"Not Today" is a song recorded by South Korean boy band

BTS BTS (), also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a South Korean boy band formed in 2010. The band consists of Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook, who co-write or co-produce much of their material. Originally a hip hop group, they ...

for their 2017 album '' You Never Walk Alone'', a repackage of their second Korean-language studio album, ''Wings'' (2016). The song was written by "Hitman" Bang, RM, Supreme Boi, June, and

Pdogg Kang Hyo-won (; born September 19, 1983), known professionally as Pdogg (Korean: 피독), is a South Korean record producer and songwriter for Big Hit Music. He has produced and composed for artists such as 8Eight, Baek Ji-young, BTS, Jo Kwon, a ...

, with the latter of the five also handling production. It was released on February 20, 2017, as the album's second

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

Big Hit Entertainment Big Hit Music (, stylized in all caps), formerly Big Hit Entertainment (), is a South Korean record 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 ...

. A

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

version of the song was recorded and issued on May 10, 2017, through

Universal Music Japan , often referred to as just Universal Music Japan or UMJ, is a Japanese subsidiary of the Universal Music Group founded in 1990. It is the largest subsidiary for a foreign company in Japan regarding music distribution. The company is responsible ...

, as a

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

of the

single album In music, a single is a type of release of a song recording of fewer tracks than an album ( LP), typically one or two tracks. A single can be released for sale to the public in a variety of physical or digital formats. Singles may be standa ...

that included tracks "

Blood Sweat & Tears Blood, Sweat & Tears (also known as "BS&T") is an American jazz rock music group founded in New York City in 1967, noted for a combination of brass with rock instrumentation. BS&T has gone through numerous iterations with varying personnel and ...

" (2016) and " Spring Day" (2017), both also in Japanese. It was subsequently included on the band's third Japanese-language studio album, ''

Face Yourself ''Face Yourself'' is the third Japanese and fifth overall studio album by South Korean boy band BTS. It was released on April 4, 2018, through Big Hit, Virgin, Universal Music Japan and Def Jam Recordings. The album contains Japanese versions of ...

'' (2018). "Not Today" is a

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

and

moombahton Moombahton (, ) is an electronic dance music genre, derived from house music and reggaeton, that was created by American DJ and producer Dave Nada in Washington, D.C., in 2009. Nada coined the name as a portmanteau of "Moombah" (a track by Sur ...

song which relies on

synth A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

-heavy instrumentation. The track's lyrics address themes of injustice, corruption and

anti-establishment An anti-establishment view or belief is one which stands in opposition to the conventional social, political, and economic principles of a society. The term was first used in the modern sense in 1958 by the British magazine ''New Statesman'' ...

. The song received generally favourable reviews from music critics, who praised its energetic sound and lyrical content. Commercially, "Not Today" peaked at number six on South Korea's

Gaon Digital Chart The Circle Digital Chart, previously known as the Gaon Digital Chart, is the music industry standard record chart ranking the 200 most popular singles in South Korea. It provides rankings on a weekly, monthly, and yearly basis, which is based on ...

and reached number one on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

World Digital Songs The World Digital Song Sales chart (formerly World Digital Songs) is a weekly record chart compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. Established in 2010—its first issue was dated January 23—as ...

chart. The song also charted at number 23 on the ''Billboard Japan'' Hot 100 and number 77 on the

Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. It was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007 as the standard record chart in Canada; a new chart ...

. The music video for the song directed by Sung-wook Kim of GDW was released on February 20, 2017. Inspired by the ''

Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high fantasy novel written by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book ''The Hobbit'' but eventually developed into ...

'' film series, it features the band performing "powerful" choreography with a group of black-clad back-up dancers in the backdrop of rocky valleys. A dance version of the video features close-up and wide-angled shots of the band performing choreography to the song. BTS promoted the song with televised live performances on various South Korean music programs, including ''

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

'', ''

Music Bank ''Music Bank'' () is a South Korean music program which airs every Friday at 17:15 KST on KBS2. the show is also broadcast in more than a hundred countries through KBS World. Episodes are filmed at the KBS New Wing Open Hall in Yeouido-dong, Ye ...

'', and ''

Inkigayo ''Inkigayo'' (; English title: ''The Music Trend'', previously ''Popular Song'') is a South Korean music program broadcast by SBS. It airs live every Sunday. The show features some of the latest and most popular artists who perform on stage. ...

