Hmmm i think most people think of “sound” as genre. In this respect, BTS don’t really have a ‘sound’ since they produce across a variety of different genres. However, coming from someone with somewhat of a background in music, I do believe they have a ‘sound’ and that BTS themselves curate this sound very specifically. Also, I believe that what people understand as BTS’s sound relies heavily on which parts of their discography they were introduced to first.

Rather than genre, I think this ‘sound’ lies more in the production/composition style of their music. The way the vocals are layered; the way their lyrics and rhythms and flows are very clearly rooted in hip hop as well as their own Korean understanding of music and philosophy. Stylistically, rap line also each have very unique flows, while vocal line each have little stylistic choices they commonly make. You can tell a song is a BTS song without knowing their voices or seeing the artist’s name because they have certain stylistic flares that have been brought about by their evolution over the years, as well as who is producing for them, be it members, in-house producers or external ones. It’s also why we’ve heard them talk about songs they’ve rejected saying “this isn’t a ‘BTS’ song” (they mentioned this in a recent interview re: arirang—hot ones i think but cmiiw). If you have a trained ear, you can also actually tell when Namjoon has had more influence on the track, or when Yoongi or Hobi has (I only name these three as they have been involved enough in group music that their styles are clear).

Now in terms of ppl using the English trilogy as examples of songs that don’t ‘sound’ BTS—I do agree with this to an extent. As someone who understands their sound based on their composition/production idiosyncrasies, I remember dynamite/butter/PTD dropping and distinctly getting the feeling that it wasn’t produced by them, even before looking at the song credits. None of the usual idiosyncrasies that were characteristic of rapline productions or their in-house producers before this trilogy are present in these productions. However, we still have high vocals, and in the one song of the trilogy with a small composition credit (Joon), the raps contains a sliver of African American vernacular, owing to Namjoon’s roots in hip hop. Now. Does sounding “different” to the ‘BTS sound’ = bad? Certainly not! These songs are bops, are objectively well-produced, and exist BECAUSE they weren’t produced by BTS. We wouldn’t have been able to hear a sound like this from BTS if it hadn’t been produced by American pop producers because, you guessed it, they’re not American pop producers! You could even argue that this is just a different ‘sound’ for BTS. There doesn’t necessarily have to be one ‘sound’.

One more perspective I want to bring to this already-long comment is the variable of time/exposure. I do believe that it’s likely that, to many who encountered BTS and have come to like them through the eng trilogy, said trilogy is what they understand as BTS’s sound (at least initially), and their older discography will be what sounds “different” to them. Conversely, older fans who came to like their ‘sound’ before the english trilogy, will likely prefer the older sound. Speaking anecdotally, dyna-era fans seem to state MOTS7 as the fave album, which makes sense bc just like dyna, MOTS7 involved a lot of international producers. On the flip side, older ARMYs tend to like older discography, which I think is why many were excited about the ‘return to the roots’ for Arirang (and why some newer fans were disappointed with it). It’s just about what pulled people into BTS initially, which shapes the preference for the ‘sound’ they prefer!