At first I trashed BTS' "Permission to Dance" as a career killer, but I took it back because I didn't want to be a party pooper and the song grew on me. It is catchy and fun. And the guys are so cute performing it no matter how you look at it. But I knew that "Permission to Dance" was a deep compromise for the K-POP super boy band in order to appeal to middle America. You could see it in their choreography, hear it in their vocals and feel it in the overall packaging.

It literally felt like the BTS McDonald's Happy Meal version of themselves they released over the summer - just something you let slide by for the sake of keeping them in business. However, it was one of those songs that kept getting better the more you heard it and I was willing to be wrong. But judging from the slower uptick in views (though it was still massive) and comments from diehard ARMY fans that it wasn't true BTS (but they'd still support it), I was at least relieved that my low-key ARMY instincts were on point.

Yet, I will admit the boys have impressed me yet again with their quiet professionalism. BTS proved yet again they just know how to deal with with the world. They know how to navigate adults. They know how to stay quiet when they probably don't like something and then just change shit to the way they want when they can. Because they know how to put the ball back in their court and get the ARMY behind them.

Case in point: A rechoreographed "Permission to Dance" performance in Japan that dropped minutes ago @ ONGAKUNOHI 2021.

What. Are. You. Talking. About. Suddenly it's a different song. And they transformed it into as much BTS style as it can get. That's how they win.