BTS released the final installment of their “Most Beautiful Moment in Life” series earlier in May, with much fan anticipation. They promised three new MVs along with six remixes and full versions of the previous two albums’ outros. The rest of the two CD’s is filled with their singles and the most popular songs. It’s a great showcase of how they’ve developed their music and sound over these past three albums. The result of their maturation is this final installment of “The Most Beautiful Moment in Life.”
The first of the new songs is “Fire” and, just like the title suggests, it’s a party song. Its EDM influenced beats and infectious melody have already earned BTS three music show wins so far. Their rambunctious attitudes come through each chorus. There’s nothing I would rather do than go party with the members after hearing this song. It’s such a change from the hip hop heavy songs of their previous albums and they do it so well.
The second is “Save Me;” a song about needing the person you love, even if it’s just for that one night. Like “Fire,” it is influenced by electronic music, 
specifically deep house. The vocalists sound amazing in this; Jimin and V‘s voices stand out the most to me. It could be classified as a ballad, but it definitely is on the faster side for a ballad. Out of all the new songs they released on this album, “Save Me” has remained my favorite no matter how many times I have listened and re-listened to the album.
The final new song is “Young Forever.” It’s an excellent song about trying to live in the moment while also dealing with the impermanence of youth. They express their desire to be young forever, but also how they’re trying to move forward and not take what they have for granted. It feels more personal than some of their other work and that definitely feels intentional. Rap Monster had a large part in the creation of this song; he helped write most of the lyrics and part of the production. The song itself is an anthem. It isn’t hard to imagine a crowd singing along with the chorus of:
Forever, we are young
Under the flower petals falling down
I run, so lost in this maze
Forever, we are young
Even when I fall and hurt myself
I keep running toward my dream
It’s by far the most inspirational song BTS has released to date and it’s one of the most poignant. The production and composition of the song works well with the subject matter. “Young Forever” is the perfect song for the first CD to end with.
Both full versions of the outros from the two previous albums are excellent. The broody, Weeknd-esque vibe in “House of Cards” is maintained in this new version. The extra two minutes only build on the original’s atmosphere, building up to the vocal line pouring their hearts out. Being able to hear each singer’s voice so distinctly is an absolute pleasure, especially V and Jin‘s voices. While “House of Cards” is largely unchanged in the new version, “Love is Not Over” has the rappers joining for their own verses. Each verse fits in perfectly and the rap doesn’t feel out of place. If anything it adds the most to the full version, adding texture and another layer to the song.
For the remixes/alternate mixes, there are two mixes for “Butterfly,” “Run,” and “I Need U” each. “Butterfly (Prologue Mix)” is definitely my preferred remix for that song; the slower pace draws out the emotion and there’s more of an emphasis on the piano melody. The Alternate Mix for “Butterfly” is similar to the original; it isn’t as mellow, but still retains much of the same production elements as the original.
For the “Run” remixes, the Ballad Mix is definitely the stronger of the two. Like the Prologue Mix, the Ballad Mix takes what’s great about the original song and changes it to create a completely new, different sound. The use of strings and soft drums really makes the song feel more yearning. Plus, Rap Monster’s half singing, half rapping is such a wonderful addition to the song. The Alternate Mix retains much of the original song’s sound. The subtle differences add a little more depth. The distortion on the keyboard is more pronounced in this mix; it sounds more electro-rock than the original.
Out of all the remixes, the ones I was most looking forward to were the “I Need U” remixes. It’s hard to choose which I prefer; they’re both so different and offer such different experiences when listening to them. Ever since seeing their slow jam performance of the song, I’ve been waiting for them to hopefully release a studio version. The Urban Mix is almost identical to the slow jam version they performed. “I Need U” lends itself well to that style of music. The guitar in the background adding riffs supports the main melody. The other remix takes the original and makes it more of a house song. It uses more synth and other electronic elements to make it feel more celestial. They’re both great reinterpretations of “I Need U.”
The final installment of “The Most Beautiful Moment in Life” solidly wraps up the series. It presents the growth of BTS and gives us a taste of what’s potentially on the horizon for the boys. It feels like each member is slowly starting to show their individual talents and it’s only making the group as a whole produce better music. It’s hard to believe how young they all are to be consistently putting out music that captures the hearts of so many people.
Album: 5/5
(Images via Big Hit Entertainment)
