You Never Walk Alone - Surviving in the Music Industry

We all have dreams and want to do something we love the most. Choosing to pursue the path we dreamed of is a leap of faith in itself, and that makes all the difference. We second-guess ourselves at every moment on whether this path is correct, wondering whether we’ll be able to survive. Just like us, none of the members of BTS were immune to this.

Being an artist in the music industry is tough, especially when you are the first to break records, receive an honorary award from the Government, or be invited to the UN (multiple times) and the White House and above all, being an Asian or a Korean performer everyone looks up to as a positive influence. But like SUGA said in the recently released documentary, “SUGA: Road To D-Day”, “The past is the past, the present is the present, the future is the future. Put too much meaning into them, and they will torment you.” Being on such an unprecedented journey can prove to be a lonely one, so it becomes essential to interact with other artists whose guidance would make the journey fruitful. In this blog, we will look at the conversations BTS had, as a group and individually, with their favorite artists, Pharrell Williams and Coldplay’s Chris Martin, and how their experiences put things into perspective for them.

Coldplay’s Chris Martin

Since BTS covered Coldplay’s Fix You on MTV Unplugged, followed by their collaboration on My Universe seven months later in 2021, the friendship between these two groups made us feel like they were destined to meet and work on music. For Jin, his fanboy moment came full circle when he collaborated and performed The Astronaut on Coldplay’s tour. When BTS released their song Permission To Dance and promoted the #PTDchallenge on YouTube in the same year, the highlight was Chris Martin interviewing the septet about the challenge. What stood out from this interview was the connection or togetherness they felt with their respective fandoms when they do concerts, which Chris Martin perfectly encapsulated when he said, “It’s a funny thing that somehow, the bigger you get, the more you realize that you’re just one little human, and then you realize that you’re just a part of a big story. You’re just one little part of a big communication, and it's a privilege.”

Pharrell Williams

On November 1, 2022, ARMY was surprised when a new Rolling Stone cover and photos of RM and Pharrell Williams dropped as part of the Musicians on Musicians segment done by the magazine. This left everyone wondering whether these stalwarts would collaborate on new music for RM’s first album, but when the tracklist of Indigo was released, there was no mention of the Happy singer-songwriter and producer (only time will tell when their collaboration will drop). But little did ARMY know that the conversation between these two famous artists (a fanboy moment coming full circle for RM sharing the space with his role model) would turn out to be, as claimed by Rolling Stone, a “wildly honest” one.

In this chat, both artists talked about their artistic journeys in the music industry, how it feels to be the ones looked up to by their fans, dealing with the loss of purpose, the importance of taking a break and more. This interaction has many moments worth discussing, but if we had to pick one that stood out, it was when Pharrell and RM talked about dealing with the loss of direction in their respective careers (RM referred to the group’s reason behind focusing on their solo careers and Pharrell when he released In My Mind in 2006). When RM talked about this moment, he asked Pharrell for some advice, to which Pharrell said, “Being in the Neptunes, being in N.E.R.D, and having a solo record really helped me, because you do one thing and then you take a break. You do another thing, then you take a break. And it allows me to put on different hats and put on different masks. So I understand that, and I know having that departure is going to make it really fresh for you.”

As ARMYs, we love seeing artists respect and appreciate each other. We can only imagine how wonderful this support has been for BTS.

Written By: Anugya

Edited By: Sanam

Designed By: Achan

ARMY Magazine does not own any of the photos/videos shared in our blog. No copyright infringement intended.