Maps of Music

Map of the Soul: 7 – The Journey (2020)

Where the lyrics of Map of the Soul: 7 – The Journey take you, and where it was really made.

This Japanese-language album by a Korean band set a 2020 first-week sales record in Japan at 564,000 copies, and that figure beat DBSK's ten-year record for a male foreign artist.

Key places

Tokyo recording credit (2020)

Recording site Tiny Voice Production — Credited as a recording location for this Japanese album. The pin uses the city centre, not the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Seoul recording credit (2020)

Recording site Big Hit Studios, Seoul — Listed with Big Hit as a recording location in Seoul. The pin uses the city centre, not the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: Private company studio, not open to visitors.

Los Angeles recording credit (2020)

Recording site Motown Recording Studios — Listed as a recording location in Los Angeles. The pin uses the city centre, not the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Fourth Japanese-language studio album by South Korean boy band BTS, eighth overall
• Released 14 July 2020 through Universal Music Japan and Big Hit Entertainment
• Contains Japanese versions of songs from Love Yourself: Answer, Map of the Soul: Persona and Map of the Soul: 7
• Four new tracks: 'Intro: Calling', lead single 'Stay Gold', 'Your Eyes Tell' and 'Outro: The Journey'
• Also includes the 2019 single 'Lights'
• Eight versions released, including Limited Editions A to D

Background

• Billboard Japan first reported a possible Japanese album on 26 March 2020, linked to 'Stay Gold'
• 'Stay Gold' was chosen as the theme of the Japanese TV drama Spiral Labyrinth – DNA Forensic Investigation
• Official announcement on 7 May 2020; first full-length Japanese work in two years since Face Yourself (2018)
• Title, release date and a 13-song tracklist revealed together
• Theme: BTS's seven-year journey since their 2013 debut
• 'Your Eyes Tell' was written by Jungkook for the Japanese romance film of the same name
• Physical shipping was staggered worldwide because of COVID-19 restrictions

Recording

• Recording credits list Tiny Voice Production in Tokyo
• Recording credits list Dogg Bounce and Big Hit in Seoul
• Recording credits list The EchoBar Recording in Los Angeles

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• BTS is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010
• Big Hit Entertainment CEO Bang Si-hyuk wanted to form a hip hop group around the underground rapper RM
• Name is the Korean phrase Bangtan Sonyeondan, literally Bulletproof Boy Scouts
• Debuted in 2013 under Big Hit Entertainment with single album 2 Cool 4 Skool

Members

• Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V and Jung Kook
• Members co-write or co-produce much of their material

Career

• Started out as a hip hop act and expanded into a wide range of genres
• Lyrics cover mental health, troubles of school-age youth, coming of age, loss and the journey toward self-love
• Wings (2016) was their first album to sell one million copies in South Korea
• 2018: first South Korean act to top Billboard 200 with Love Yourself: Tear
• 2020: first all-South Korean act to reach number one on Billboard Hot 100 with Dynamite
• Best-selling musical act in South Korean history
• First Asian act to sell out Wembley Stadium

Around this album

• Crossed into the global market by 2017
• February 2017: repackaged Wings as You Never Walk Alone and began the Wings Tour
• May 2017: won Top Social Artist at the Billboard Music Awards, the first K-pop group to win a Billboard award
• September 2017: released Love Yourself: Her, opening the Love Yourself series

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Debuted at number one on the Oricon Daily Albums Chart with 447,869 copies sold within 24 hours of release
• Passed 500,000 copies sold on the second day
• First-week sales of 564,000 copies, the highest for any 2020 album at the time
• Sixth overall number one in Japan for BTS, second of 2020 after Map of the Soul: 7
• Set a new all-time first-week record for a male foreign artist, beating DBSK's 413,000 copies
• Debuted at number 115 on the Billboard 200 with 8,000 equivalent units, and at number two on the World Albums chart
• Debuted at number 56 on the UK Official Albums Chart

Records

• Certified Triple Platinum by RIAJ in its fourth week, for 750,000 physical copies
• Won Album of the Year and Best 3 Albums in the Asia sub-category at the 35th Japan Gold Disc Awards, March 2021
• Ranked number eight on the IFPI Global Album Sales chart for 2020, with 1.2 million copies sold worldwide
• Ranked fourth on the Billboard Japan Hot Albums Year End Chart for 2020
• Topped the Monthly Albums Chart for July with 605,785 copies sold

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Eight versions were released, including four Limited Editions and a CD-only Regular Edition that came with a 20-page lyric booklet
• 'Your Eyes Tell' was first sent as a last-minute submission, originally meant for an unreleased mixtape
• Yunika Vision ran a half-hour special of seven BTS music videos on its screens in front of Seibu-Shinjuku Station from July 6 to 12
• The August 2020 Vogue Japan issue carried an 8-page photo spread and interview, BTS's first ever appearance in the magazine
• A two-part web movie, BTS Music Journey, was released as a gift to Japanese fans

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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