Boy with Luv

"Boy with Luv"
File:BTS - Lights (w DVD Limited Edition - Type A).png Cover of Japanese double A-side with "Lights" (limited edition type A)
Single by BTS featuring Halsey
from the EP Map of the Soul: Persona
Released	April 12, 2019 (2019-04-12) (KR) July 3, 2019 (2019-07-03) (JP)
Genre	K-pop funk pop nu-disco bubblegum pop electropop
Length	3:50
Label	Big Hit (KR) Universal Japan (JP)
Songwriter(s)	Pdogg RM Melanie Joy Fontana Michel "Lindgren" Schulz "Hitman" Bang Suga Emily Weisband J-Hope Ashley Frangipane
Producer(s)	Pdogg
BTS singles chronology
"Waste It on Me" (2018) "Boy with Luv" (2019) "Dream Glow" (2019)
{{{This album}}}
Music video
"Boy with Luv" on YouTube "Boy with Luv" (ARMY with Luv version) on YouTube
Audio sample
File:BTS - A Poem for Small Things (Boy With Luv).ogg file help

"Boy with Luv" (Korean: 작은 것들을 위한 시; RR: Jag-eun geosdeul-eul wihan si, lit. "A Poem for Small Things") is a song recorded by South Korean boy band BTS, featuring American singer Halsey, as the lead single for their sixth extended play Map of the Soul: Persona. It was released on April 12, 2019, by Big Hit Entertainment. The song's music video was the most viewed online music video in 24 hours at the time, garnering over 74.6 million views within its first day of release. The song was certified Platinum by the RIAA in June. "Boy with Luv" held the record for the song with the most music show wins after the 2000s in South Korea with 21 wins, until the record was broken by "Dynamite".

On July 3, 2019, the Japanese version of the song was released as a double A-side single alongside an original Japanese track titled "Lights" via Universal Music Japan.

Composition

"Boy With Luv" featuring American singer Halsey has been described as a "funk pop" song about happiness and love. It serves as a parallel track to their earlier song "Boy in Luv", released in 2014. According to Tamar Herman of Billboard, the song describes how true strength and love come from finding joy in the smallest things in life. Elias Leight from Rolling Stone classified the song as "nu-disco single". NME characterized it as "bubblegum pop". Yim Hyun-su from The Korea Herald described the lead single as "an upbeat electro-pop song with catchy hooks". According to Refinery29, the light, funk-laced song features live instruments.

Music video

A trailer for the music video was released on April 7, 2019, with a 13-second clip of the song towards the end. The teaser features Halsey working in a ticket booth before walking outside to find BTS sitting on a couch. A second teaser, featuring close-ups of the band, was released on April 10.

Directed by Yong-Seok Choi from Lumpens, the full music video was released on April 12. It simultaneously obtained the records of fastest-liked video and fastest-viewed video on YouTube, reaching 3 million likes in 2 hours and 74.6 million views within 24 hours of release, making it the most viewed YouTube video in the first 24 hours after its release at the time, averaging about 860 views per second during that interval. It was also the fastest video to reach 100 million views on YouTube, doing so in approximately one day and 10 hours. On April 26, BigHit released a second version of the music video, titled "ARMY With Luv", dedicated to the band's fandom, ARMY. The video featured footage of the band not seen in the original version and more moments with Halsey; the large "LOVE" sign that appears atop a building while the band dances in the original was replaced with one that spelt "ARMY" instead. In December 2019, YouTube named it the most viewed music video in South Korea of the year. The music video crossed 1 billion views in October 2020, eighteen months after release, and is the band's second to reach the mark.

Promotion

The band performed the song for the first time on April 13, 2019, as the musical guests on Saturday Night Live (making them the first K-Pop Group to perform on the show) and performed it with Halsey at the 2019 Billboard Music Awards held on May 1, 2019. BTS started their Korean promotion on April 18, 2019, on M Countdown. They performed the song again to kick off Good Morning America's Summer Concert Series at New York's Central Park on May 15, 2019, along with their 2016 single, Fire. On May 16, 2019, BTS performed the song at The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. On May 21, 2019, they performed the song at The Voice's finale. On May 30, 2019, they also performed the song at Britain Got Talent's semi-final.

On November 30, BTS performed "Boy with Luv" at the 2019 Melon Music Awards with throwbacks to "Boy in Luv". On December 4, the song was performed at the 2019 Mnet Asian Music Awards. Two days later, BTS performed the song at the KIIS-FM Jingle Ball in Los Angeles, where they appeared as a headliner. In addition, BTS performed the song in South Korea at the SBS Gayo Daejun and KBS Song Festival on December 25 and 27, respectively, following which the song was performed in New York's Times Square at Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve.

Reception

"The first taste of BTS' 'Map Of The Soul: Persona' was an incredibly sweet one – a vibrant burst of bubblegum pop with an added Halsey twist. Its Korean title translated to 'A Poem For Small Things' and the lyrics celebrated "the things you're interested in, the way you walk or talk, and every little trivial habit of yours" over melodies that would make even the most mundane of days seem like a dream."

