# Boy with Luv

"Boy with Luv" (Korean: 작은 것들을 위한 시; RR: Jag-eun geosdeul-eul wihan si, lit. "A Poem for Small Things") is a song recorded by South Korean boy band BTS, featuring American singer Halsey, as the lead single for their sixth extended play Map of the Soul: Persona. It was released on April 12, 2019, by Big Hit Entertainment. The song's music video was the most viewed online music video in 24 hours at the time, garnering over 74.6 million views within its first day of release. The song was certified Platinum by the RIAA in June. "Boy with Luv" held the record for the song with the most music show wins after the 2000s in South Korea with 21 wins, until the record was broken by "Dynamite".
On July 3, 2019, the Japanese version of the song was released as a double A-side single alongside an original Japanese track titled "Lights" via Universal Music Japan.

## Composition

"Boy With Luv" featuring American singer Halsey has been described as a "funk pop" song about happiness and love. It is performed in the key of D major with the vocals ranging from F♯$_4$ to B$_5$. It serves as a parallel track to their earlier song "Boy in Luv", released in 2014. According to Tamar Herman of Billboard, the song describes how true strength and love come from finding joy in the smallest things in life. Elias Leight from Rolling Stone classified the song as "nu-disco single". NME characterized it as "bubblegum pop". Yim Hyun-su from The Korea Herald described the lead single as "an upbeat electro-pop song with catchy hooks". According to Refinery29, the light, funk-laced song features live instruments.

## Music video

A trailer for the music video was released on April 7, 2019, with a 13-second clip of the song towards the end. The teaser features Halsey working in a ticket booth before walking outside to find BTS sitting on a couch. A second teaser, featuring close-ups of the band, was released on April 10.
Directed by Yong-Seok Choi from Lumpens, the full music video was released on April 12. It simultaneously obtained the records of fastest-liked video and fastest-viewed video on YouTube, reaching 3 million likes in 2 hours and 74.6 million views within 24 hours of release, making it the most viewed YouTube video in the first 24 hours after its release at the time, averaging about 860 views per second during that interval. It was also the fastest video to reach 100 million views on YouTube, doing so in approximately one day and 10 hours. On April 26, BigHit released a second version of the music video, titled "ARMY With Luv", dedicated to the band's fandom, ARMY. The video featured footage of the band not seen in the original version and more moments with Halsey; the large "LOVE" sign that appears atop a building while the band dances in the original was replaced with one that spelt "ARMY" instead. In December 2019, YouTube named it the most viewed music video in South Korea of the year. The music video crossed 1 billion views in October 2020, eighteen months after release, and is the band's second to reach the mark.

## Promotion

The band performed the song for the first time on April 13, 2019, as the musical guests on Saturday Night Live (making them the first K-pop group to perform on the show) and performed it with Halsey at the 2019 Billboard Music Awards held on May 1, 2019. BTS started their Korean promotion on April 18, 2019, on M Countdown. They performed the song again to kick off Good Morning America's Summer Concert Series at New York's Central Park on May 15, 2019, along with their 2016 single, Fire. On May 16, 2019, BTS performed the song at The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. On May 21, 2019, they performed the song at The Voice's finale. On May 30, 2019, they also performed the song at Britain Got Talent's semi-final.
On November 30, BTS performed "Boy with Luv" at the 2019 Melon Music Awards with throwbacks to "Boy in Luv". On December 4, the song was performed at the 2019 Mnet Asian Music Awards. Two days later, BTS performed the song at the KIIS-FM Jingle Ball in Los Angeles, where they appeared as a headliner. In addition, BTS performed the song in South Korea at the SBS Gayo Daejun and KBS Song Festival on December 25 and 27, respectively, following which the song was performed in New York's Times Square at Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve.

