It’s that time of year again when we all reflect on the past 12 months in our own way. For our part, Weverse Magazine will be taking a look back at how different artists and their tireless staff spent 2022 with fans. We’ll be publishing articles for three weeks as the members of the staffs behind BTS, SEVENTEEN, TOMORROW X TOGETHER, ENHYPEN, fromis_9 and LE SSERAFIM select their favorite music, videos, performances and other MOMENTs from working with the artists they support. This week we take a look at the music these six groups have released. First up is BTS producer Pdogg to tell us all about the group’s song “For Youth.”

Why “For Youth” is BTS’s song of the year

Pdogg: Personally, I felt like the harmony between the seven members is really present on “For Youth,” even while it exemplifies what makes each of them special. It’s also a really meaningful fan song, meaning it’s full of things the group wanted to say for fans and to fans for a long time. I feel like BTS as a group has opened up to fans as they’ve made their way step by step over the past 10 years. The fans feel the same way as the members, and the members feel the exact same way as the fans. I think you could say it’s that mutual interaction that forms the core of BTS’s music and I tried to put a lot of that into “For Youth” and Proof as a whole since it encapsulates the past 10 years as a whole.

The lyrics to “For Youth” reflect on the past

Pdogg: “For Youth” samples “EPILOGUE: Young Forever” off The Most Beautiful Moment in Life: Young Forever, letting it continue on the emotional journey from that time. The song is minimal, but I think just filling it with the sound of the members’ vocals allowed their seven voices to come across more sincerely to their fans. For example, I really like how j-hope’s lines, like, “one two three, our harmony,” and, “the flower that gave me my spring day,” call back to older songs as a reminder of The Most Beautiful Moment in Life days. I remember telling them while they were recording their vocals, “This is so moving.” I think the members did a good job writing the lyrics for “For Youth” around the theme of youth by referencing their own experiences.

The voices of the BTS members

Pdogg: All the members have their own distinct vocals—none of them are alike. Consequently, it sounds great listening to the changing voices as they go through each of their parts, so we split up the parts carefully in consideration of what would be the most natural way to connect their vocals. So it’s more emotionally immersive and fans will find it interesting to listen to, and I think it really gives the song a sense of progression. And V had an idea for the ending—that it would sound good if he were the one to do it, so he ended up singing it, and sure enough, it sounded great. (laughs) So we split up the parts, and then, for the harmony, I thought it would be exponentially more emotional if the vocals and the instruments were layered one by one, so that’s the effect I gave it. I tried out having Jimin and V harmonize before in the song “Friends” and the combination sounded great. In some ways their vocal tones are furthest apart of any of the members so I laid it out the way I did because I wanted to get the most out of the two of them singing. I also had Jin sing the main melody for the part that goes, “if you’re tired, you can take a break for a minute / I’ll always be here waiting for you,” and Jung Kook did the harmony. RM, SUGA and j-hope sing variations on the main melody to give the song some rhythm and I think that made it more interesting rhythmically. I think they expressed themselves really well during their raps especially.

Speaking directly to the fans

Pdogg: A number of the parts actually got me quite emotional while recording, so I figured if I felt as touched as I did during it, the fans would feel that much more moved. I kept telling the members throughout the whole recording process to be reserved but honest with their feelings when singing because the song is about them personally. And I told them not to try to act cool—just sing as much like you’re speaking as possible. They really came to like the song (laughs) and I remember Jin really loved it and said he wanted to do more takes and we also did a lot of the editing together.

Hoping “For Youth” will be memorable for BTS and ARMY

Pdogg: BTS has put out a number of fan songs on their albums and mixtapes. They really pull at the heartstrings, especially “2! 3!” I cry unexpectedly when I listen to that song or their other fan songs and I’m reminded of the situation back then—because both the fans and BTS had a hard go of it at the time. But “For Youth” is about how even in the hard times over the past 10 years they were growing up together and they’ll always be together, too. “For Youth” is basically a fan song written looking back as they enter their 10th year and at their peak, so I think it’s a little easier to listen to and not a tearjerker for once. (laughs) As the producer, I hope fans feel a little more relaxed listening to this fan song and I hope it stays with them forever.