In a recent live broadcast, Kim Namjoon—also known as RM, the fearless leader of BTS—talked about his songwriting process. He’s known for his hand in shaping his group’s discography, so for him to do that was a real treat for his fans.
RM opened up about what it was like to work on two songs in particular: “0X1=LOVESONG (I Know I Love You),” the title track of TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s latest album The Chaos Chapter: FREEZE; and “Bicycle,” which RM himself released for BTS’s anniversary celebration earlier this year.
RM revealed that although TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s track dropped last May 31, it was actually supposed to be released three weeks before. Their label postponed the release because producer Bang Si-hyuk had a little trouble finishing the song on time, which RM said was quite unusual for someone as prolific as him.
“Bang PD-nim is really good at writing songs, so he usually figures things out on his own, but he said this time he couldn’t. I was busy at the time, but I realized, ‘He must have a good reason to call me for help.’ Also, I’d never worked on anything for TOMORROW X TOGETHER, so I was like, ‘Sounds fun. Let’s do it!’ So I listened to the song, and the guide was so good.”
However, RM needed to catch up on all things TXT before he could work on the song in earnest.
“In order to write their lyrics, I needed to know their universe's story,” he said. “I did watch their music videos, but I didn't know all the details, so I studied it. There are several chapters, like The Dream Chapter and The Chaos Chapter. I asked for a summary of their universe, and it's so complicated! I think it’s more complicated than ours.”
When he was done boning up on the TXT Universe or “TU,” RM went into the studio to work on the song. RM liked most of it, but he admitted that he thought one part was, well, a little strange.
“I consider the format in which the lyrics are written to be important,” he explained. “When I looked at how the lyrics for this song was written, there was a part there that made me go, ‘I wouldn’t write it like that.’ I thought they didn’t necessarily have to do it that way. That’s my personal opinion. But our agency is very true to the universe, so I think they have a reason for doing that. Maybe they have a plan. That’s what I think.”
As RM tells it, his contributions to the song helped it become a huge hit for TOMORROW X TOGETHER. The boys nabbed four music show wins with “0X1=LOVESONG (I Know I Love You).” The original version became so successful that on June 21, a remix featuring pH-1, Seori, and Woodie Gochild was released.
“The parts where they go, ‘I know I love you,’ I just left as they were in the guide. There was no need for me to change everything, because you have to keep the parts that are already good. So I wrote the verses and most of the chorus. I believe Bang PD-nim organized the bridge. It was my first time writing a song for our hoobaes, so it was really interesting. After it came out, people like Jungkook kept saying it was good.”
Meanwhile, RM went on to reveal in his live broadcast that “Bicycle” came about because of their agency. According to him, their staff asked which of the BTS members had any songs they wanted to drop in honor of their eighth anniversary as a group.
“They said, ‘We want to release another song for FESTA 2021, who can do it?’ When I heard that, I said, ‘I’ll do it. It seems fun. I’ll write about a bicycle.’”
RM released the song on the BTS blog, and he even wrote a text post to accompany it. In the post, he said that although he had always intended to write about bicycles, he had a tough time trying to put together songs without a set timeline after he released his last mixtape. But the FESTA 2021 celebrations gave him the motivation he needed to finish this one.
He came up with the lyrics while riding his own bicycle. He worked on the song with his close hyung John Eun, who happens to be a really talented, guitar-toting singer-songwriter. Sungsic Moon (aka Moon Sung Sik), one of RM’s favorite artists, provided the cover art for the song.
When it was released, ARMY flipped out. They nearly broke Twitter with their emotional reactions to “Bicycle.” Some said they’d listen to it while biking, which is exactly what RM wanted them to do.
“Whenever I’m sad, I ride my bicycle. I thought there may be others out there who feel that way too. There aren’t a lot of songs about bicycles, so I hoped people would think of this song when they ride their bicycles,” he said.
Although his live broadcast was short by BTS’s standards—some of the members stay for an hour or more when they go live—ARMY appreciated that RM took the time to give them a behind-the-scenes look at what he goes through when he makes magic in his studio.
