Review: BTS - Yet To Come (The Most Beautiful Moment)

Back when BTS debuted back in 2013, it would be hard to believe these seven scruffy Korean boy band members, with a little hip-hop twist, would become some of the biggest celebrities in the world, taking photos with Korea's president being part of an American White House press release, topping charts globally, and garnering accolades along the way. 

2022 sees the group in a strange place, however. They have yet to release a full-length album since late 2020, with a string of commercially successful songs, that nonetheless divided their audience, with some accusing the group (and mostly their agency, HYBE), of selling out BTS' unique trip-hop-meets-pop sound for western sensibilities. The group clearly is also fatigued with their various tours, and the fact that their music has been increasingly outsourced doesn't help either. Compounding all this is the ticking time bomb of the group's military enlistment, with some controversy at the tip of boiling over. Amid all this, their new anthology album's title track, Yet To Come promises fans that BTS have still to reach their peak, and they will continue to do well. Whether this is an enlistment goodbye or an assuring smile to fans of their readiness and will to continue, it is hard to know at the moment.

Either way, Yet To Come sees the group once return with regular collaborator Pdogg, while also seeing them return to songwriting. The end is the first song since Map of the Soul: 7 sounding like an actual BTS track. An emotional hip-hop ballad, Yet To Come balances a hard act, bringing up nostalgia while promising that this is just the beginning. The lyrics aim toward future ambition but fall prey to genericness. Some lines, such as the rap responses in the chorus are quite decent, while other lines do fall prey to the "Inoffensive to the point it offends" school of philosophy. Including tracks on the album such as Tony Montana does dilute these criticisms a bit, but it is clear that Yet To Come is meant for the fans of the next interval in BTS' career more than anything else.

BTS have already dabbled in emotive hip-hop to the point of being experts, with stone-cold classics such as Spring Day holding an important place in their discography. Yet To Come's synth-touched beats don't reach the same heights of the aforementioned classic, but stands above the likes of Life Goes On. The synths had worried me in the teasers, but they translate well in the chorus. The groovy beat works great, especially with the piano melody over it. I love the concept here, but I feel it could be improved by stretching to texture, perhaps adding a variety of synths, or maybe a woodwind of some sort.

Melodically, Yet To Come does not reinvent the wheel. I appreciate the song for its uptempo nature, as it would be very tempting to place a song like this over a simple piano ballad, but Yet To Come's hip-hop elements were great. The chorus is particularly the highlight, with the call-and-response between the line "Moment is yet to come" with the rapline providing some speedy raps over the track. BTS' three rappers have probably been the biggest victims of the group's switch to a westernized pop sound, often being redelegated to singing, or rapping shoehorned in lines. The verses never find a hook as strong as the chorus, and even splatter autotune over Suga's line (what is with HYBE rarely giving him a line that he deserves with his talent?). The vocalists do well enough here too (particularly Jungkook), even if this song clearly was written by, and intended for the rappers of the group.

Minus a slightly rushed conclusion that left me wishing for another chorus, Yet To Come is a song that is kind of hard to criticize. It is not really ambitious but does not make too many mistakes with its template. It is much better than expected, and perhaps BTS' best song as a complete group since 2020's We Are Bulletproof: The Eternal.

Rating: 7.75/10

Image Source: NME