BTS’ “Swim” Makes a Comeback on Billboard; K-Pop Producer Calls It a “Bold Gamble”

BTS’s title track “Swim” from their fifth studio album “Arirang” is experiencing a strong comeback on the Billboard Hot 100. It rose three and a half spots compared to the previous week, reaching position 41, and continues to maintain its musical impact even in the 11th week since release.

Karlsson, a prominent producer in the K-pop industry, offered his opinion on the musical choices for this track. Karlsson is an American composer of Swedish origin who resides in South Korea and has witnessed the evolution of K-pop firsthand. Since beginning his collaboration with SM Entertainment in 2013, he has incorporated elements of Swedish pop music into numerous K-pop hits.

His trackwriting career is filled with some of the most iconic hits in K-pop history. Notable works include BTS’s “We Are Bulletproof: The Eternal,” SuperM’s “Tiger Inside,” ENHYPEN’s “Fever,” Tomorrow X Together’s “Loser=Lover,” and ATEEZ’s “Bouncy (K-Hot Chilli Peppers).” His collaboration range spans from veteran artists like TVXQ and Super Junior to various girl groups such as Twice, Red Velvet, and ITZY. While international collaborations have become more common as K-pop expands globally, foreign composers with Karlsson’s level of experience and industry insight are rare.

Karlsson described “Swim” as a “bold but necessary creative gamble.” Some fans and critics have argued that this track lacks the commercial impact of BTS’s earlier global hits like “Dynamite” and “Butter.” However, Karlsson stated that “songs with lower energy can still dominate the world market” and added that he believes BTS “can achieve success on par with ‘Dynamite’.”

He cited various other K-pop hits as examples. “Songs like NewJeans’s ‘Cookie,’ Red Velvet’s ‘Psycho,’ and ENHYPEN’s ‘Fever’ have all become major successes,” he said, noting that “every time a group returns, they have to take some risk, as even a great song does not guarantee success.”

Regarding what might have happened if BTS had adopted a more conservative approach in producing “Arirang,” Karlsson explained that “they might have achieved stable commercial success by returning to a more familiar sound.” But he added, “It doesn’t seem like that was their goal,” and assessed that “this bold move generated diverse opinions, which I consider part of a healthy fandom culture.”

Meanwhile, BTS’s “Arirang” album continues to perform well, reaching position 11 on the Billboard 200.