This is actually my first entry on BTS and probably one of those songs that I stumbled upon long before I properly understood what I was listening to. I have listened to a few Korean songs here and there while exploring Korean music or by chance when exploring korean shows or movies, but “Fake Love” by BTS was one of those songs that caught me almost immediately. I loved it after just one listening, it wasnt something that i had to listen to it over and over again before i eventually liked it. Funny enough, I don't think I discovered it because of any particular BTS performance or because I was actively looking for one of their songs. It was more of one of those random moments where YouTube recommends something, you click on it, and suddenly you find yourself listening to the same song several times.
The moment “Fake Love” started playing, it that grabbed my attention. I didn't even need to understand every word to realise that the song was carrying a very specific emotion. The production, the vocals, the beat and the video. The title itself, “Fake Love,” sounds quite straightforward, when it comes to the meaning of the song. Another thing I appreciate about the song is how the music itself seems to reflect that feeling. It doesn't feel completely happy, but it isn't simply sad either. There is this mixture of intensity, and frustration running through it. You can almost hear the conflict between wanting something badly and realising that wanting it has caused you to lose something else.
And yeah, I have one particular habit with songs I like. Once I find one that really catches me, I play it always even when i am with friends until they also start liking it, in this case my female friends like it more because they are already into kpop. “Fake Love” became one of those songs for me. Sometimes I am working, sometimes reading, sometimes writing, and other times I am doing absolutely nothing, but the song somehow fits into the background.
I also think this is another example of why I like exploring music from cultures outside my own. You don't necessarily have to understand every cultural reference or every word immediately to connect with a song. Sometimes the rhythm reaches you before the translation does. Maybe that is the real beauty of music.