 — R.D. from NME

Taylor Glasby writing for Dazed labelled "Boy With Luv" as "a beacon of pop sweetness". Dazed placed it in their list of "The 20 best K-pop songs of 2019" and commended the "catchy, made-for-radio immediacy" of the song, additionally characterizing "the playful lightness of the instrumental, vocals, and overall mood" that "bring to it a joyful ingenuousness and an old-world classiness that keeps the song sounding box fresh." Writing for the Consequence of Sound, Laura Dzubay called the song "familiarly romantic". The song was included in South China Morning Post's list of "The 10 best K-pop songs of 2019". In that article, Jeff Benjamin described it as "euphoric pop sound" while praising how the song "shows their maturity and growth and comes with a message – to allow love to take over gradually and to make changes from the inside." Rhian Daly from NME called the song "addictive and deftly balanced" with Halsey's chorus "fitting in naturally and seamlessly".Billboard included the song in their list of "The 100 Best Songs of 2019: Staff List" as well as their list of "The 25 Best K-pop Songs of 2019: Critics' Picks". NME placed the song on their list of "The 50 best songs of 2019". It was also named as the Song of the Year through the public survey conducted by Gallup Korea in 2019.

"Boy with Luv" on critic lists

Critic/Publication	List	Rank	Ref.
Billboard	100 Best Songs of 2019: Staff List	37
	25 Best K-pop Songs of 2019: Critics' Picks	15
Melon	Top 100 K-pop Songs of All Time	74
BuzzFeed	Best K-pop Music Videos of 2019	8
Dazed	20 best K-pop songs of 2019	7
Gallup Korea	Best Songs in 2019	1
Idolator	75 Best Pop Songs of 2019	42
Insider	57 best music videos of 2019	22
IZM	Top 10 Singles of 2019	—
NME	50 best songs of 2019	49
MTV	Greatest Videos of the 2010s	1
SCMP	10 best K-pop songs of 2019	1

Commercial performance

Upon release, "Boy With Luv" debuted at No. 1 on the real-time charts of six major music sites including Soribada, Genie, Naver, Bugs, Mnet, and Flo on April 12. On the morning of April 13, it was reported that the song ranked No. 1 in real time charts of all digital platforms including Melon, thereby achieving an "all kill". In addition, all other tracks of Map of the Soul: Persona debuted in Top 10. It was reported that multiple servers crashed, including Korea's largest music site Melon, due to the number of fans streaming at the same time. "Boy With Luv" debuted at No. 1 on the Gaon Digital Chart and topped the weekly charts for three consecutive weeks. "Boy with Luv" debuted and peaked at No. 8 on the US Billboard Hot 100 Chart, becoming the group's highest Top 10 entry following "Fake Love". The song also debuted at No. 13 on the UK Official Singles Chart, making it the highest-charting single by a Korean act. The single also launched at No. 5 on the Billboard Streaming Songs chart, the highest rank for the band on the chart so far and the second top 10 after "Fake Love" peaked at No. 7, according to the Billboard website. It also ranked No. 3 on the Digital Song Sales chart, marking the group's fourth song hitting the chart's top 10.

"Boy with Luv" was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in June, for selling over one million units in the United States. It is the group's second Platinum certification following "Mic Drop". The song surpassed 100 million streams on Gaon Music Chart, earning a Platinum certification from the Korea Music Content Association (KMCA). "Boy With Luv" was certified Gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for selling 35,000 units in Australia.

BTS was named one of the Top 10 artists of 2019 by Genie Music with "Boy with Luv" topping their daily chart for 26 days.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Map of the Soul: Persona.

• BTS – primary vocals
• Halsey – featured vocals, songwriting
• Pdogg – production, songwriting, keyboard, synthesizer, vocal arrangement, rap arrangement, recording engineer, digital editing
• RM – songwriting, rap arrangement, recording engineer
• Melanie Fontana – songwriting, chorus
• Michel "Lindgren" Schulz – songwriting, recording engineer
• "Hitman" Bang – songwriting
• Suga – songwriting

• Emily Weisband – songwriting
• J-Hope – songwriting
• Lee Tae-wook – guitar
• Jungkook – chorus
• Park Jin-se − recording engineer
• Alex Williams − recording engineer
• Adora – digital editing

Accolades

Awards and nominations

Year	Organization	Award	Result	Ref.
2019	Melon Music Awards	Song of the Year	Won
		Best Dance Award – Male	Won
	Meus Prêmios Nick	Favorite International Hit	Won
	Mnet Asian Music Awards	Song of the Year	Won
		Best Music Video	Won
		Best Dance Performance Male Group	Won
		Best Video Director	Won
	MTV Europe Music Awards	Best Collaboration	Nominated
	MTV Video Music Awards	Best K-Pop	Won
		Best Art Direction	Nominated
		Best Choreography	Nominated
		Best Collaboration	Nominated
	People's Choice Awards	Music Video of 2019	Nominated
	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Collaboration	Won
	Telehit Awards	People's Best Video	Nominated
2020	Gaon Chart Music Awards	Song of the Year – April	Nominated
	Golden Disc Awards	Digital Bonsang	Won
		Digital Daesang	Won
	iHeartRadio Music Awards	Best Music Video	Won
	Korean Music Awards	Best Pop Song	Nominated
		Song of the Year	Nominated
	NME Awards	Best Collaboration	Nominated

