According to YouTube, BTS’s new music video for “Permission to Dance” recorded 72.3 million views within 24 hours of its release. It premiered worldwide on July 9 at 1:00 PM KST.
That wasn’t the only record “Permission to Dance” set when it went live. With over 2.3 million peak concurrent viewers, its premiere became the fourth largest in YouTube history.
In case you were wondering, the music videos that occupy the top three spots on that particular list are those for “Butter,” “Dynamite,” and “Life Goes On”—all BTS songs.
The video struck a chord with ARMY because of its fun, optimistic vibe. Most of its imagery represents the end of the ongoing pandemic. In the video, the Korean superstars can be seen living it up and moving on in the wake of the havoc wrought by COVID-19.
In one teaser they uploaded to the HYBE Labels YouTube channel before the full version of the music video premiered, SUGA was shown reading a newspaper, the front page of which featured some cheerful headlines. Some of them were “2022, the Beginning of a New Era,” “Our Life Goes On,” and “Purple Balloons Signal the End of COVID-19.”
In the full video, he and the other six members of BTS—RM, Jin, j-hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook—are all dressed like cowboys. They dance around while chilling in a laundromat. Eventually, the boys’ footloose, fancy free attitude and the infectious beat of their latest single inspire different kinds of people to get their groove on too.
The “Permission to Dance” music video ends with BTS and their backup dancers getting their groove on in the middle of the desert, while people from all over the world rip off their face masks in celebration.
Since the pandemic began, BTS has used their music to encourage people to maintain a positive attitude. In the “Permission to Dance” music video, they gave those who were hit hardest by the ensuing global lockdowns—children, retail workers, senior citizens, and teachers—time to shine. It was an overdue yet welcome shoutout to those people, since they’ve been made to put up with so much under challenging circumstances.
The music video celebrates diversity too. Not only are people of all ages, genders, and nationalities in it, but BTS even incorporated sign language into their choreography. After fans speculated about it on social media, the boys’ agency confirmed in a statement that they actually did use the signs for “dance,” “fun,” and “peace” in the music video.
BTS’s message of inclusivity and positivity was well-received not just by the fans, but also by the World Health Organization (WHO). The group’s Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus praised the boys on his official Twitter account.
The WHO official tweeted, “Thank you, @BTS_twt, for including sign language in your #PermissiontoDance music video. As 1.5 billion people in the world are affected by hearing loss; sign language can help them to continue enjoying music which can bring joy to life.”
Aside from the success of the music video, “Permission to Dance” topped various music charts and topped the worldwide Twitter trends after its release. It was produced by British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran, Jenna Andrews, Jonny McDaid, and Steve Mac.
Watch the “Permission to Dance” music video below.
