In their follow-up to “Butter” (the official song of the summer–I don’t make the rules), BTS are as done as the rest of us with the worldwide events of the past 16 months, and they’re showing us in the best way possible: with a brand new song called “Permission to Dance.”
Instead of describing it, just trust me on this–watch the video. It is a brilliant and fun addition to their other recent disco-pop tracks. You will feel this catharsis in your very soul.
Enjoy emo cowboy Jungkook and the rest of the yeehaw looks and come back after you have watched.
Seen it? Perfect.
In case you don’t know, BTS’s official color is purple–V established the color in the past as meaning he’ll always love ARMY (Adorable Representative MC for Youth, also known as BTS’s fans) because purple is the last color in the rainbow. So there is something for me that is so symbolic as Taehyung encourages the children in the video to let the purple balloon go so others can see it.
Letting that balloon go is what being a BTS fan has been like during all of the impossible and unthinkable things that have happened over the past 16 months. No matter what, there is a little purple spot in the distance, and you know exactly what you’ll find there–love, acceptance, encouragement, reassurance, and strength. No matter how hard the wind blows, so many other people are looking at that balloon, too, and holding on with all of their might because to if and what it represents. That’s what this song is really about.
No matter how hard people want fans of BTS to be embarrassed about loving them, no matter how hard people try to convince you that it’s a shameful thing to like and that you should hide it if you enjoy it…the guys and their fans will always ignore all of that and let go of the purple balloon so someone else can see it, wonder what it is, and find their own reassurance.
If you think fans of this group are just dancing fools, that’s okay. We don’t need permission to dance.