Singles from The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 2
"Run" Released: November 30, 2015
Alternative cover
The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 2 (Korean: 화양연화 pt.2; Hanja: 花樣年華 pt.2; MR: HwaYangYeonHwa pt.2) is the fourth extended play by South Koreanboy band, BTS. The album was released on November 30, 2015 by Big Hit Entertainment.[1] It is available in two versions and contains nine tracks, with "RUN" as its lead single.
Background and release
On September 8, 2015, Big Hit Entertainment released the “화양연화 on stage : prologue” video on Naver V LIVE,[2] announcing their upcoming comeback and concert tour, 2015 BTS LIVE <The Most Beautiful Moment in Life On Stage>.[3] The prologue video included previews of the album tracks “Butterfly", “Ma City", and “Outro: House of Cards". In the video, it was indicated that the album release was originally scheduled for October; the release, however, was ultimately delayed to November 30. On November 17, an animated comeback trailer was uploaded on Big Hit Entertainment's YouTube channel,[4] which featured the album track “Intro: Never Mind” performed by Suga, RM, and J-Hope.[5] On November 19 and 20, short clips of each BTS member were uploaded onto their official Instagram account, with clues hinting at an upcoming event related to the album release. Subsequently, on November 20, Big Hit Entertainment announced the 'Butterfly Dream: BTS Open Media Exhibition' event,[6] which was later hosted on December 1–8 in Seoul.
On November 23, BTS released the first set of album concept photos through their official Facebook and Instagram accounts, accompanied with the caption: "Je Ne Regrette Rien",[7] which means "I regret nothing" in French. On November 24, a second set of concept photos was revealed with the caption: "Papillon",[8] which translates to "butterfly." The album would be available in two cover design versions, Peach and Blue. Both versions would include a 98-page photobook, a random photocard, and one limited edition poster.[9] On November 24, special bonus concept photos were released through Naver Music.[10]
On November 25, a music video teaser for the album's lead single, "RUN", was released through Big Hit Entertainment's official YouTube channel.[8] On November 26, the album track list, containing nine songs, was shared on the group's official Twitter account, and the album preview was uploaded on YouTube.[11] Additionally, short clips of behind the scenes footage from the "RUN" music video was uploaded on the group's Instagram. On November 27, BTS released a track from the album, "Ma City", on their official homepage for free pre-streaming, available for a limited period of 24 hours.[12] At the press conference for their concert held the same day, BTS stated: “Part one explained how youth is tiring and difficult, and it also touched on how we feel like we're always on edge. Part two will have a more adventurous and daring feel to it. That's why our title song is 'RUN'."[13]
Music video
The music video for "RUN" was released on November 30, 2015.[14] The video depicts the foolhardiness of youth, both within the context of joyful moments of friendship as well as in the midst of suffering and enduring through difficult life situations. It showcases not only the members' musical talents but also their acting abilities, with a narrative that connects to the music video for “I Need U” and the "화양연화 on stage : prologue" video.[15] The music video was produced and directed by Lumpens[16] and GDW.[17]
Promotions
BTS held a press conference on November 27 to discuss the release of the new album and the beginning of their concert tour.[13] On the same day, they performed the new songs from the album for the first time at the 2015 BTS LIVE <The Most Beautiful Moment in Life On Stage> concert at the SK Olympic Handball Gymnasium in Seoul.[18] On December 1–8, BTS held the 'Butterfly Dream: BTS Open Media Exhibition',[19] for which they invited six hundred fans to view the exhibits as well as to celebrate the release of the album.[20] BTS began broadcast promotions on Mnet with their first comeback stage performance at the 2015 Mnet Asian Music Awards held in Hong Kong.[21] BTS continued to promote on South Korean music programs, including SBS MTV's The Show, MBC's Music Core, MBC Music's Show Champion, SBS's Inkigayo, and KBS's Music Bank.[22] BTS concluded promotions for "RUN" with the last performance held on the January 3 broadcast of SBS Inkigayo.
The album's lead single, "RUN", was used as the theme song for a Puma Korea advertisement after BTS became the spokesmodel for the brand.[23]
Commercial performance
On November 26, it was reported that pre-orders for The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 2 had surpassed 150,000 copies,[18] exceeding the group's previous record with The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 1. The "RUN" music video, uploaded on both Big Hit Entertainment and 1theK’s YouTube channels, received nearly 2 million combined views in less than 24 hours, the fastest record achieved by BTS at the time.[24] The 2015 BTS LIVE <The Most Beautiful Moment in Life On Stage> concerts in Seoul held for three nights from November 27–29 attracted an audience of 13,500 overall,[18] with tickets having been sold out immediately after they were available for sale. The concert dates on December 8 and 9 in Japan’s Yokohama Arena were similarly successful, and garnered 25,000 attendees total.[25]
In South Korea, "RUN" became BTS' first single to debut at number one on the Melon real-time digital chart. All nine tracks from the extended play entered the Gaon Weekly Digital Chart.[26][27] Within the first week alone, sales for the album reached nearly 90,000 copies on the Hanteo real-time album sales chart.[28] The album subsequently debuted at number one on the Gaon Weekly Album Chart,[29] and further went on to top the Gaon Monthly Album Chart, becoming the first BTS album to do so.[30] With "RUN", BTS won a total of five number one trophies on South Korean music programs, with one on SBS MTV's The Show, two on MBC Music's Show Champion, and another two on KBS's Music Bank.[26]The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 2 became the fifth best-selling album in South Korea in 2015 with nearly 275,000 copies recorded on the year-end Gaon Album Chart.[31]
A total of eight tracks from the album entered the Billboard World Digital Songs chart, the greatest number of entries BTS had ever managed to chart. The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 2 debuted at number 171 on the Billboard 200 with 5,000 copies sold, becoming the band's first release to enter the chart.[32] The album also peaked at number one on both the Billboard World Albums and Heatseekers Albums charts.[32][33] BTS became the first K-pop act to have the same album spend more than one week on top of the Billboard World Albums chart, with four weeks at number one overall.[34][35] The album continued to chart on the Billboard World Albums Chart for a total of 22 weeks.[36]The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 2 ranked number four on Billboard’s list of “The 10 Best K-pop Albums of 2015”, in which the writers commented that "Pt. 2 solidifies BTS' place in the K-pop scene as the band not only showcased their emotional take on hip-hop with the single "RUN," but proved they aren't afraid to tackle topics typically avoided by most K-pop acts."[37] “RUN” also ranked at number three on Billboard’s list of “The 20 Best K-pop Songs of 2015”.[38]
