It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and no, we don’t mean Christmas. We mean BTS’ FESTA season! BTS’ anniversary always brings elite-tier bonus content and times of celebration (well, except maybe that dinner)! Amongst other things, one thing we always look forward to is BTS dropping FESTA songs. The latest edition for 2024 is ‘Never Let Go,’ from Jungkook. This marks BTS’ 11th anniversary and our 10th FESTA song!
Each year since 2014, the group, or sub-units or solos, has shared a FESTA track for ARMY. Over the last decade, there’s been so much variety in the tracks, but there’s always one consistent thing – the sweetness and sincerity with which they share the songs. In case you are new ARMY, or just want to reminisce over FESTAs through the years, here’s every BTS FESTA track so far.
‘So 4 more’
This is not to be confused with the Dark & Wild b-side, ‘2nd Grade,’ that also goes by ‘So 4 more.’ To catch you up to speed, this ‘So 4 more’ was for BTS’ first anniversary, hence the opening lyric, “It’s been a year.” The alternative, ‘2nd Grade’ is often named ‘So 4 more’ on streaming services as ‘So 4 more’ sounds like “sophomore,” which is… ‘2nd Grade.’ BTS’ love of wordplay has no limits. Regardless, you can’t deny that this track is a vibe!
‘We Are Bulletproof Part.1’
Putting ‘Part.2’ of a song on your debut album is a bit of a statement, but BTS can pull it off! Luckily, in 2015, we got ‘We Are Bulletproof Part.1’ in all its glory as a FESTA song! It’s intensely hip-hop, and we love that this self-proclamation was on their 1st debut anniversary!
‘I Know’ (RM & Jungkook)
2016 brought our first unit FESTA track! Courtesy of the leader and the maknae, ‘I Know’ is the first of the sweeter, ARMY-dedicated FESTA songs that we’re used to. Lyrics like “Know you love me girl” and “Know you love me boy” are an early example of BTS’ dedication to acceptance and inclusivity of their fans.
‘4 o’Clock’ (RM & V)
‘4 o’clock’ for BTS’ 4th birthday! 2017 saw RM pair up with another one of the younger members, V! Taehyung’s vocals always sound heavenly with this sort of more laidback style, and the imagery of 4am, before the world wakes up, only adds to this dreamlike quality.
‘Ddaeng’ (Rapline)
So, this one was a bit of a curveball, wasn’t it? This track is definitely not a sweet and soft song, but it’s, without a doubt, one of ARMY’s favorites. ‘Ddaeng’ is an absolute masterclass in wordplay and lyrical dexterity – it really doesn’t get better than this!
‘Tonight’ (Jin)
We cannot stress enough just how perfectly suited Jin’s vocals are for ballads. From ‘Tonight’ to ‘Epiphany,’ we’ll never tire of hearing this style from him. This track, from FESTA 2019, was technically his solo debut, and what a song to start off with! The production is stunning, especially the distortion at the end, which makes it feel like you’re listening to him on a cassette tape.
‘Still With You’ (Jungkook)
Just a couple months into the pandemic, Jungkook took it upon himself to remind ARMY that he’s ‘Still With You.’ The rain-soaked intro is so dreamy, and the sentiment truly couldn’t be sweeter. It’s one of BTS’ most liked songs on Soundcloud, and TBH, we get it – it’s maybe our favorite FESTA release ever. Honey vocals over a jazz instrumental? Sign us up.
‘Bicycle’ (RM)
The song that is so Namjoon, it hurts. The acoustic guitar and spoken word wouldn’t sound too out of place on his debut album, Indigo, and it feels like the start of spring! We “wanna keep the bass down low,” and keep this song on repeat.
‘My You’ (Jungkook)
ARMY’s biggest fan strikes again! Jungkook never takes a break from his mission of proving his love for his fans 24/7, and 2022’s FESTA song is yet another example of this. An acoustic ballad, ‘My You,’ never fails to make us tear up. But with lyrics like, “All the reasons why I sing this song, thankful to be by your side now, I’ll try to shine brighter than now,” can you blame us?
‘Take Two’
Will we ever recover from hearing ‘Take Two’ for the first time? Probably not. 2023’s FESTA song marked the first time we heard BTS as a group in Chapter 2, with a brand new OT7 track and performance to commemorate a decade of the group. We love the emotion behind the whole track, but we have to spotlight how stunning j-hope’s verse is!
‘Never Let Go’ (Jungkook)
The latest addition to BTS’ FESTA songs is 2024’s ‘Never Let Go,’ courtesy of Jungkook. Beginning with a soft guitar and a voice memo of someone saying “Star boy, you’re my, you’re my hero,” ‘Never Let Go’ grows into a house-influenced anthem. In fact, the song was so heavily inspired by the house genre that Jungkook had planned to create a performance to match it but ran out of time before enlisting. Despite its upbeat energy, the lyrics, which Jungkook co-wrote, are still so sincere.
And words escape me whenever you’re close, I tried to put it into words but it don’t measure up, my pen and paper could never do quite enough.
Here’s to many more FESTA’s to come! Which of these BTS anniversary songs is your favorite? What are your plans for FESTA this year? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, or tell us over on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!
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