"Save Me" (stylized as "Save ME") is a song by South Korean boy group

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-produ ...

from their

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

'' The Most Beautiful Moment In Life: Young Forever'' (2016). The original Korean version was released by Big Hit on May 2, 2016, in South Korea. The Japanese single version was released on September 7, 2016, on their album ''

Youth Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood ( maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as being a young adult. You ...

'', under

Universal Music Japan , often referred to as just Universal Music Japan or UMJ, is a Japanese subsidiary of the Universal Music Group founded in 1990. It is the largest subsidiary for a foreign company in the country regarding music distribution. The company is resp ...

and Virgin Music-Def Jam Recordings.

Music and lyrics

"Save Me" is a

tropical house Tropical house, also known as trop house, is a subgenre of house music, and a derivation of tropical music, with elements of dancehall and Balearic house. Artists of the genre are often featured at various summer festivals such as Tomorrowland. T ...

and

electropop Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a re ...

track. ''

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 ...

''s Rhian Daly described it as "deceptively bright and bouncy – an aural carnival that masks the pleas for help in the lyrics." The song opens with energetic

synth A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and f ...

sound that sonically develops towards tropical house sound. The song contains a speedy rhythm and a "frenetic" chorus. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' described it as "powerfully subtle". Lyrically, it deals with the theme of salvation. The song was written by Pdogg, Ray Michael Djan Jr, Ashton Foster, Samantha Harper, RM, Suga, and J-Hope with Pdogg serving as the primary producer. Musically, it is in the key of D♭ major and is 140 beats per minute.

Promotion

The music video for "Save Me", released in conjunction with the single was produced and directed by GDW. The music video, which was notably filmed in a one-shot take shows BTS members singing and performing intense choreography against the wind, in the backdrop of low-lying clouds that maximize the atmosphere and convey the emotions of a lyrically sad song. The dance was choreographed by The Quick Style Crew. BTS decided to promote on music shows only for a week, performing on

Mnet M-Net (an abbreviation of Electronic Media Network) is a South African pay television channel established by Naspers in 1986. The channel broadcasts both local and international programming, including general entertainment, children's series, ...

, KBS, MBC and SBS as planned to allow for individual activities, performances and overseas schedules, starting with ''

M! Countdown ''M Countdown'' () is a South Korean music program broadcast by Mnet. The show features appearances by popular music artists who also perform live on stage. It is broadcast from CJ E&M Center Studio in Sangam-dong, Mapo District, Seoul. Bro ...

'' on May 12. The song was promoted at the 2018 MBC Plus X Genie Music Awards performances as well.

Commercial performance

BTS topped Billboard World Digital Songs with "Save Me", the number 1 spot being taken by their other single "

Fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition ...

". The videos for "Save Me" ranked second on Most Viewed K-Pop Videos in America, Around the World: May 2016 list revealed by ''Billboard''.

Credits and personnel

The Korean credits are adapted from the CD liner notes of '' The Most Beautiful Moment In Life: Young Forever''. *Pdogg – producer, keyboard, synthesizer * "Hitman" Bang – producer *

Rap Monster Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

– producer *

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 ...

– producer *Devine Channel – producer *

Jungkook Jeon Jung-kook (; born September 1, 1997), known mononymously as Jungkook (stylized as Jung Kook), is a South Korean singer. He is the youngest member and vocalist of the South Korean boy band BTS. Jungkook has released three solo tracks as p ...

– chorus *Slow Rabbit – vocal and rap arrangement, recording engineer @ Carrot Express *Sam Klempner – mix engineer

Charts

Certifications and sales

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Save Me 2016 singles Korean-language songs Japanese-language songs BTS songs 2016 songs Songs written by RM (rapper) Songs written by J-Hope Songs written by Suga (rapper) Hybe Corporation singles