BTS - Love Yourself: Answer

I. Introduction

Love Yourself: Answer was released on August 24, 2018 with "Idol" serving as the album's title track. The album contains the tracks from their two previous mini albums, seven new songs and three new remixes.

The album debuted at #1 on Billboard 200, becoming BTS's second #1 on that chart. It was the best-selling album of 2018 in South Korea and second best-selling album of 2018 in the world. LY: Answer is currently the fourth best-selling album on South Korea of all time.

As 2021, the album has sold more than two and half million copies.

II. Background and Release

Love Yourself: Answer was first announced on July 16, 2018, with the announcement of the album containing seven new tracks coming the following day. The album was designed as the finale of the Love Yourself series, which connected the story plot of short film Love Yourself Wonder, EP Love Yourself: Her, and studio album Love Yourself: Tear.

On August 6, Big Hit Entertainment released a note, part of a series of fictional notes pertaining to the concept of BTS' albums, starting with their 2015 EP The Most Beautiful Moment in Life. The note, written by BTS member Jin, spoke about him finding a notebook written by his father in the story. Three days later, on August 9, the trailer for the album, featuring a new song entitled "Epiphany", was released. The solo was performed by Jin, and speaks about finding self-love.

Promotional concept photos presenting four different themes were released on August 13 for the "S" and "E" versions, and August 16 for the "L" and "F" versions. The official tracklist was released on August 20, revealing that it would be a compilation album containing songs from Love Yourself: Her and Love Yourself: Tear, with a total of twenty-five tracks.

III. Tracklist

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V. Videos

Trailer(s)

Teaser(s)

Official Video(s)

Live Performance(s)

Dance Practice(s)

VI. Concept Pictures

VII. Reception

Love Yourself: Answer received positive reviews from critics.

iriver Inc reported that the album had sold more than 1.51 million copies, surpassing its predecessor Love Yourself: Tear as the most pre-ordered album in South Korea. It subsequently debuted at number one on the Gaon Album Chart, selling 1,933,450 copies during the last eight days of the month of August. The album broke the record for the most monthly sales in the history of the Gaon Chart since its inception in 2010. The record was also previously held by BTS' own Love Yourself: Tear.

Love Yourself: Answer debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, becoming BTS' second number-one album—their second of 2018—and their highest sales week in the country to date. It earned 185,000 album-equivalent units, including 141,000 in pure album sales. It also became the first Korean album to ever receive an RIAA album certification.

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