"Mic Drop" (stylized as "MIC Drop") is a song recorded in two languages (Korean andJapanese) by South Koreanboy bandBTS. The Korean version was originally included as aB-side track on the band's fifthextended play,Love Yourself: Her (2017), and laterremixed by American producer andDJSteve Aoki. The remix was released as the secondsingle from the EP on November 24, 2017, byBig Hit Entertainment and features a guest appearance by American rapperDesiigner. It was serviced to UScontemporary hit radio on December 5, 2017, as a single in that country. The Japanese-language version of "Mic Drop" was released on December 6, 2017, byDef Jam Recordings and Virgin Music as a triple A-sidesingle album that included "DNA" and a new, original song "Crystal Snow", both also in Japanese. Both the Korean and Japanese versions of the song were written by Supreme Boi,"Hitman" Bang,J-Hope,RM, andPdogg, with the latter of the five solely handling production. The remix version was also written by the same songwriters, with additional songwriting by Aoki, Desiigner,Tayla Parx,Flowsik, and Shae Jacobs. It was produced by Aoki, with Pdogg providing additional production. Ahip hop song, the lyrics celebrate BTS' numerous achievements.
The song received generally favourable reviews frommusic critics, who praised its beat, sound, and musical styles, and picked it as a standout track, onLove Yourself: Her. Commercially, the remix version of "Mic Drop" debuted at number 28 on the USBillboard Hot 100, becoming the band's first track to reach the top 40 on the chart. The song appeared at number 37 on theCanadian Hot 100 and number 46 on theUK Singles Chart, in addition to reaching moderate peaks in several other territories. The Japanese version debuted at number one on both theOricon Singles Chart and theBillboard Japan Hot 100. It was the 13th best-selling single of 2017 in Japan. It wascertified platinum by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and double platinum by theRecording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ).
Twomusic videos were filmed for "Mic Drop", one for the Korean remix version and one for the Japanese version. Woogie Kim directed the music video for the Korean version which premiered on Big Hit'sYouTube channel at the same time as the song's release. The video for the Japanese version was uploaded to Universal Music Japan's YouTube channel on December 5, 2017. Both videos depict the band performing powerful choreography in various settings. Following the release ofLove Yourself: Her, BTS appeared on several South Koreanmusic programs includingM! Countdown,Music Bank, andInkigayo. They promoted the remix version of the song with performances onThe Ellen DeGeneres Show,Jimmy Kimmel Live!, andSaturday Night Live, amongst others. It was also included on the setlist for the band'sLove Yourself World Tour (2018–19).
"Mic Drop" was released fordigital download andstreaming in various countries byBig Hit Entertainment on November 24, 2017, as the second single fromLove Yourself: Her.[8][9] Big Hit andRED Music later serviced the song tocontemporary hit radio in the US on December 5, 2017.[10] An extended version of the remix appears on the band's thirdcompilation albumLove Yourself: Answer (2018).[11] AJapanese version of the song was digitally released for purchase on December 6, 2017, byUniversal Music Japan as the band's eighth Japanese-languagesingle album, together with the Japanese version of previously released Korean single "DNA" and a new, original Japanese track "Crystal Snow".[12][13] It was also released as a four-versionCD single in Japan on the same day, with a regular edition and three different limited editions: A, B and C.[14][15][16][17] All four editions contain "Mic Drop", "DNA" and "Crystal Snow" as a triple A-side. Individually, edition A includes aDVD with themusic video for the Japanese version of "Mic Drop" and a dance version video of the song,[15] edition B comes with a DVD that containsbehind the scenes footage of the music video for "Mic Drop" and the making of album jacket photos, and edition C contains a 36-page photobook.[16][17] The Japanese version was later included on the band's third Japanese-language studio albumFace Yourself (2018).[18]
