"Black Swan" is a song by South Korean boy band BTS from their fourth Korean-language studio album, Map of the Soul: 7 (2020).

"Black Swan" received widespread acclaim from music critics for its "honest and raw" lyrics and dark production, with comparisons being drawn to the band's 2018 single, "Fake Love".

The second video, released without any prior announcements, is choreography-heavy and depicts BTS transforming into eponymous black swans on the stage of a theatre.

Following the release of Map of the Soul: 7, BTS promoted the song with televised live performances on several South Korean music programs, including M!

"[1] On January 7, 2020, the band announced a return to music with the release of their fourth Korean-language studio album Map of the Soul: 7, on February 21 of that year.

[5] "Black Swan", the first single from Map of the Soul: 7, was made available for digital download and streaming in various countries on January 17, 2020, by Big Hit Entertainment.

[12] "Black Swan" has been described as an emo hip hop song that derives its style from trap drum beats and "doleful" lo-fi-style guitar instrumentation.

[28] Throughout the song, BTS' vocals are "layered and processed" to make them "indistinguishable" from each other, showing how they are one unit of seven people, while the minimalist sounds represent a subdued inner.

[15][16] According to Yonhap News Agency, "Black Swan" continues the theme of exploring one's ego from BTS' previous album, Map of the Soul: Persona, inspired by Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung's theories of human psychology.

[37] Stereogum critic Chris DeVille felt that the version accompanying the art film "infuses it with classical elements to go along with the video’s modern dance routine.

Calling the sound "mature," he rated the song four out of five stars, writing that "two completely different elements of Oriental Classic and Western Trend are compatible and entangled in an enlarged position, embodying the inner desire to fly much like a feather.

"[16] In his review of Map of the Soul: 7 for the Los Angeles Times, August Brown described "Black Swan" as "foggy," "arty" and "catchy as hell" and stated that, "If 7 has a statement of purpose, it’s probably this cut.

"[19] Labelling "Black Swan" as "honest and raw," Rhian Daly from NME called it "a haunting, melancholy curveball" that deviates "from an immediate, radio-friendly choice", putting "artistry ahead of mass appeal".

[30] Sophia Simon-Bashall of The Line of Best Fit favoured the production incorporating modern trap beats with traditional Korean instruments while also appreciating the song's lyrical content and wrote, "It speaks to anyone who has been through depression, the uniquely crushing experience of losing interest in what once gave meaning.

"[39] In his review for Clash, Robin Murray regarded the track as "a stunning return, steering their infinitely appealing pop template into left-field landscapes.

[40][67] The video runs for five minutes and showcases symbolic contemporary choreography that "gets more intense, combative" as the lead dancer, turning into the "black swan", tries to escape from the clutches of the other six shadowed figures and break free from the cage of light.

"[68] NPR's Stephen Thompson called the art film "lavishly choreographed" and pointed out how it "nicely reflects the song's message — about artists' fraught relationship with the work that sustains them.

[76][79] This is a metaphor for portraying the perception of good and evil as shadows play a central part in the video, alluding to the recurring theme of Map of the Soul: 7 and visual representation of the song's lyrics.

[79][84] The video draws heavy references to "Jungian shadows", Darren Aronofsky's 2010 psychological thriller of the same name, as well as Tchaikovsky's ballet Swan Lake (1876).

"[82] Lake Schatz of Consequence of Sound wrote that "the group’s bold and exquisite dance work is captivating in itself, but also symbolizes a swan-like transformation, as BTS eventually swap their crisp white suits for black ones.

[87][88] Writing for Rolling Stone, Emily Zemler praised the performance, saying that "it was a notably impressive and energized rendition of the track and featured some impassioned barefoot choreography.

"[89] Following the release of the album in February 2020, BTS performed "Black Swan" on several South Korean music programs, including Mnet's M!

이게 나를 더 못 울린다면 (Ige nareul deo ullindamyeon)내 가슴을 더 떨리게 못 한다면 (Nae gaseumeul deo tteollge mot handamyeon)어쩜 이렇게 한 번 죽겠지 아마 (Eojjeom ireoke han beon jukgetji ama)