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BTS' youngest member, Jungkook, has been winning hearts and breaking records with his first studio album aptly titled Golden. Following on the heels of his uber success Seven and 3D, the much anticipated full-length album, released in all English has established the singer's status as a "global pop-star."
Despite his immense popularity, Jeon Jung-kook remains grounded, as his surprise at becoming a Platinum selling artist on The Tonight Show indicates.
Following his solo performances at the 2022 FIFA World Cup and Global Citizen Festival last year, the beloved maknae did a surprise performance at Times Square in New York that drew in massive audiences from the city.
4 times Jungkook referenced BTS in his debut full-length album, Golden
1) The reappearance of the black wings from Black Swan and Blood Sweat & Tears
BTS members have often resurrected themes from the band's music in their solo albums, and the black wings are Jungkook's attempt at the same. Fans have tried to piece together the meaning of the wings, and many interpretations of the same have come up.
It may signify the loss of wings due to temptation in Blood Sweat & Tears (as in the theological stories) or the lightness of art contrasted with the heaviness in its fulfillment in Black Swan. The Standing Next to You singer's inclusion was deliberate and calculated, and as the behind-the-scenes footage scenes show, he thoroughly enjoyed looking like he had functional flying appendages.
2) "Talk the talk" and "walk the walk" make a reappearance after Permission to Dance
When Jungkook's Too Sad to Dance was announced as one of the song titles from Golden, fans had already started drawing parallels to BTS' happiness anthem Permission to Dance from 2021. However, these parallels became deeply discernable in the lyrics of the 2023 song.
If Permission to Dance was a celebration about how anyone can and, indeed, should dance, Too Sad to Dance is about the flip side of how one can feel melancholic and dreary taking away the joy of dancing.
3) A DNA and Fire reference that made fans emotional
Jungkook never misses a chance to bring up BTS and his hyungs, and the entirely unexpected references to some of the group's biggest hits from the past took fans by surprise. The singer even emulated the key choreography from DNA during Standing Next to You, leaving no doubt that it was an intentional reference.
The other lyrical reference to Fire was also quite thought-out and accompanied by a similar hook-step as the song, a fact that fans adored.
4) The title track giving Dynamite vibes all over
BTS' record-breaking 2020 track was known for the tribute paid to dance and pop icon Michael Jackson. In Standing Next to You, Jungkook's choreography also reminds one of the Billie Jean singer, and the whole music video (and choreography) reminded some fans of some of the award show performances done by BTS for Dynamite.
The title track of Golden, Standing Next to You shows a different side of Jungkook, a global pop icon himself now. However, the multiple BTS references have made fans nostalgic about how much the "Golden" maknae has matured and grown since the group's debut.
With the rumor mills saying that the singer might be doing concerts, ARMYs all over the world are hoping for their chance to see Jungkook live like the unsuspecting fans in Times Square on November 9, 2023.
