BTS Previews Their Upcoming Video Game Soundtrack With Charli XCX Collab “Dream Glow”
The track was originally leaked as Charli XCX’s demo with different lyrics.
The three Js from BTS’s vocal-line–Jin, Jimin, and Jungkook–teamed up with Charli XCX on a new track, “Dream Glow,” for the soundtrack of their upcoming mobile game, BTS World.
The track is produced by Grammy-winning songwriting team Stargate, who’ve previously worked on Ne-Yo’s “So Sick,” Beyoncé’s “Irreplaceable” and Rihanna’s “Only Girl (In the World).” Another Grammy winner, Manny Marroquin, contributed to the track’s mixing.
“Dream Glow” originally leaked as a demo called “Glow,” which was solely attached to Charli XCX. Aside from the added bilingualism, the reworked version changes up the original lyrics. The demo addresses a potential love interest, while the new version is about following your dreams, as Charli sings on the chorus:
Sometimes I stop and stare
Follow my dreams right there
Dream glow (hey, hey)
Sometimes my dreams come true
Sometimes they turn to blue
Dream glow (hey, hey)
The septet has built an extensive resume of Western collabs with artists like Nicki Minaj, Steve Aoki, and Desiigner. This is their second team-up with a female pop star this year. Back in April, they dropped “Boy With Luv” with Halsey, who joined in on the choreography during their Billboard Music Awards performance last month.
This isn’t the first time the BTS members have split into a subunit for a collaboration. Last year, RM, Jungkook, and Jimin featured on Aoki’s “Waste It on Me.”
XCX herself is building a catalogue of features, as she recently linked up with Lizzo on “Blame It On Your Love” as well as Troye Sivan on “1999.” She also premiered a new song, “Gone,” with Christine and the Queens at Primavera Sound last week.
“Dream Glow” is only the first song released from the game’s soundtrack. BTS World will launch worldwide on June 26, and it’ll come stocked with a variety of exclusive BTS content. In the game, the player will travel back to 2012–right before the group’s 2013 debut–and act as a manager for the members.
“Players will encounter various missions where they will select certain BTS member cards to clear the mission and progress through the game,” a press release for the game stated. “Collecting and upgrading these cards will open up even more stories along the way, and players will be able to interact virtually with BTS in the game through a 1:1 interactive system including text messaging, voice and video calling to BTS members.”
The game is being released by one of Korea’s biggest mobile-gaming companies, Netmarble Games. The company is one of the largest shareholders in BTS’s label, Big Hit Entertainment. Netmarble’s founder, Bang Joon-hyuk, is reportedly the cousin of Big Hit’s founder, Bang Si-hyuk.
This week, Jin also released his first self-composed solo track, “Tonight.” BTS recently made headway on the British television circuit, performing “Boy With Luv” on Britain’s Got Talent. They also live-streamed their performance at Wembley Stadium on Korean app VLIVE.
Listen to “Dream Glow” above and read all the lyrics on Genius now.
