song in the first place

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  50. compare this track to EXO’s Love Me Right or Seventeen’s Aju Nice, fun upbeat songs with a soul, a character.

    This track feels like an executive did market research and artificially manufacted a pop song

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    • “This track feels like an executive did market research and artificially manufacted a pop song” – I feel like Butter already felt like that, too, but at least it was a competent excecutive for Butter…

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