Proof is the firstanthology album released by South Korean groupBTS, on June 10, 2022, throughBig Hit Music. The 3-disc project comprises several of the band's singles through the years; a selection of discography "favorites" chosen by the band members; and various demos and previously unreleased tracks. It also includes five new songs: the album's lead single "Yet to Come (The Most Beautiful Moment)", "Run BTS", "For Youth", "Quotation Mark", and "Young Love" (애매한 사이).
The album sold over 2 million copies worldwide on its opening day and topped the charts in 18 territories, including Australia, Germany, Japan, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States. It has beencertified gold in New Zealand, and Poland;platinum in France;double platinum in Japan; and3× Million in South Korea.
"I feel thrilled every time we release new music for the first time. I hope many people will enjoy the album. Proof is a special album that closes the first chapter of BTS before going into our 10th year. We especially paid more attention to the lyrics as our message to our fans, ARMY who have been with us for nine years, is the key to this album."
On December 5, 2021, in conjunction with an announcement that BTS would be devoting more attention to solo projects,Big Hit Music revealed that preparations for the release of an upcoming group album were underway.[2] At the end of the band's finalPermission to Dance on Stage concert atAllegiant Stadium on April 16, 2022, a video featuring excerpts of music videos from previous eras in the band's discography was played. The clip ended with the phrase "We are bulletproof" and the date "2022.06.10".[3] The following day, Big Hit confirmed the release of an unnamed album on June 10, with further details to be provided in the near future.[4] The album's title,Proof, was revealed through a video trailer that premiered onYouTube on May 4. The preorder period began later that same day throughWeverse Shop.[5]
Per a subsequent notice posted on Weverse and shared via Twitter, the three-disc album comprises tracks spanning the past nine years of the band's discography, as well as three new songs.[6][7] Two editions of the album, "Standard" and "Compact", were made available for purchase. The schedule for the album's rollout was published on May 5. The track listing for the album's first disc—it comprises 19 tracks—was released on May 9 (KST). The disc contains all of BTS' lead singles from "No More Dream" (2013) to "Butter" (2021), as well as the new single "Yet to Come (The Most Beautiful Moment)" which serves as the album's lead track.[8][9] A remastered version of the band's 2013 song "Born Singer" is also included.[10] Originally released for free by the band shortly after their debut, the song samples "Born Sinner" by American rapperJ. Cole from hisalbum of the same name.[11] It has never before been included on any of the band's albums.[10] "Yet to Come" and its accompanying music video were released alongside the album on June 10.[12][13]
Two editions of the album—Standard and Compact—were initially made available. Both versions include three CDS, photocards, and postcards. The Standard Edition comes with four booklets and a limited-edition poster while the Compact Edition includes a custom booklet, a mini poster and a "discography guide".[14]
A limitedcollector's edition ofProof was announced through Weverse on August 28, 2022, with preorders opening that same day. Priced at ₩297,000, this version includes a 300-pagephotobook that features indepth interviews with the band about their discography, a 7-piece premium photo set, and several other collectibles not available with the Standard and Compact versions. Big Hit stated that sales of the album would not count towards any charts. It was released on September 28.[15][16]
From May 17 to May 23, 2022,Proof of Inspiration clips for each band member were released. These were followed by two sets of concept photos, called "Proof" and "Door", released from May 28 to 29 and May 31 to June 2.[17][18] The images included light and dark photographs in front of a steel bank vault, as well as images with icy-blue lighting and variously colored lasers across the band members' faces.[19] BTS made a total of four appearances onBigHit Music Record, a program onMelon Station devoted to Big Hit Music, on May 20 and 27, June 3 and 10, and July 1 and 8.[20] On May 26,Apple Music announced the launch of a new BTS show,BTS Radio: Past & Present, onApple Music 1. The three-episode limited series aired from May 28 to June 10.[21] The streaming service announced via Twitter on May 31 that the group broke the record for the year's biggest show with the first episode of #BTSRadio on Apple Music 1.[22] The band members' statements, unique content, and a countdown to the album release were all featured onSpotify's #SpotifyPurpleU immersive microsite experience. Fans can also use the website to make custom #MyBTSProof share cards based on their favorite songs. From June 3, billboards with the hashtag #SpotifyPurpleU appeared worldwide, including in South Korea, the US, Brazil, Mexico, Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam.[23]
