On May 7th, at midnight, BTS and BigHit dropped their comeback trailer in anticipation of their upcoming album, Love Yourself 轉 'Tear.' This is a continuation of the solo intro videos, which have in the past been performed by RM with 'What Am I to You,' Suga with ‘Nevermind,' J-Hope with ‘Boy Meets Evil,' Jimin with ‘Serendipity,' and now V with ‘Singularity.’ (I am not counting Jungkook’s ‘Euphoria’ because it was released as stand-alone release for the Love Yourself series)
‘Singularity,’ as speculated by ARMY, continues the never-ending story BTS has been weaving since the HYYH era (possibly before, according to some shrewd fans). It seems to carry on the storyline of V's character, who has walked a terrible path, involving abuse and murder. The new video contains some callbacks to previous MVs, such as V sitting in the corner of a room, seen in 'Prologue', the inclusion of the smeraldo flower which was a key point in the Highlight Reels, and the colorful tears rolling down his blank mask, mimicking the tears seen on the members in 'Blood, Sweat and Tears.' V’s character has struggled greatly through this story and often finds himself facing his own dark side. The lyrics of 'Singularity' explore this notion of V’s utter loneliness in his own world.
'Singularity' (left) & 'Blood, Sweat & Tears' (right)
With his deep, hushed voice, V lures the listener through his world of singularity. It’s a world where one is constantly fooled into thinking that they are not alone, only to find the other person is only an illusion. This is exemplified by V dancing with what appears to be a woman, but is in fact his own arm and a cleverly dressed coat rack. Other illusions of duality appear throughout the MV, including V's reflection in a still pool of water, or a mysterious shadow behind a wall of ice. In all cases, the other person that V is seeing is a false image. He is becoming aware of his complete loneliness, singing 'Have I lost myself or have I gained you?' If we follow the story line of V's character, then we can speculate he is looking for support after he committed a murder to save his mother from abuse. He knows he has done a horrible thing, but still looks for anyone to understand and help him. He finds no one in 'Singularity.' As the song ends, V becomes bitter, asking of the audience "Tell me even if this pain isn't real, what was I supposed to do back then?"
The music video closes with V placing a white blank mask over his face, as a dark tear rolls down the cheek. He had been dancing with these masks throughout the MV, as they floated disembodied next to him. If this song reflects V's realization of his singularity, then these masks might represent all of V's selves that he holds. In the end, it is all he has. He selects one of these selves, one of these blank faces, and hides behind it. 'Singularity' closes with V putting this barrier in place, protecting himself from his own loneliness by refusing to be vulnerable by revealing his true self.
The simple instrumental of the piano and thrumming strings against V’s voice is a perfect R&B pairing. Different from his solo song, ‘Stigma,’ in which V showed his impressive range as a vocalist by hitting glass-shattering high notes, ‘Singularity’ remains in the lower register. In my opinion, this is V’s strength. He pours more emotion into his deeper vocals, simply oozing with seduction and sadness.
The choreography was created by Keone Madrid. The original version was set to 'I Need It' by Johnny Balik and was much lighter and whimsical than we see in 'Singularity.' In this MV, the dance is performed by four of Keone's dancers and V. At first glance, the choreography seems strangely dissonant to the sound of the song. Although quick moving, and sharp, it surprisingly compliments the ooey gooey languidness of the song. I think this is because it exemplifies musicality, or at least Keone’s musicality, and the ability to create choreography in the silences. It also acts as another layer to enhance 'Singularity.' With such a stripped down instrumental and soft vocals, the snappy choreography is a nice contrast that doesn't overwhelm the song itself.
The beauty of 'Singularity' lies in the contradictions. The whole song, from the production to the choreography, is simple. And yet, when taken as one, 'Singularity' becomes a wonderfully intricate song that can hold many meanings.