The wait is over: BTS’s 'Permission To Dance' video is here

BTS just dropped their highly-anticipated follow-up to “Butter,” the banging new summer tune “Permission To Dance,” and the music video is a joyful romp.

RM, Jin, Jimin, J-Hope, Jungkook, Suga and V show up at a coin laundromat in the middle of the desert and get the place popping in this effervescent bop that also very subtly references how we all need a pick-me-up during these trying times.

“I wanna dance/The music’s got me going/Ain’t nothing that can stop how we move,” the group sings as vibrant images of the American desert are paired with their flawless choreo. “Let’s break our plans/And live just like we’re golden/And roll in like we’re dancing fools!”

Elton John even gets a shout-out (frankly this should be the rule for all new pop songs going forward), but perhaps the most touching and uplifting aspect of the music video is the recurring image of people finally feeling safe and encouraged enough to whip off their masks, go outside, and dance. The After Times are almost in our sights! Let’s boogie! (Get your shot, first!).

There’s a connection between the bright-future-after-the-pandemic theme in this video and how the band truly feel. After “Butter” was released in May, Jin told Billboard that, “When we couldn’t go on tour, everybody felt  really a sense of loss, a sense of powerlessness,  and we were all sad. And it actually took us a while to get over those feelings.”

The brand-spanking-new colourful video has been one of the top trending videos on Youtube since it dropped, and the little blooper nugget at the end, where all seven boys dance with their crew, teaching them the dance moves, is just the perfect cherry on top.

The BTS Army definitely isn’t looking for anyone’s permission to dance to this new banger.

This is the music video that BTS Army (and John Oliver) need and deserve.