The three-week “#PermissiontoDance Challenge,” which kicked off on July 23, saw BTS encouraging people to make 15-second YouTube Shorts videos that incorporate the “International Sign” gestures for joy, dance and peace.
BTS member J-Hope previously explained: “Incorporating the International Sign gestures enabled us to spread the positive energy of our music to a wider audience that maybe we haven’t reached before,” People reported August.
Following the special episode, the band released a new BTS “Permission to Dance” music video—the “Shorts Challenge” version—featuring a selection of fans’ submissions for the challenge.
During their conversation for the YouTube series, BTS member RM revealed he is “not a good dancer,” noting he doesn’t have a background in dancing.
When Chris Martin asked RM how the K-pop star felt about “people who can’t dance, like me, trying to dance to ‘Permission to Dance,’” RM replied: “Personally I’m not a good dancer…I started my career as a rapper and a songwriter. So I learned to dance after I entered the team [BTS].”
Noting he’d seen Martin dance in “tons” of videos, RM said: “I love the way you move on the stage [Martin then laughs, saying: ‘Oh come on’].”
BTS member V also noted he hadn’t studied dancing professionally until just a few years ago. V said: “At that time I didn’t care about what people thought…just started dancing whichever way I wanted to.”
V added: “I think that led me to who I am today…I just followed where my heart goes.”
Martin said: “For me personally, I’m glad I don’t need permission to dance because I’m not a very good dancer. But I made a decision about 20 years ago that I don’t care about if it looks cool.
“The reason why I encourage this ‘Permission to Dance’ song and movement [is] because it symbolizes everybody should be free to be themselves. And it’s also amazing to have the unity of the band [BTS] with your audience,” the Coldplay singer explained.
Pressures of Global Stardom, Positive Energy Amid COVID
Asked whether there was a moment when BTS felt like they had become a “global phenomenon,” RM told Martin sometimes they feel “like almost nothing,” questioning whether their music—“this sound wave file”—can really change the world or have some positive impact.
RM said they sometimes ask themselves: “What does this mean? The choreography, the moves…sometimes it feels really meaningless. But when you see the fans and their eyes, when we dance and sing in front of them. Their energy, their honesty, their message, their letters, their words. Those were the only reasons that we didn’t give up. That’s the only reason for the existence of the band.”
So when it comes to the word “global,” RM says “I still don’t know what that means.” But after they started performing for 500,000 to 600,000 people in arenas, RM said the band realized: “Okay, now we are kind of something” and that we should be a “better man, a better band, a better team” for these fans.”
Martin agreed saying: “Somehow the bigger you get, the more you realize you are just one little human…that really, you’re just part of a big story, one little part of a big communication and it’s a privilege.”
The band and Martin also spoke about the importance of togetherness and positive energy amid the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the pressures of global stardom and what it means to be a “global phenomenon.”
Martin shared he has “a lot of love and respect” for BTS because “I feel that during the pandemic, you guys have been giving a lot of joy to a lot of people in a time when it’s been very difficult to do that.”
BTS member Jimin said: “The purpose of this challenge was to give a positive message to people,” but the band “also felt thankful, comforted and received positive energy while watching people do the challenge.”
