''2 Cool 4 Skool'' is the debut single album released by South Korean

boy band A boy band is loosely defined as a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation. Generally, boy bands perform love songs marketed towards girls and young women. Ma ...

BTS on June 12, 2013 through

Big Hit Entertainment Big Hit Music (; formerly Big Hit Entertainment) is a South Korean music label established in 2005 by Bang Si-hyuk. It was re-branded and re-structured into an independent label under Hybe Corporation (formerly Big Hit Entertainment Co., Ltd. ...

and distributed by Loen. The album was supported by the singles "No More Dream" and "We Are Bulletproof Pt.2". Commercially, it peaked at number five on the

Gaon Album Chart The Circle Album Chart, previously known as the Gaon Album Chart, is a record chart ranking the 100 most popular albums, extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks t ...

in South Korea, and at number ten on ''

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''s World Albums Chart in the United States. The album has sold over 430,000 copies as of January 2022. A 3-disc version of the album was released in Japan through

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in 2014.

Background and release

Prior to BTS' debut,

ran a blog for the group where the members shared mixtapes, diary entries, video logs, and various other content with their fans. The label announced a temporary closure of the blog on May 20, 2013, in preparation for the group's debut. BTS' official website was launched that same day and featured a countdown timer on the homepage—counting down to May 27 (KST)—with the group's official logo revealed for the first time. On May 26 (May 27 at 8AM KST), a 30-second long debut trailer was posted on the website and uploaded to Big Hit's official

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

channel as well. The clip featured a hip-hop beat with

Scratching Scratching, sometimes referred to as scrubbing, is a DJ and turntablist technique of moving a vinyl record back and forth on a turntable to produce percussive or rhythmic sounds. A crossfader on a DJ mixer may be used to fade between two record ...

and a "well-crafted rap hook" that accompanied typography graphics containing hints about the group's composition, the songs that would be on their first album, and the musical direction BTS would pursue. The timer on the website changed and began counting down to June 3. On June 3, the release date for the album and its as-yet-unnamed lead single, as well as the start date for promotional activities was announced as June 12. Teaser photos of the individual members were published on the group's website beginning that same day and continued sequentially until June 5. Big Hit revealed the tracklist for the album on their official Twitter account. They also released the design and details of the physical album which included with a photobook and postcard. The first teaser, revealing that "No More Dream" would be their title track. Additional concept photos for the album were released via their official Facebook page the following week.

Music videos

The music video for "No More Dream" was released on June 12, 2013 ahead of BTS debut showcase. "No More Dream" dance version was later released on June 16, 2013 in the middle of the group's promotion on music programs. The music video for "We Are Bulletproof Pt.2" was then released on July 16, 2013 for the group's further follow-up promotions. All the dance was choreographed by Son Sungdeuk while both "No More Dream" and "We Are Bulletproof Pt.2" music videos were directed by Zanybros.

Composition

The lyrics of the album primarily reflected on the misunderstanding and prejudice towards them, criticism of the society that diminishes their dreams, and their anxiety and determination towards their future. During the production of the album, Suga and RM rewrote the lyrics of "No More Dream" more than 20 times.

Promotions

The group held a press conference and debut showcase on June 12, 2013, performing "No More Dream" and "We Are Bulletproof Pt.2", marked their unofficial debut stage in South Korea music industry. BTS later made a successful debut stage on June 13 on Mnet's ''

M Countdown ''M Countdown'' () is a South Korean music program broadcast by Mnet. The show features appearances by popular music artists who also perform live on stage. It is broadcast from CJ E&M Center Studio in Sangam-dong, Mapo District, Seoul. B ...

'' marked the start of their promotion of the album on various South Korea music programs. Much later in 2015, BTS held a special concert in support of the album. 2015 BTS Live Trilogy Episode I: BTS Begins was held for two days at

Olympic Hall Olympic Hall is a music venue located within the Olympic Park, in Bangi-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul, South Korea. In 2011, the Olympic Hall was renovated as a concert hall by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Korea Sports Promotion ...

starting from March 28, 2015 with BTS performing songs from ''2 Cool 4 Skool'' & ''O!RUL8,2?'' albums.

Commercial performance

''2 Cool 4 Skool'' sold 760 copies in its release week, and debuted at number 19 on the Week 25 issue of the

for the period dated June 9–15, 2013. The album went on to sell a cumulative 4,986 copies in the weeks following and debuted at number 17 on the monthly Album Chart for June. Six weeks later, it peaked at number five on the Week 31 chart issue for the period dated July 21–27, during "We Are Bulletproof Pt.2" promotions, and subsequently rose to a new peak on the monthly chart for July at number 10, with a further 13,598 copies sold. The album sold a modest 24,441 copies in total and earned a placement on Gaon's year-end album chart for 2013 at number 65. In April 2020, the album made its debut on the ''

'' World Albums Chart—fans purchased the album as part of an in-fandom

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joke that anticipated "the 'debut' of a 'new' boy band called BTS coming on April 1"—at number 12, with 1,000 equivalent album units sold during the week ending April 2. According to ''Billboard'', ''2 Cool 4 Skool'' had earned 68,000 units in the United States as of April 11. The album's lead single "No More Dream" also debuted on the Week 25 issues (for the same period as above) of Gaon's Digital and Download charts at numbers 124 and 84 respectively, with 23,237 sales. In the US, it debuted at number 14 on the ''Billboard''

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chart issue dated June 29, 2013, and spent three consecutive weeks on the ranking. In 2020, the single also reentered the chart, on the issue dated April 11, at a new peak of number two, with an additional 1,000 copies sold— its best single sales week on the ranking—and became the best-selling K-pop song in the US that week. According to ''Billboard'', "No More Dream" had sold a total of 45,000 copies in the country up to that point.

Track listing

Adapted from the

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database, unless otherwise noted. (Note: Type "2 Cool 4 Skool" in the 'Album Title' parameter and tap/click the 'Search' button to view all registered song results.)

Personnel

* RM – rapper, songwriter, chorus * Jin – vocalist * Suga – rapper, songwriter, recording *

J-Hope Jung Ho-seok (; born February 18, 1994), better known by his stage name J-Hope (stylized as j-hope), is a South Korean rapper, singer-songwriter, dancer, and record producer. He made his debut as a member of South Korean boy band BTS in 201 ...

– rapper, songwriter * Jimin – vocalist * V – vocalist * Jungkook – vocal, sub rapper, chorus *

Pdogg Kang Hyo-won ( Korean: 강효원; born September 19, 1983), known professionally as Pdogg (Korean: 피독), is a South Korean record producer, composer, and lyricist for Big Hit Music. He has produced and composed for artists such as 8Eight, ...

– producer, recording,

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, vocal and rap arrangement *"Hitman" Bang – producer, songwriter, executive producer *Slow Rabbit – producer, songwriter, recording, keyboard, synthesizer *Supreme Boi – producer, recording, keyboard, synthesizer, chorus *DJ Scratch –

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*Yang Chang Won – mixing, recording *James F. Reynolds – mixing *Nam Young Woo – recording *Chris Gehringer – mixing *Choi Hyo Young – mixing

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Yearly charts

Sales and certifications

Release history

References

External links

ibighit "No More Dream" Music Video

ibighit "We Are Bulletproof Pt.2" Music Video
{{Authority control BTS albums 2013 albums Korean-language albums Hybe Corporation albums Single albums