BTS Performs “Normal” From Hanok, Reaching No. 41 on Billboard—A Live Capture of Even the Breathing

Behind the dazzling spotlight: the deep emptiness and paradoxical aesthetics held by a hanok

Global pop icons BTS captured the attention of music fans worldwide with new live content that deepens the group’s fifth studio album. At 12 a.m. on the 21st, according to its agency BigHit Music, the live video of the track Normal (NORMAL), unveiled through the group’s official YouTube channel, delivered a heavy, unvarnished look at the sincerity of the emotions behind a glamorous stage. The song previously proved its strong global impact by entering the U.S. Billboard main single chart Hot 100 at No. 41, then recording a chart run for three straight weeks.

This live video was filmed in the traditional hanok Seon Hye Won, which serves as the same backdrop as the title track Swim (SWIM), released earlier in March and drawing wide attention. An alternative pop genre track, Normal candidly confesses the emptiness and fear that sit behind the flashiness of the spotlight. The singing-rap that unfolds as if speaking, along with vividly captured vocals that even catch faint breaths, harmonizes with the quiet spatial feel of the hanok, maximizing the track’s paradoxical message.

While strengthening its musical substance, BTS continues to deliver an overwhelming live performance through Arirang (ARIRANG), the largest-scale world tour in K-pop history. Spanning a total of 88 shows across 34 cities worldwide, the tour is drawing about 840,000 people in North America and about 720,000 in Europe, writing unprecedented box-office records. Next month, on the 1st and 2nd (local time), the group will move its stage to New York in the United States, proving the heat of the massive tour once again.