BTS’s Jin Revelead The Rigorous Making Process Of “The Astronaut,” Proving His Genius As A Songwriter And Singer
A few hours after the release of his single, “The Astronaut,” BTS‘s Jin went on a live broadcast to talk to fans. Sitting in his hotel room in Argentina, where Jin is preparing for his upcoming appearance at Coldplay‘s concert, he spoke about the song’s recording process, recalling that it was a particularly hard track to tackle.
Jin said that after he received the guide from Chris Martin, he was left wondering if he could do justice to the track. Chris wrote the original English lyrics, but after Jin wrote a verse in Korean, Chris liked it, and they decided to include it in the song. The initial plan was to do the first verse in Korean and the second one in English, but then at the last minute, Chris said the whole song could be in Korean since the first verse sounded so good.
Jin wrote the lyrics by himself just a day before filming the music video, and once Chris approved it, they decided to go with it as the final version. While writing the song was a challenge in itself, for Jin, recording it required even more effort.
Out of all my songs, this was the one that took the longest to record. If I sung it in my style, more breathy, and in a higher key, then it wouldn’t be in the feel of what Martin-hyungnim had written. So, I tried my best to recreate the vibe that hyungnim had in mind.
— Jin, Weverse Live
After trying out several different styles, what finally helped him in getting the desired sound was an unexpected genre—trot. Jin said that as a Korean, he tried to mix in a Korean trot-vibe that was popular in the 80s and 90s. “I tried that, and that’s when it became similar to the guide that Martin-hyungnim sent me. Pdogg-hyungnim suffered a lot,” he explained.
jin singing in different registers 😭 is the cutest thing EVER I’M SOBBING😭😭💙👨🚀🪐 pic.twitter.com/E9Eh1rVAZi
— ⟭⟬𝐊𝐀𝐓⁷👨🏻🚀ᵗʰᵉ ᵃˢᵗʳᵒⁿᵃᵘᵗ🚀BTS Military Wife🎖 (@0610proof_95) October 28, 2022
Well, if there is one common thread that connects BTS as artists, it is their sincerity and respect towards their art that pushes them to work harder. And the results reflect this every time, even after almost ten long years of their debut.