Pop-up stores were launched inNew York City andLos Angeles on June 10 in honor of the album's release. Goods limited to visitors only were sold at each location.[24] BTS also launched the #MyBTStory Challenge on the same day, which is only available onYouTube Shorts. At the end of the month-long challenge, a tribute video honoring a few of the shorts produced by the fans using the album title track will be made available on BTS' official YouTube channel. Each week, BTS will release its own #MyBTStory Shorts featuring a different band member, starting with V on June 17.[25] According to a Weverse announcement fromBig Hit Music, the group opened an exhibition titled "2022 BTS EXHIBITION : PROOF" on September 28 inSeoul and on October 5 inBusan based on their creative journey.[26]
BTS performed "Yet to Come" and "For Youth" onM Countdown,Music Bank, andInkigayo. These appearances marked the band's first time performing ondomestic music shows since promotions for their 2020 single "On".[27] They performed the same songs, with the addition of "Born Singer", duringProof Live in celebration of their ninth anniversary on June 13, 2022.[28] On October 8, 2022, they performed "Yet to Come" and "For Youth" atThe Fact Music Awards.[29] For the first time in six months, BTS performed at the "Yet To Come" concert on October 15 at theBusan Asiad Main Stadium in Busan as part of the city's quest to host theWorld Expo 2030, where they debuted the performance of "Run BTS"; the footage was uploaded to their YouTube channel post-concert.[30]
"We carefully finalized the order of the tracks as the album speaks of BTS' history. My suggestion would be to listen to the album in the order. We are honored to capture our nine-year journey in this album. Listening to the album will trace you back in memory and the paths BTS have walked"
— Suga on howProof was prepared, Press Release[31]
Disc one opens with "Born Singer", ahip-hop andR&B track that samples American rapperJ. Cole's "Born Sinner". The band reworked the original version to include their lyrics, ad-libs, and production. "Yet to Come (The Most Beautiful Moment)", the album's lead single, follows next. Analternative hip-hop track co-written byRM,J-Hope,Suga, longtime producerPdogg, and American artistsMax and Dan Gleyzer, the song's lyrics simultaneously reflect on the band's past while looking towards the future. It contains references to songs such as the band's own "Young Forever" (from 2016'sThe Most Beautiful Moment in Life: Young Forever) andKanye West's "Touch the Sky". The production is laid-back, with striking backgroundsynths andold-school hip-hop beats from the early 2000s.[32]
Disc two comprises solo and sub-unit tracks, including the new song "Run BTS". A hip-hop/rock track, it features a "thrumming"[32] repetitiveguitar riff, and low-key growls of J-Hope, Suga, and RM are heard during the pre-chorus. The song highlights in particular Suga's complex rapping style while showcasingJimin,V,Jungkook andJin's expert vocal abilities, as the singers "deliver some of the most soaring falsettos".[34][32] Lyrically, the band voice their support for each another and expound on their attitude towards outside influences throughout the three-and-a-half-minute-long track. The band's Korean name,Bangtan Sonyeondan, is referenced in lines where the members talk about the seven of them running "bulletproof".[35]
The third disc is a mixture of 11 demos, two new songs—exclusive to the physical version of the album, and one previously shelved track. The first of the two new songs is the disc's second track, "Young Love", a collaborative traditional R&B song by RM and Jungkook.[32] The other is track four, "Quotation Mark", by RM, J-Hope, and Jungkook, which has aretro beat similar in vigor to BTS' 2013 song "Like", from the2 Cool 4 Skoolsingle album. The lyrics feature numerous allusions to past songs by the band. J-Hope's stanza is a replica of his verse from "BTS Cypher: Pt.3-Killer" while other tunes evoke "Love Maze" and "Hold Me Tight".[36] The album's final song, "For Youth", opens with an audio sample from the band's 2019 concert atWembley Stadium in London, of 90,000 fans singing along to "Young Forever". The song includes atrap beat, rag piano played slowly, and the mellow sounds of a soul band.[33] The lyrics frequently allude to "Spring Day", "Epilogue: Young Forever", "Friends", and various trials the band faced during the previous nine years.[32]
At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications,Proof received an average score of 88 based on five reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[41] Natalie Morin ofRolling Stone praised the album, describing its lead single as "a classic BTS blend of sparkling pop and old-school hip-hop that offers a hopeful promise of an even brighter future."[39]Esquire's Ammal Hassan said the album is "more than just a roundup of the best of BTS. Instead, it is a carefully curated story of the group's past and memories, much of which they reflect on in their new songs."[42]
Choi Ji-won ofThe Korean Herald described the album as something that "offers a throwback to the past, an invitation to the future," and "evidence of BTS' unwavering pursuit of its dreams, which it promises to continue doing in the future."[43] ForTimes, Elizabeth De Luna cited thatProof shows "an evolution from early raw material to a polished global presentation."[44] In her review forConsequence, Mary Siroky explained how the band "unpack an unparalleled creative journey" through the 48 songs from different eras of their career.[45]