Musically, the album version of "Mic Drop" has been described as agroovyhip hop number backed by heavybass and sampled gunshots.[20][21] The remix version introducesEDMsynths andtrap-infused beats over the original hip hop melody.[19][22] In terms ofmusical notation, the original version was composed in thekey ofF♯ major, while the remix was composed inA♯ minor. Both versions have atempo of 170 beats per minute and last for 3:58.[23][24] Two versions of the remix were released: the studio version released on digital streaming platforms featured Desiigner, while the version accompanying the music video replaced the rapper's intro with Korean verses from the original album version.[19] Both the originalKorean and Japanese versions were written by Pdogg, Supreme Boi,"Hitman" Bang, and band membersJ-Hope andRM, with production handled solely by Pdogg.[25] The remixed version was also created by the same songwriters, with additional writing by Aoki, Desiigner,Tayla Parx,Flowsik, and Shae Jacobs. The latter was produced by Aoki, with additional production from Pdogg who also served as one of therecording engineers of the track. Band memberJungkook provided backing vocals for the song, alongside Supreme Boi, Docskim, Hiss Noise and Pdogg. It wasmixed byJaycen Joshua with assistance from David Nakaj and Ben Milchev at theLarrabee Sound Studios inNorth Hollywood, Los Angeles, whilemastering was handled byRandy Merrill atSterling Sound inNew York City.[26]
According to RM, "Mic Drop" was inspired by former US presidentBarack Obama'smic drop at his lastWhite House Correspondents' Dinner in 2016.[32][33] Speaking about the song in an interview, Desiigner said: "What ["Mic Drop"] means to me is definitely—like when you really amazingly, tremendously kill the beat. And you just drop the mic after that. You just know that you did your thing on that."[4] In the song's lyrics, BTS celebrate their global popularity, narrating their hard work and numerous achievements through lines like: "Another trophy, my hands carry 'em / Too many that I can't even count 'em (turn it up now) / Mic drop, mic drop / Be careful of your feet, be careful of what you say."[19][34][a]
Upon release, "Mic Drop" was met with generally favourable reviews frommusic critics. Writing forThe Malaysia Star, Chester Chin praised the song as "a brilliant display of artistry," calling it "an explosive and menacing track with some dirty bass to boot."[36] Jeff Benjamin fromFuse lauded the cohesiveness of the song's diverse musical styles, writing that the Steve Aoki remix "wasn't just brilliant for its blending of different genres and styles, but how all those elements enhance one another." He further stated, "Desiigner's ridiculously awesome flow fits perfectly alongside BTS' braggadocio, with it all backed by a mainstream-accessible Aoki beat."[37] Reviewing forClash, Taylor Glasby viewed the track as a "scorching, hater-baiting" song and deemed it as the "sonic outlier" ofLove Yourself: Her.[9] Rhian Daly ofNME regarded the song as "a swag-filled rap-led track full of their very own mic drop moments."[38] In his review forThe Korea Herald, Dam-young Hong cited the track as "an artwork, offering listeners a flash of footprints BTS have left in the K-pop scene over the past few months."[20] Music critic Sunmi Ahn also wrote an article for the same publication where she praised the song's production and lyrical content writing, "With a killer beat and smart yet frank lyrics, it's a song that describes how BTS got to the top."[32]IZM's Do-heon Kim favoured the aggressive guitar riff in the production, likening it to that of'90s South Korean music groupSeo Taiji and Boys.[29] Mike Nied ofIdolator deemed the song "one of the hardest hitting on an album of iridescent pop hits."[39]
Reviewing forVulture, Kim Youngdae and Park T.K. wrote, "The beat is distinctive, making every part of this song instantly recognizable."[40] InThe New York Times, Jon Caramanica shared a similar view, favouring the sound of the song and labelling it as "a fantastically squelchy beat."[41]Billboard's Caitlin Kelley cited it as one of the best songs of BTS and wrote, "the intensity of the song is the product of a potent mixture: an ominous, trap-infused beat rages against boastful lyricism befitting a world class act."[42] Emlyn Travis ofPopCrush called "Mic Drop" BTS' "quintessential hip hop track", noting that it evolved the band's sound "while keeping their old roots intact."[30] Chris DeVille fromStereogum viewed the song as "tensely jittery" in which the band "never cease sounding like a boy band even as they lean liberally into hip-hop."[43] In a mixed review forSpin, Monique Melendez felt that the song is "inspiring in its lyrical confidence" but "doesn't push any musical boundaries."[21]