## Reception

   "The first taste of BTS' 'Map Of The Soul: Persona' was an incredibly sweet one – a vibrant burst of bubblegum pop with an added Halsey twist. Its Korean title translated to 'A Poem For Small Things' and the lyrics celebrated "the things you're interested in, the way you walk or talk, and every little trivial habit of yours" over melodies that would make even the most mundane of days seem like a dream."
Taylor Glasby writing for Dazed labelled "Boy With Luv" as "a beacon of pop sweetness". Dazed placed it in their list of "The 20 best K-pop songs of 2019" and commended the "catchy, made-for-radio immediacy" of the song, additionally characterizing "the playful lightness of the instrumental, vocals, and overall mood" that "bring to it a joyful ingenuousness and an old-world classiness that keeps the song sounding box fresh." Writing for the Consequence of Sound, Laura Dzubay called the song "familiarly romantic". The song was included in South China Morning Post's list of "The 10 best K-pop songs of 2019". In that article, Jeff Benjamin described it as "euphoric pop sound" while praising how the song "shows their maturity and growth and comes with a message – to allow love to take over gradually and to make changes from the inside." Rhian Daly from NME called the song "addictive and deftly balanced" with Halsey's chorus "fitting in naturally and seamlessly".Billboard included the song in their list of "The 100 Best Songs of 2019: Staff List" as well as their list of "The 25 Best K-pop Songs of 2019: Critics' Picks". NME placed the song on their list of "The 50 best songs of 2019". It was also named as the Song of the Year through the public survey conducted by Gallup Korea in 2019.
"Boy with Luv" on critic lists :
| Critic/Publication | List | Rank |
| Billboard | 100 Best Songs of 2019: Staff List | 37 |
| Billboard | 25 Best K-pop Songs of 2019: Critics' Picks | 15 |
| Melon | Top 100 K-pop Songs of All Time | 74 |
| BuzzFeed | Best K-pop Music Videos of 2019 | 8 |
| Dazed | 20 best K-pop songs of 2019 | 7 |
| Gallup Korea | Best Songs in 2019 | 1 |
| Idolator | 75 Best Pop Songs of 2019 | 42 |
| Insider | 57 best music videos of 2019 | 22 |
| IZM | Top 10 Singles of 2019 | — |
| NME | 50 best songs of 2019 | 49 |
| MTV | Greatest Videos of the 2010s | 1 |
| SCMP | 10 best K-pop songs of 2019 | 1 |

## Commercial performance

Upon release, "Boy With Luv" debuted at No. 1 on the real-time charts of six major music sites including Soribada, Genie, Naver, Bugs, Mnet, and Flo on April 12. On the morning of April 13, it was reported that the song ranked No. 1 in real time charts of all digital platforms including Melon, thereby achieving an "all kill". In addition, all other tracks of Map of the Soul: Persona debuted in Top 10. It was reported that multiple servers crashed, including Korea's largest music site Melon, due to the number of fans streaming at the same time. "Boy With Luv" debuted at No. 1 on the Gaon Digital Chart and topped the weekly charts for three consecutive weeks. "Boy with Luv" debuted and peaked at No. 8 on the US Billboard Hot 100 Chart, becoming the group's highest Top 10 entry following "Fake Love". The song also debuted at No. 13 on the UK Official Singles Chart, making it the highest-charting single by a Korean act. The single also launched at No. 5 on the Billboard Streaming Songs chart, the highest rank for the band on the chart so far and the second top 10 after "Fake Love" peaked at No. 7, according to the Billboard website. It also ranked No. 3 on the Digital Song Sales chart, marking the group's fourth song hitting the chart's top 10.
"Boy with Luv" was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in June, for selling over one million units in the United States. It is the group's second Platinum certification following "Mic Drop". The song surpassed 100 million streams on Gaon Music Chart, earning a Platinum certification from the Korea Music Content Association (KMCA). "Boy With Luv" was certified Gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for selling 35,000 units in Australia.
BTS was named one of the Top 10 artists of 2019 by Genie Music with "Boy with Luv" topping their daily chart for 26 days.

## Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Map of the Soul: Persona.