''. It was also included on the

set list A set list, or setlist, is typically a handwritten or printed document created as an ordered list of songs, jokes, stories and other elements an artist intends to present during a specific performance. A setlist can be made of nearly any materi ...

s of the band's The Wings Tour (2017) and Love Yourself: Speak Yourself World Tour (2019).

Background and release

BTS released their second Korean-language studio album, ''

Wings A wing is a type of fin that produces both lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-drag ratio, which compares the bene ...

'', in October 2016, which charted at number one 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 plays and single albums in South Koreabased on their Record sales, physical sales. It is a part of the Circle Chart, ...

and became the best-selling album of 2016 in South Korea.

announced in January 2017 that a sequel to the album, titled ''You Never Walk Alone'', would be served as a

reissue In the music industry, a reissue (also re-release, repackage or re-edition) is the release of an album or single which has been released at least once before, sometimes with alterations or additions. Reasons for reissue New audio formats Reco ...

. ''You Never Walk Alone'' yielded two

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

; the first one was " Spring Day", released on February 13, 2017, by Big Hit. On February 12, "Not Today" was announced as another single from the album. The song was written by "Hitman" Bang, RM, Supreme Boi, June, and its producer Pdogg. BTS recorded vocals for the track at Big Hit Studios,

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

. It was engineered by Pdogg and June, while mixing was handled by James F. Reynolds at Schmuzik Studios. "Not Today" was released for digital download and

streaming Streaming media refers to multimedia delivered through a network for playback using a media player. Media is transferred in a ''stream'' of packets from a server to a client and is rendered in real-time; this contrasts with file downl ...

in various countries by Big Hit on February 20, 2017, as the second single from ''You Never Walk Alone''. A

version of the song was recorded and issued digitally for purchase on May 10, 2017, by

as a

track of the band's seventh Japanese-language

. It also contains the Japanese versions of their Korean singles "

" and "Spring Day". It was also released as a four-version

CD single A CD single is a single (music), music single in the form of a compact disc (CD). Originally the ''CD single'' standard (as defined in the Rainbow Books, Red Book) was an 8 cm (3-inch) "mini CD" (''CD3''); later on the term referred to any si ...

in Japan on the same day, with a regular edition and three different limited editions: A, B and C. All four editions contain Japanese versions of "Blood, Sweat & Tears" as

A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or ...

and "Not Today" as a B-side track, while the Japanese version of "Spring Day" is present exclusively on the regular edition. In addition, edition A includes a

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

containing music videos for the Korean and Japanese versions of "Blood, Sweat & Tears". Edition B also comes with a DVD that contains behind the scenes footage of the music video for the Japanese version of "Blood, Sweat & Tears" and the making of album jacket photos, while edition C contains a 36-page photobook. The lyrics for the Japanese version were written by

KM-Markit Daisuke Kawai (川合大介 / だいすけ・かわい, December 16, 1976, in Tokyo), is a Japanese singer, better known by his stage name KM-MARKIT. In 1998, he was initially part of the Urbarian Gym (URBARIAN GYM / UBG), a Japanese hip-hop ...

. It was subsequently included as the fifth track on the band's third Japanese-language studio album, ''

'' (2018).

Music and lyrics

"Not Today" is a

and

song, with a length of 3 minutes and 51 seconds. In terms of musical notation, the song is composed in the key of

G major G major is a major scale based on G (musical note), G, with the pitches G, A (musical note), A, B (musical note), B, C (musical note), C, D (musical note), D, E (musical note), E, and F♯ (musical note), F. Its key signature has one sharp (music ...

, with a moderate

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...

of 110 beats per minute. Instrumentation is provided by keyboards and

synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

. The song employs a synth-based production consisting of "pounding" beats, "intense" sound and heavy instrumentals. It has more of an "aggro-pop" sound like that of their early songs, "

Dope Dope may refer to: Chemistry Biochemistry * Dope, a slang word for a euphoria-producing drug, particularly: ** Cocaine ** Cannabis (drug) ** Heroin ** Opioid * DOPE, or 1,2-Dioleoyl-''sn''-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine, a phospholipid * Discret ...

" (2015) and "

Fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. Flames, the most visible portion of the fire, are produced in the combustion re ...

