"Dionysus" is a song by South Korean boy band

BTS BTS (), also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010 and debuting in 2013 under Big Hit Entertainment. The septet—consisting of members Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook—co-writes and co-pr ...

. It was released digitally on April 12, 2019, as part of the

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

'' Map of the Soul: Persona''.

Background and release

Big Hit Entertainment Big Hit Music (; formerly Big Hit Entertainment) is a South Korean music label established in 2005 by Bang Si-hyuk. It was re-branded and re-structured into an independent label under Hybe Corporation (formerly Big Hit Entertainment Co., Ltd. ...

teased the song title when they posted a short description of

Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Roma ...

on their official website. Upon doing so it trended on

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worldwide. The song was announced to be on their album tracklist '' Map of the Soul: Persona'' a few days before the scheduled release of April 12, 2019. The track was also hinted at when teaser pictures of the members holding grapes were released.

Promotion

BTS promoted the song in Korea on the shows '' Inkigayo'', '' Show! Music Core'', ''

Music Bank Music Bank may refer to: * ''Music Bank'' (TV program), a South Korean music program by KBS **''Music Bank World Tour The ''Music Bank'' World Tour is a worldwide live concert tour of South Korean music show '' Music Bank'' by the Korean Broa ...

'', and '' M Countdown''. BTS gave a high-octane performance of the song at the 2019 Melon Music Awards and

2019 Mnet Asian Music Awards The 2019 Mnet Asian Music Awards ceremony, organized by CJ E&M through its music channel Mnet, took place on December 5 at Nagoya Dome, Japan. It was the 21st ceremony and the one of the largest in the show's history, with more than 40,000 peopl ...

, where the group swept all grand prizes. The song was also performed at the 2019

SBS Gayo Daejeon ''SBS Gayo Daejeon'' (, broadly ''SBS'' '' Battle of the Bands'') is an annual televised music festival that is broadcast by the Seoul Broadcasting System at the end of each year. The program first aired in 1997, and awards were given to musica ...

and the 2019

KBS Song Festival The ''KBS Song Festival'' () is an annual South Korean music show that airs on the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) at the end of every year. It first aired in 1965 as an awards show, but KBS discontinued the awards ceremony in 2006. It has co ...

Composition and lyrics

In a press release RM described the song as, "the joy and pain of creating something” and “an honest track". It is named after the

Greek god The following is a list of gods, goddesses, and many other divine and semi-divine figures from ancient Greek mythology and ancient Greek religion. Immortals The Greeks created images of their deities for many purposes. A temple would house the ...

of the same name, known for debauchery and excess. It is in the genre of rap-rock, synth-pop, and hip-hop and consist of multi-part hooks, a

trap A trap is a mechanical device used to capture or restrain an animal for purposes such as hunting, pest control, or ecological research. Trap or TRAP may also refer to: Art and entertainment Films and television * ''Trap'' (2015 film), Fil ...

breakdown, an ending chorus that has double-time drums and features Jin's 'rocking adlibs' throughout the song. Lyrically, the song talks about their stardom, legacy, and artistic integrity. Some of the nuances may be difficult to understand because of the word play that gets lost in translation. On the surface it may seem like a party song with the group shouting “Drink, drink, drink!” at different intervals, but in reality, the lyrics call for getting drunk on art, in the creative process. While "alcohol" in Korean is "술", "art" in Korean is "예술". Also, looking deeper into the lyrics, it shows self reflection such as when

Suga Suga may refer to: * Suga, Iran, a village in Qazvin Province, Iran * Suga language, a language of Cameroon * Suga (rapper) (born 1993), South Korean rapper, songwriter, and record producer * ''Suga'' (EP), 2020 EP by Megan Thee Stallion * ''Sug ...

raps, “What does it matter if I’m an idol or an artist?” It links back to their previous song "

Idol Idol or Idols may refer to: Religion and philosophy * Cult image, a neutral term for a man-made object that is worshipped or venerated for the deity, spirit or demon that it embodies or represents * Murti, a point of focus for devotion or medit ...

" that asked the same reflective questions."

Reception

Jason Lipshutz of '' Billboard'' called the song, "the most outlandish song BTS has ever released" and a "harbinger". Jess Lau from '' The 405'' called "Dionysus" the "real stand out single" and "full of attitude and confidence", while Salvatore Maicki from '' Fader'' called it a "booze-filled rager". In the review of "The 50 best albums of 2019",

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

hailed “Jin’s spine-tingling falsetto wails during the final headbang-worthy section of ‘Dionysus’” as the "Best Moment" from the album.

Charts

Certifications

Accolades

References

{{authority control 2019 songs BTS songs Korean-language songs Rap rock songs Songs written by Pdogg Songs written by J-Hope Songs written by RM (musician) Songs written by Supreme Boi Songs written by Suga