BTS has gotten support and approval from Queen, one of the world's greatest bands. The legendary British rockers, whose career started in the 1970s, responded to the South Korean group after the release of their 23-second teaser for their upcoming single, "Butter."
In a post on Twitter, Queen re-shared the BTS teaser with a caption from "Another One Bites the Dust," one of their hit singles. The post also had a photo of the late Freddie Mercury as he sang the song that became number one in 1980.
BTS released the 23-second teaser for "Butter" days before it's big debut in the airwaves. It showed the septet lined up as they tilted their heads to the beat of the base. It's the first time fans have heard what "Butter" will sound like and a lot agreed that it reminded them of Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust."
The "Butter" teaser has received more than 25 million views in less than a day and many of the comments on YouTube also reiterated that the song sounds a lot like the Queen classic. Fans of BTS will finally get to hear the new single in full as it's released on Friday, May 21.
It's not the first time BTS has paid tribute to the greatest music artists before their generation. "Dynamite," their first all-English song, was regarded as a tribute for the late Michael Jackson because the song had the same flow, beat and style as some of his earlier hits from the 1980s.
Brian May, the leader of Queen, once acknowledged the growing significance of K-pop groups in the global music industry. Upon their visit to Seoul in early 2020, just before the pandemic lockdown, May said in an interview that he learned of K-pop in the U.K. as its influence has spread across western cultures.
He believes that K-pop bands like BTS will "do great" and as much as the music centers on the youth, May said that the oldies can feel the influence of the band. Queen's current frontman Adam Lambert said that there are a lot of amazing visuals to see from BTS it's very inspiring.
Incidentally, Queen's biography and Mercury's life were depicted in the award-winning movie, Bohemian Rhapsody, which did well in the box office in South Korea.
Meanwhile, HYBE, the label for BTS, said that "Butter" is a summer dance track that will deliver the "smooth yet charismatic charm" of the boys. BTS is expected to perform this song for the very first time on a virtual stage for the 2021 Billboard Music Awards on May 23. The group is also up for four awards for that night.
