Singer-Songwriter MNEK Talks About BTS And Writing A Song For The Group

Dec 20, 2018

English singer-songwriter and three-time Grammy-nominated artist MNEK recently sat down with TV Report in Seoul to discuss his music, fans in Korea, and working with BTS.

During the interview, MNEK was asked if he knew about his numerous fans in Korea. He answered, “To be honest, I didn’t know. I think many fans heard of me through BTS. As you know, one of the songs I wrote was included in the ‘Love Yourself’ album. I received a lot of positive messages on social media from [BTS’s] fans. If people know of me in Korea, it’s probably thanks to them.”

The interviewer then continued to discuss MNEK’s connection with BTS and asked the artist about any behind-the-scenes production stories. MNEK had previously praised the group for being “super talented and really nice” during an interview with Billboard.

In response, MNEK commented, “I haven’t been able to meet them yet. We were able to plan out this collaboration through a producer in the United States. That was during the time when I broke up with my significant other, so I was having a hard time. I wrote two tracks called ‘Phone’ and ‘Mouth’ back then. ‘Mouth’ became BTS’s ‘Paradise.’ At that time, ‘Mouth’ was about a breakup between a couple and the sadness of a broken heart. The lyrics changed after [the track] went to BTS.”

He continued, “I think this melody resonated with them. That’s the fun side of music. Even if the languages are different, [music] still connects us. Because [music] has something that we can relate to.”

MNEK also added, “When I heard ‘Paradise,’ I really enjoyed it. Of course, I couldn’t understand [the lyrics] because it was in Korean. It resonated with me as well, and it returned as a deeply moving track. BTS has a strong fanbase. It’s because [BTS] has great messages, and they’re a great group.

MNEK recently released his album “Language” in September and was able to finally meet BTS’s RM when he made his trip to Korea. Both artists shared photos of their meeting through their Twitter accounts.