Music program awards

Program	Date (21 total)	Ref.
Music Bank	April 19, 2019
	April 26, 2019
	May 3, 2019
	May 17, 2019
	May 24, 2019
	June 14, 2019
	June 21, 2019
Show! Music Core	April 20, 2019
	April 27, 2019
	May 11, 2019
	May 18, 2019
	May 25, 2019
	June 1, 2019
	June 8, 2019
	June 15, 2019
	June 22, 2019
Show Champion	April 24, 2019
M Countdown	April 25, 2019
Inkigayo	April 28, 2019
	May 12, 2019
	May 19, 2019

Melon Popularity Awards

Award	Date	Ref.
Weekly Popularity Award	April 22, 2019
	April 29, 2019
	May 6, 2019
	May 13, 2019
	May 20, 2019

Charts

Weekly charts

Weekly chart performance for "Boy with Luv"

Chart (2019–22)	Peak position
Argentina (Argentina Hot 100)	21
Australia (ARIA)	10
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)	27
Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)	4
Belgium (Ultratip Wallonia)	17
Brazil (Top 100 Brasil)	80
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)	7
Canada CHR/Top 40 (Billboard)	32
8
Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)	11
El Salvador (Monitor Latino)	13
Estonia (Eesti Tipp-40)	4
Europe (Euro Digital Songs)	12
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)	20
France (SNEP)	114
Germany (Official German Charts)	47
151
Greece (IFPI)	5
Hungary (Single Top 40)	1
Hungary (Stream Top 40)	6
14
Israel (Media Forest TV Airplay)	2
Italy (FIMI)	60
Japan (Japan Hot 100)	7
Japan Combined Weekly Singles (Oricon)	12
Latvia (LAIPA)	5
Lithuania (AGATA)	2
Malaysia (RIM)	1
Mexico (Monitor Latino)	2
Mexico Airplay (Billboard)	1
Netherlands (Single Top 100)	58
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)	12
Norway (VG-lista)	24
Panama (Monitor Latino)	18
Poland (Polish Airplay Top 100)	57
14
Romania (Airplay 100)	100
Scotland (Official Charts Company)	14
Singapore (RIAS)	4
Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100)	4
South Korea (Hot 100)	1
South Korea (Gaon)	1
Spain (PROMUSICAE)	65
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)	29
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)	27
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)	13
US Billboard Hot 100	8
US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)	22
US Dance/Mix Show Airplay (Billboard)	30
Venezuela Anglo (Record Report)	64
Vietnam (Vietnam Hot 100)	8

Year-end charts

Year-end chart performance for "Boy with Luv"

Chart (2019)	Position
Argentina (Monitor Latino)	41
Costa Rica (Monitor Latino)	82
Guatemala (Monitor Latino)	58
Hungary (Single Top 40)	88
Hungary (Stream Top 40)	93
Japan (Japan Hot 100)	46
Malaysia (RIM)	4
Panama (Monitor Latino)	63
Peru (Monitor Latino)	98
South Korea (Gaon)	5
Uruguay (Monitor Latino)	69
Chart (2020)	Position
Japan (Japan Hot 100)	69
South Korea (Gaon)	12
Chart (2021)	Position
Japan (Japan Hot 100)	81
South Korea (Gaon)	37
Chart (2022)	Position
South Korea (Circle)	119

Certifications

Region	Certification	Sales/shipments
Australia (ARIA)	Platinum	70,000
Canada (Music Canada)	Gold	5,000
Colombia	Gold
France (SNEP)	Gold	150,000
Italy (FIMI)	Gold	15,000
Mexico (AMPROFON)	2× Platinum+Gold	150,000
Poland (ZPAV) Lights / Boy with Luv	2× Diamond	200,000
South Korea	Platinum
United Kingdom (BPI)	Silver	200,000
United States (RIAA)	Platinum	1,000,000
Streaming
Japan (RIAJ)	Silver
South Korea	3× Platinum
*sales figures based on certification alone xunspecified figures based on certification alone sales/streaming figures based on certification alone

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Label	Ref.
Korean version
Various	April 12, 2019	Download streaming	Big Hit Columbia Astralwerks
United States	April 16, 2019	Contemporary hit radio	Columbia
Italy	May 26, 2019		Sony
Japanese version
Japan	July 3, 2019	CD DVD download streaming	Def Jam Virgin

See also

• List of most-viewed online videos in the first 24 hours
• List of M Countdown Chart winners (2019)
• List of number-one songs of 2019 (Malaysia)
• List of airplay number-one hits of the 2010s (Argentina)