The original version of "Mic Drop" debuted at number 17 on theGaon Digital Chart and at number 14 on the componentDownload Chart on the issue date of September 23, 2017.[46][47] The song peaked at number six on theBillboardK-pop Hot 100 chart and number seven on the USWorld Digital Song Sales chart.[48][49] The remix of "Mic Drop" debuted at number 28 on the USBillboard Hot 100 for the chart issue dated December 16, 2017, becoming the first top 40 entry by a K-pop group on the chart. It also became BTS' first top 40 hit.[50] The single debuted at number one on the US World Digital Songs chart, becoming the band's sixth number one on the chart,[51] and entered the USDigital Song Sales chart at number four.[52] The song charted at number 37 on theCanadian Hot 100 and appeared at number 46 on theUK Singles Chart.[53][54] Additionally, it peaked at number 5 in Malaysia,[55] number 33 in France,[56] number 26 in Scotland,[57] number 39 in South Korea,[58] number 50 in Australia,[59] and number 71 in Germany.[60] On February 3, 2018, the song wascertified gold by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for track equivalent sales of 500,000 units, making BTS the first Korean group to have a song certified in the United States.[61] The song eventually receivedplatinum certification from the RIAA in November 2018 for track-equivalent sales of one million units, making BTS the first Korean group to achieve this.[62] In April 2019, it was certified gold by theAustralian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for track-equivalent sales of 35,000 units in Australia.[63]
Following the release of the song as a single album in Japan, "Mic Drop / DNA / Crystal Snow" topped theOricon Daily Singles Chart on its first day of release, selling 269,861 copies.[64] The single remained at number one on the daily chart for the next six days, selling 365,096 physical copies in its first week.[65] By doing so, the band became the first foreign artist to surpass 300,000 copies in a week.[66][67] "Mic Drop / DNA / Crystal Snow" peaked at number one on the Oricon Weekly Singles Chart for the chart issue dated December 4–10, 2017.[68] For the year end chart, it was the 13th best-selling single of 2017 in the country.[69] "Mic Drop" peaked at number one on theBillboard Japan Hot 100 for the chart issue date of December 18, 2017.[70] On January 15, 2018, the single received double platinum certification from theRecording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ), denoting shipments of 500,000 copies, making BTS the only foreign artist to achieve this for a single released in 2017.[71][72][73]
Amusic video for "Mic Drop" directed by Woogie Kim of GDW, premiered on Big Hit's officialYouTube channel at 18:00KST (01:00PST) on November 24, 2017; it was preceded by a 59-second teaser released on the same platform on November 16.[74][75] Hyunwoo Nam was credited as thedirector of photography and Cathy Kim as the producer.[74] The visual is almost four-minutes long and features severalVFX shots.[74] The video opens with Aoki walking towards a console, set against a backdrop of neon-lights.[22][74] The clip then cuts to show the band inside an interrogation room with several cameras pointed at them.[19][22] They remain seated before a table which is occupied with microphones.[22] In the following scene, Aoki puts on a pair of headphones and starts DJ-ing.[22][74] J-Hope jumps over the table and lines up with the rest of the band to perform the song's powerful choreography.[22] The clip is interspersed with scenes featuring the band dancing in multiple settings.[19] In some of these scenes, the band dances in a darkened room with Aoki's figure looming over them in the background, while in others they are in a grungy hallway or inside a prison.[22][76] Over the course of the video, several black-hooded figures are seen rioting as the band continue to dance in military-style outfits while surrounded by burning cars.[19][22] The visual ends with the band disappearing from the interrogation room as Suga performs thetitular mic drop.[19][22] A closing shot of Aoki removing his headphones is shown before the clip goes black and the song's title is displayed in red against it.[19][74] Commenting on the setting of the music video, the director stated in an interview: "Listening to the song, the first thing that came to my mind was that I wanted to lock BTS in an interrogation room. Then I wanted to show the viewers how they managed to escape and free themselves with music."[77]
Critics associated the visual with the theme of rebellion.[19][22]Stereogum's Tom Breihan listed the visual as one of the five best music videos of its release week.[78] Jennifer Drysdal fromEntertainment Tonight called the video "epic" and praised the band's performance writing that the members "command the screen with electrifying dance sequences."[79] Writing forVice magazine, Phil Witmer deemed the visual as "objectively incredible."[80] The clip was an instant success on YouTube, achieving over 10 million views in 14 hours.[81] "Mic Drop" was the ninth most watched K-pop video of 2017 on YouTube.[82] As of January 2024, the visual has garnered over 1.4 billion views.[83]
