Map of the Soul: Persona is the sixth extended play by South Korean boy band BTS.
American singer Lauv appeared on a version of the track "Make It Right" that was released on October 18, 2019, as the album's second single.
The EP debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, making BTS the first band since the Beatles to have three number-one albums in less than a year.
[10] On March 27, the group released the official "comeback trailer" for their album, named "Persona" which would later become the introduction to the extended play.
The solo featured RM, the leader of BTS, and was described by Refinery29's Natalie Morin as "a colorful, dynamic song" and "nodding to the band's coming-of-age and self-discovery themes," which lyrics such as "Who am I?
A new version of the B-side track "Make It Right", featuring American singer Lauv, was released on October 18 as the second single from the album.
[17] The lead single, the Halsey collaboration "Boy with Luv," has been described as a funk pop song about happiness and love.
[19] "Mikrokosmos" co-writer Ryan Lawrie, who releases music as KOOLKID, has explained he wrote the song's signature guitar riff in his bedroom at 3 in the morning, and says that working with BTS "literally changed [his] life.
"[22] "Make It Right" is a collaboration between BTS and Ed Sheeran,[19] and "Jamais Vu" is a unit song consisting of the members J-Hope, Jin, and Jungkook.
[18] The introductory video played before the band's performance at the 2018 Mnet Asian Music Awards in Hong Kong had hinted at the title before its official announcement.
[31] On May 15, BTS kicked off Good Morning America's 'Summer Concert Series' as headliners at Central Park in Manhattan with performances of "Boy with Luv" and "Fire".
[32] On May 16, BTS recreated The Beatles' iconic 1964 U.S. television debut in their black-and-white performance of "Boy with Luv" at The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
[38] Two days later, BTS appeared as a headliner at the KIIS-FM Jingle Ball in Los Angeles, performing earlier track "Mic Drop" along with "Boy with Luv" and "Make it Right".
Young of AllMusic gave the album a positive review, stating, "Although it's only the first piece of the puzzle, on its own, Map of the Soul: Persona is a fitting celebration for a group at the top of their game.
"[50] Douglas Greenwood of The Independent, however, gave the album a mixed review, pointing out that, "When they stand on their own two feet without the major co-stars, BTS are still fully confident of their own sound" but "the music, production-wise, falls a little by the wayside when it comes to breaking new ground.
[56][57] Map of the Soul: Persona sold 3,229,032 copies in its first month the country, making it the highest-selling release on the Gaon Music Chart since its inception in 2011.
[d][71] The EP's lead single "Boy With Luv" debuted at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 with 31,000 pure sales and 19.5 million streams.
[72] It was certified Gold by the RIAA on August 22, for selling over half a million units, and is their second album after 2018's Love Yourself: Answer to achieve this.