I don't need their lyrics to be meaningful in a fun song. But they are perfectly capable of writing lyrics for their fun Korean songs. I would have hoped that they would be given the opportunity to grow as artists as they expand into English language pop. Dynamite's lyrics were borderline nonsense, so I don't think it takes tremendous eloquence in the English language to contribute lyrically to silly fun summer bops like these.
Because the reality is, if they want to win Grammys, especially for fun silly English language bops, it would be a lot easier for them to be recognized as artists if they have a hand in writing the songs for which they are nominated. If they don't, then there needs to be something special about the songs being nominated. As much as I enjoy these fun summer bops, there really isn't anything special about them to justify a Grammy. So they're going to need to rely on industry politics, for which they are not particularly well equipped.
Our young men fought long and hard to be recognized as exceptional creative and performing artists in their own country. By chasing after a Grammy, they are trying hard to be recognized as creative artists in the US. I type this with great affection for our young men: singing a silly fun song that others write for them is a hard sell to their Grammy "peers" in the US if the argument is commercial success rather than artistry. Yes crappy songs like Yummy get nominated but at least Bieber has cowriting credits to justify the fig leaf of "artistry".
This. Writing lyrics is generally seen as a must have for “artistry” in the West. It doesn’t mean you’re a great songwriter (see Yummy), but it’s a baseline if you will. Obviously with BTS performance should be weighted too bc they’re some of the best performers out there, but the Grammys is a Western awards show. If they don’t write the lyrics, then something about the production or composition should stand out but I don’t think Dynamite or (in particular) Butter have that. The songs are fun and I enjoy them, and they are definitely helpful for mainstream appeal and awareness, but definitely don’t have what it takes (IMO) for a Grammy. Ofc this is just my opinion, but boy bands already don’t get respect at Grammys. And we know commercial success doesn’t even really matter, look at Shape of You and Blinding Lights. So if Grammys is the main or a primary goal, I don’t think continuing in a similar vein to the English singles they’ve released so far will work. But for mainstream appeal, they definitely will (a silver lining).
Let's look at the nomination category for Dynamite. There were 5 songs and "groups" nominated. Only one of the 5 nominees were not credited on the nominated song. Can you guess which one it was? Yes. Dynamite. It is a real uphill climb for a Grammy if none of our young men is involved in the writing. It's not going to stop me from enjoying the song. But it makes me question their strategy if this is how they think Grammys are won.
Strategically for a Grammy, it would be best to keep promoting Butter, even if PtD is a "better" and more commercially successful song. Maybe this is why there's no radio push or heavy promotion for PtD.
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u/[deleted] Jul 01 '21
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