An accompanying music video for the Japanese version of the song was uploaded to Universal Music Japan's YouTube channel on December 5, 2017.[84] The setting of the visual is almost identical to the remix music video, except for Aoki's figure, which was replaced by a hooded silhouette with glowing red eyes.[85]
Following the release ofLove Yourself: Her, BTS appeared on several Koreanmusic programs, includingMnet'sM! Countdown,KBS'sMusic Bank,SBS'sInkigayo andMBC Music'sShow Champion to promote the original version of "Mic Drop" and the album.[86][87][88][89] The band performed the song at theSBS Gayo Daejeon music festival on December 25, 2017.[90] They also performed the song on December 31, 2018, at theMBC Gayo Daejejeon,[91] wearing red and black outfits in styles similar to their attire for the music video. Towards the end of the performance, Suga's mic drop move was swapped for a scroll that read "Happy New Year" in Korean when unfurled.[92] On August 11, 2019, the band performed the song during the one-night onlyLotte Duty Free Family Concert at theOlympic Gymnastics Arena inSeoul.[93]
BTS performed the remix version of "Mic Drop" live for the first time onThe Ellen DeGeneres Show on November 27, 2017.[94] The band performed an "energetic" rendition of the song, trading off vocals and rapping verses on a "stark" stage decorated with flashing lights. Ryan Reed ofRolling Stone praised the performance, calling it "intricately choreographed."[95] They performed the remix again on the November 30 episode ofJimmy Kimmel Live! as part of theMercedes-BenzLive! concert series,[96] and at the2017 Mnet Asian Music Awards in Hong Kong on December 1.[97] Additionally, BTS gave a pre-recorded performance of the song onDick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve on December 31, 2017.[98] On April 13, 2019, BTS performed it together with their 2019 single "Boy with Luv" onSaturday Night Live, becoming the first K-pop group to perform on the show.[99][100] For the performance, the band wore casual and colourful outfits fromVirgil Abloh's first menswear collection forLouis Vuitton.[100][101] It received widespread acclaim in the media as one of the most-anticipated performances in the show's history.[102][103][104]Stephen Thompson ofNPR wrote: "Lots of bands can seem strangely diminished by the SNL stage on TV, but on Saturday night, BTS filled every inch of the frame with flashy motion — tight choreography, bright colors, bold energy."[105] Tyler Watamanuk ofGQ praised "the crooning vocals, precise choreography, and charismatic swagger" while also lauding the "expert-level" on-stage fashion style of the band.[100] Crystal Bell ofMTV labelled the performance as "a fiery coronation" and "an epic, electrifying dance break," adding: "Sure, they can be playful, but they're also fierce and they have swagger — and they can dance."[106] Writing forElle, Alyssa Bailey cited the performance as "real show-stopping."[107] On December 7, 2019, the band performed the song as the opening act of the 2019iHeartRadioJingle Ball concert atThe Forum,Los Angeles.[108] "Mic Drop" was included on the setlist of BTS'Love Yourself World Tour (2018–19).[109] For performances of the song during theLove Yourself: Speak Yourself stadium extension of the tour, the band wore "retro-futuristic" outfits created byDior artistic director and fashion designerKim Jones, from his 2019 menswear pre-fall collection.[110][111][112]
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. † Streaming-only figures based on certification alone.
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^Yu, Byung-cheol (December 12, 2017).방탄소년단, 日 오리콘 주간 싱글 차트 1위…해외 아티스트 최초 '30만 포인트' 돌파 [BTS ranks #1 on Japanese Oricon Weekly Single Chart ... First foreign artist to break through '300,000 points'].Korea Economic Daily (in Korean).Archived from the original on December 12, 2017. RetrievedJuly 24, 2020 – via Naver.
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^月次認定作品 認定年月：2017年 12月(Click or tap '認定年月:' (Certification date) button to view drop-down menu of certification dates categorized by month. Select '2017年12月' (December 2017) to access "Mic Drop" certification details.) (in Japanese).Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ). January 15, 2018. RetrievedJuly 24, 2020.
^Sun, Mi-kyung (January 15, 2018)."해외 아티스트 유일"…방탄소년단 日싱글, '더블 플래티넘' 달성 [[Official recognition] BTS Japanese Single achieves Double Platinum ...'The only foreign artist'].Osen (in Korean).Archived from the original on July 22, 2020. RetrievedJuly 21, 2020 – via Naver.
^Hwang, Hye-Jin (January 16, 2018).방탄소년단 日싱글 '더블 플래티넘' 등극 '해외 아티스트 유일' [BTS Japanese Single achieves Double Platinum; the only foreign artist].Newsen (in Korean).Archived from the original on January 17, 2018. RetrievedJuly 24, 2020.
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