" (2016). The track consists of "inconspicuous" verses that are primarily rap-driven, and use "explosive" and "combative" delivery. The pre-chorus is "vocal-centric" which leads to a "bombastic" chorus, having a "klaxon-like sound." The lyrics of "Not Today" speak of overcoming obstacles and keep fighting, while instilling hope in oneself. Speaking about the concept and meaning of the song, RM said, "I wrote the lyrics for BTS so we do not stay silent against social issues and injustice and continue to solve it and raise problem. We talk about social issues, read books and meet with experts and ponder together. We still have a long way to go, but we will think hard and embrace criticism." In the opening lyrics, RM calls out to "all the underdogs in the world." It discusses the theme of

that was featured in their previous singles " No More Dream" and " N.O.", through lines like, "A day may come when we lose/ But it is not today/ Today we fight!" During the chorus, the band speak of rallying against injustice, corruption and irrationality; "Don’t kneel, don’t cry, raise your hands Not not today." The line, "Break the glass ceiling that cages you" references the idea of breaking all invisible barriers that stop people from succeeding. Tamar Herman of ''

'' believed that the lyrics addressed social and political issues.

Reception

"Not Today" received generally positive reviews from music critics. Rhian Daly of ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' listed it as one of the best songs of BTS and praised the track's lyrical content stating that it is "a fiery, fierce track on which they encourage their fans to live their best lives." Sungmi Ahn from ''

The Korea Herald ''The Korea Herald'' () is a South Korean English-language daily newspaper founded in August 1953 and published in Seoul. The editorial staff is composed of Korean and international writers and editors, with additional news coverage drawn from i ...

'' acclaimed the song for staying "true to BTS’ hip-hop driven roots" which she felt "is what the band excels at." She further deemed the track as "exhilarating" and added that it "pumps up listeners." Dam-young Hong, also of ''The Korea Herald'', dubbed the song a "pulsating banger." Writing for ''Billboard'', Monique Melendez praised the song's message and sound labelling it as "equal parts social commentary and floor-shaking thrills." For ''Digital Music News'', Paul Resnikoff called the track "high energy" and "explosive" with "an elaborate dance and multiple backdrops." Allison Franks from ''

Consequence of Sound ''Consequence'' (previously ''Consequence of Sound'') is an independently owned New York-based online magazine featuring news, editorials, and reviews of music, movies, and television. History ''Consequence of Sound'' was founded in Septem ...

'' enjoyed the track and deemed it as an "explosive rap-based anthem", while Markos Papadatos of ''Digital Journal'' regarded it as an "upbeat and spitfire" single. "Not Today" debuted and peaked at number six on the

for the chart issue dated February 12–18, 2017. It also peaked at number four on the component Download Chart, selling 100,482 digital units in its first week. "Not Today" was the 32nd-best-performing song of the February 2017 issue of the Gaon Monthly Digital Chart based on digital sales, streaming, and background music (instrumental track) downloads. As of December 2017, it has sold 258,206 digital units in the country. The song debuted at number two on the US ''Billboard''

Chart for the issue date of March 4, 2017, selling 12,000 digital downloads in its first week. The following week, it climbed to the top spot, giving BTS their fourth number one on the chart following "Fire", "Blood Sweat & Tears" and "Spring Day". Additionally, it peaked at number 23 on the ''Billboard Japan'' Hot 100, and number 77 on the

Music video

A music video for "Not Today", directed by Sung-wook Kim of GDW, was uploaded on Big Hit's

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

channel on February 20, 2017, at 00:00 KST; it was preceded by a teaser released on the same platform on February 10. It was choreographed by Keone Madrid. The video is five minutes long and was inspired by the ''

'' film series. The video commences with a shot of the seven members being chased by a crowd clad in black, before switching to show the title of the song. It then transitions to show RM inside a factory, walking into the frame. He is then joined by the rest of the members as they start performing "powerful" choreography, similar to that of their "beat-heavy" singles "Dope" and "Fire". The band members are surrounded by a group of 30 back-up dancers who are dressed in black, ninja-inspired outfits. The clip is interspersed with scenes which depict the band in the backdrop of rocky valleys, where they perform "rapid-fire" dances propelled by the "stomping" move in the choreography. In other scenes, they are either being chased or shot at. At one point, the back-up dancers throw off their "restricting" garments, seemingly "to protest in military-style formations." The video concludes with a shot of the song's title displayed in black against a white background. The music video was an instant success on YouTube, garnering over 13 million views in 24 hours, becoming the fastest K-pop video to surpass 10 million views at the time. It was the third most viewed K-pop music video of 2017 on YouTube. As of May 2020, the video has over 400 million views. A choreography version of the video was released on February 27, 2017. The eight-minute clip features close-up and wide-angled shots of the band performing powerful choreography to the song.