On its release day alone,Proof sold over two million copies worldwide.[46][47] By the end of its first week, it sold a total of 2,752,496 copies.[48] The album debuted at number one in South Korea,[49] Australia,[50] Austria,[51] Belgium,[52][53] Canada,[54] Finland,[55] Germany,[56] Japan,[57] the Netherlands,[58] New Zealand,[59] Poland,[60] Portugal,[61] and Switzerland.[62] It also reached the top ten in Italy,[63] Lithuania,[64] and Norway.[65] It peaked at number eight in the United Kingdom, becoming the group's fifth top-10 album.[66] The album debuted at number three and peaked at number one on Greece's Albums Chart, giving BTS their first number one in the country.[67]
Proof sold 514,000 copies in Japan during the period dated June 13–19, recording the highest first-week sales on the weeklyOricon Albums Chart in 2022 and achieving the fifth-highest first-week sales of all-time in Oricon chart history, afterMariah Carey's#1's (1998),Boa'sValenti (2003), and BTS' ownBTS, the Best (2021) andMap of the Soul: 7 – The Journey (2020). The album is the band's tenth to debut at number one in Japan, extending their record as the foreign artist with the most number-one albums in Oricon chart history.[68][69]
In the United States,Proof became BTS' sixth consecutive number-one on theBillboard 200. It debuted atop the chart with 314,000album-equivalent units, including 266,000 pure sales; 36,000 stream-equivalent units (52.84 million on-demand official streams); and 12,000 track-equivalent units. It earned the most significant opening week for a group and the second-largest for an album released in the country in 2022 at the time, both in units accumulated and traditional album sales[70]—Beyoncé'sRenaissance eventually claimed the second-largest opening week record with 332,000 overall units in August.[71]Proof also toppedBillboard'sTop Album Sales,Top Current Album Sales,Tastemaker Albums, andWorld Albums charts. "Yet To Come" debuted at number 13 on theBillboard Hot 100 while "Run BTS" peaked at number 73.[72] BTS received a total of 25 chart placements as a result.[73] The album sold a further 75,000 equivalent units in its second week.[74] PerLuminate Data's year-end report,Proof sold 422,000 physical and digital copies combined in the US, making it the best-selling group album of 2022 and the third best-selling album overall in the country. It was also the second best-selling release on CD format, with 413,000 copies sold.[75]
^The IFPI Global Albums chart ranks, in order, the albums that generated the most money globally across streaming, download, and physical record sales (combined) in a calendar year.[77]
^Moon, Wan-sik (May 9, 2022).방탄소년단, 새 앨범 'Proof' 첫번째 CD 트랙리스트 공개..신곡 'Yet To Come' 포함 역대 타이틀곡 총망라 '기대UP' [BTS, released the track list of the first CD of new album 'Proof'...Including the new song "Yet To Come", it is a collection of all the title songs "Expectation UP"].Star News (in Korean).Archived from the original on May 9, 2022. RetrievedMay 9, 2022 – viaNaver.
^Hwang, Hye-jin (June 10, 2022).방탄소년단, 앨범 판매량 215만 장 돌파…컴백 당일 더블 밀리언셀러[공식] [BTS, album sales exceeded 2.15 million...a double million seller on the day of their comeback].Newsen (in Korean).Archived from the original on June 10, 2022. RetrievedJune 11, 2022 – viaNaver.
^abMoon, Wan-sik (June 16, 2022).'No.1' 임영웅 '다시 만날 수 있을까' 가온 다운로드차트 1위 [No. 1' Lim Young-woong 'Can we meet again' 1st place on Gaon Download Chart].Star News (in Korean). RetrievedJune 16, 2022.
^Lee, Ha-na (January 19, 2023).'최고의 앨범상' 방탄소년단 RM "모든 영광은 아미 덕분"[2023 서울가요대상] [[2023 Seoul Music Awards] 'Best Album Award' BTS RM, "All the glory is thanks to ARMY".].Newsen (in Korean).Archived from the original on January 20, 2023. RetrievedJanuary 19, 2023 – viaNaver.
^Ahn, Tae-hyun (February 18, 2023).'써클차트뮤직어워즈' BTS 5관왕…(여자)아이들, 앨범 제작상(종합) ["Circle Chart Music Awards" BTS won five awards...(G)I-dle, Album Production Award (Summary)].News1 (in Korean).Archived from the original on February 18, 2023. RetrievedFebruary 18, 2023 – viaNaver.
^"Czech Albums – Top 100".ČNS IFPI.Note: On the chart page, select24.Týden 2022 on the field besides the words "CZ – ALBUMS – TOP 100" to retrieve the correct chart. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
^年間 アルバムランキング 2022年度 [Annual Album Ranking 2022] (in Japanese).Oricon.Archived from the original on December 22, 2022. RetrievedDecember 21, 2022.
^【オリコン年間ランキング2022】 デジタルアルバム 1位～10位 [[Oricon Annual Ranking 2022] Digital Album 1st to 10th] (in Japanese).Oricon. December 22, 2022.Archived from the original on December 22, 2022. RetrievedDecember 22, 2022.
Physical:【オリコン年間ランキング2022】 アルバムランキング 1位～25位 [[Oricon Annual Ranking 2022] Album ranking 1st to 25th] (in Japanese).Oricon. December 22, 2022.Archived from the original on December 22, 2022. RetrievedDecember 22, 2022.
Digital:【オリコン年間ランキング2022】 デジタルアルバム 1位～10位 [[Oricon Annual Ranking 2022] Digital Album 1st to 10th] (in Japanese).Oricon. December 22, 2022.Archived from the original on December 22, 2022. RetrievedDecember 22, 2022.
^Kang, Kyung-yoon (May 9, 2022).방탄소년단, 새 앨범 'Proof' 트랙리스트...신곡 'Yet To Come' 포함 [BTS, new album 'Proof' tracklist...Includes new song 'Yet To Come'].SBS Entertainment News (in Korean).Archived from the original on May 9, 2022. RetrievedJune 11, 2022 – viaNaver.
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