| "Black Swan" | ||||
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| Single by BTS | ||||
| from the album Map of the Soul: 7 | ||||
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| Released | January 17, 2020 | |||
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| Length | 3:18 | |||
| Label | Big Hit | |||
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| Producer(s) | Pdogg | |||
| BTS singles chronology | ||||
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| Art film | ||||
| "Black Swan" on YouTube | ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Black Swan" on YouTube | ||||
"Black Swan" is a song by South Korean boy band BTS from their fourth Korean-language studio album, Map of the Soul: 7 (2020). The song was written by RM, August Rigo, Vince Nantes, Clyde Kelly and Pdogg, with the latter of the five also handling production. It was released on January 17, 2020, as the first single by Big Hit Entertainment as a countdown to the album. Musically, it was described as an emo hip hop song featuring cloud rap and trap drum beats. The song uses lo-fi-style guitar instrumentation and contains a "catchy" hook. The lyrics are introspective and find BTS confessing, as artists, the fear of losing their passion for music.
"Black Swan" received widespread acclaim from music critics for its "honest and raw" lyrics and dark production, with comparisons being drawn to the band's 2018 single, "Fake Love". Commercially, the former debuted at number seven on South Korea's Gaon Digital Chart and at number one on the US Billboard World Digital Song Sales chart. The song debuted at number 46 on the UK Singles Chart and number 57 on the US Billboard Hot 100, in addition to entering record charts in several other territories.
Two accompanying music videos, both inspired by Darren Aronofsky's 2010 movie of the same name, were directed by YongSeok Choi of Lumpens. The first one premiered simultaneously with the release of the single in the form of an "art film," including an interpretive dance performance by Slovenian-based modern dance troupe MN Dance Company. The second video, released without any prior announcements, is choreography-heavy and depicts BTS transforming into eponymous black swans on the stage of a theatre. The debut of "Black Swan", on The Late Late Show with James Corden, received positive reviews from critics, who praised the band's "impassioned" performance and "intricate" choreography. Following the release of Map of the Soul: 7, BTS promoted the song with televised live performances on several South Korean music programs, including M! Countdown, Music Bank, and Inkigayo.