## Accolades

Awards and nominations :
| Year | Organization | Award | Result |
| 2019 | Melon Music Awards | Song of the Year | Won |
| 2019 | Melon Music Awards | Best Dance Award – Male | Won |
| 2019 | Meus Prêmios Nick | Favorite International Hit | Won |
| 2019 | Mnet Asian Music Awards | Song of the Year | Won |
| 2019 | Mnet Asian Music Awards | Best Music Video | Won |
| 2019 | Mnet Asian Music Awards | Best Dance Performance Male Group | Won |
| 2019 | Mnet Asian Music Awards | Best Video Director | Won |
| 2019 | MTV Europe Music Awards | Best Collaboration | Nominated |
| 2019 | MTV Video Music Awards | Best K-Pop | Won |
| 2019 | MTV Video Music Awards | Best Art Direction | Nominated |
| 2019 | MTV Video Music Awards | Best Choreography | Nominated |
| 2019 | MTV Video Music Awards | Best Collaboration | Nominated |
| 2019 | People's Choice Awards | Music Video of 2019 | Nominated |
| 2019 | Teen Choice Awards | Choice Collaboration | Won |
| 2019 | Telehit Awards | People's Best Video | Nominated |
| 2020 | Gaon Chart Music Awards | Song of the Year – April | Nominated |
| 2020 | Golden Disc Awards | Digital Bonsang | Won |
| 2020 | Golden Disc Awards | Digital Daesang | Won |
| 2020 | iHeartRadio Music Awards | Best Music Video | Won |
| 2020 | Korean Music Awards | Best Pop Song | Nominated |
| 2020 | Korean Music Awards | Song of the Year | Nominated |
| 2020 | NME Awards | Best Collaboration | Nominated |

### Music program awards

| Program | Date (21 total) |
| Music Bank | April 19, 2019 |
| Music Bank | April 26, 2019 |
| Music Bank | May 3, 2019 |
| Music Bank | May 17, 2019 |
| Music Bank | May 24, 2019 |
| Music Bank | June 14, 2019 |
| Music Bank | June 21, 2019 |
| Show! Music Core | April 20, 2019 |
| Show! Music Core | April 27, 2019 |
| Show! Music Core | May 11, 2019 |
| Show! Music Core | May 18, 2019 |
| Show! Music Core | May 25, 2019 |
| Show! Music Core | June 1, 2019 |
| Show! Music Core | June 8, 2019 |
| Show! Music Core | June 15, 2019 |
| Show! Music Core | June 22, 2019 |
| Show Champion | April 24, 2019 |
| M Countdown | April 25, 2019 |
| Inkigayo | April 28, 2019 |
| Inkigayo | May 12, 2019 |
| Inkigayo | May 19, 2019 |
Melon Popularity Awards :
| Award | Date |
| Weekly Popularity Award | April 22, 2019 |
| Weekly Popularity Award | April 29, 2019 |
| Weekly Popularity Award | May 6, 2019 |
| Weekly Popularity Award | May 13, 2019 |
| Weekly Popularity Award | May 20, 2019 |

## Certifications

| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
| Australia (ARIA) | Platinum | 70,000$^‡$ |
| Canada (Music Canada) | Gold | 40,000$^‡$ |
| Colombia | Gold | |
| France (SNEP) | Gold | 100,000$^‡$ |
| Italy (FIMI) | Gold | 35,000$^‡$ |
| Mexico (AMPROFON) | 2× Platinum+Gold | 150,000$^‡$ |
| Poland (ZPAV) Lights / Boy with Luv | 2× Diamond | 500,000$^‡$ |
| South Korea (KMCA) | Platinum | 2,500,000$^*$ |
| Spain (PROMUSICAE) | Gold | 30,000$^‡$ |
| United Kingdom (BPI) | Gold | 400,000$^‡$ |
| United States (RIAA) | Platinum | 1,000,000$^‡$ |
| Streaming |||
| Japan (RIAJ) Japanese version | Gold | 50,000,000$^†$ |
| Japan (RIAJ) Original | 2× Platinum | 200,000,000$^†$ |
| South Korea (KMCA) | 3× Platinum | 300,000,000$^†$ |
| $^*$ Sales figures based on certification alone. $^‡$ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. $^†$ Streaming-only figures based on certification alone. |||

## Release history

| Region | Date | Format | Label |
| Korean version |||||
| Various | April 12, 2019 | Downloadstreaming | Big HitColumbiaAstralwerks |
| United States | April 16, 2019 | Contemporary hit radio | Columbia |
| Italy | May 26, 2019 | Contemporary hit radio | Sony |
| Japanese version |||||
| Japan | July 3, 2019 | CDDVDdownloadstreaming | Def JamVirgin |