Live performances

BTS performed "Not Today" live for the first time on February 18, 2017, as part of their setlist for the two-day stop of The Wings Tour (2017) at

Gocheok Sky Dome The Gocheok Sky Dome () is a domed baseball stadium in Gocheok-dong, Seoul, South Korea. It is the home ballpark of KBO club Kiwoom Heroes. The stadium is primarily used for baseball and has a capacity for 16,744 spectators for baseball games. T ...

, Seoul. To promote "Not Today" and the album, BTS made several appearances on South Korean music programs in February 2017. The band gave their first televised live performance of the song on

Mnet M-Net (an abbreviation of Electronic Media Network) is a South African pay television channel established by Naspers in 1986. The channel broadcasts both local and international programming, including general entertainment, children's series, ...

's ''

'' on February 23. The following three days, the group appeared on ''

'', ''

Show! Music Core ''Show! Music Core'' (), or simply ''Music Core'' is a South Korean music television program broadcast by MBC. It airs live every Saturday at 15:30 (KST). The show features some of the latest and most popular artists who perform live on stage. I ...

'', and ''

'' where they also performed "Spring Day". BTS performed the song at the

2017 Mnet Asian Music Awards The 2017 Mnet Asian Music Awards ceremony, organized by CJ E&M through its music channel Mnet, took place from November 25 through December 1, 2017 (dubbed as "MAMA Week") in Vietnam, Japan and Hong Kong with the theme, "Coexistence". It was the ...

alongside "

DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...

" and " Mic Drop" on December 2. The band performed the song at the ''

SBS Gayo Daejeon ''SBS Gayo Daejeon'' (, broadly ''SBS'' '' Battle of the Bands'') is an annual televised music festival that is broadcast by the Seoul Broadcasting System at the end of each year. The program first aired in 1997, and awards were given to musica ...

'' music festival on December 25. On December 29, they performed a

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...

version of the track at the 2017 ''

KBS Song Festival The ''KBS Song Festival'' () is an annual South Korean music show that airs on the Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) at the end of every year. It first aired in 1965 as an awards show, but KBS discontinued the awards ceremony in 2006. It has con ...

''. They performed the song again at the

32nd Golden Disc Awards The 32nd Golden Disc Awards ceremony was held on January 10–11, 2018. The JTBC network broadcast the show from the Korea International Exhibition Center (KINTEX) in Ilsan. It is the second consecutive year that the show was hosted at the venue. ...

on January 10, 2018. "Not Today" was also included on the setlist of BTS' Love Yourself: Speak Yourself World Tour (2019).

Track listings

* Digital download / streaming – Korean version # "Not Today"3:51 *Digital download / Regular CD Edition – Japanese version # " Chi, Ase, Namida"3:35 # "Not Today"3:52 # " Spring Day"4:34 *Limited Edition A (CD + DVD) – Japanese version # "Chi, Ase, Namida"3:35 # "Not Today"3:52 # "Spring Day"4:34 # "Blood Sweat & Tears" (music video) # "Chi, Ase, Namida" (music video) *Limited Edition B (CD + DVD) – Japanese version # "Chi, Ase, Namida"3:35 # "Not Today"3:52 # "Spring Day"4:34 # "Chi, Ase, Namida" (making of music video) # "Chi, Ase, Namida" (making of jacket photos) *Limited Edition C (CD + Booklet) – Japanese version # "Chi, Ase, Namida"3:35 # "Not Today"3:52 # "Spring Day"4:34

Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted from the CD liner notes of ''You Never Walk Alone''. *

primary vocals * "Hitman" Bang songwriting * RM songwriting * Supreme Boi songwriting * June chorus, songwriting, record engineering *

songwriting (Japanese version) *

Jungkook Jeon Jung-kook (; born September 1, 1997), better known as Jung Kook, is a South Korean singer and songwriter. He rose to prominence as a member and vocalist of South Korean boy band BTS. He has performed three solo songs as part of BTS' disc ...

chorus * Pdogg production, songwriting, synthesizer, keyboard, vocal arrangement, rap arrangement, record engineering * Jeong Wooyeong record engineering * James F. Reynolds mix engineering

Charts

Certifications

Release history

Notes

References

{{authority control 2017 singles 2017 songs BTS songs Songs written by Bang Si-hyuk Songs written by Pdogg Songs written by Supreme Boi Songs written by RM (musician) Moombahton songs Political songs Hybe Corporation singles South Korean hip-hop songs Song recordings produced by Pdogg Songs written by Adora (singer)