The Korean version was originally included as a B-side track on the band's fifth extended play, Love Yourself: Her (2017), and later remixed by American producer and DJ Steve Aoki.

The remix was released as the second single from the EP on November 24, 2017, by Big Hit Entertainment and features a guest appearance by American rapper Desiigner.

The Japanese-language version of "Mic Drop" was released on December 6, 2017, by Def Jam Recordings and Virgin Music as a triple A-side single album that included "DNA" and a new, original song "Crystal Snow", both also in Japanese.

Both the Korean and Japanese versions of the song were written by Supreme Boi, "Hitman" Bang, J-Hope, RM, and Pdogg, with the latter of the five solely handling production.

Commercially, the remix version of "Mic Drop" debuted at number 28 on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming the band's first track to reach the top 40 on the chart.

Woogie Kim directed the music video for the Korean version which premiered on Big Hit's YouTube channel at the same time as the song's release.

South Korean boy band BTS had achieved consecutive entries on Billboard charts with The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Pt.

[6] Originally included as a B-side track on Love Yourself: Her, a remix of "Mic Drop" by electro house DJ Steve Aoki featuring American rapper Desiigner, was announced for release as a single on November 7, 2017.

[18] Musically, the album version of "Mic Drop" has been described as a groovy hip hop number backed by heavy bass and sampled gunshots.

Band member Jungkook provided backing vocals for the song, alongside Supreme Boi, Docskim, Hiss Noise and Pdogg.

[27][28] As opposed to Aoki's signature build-and-drop house music style, it makes use of an uptempo "cluttered" production, which loops its starting rhythm with trap and a pulsating synth-line.

Writing for The Malaysia Star, Chester Chin praised the song as "a brilliant display of artistry," calling it "an explosive and menacing track with some dirty bass to boot.

He further stated, "Desiigner's ridiculously awesome flow fits perfectly alongside BTS' braggadocio, with it all backed by a mainstream-accessible Aoki beat.

"[38] In his review for The Korea Herald, Dam-young Hong cited the track as "an artwork, offering listeners a flash of footprints BTS have left in the K-pop scene over the past few months.

"[32] IZM's Do-heon Kim favoured the aggressive guitar riff in the production, likening it to that of '90s South Korean music group Seo Taiji and Boys.

"[40] In The New York Times, Jon Caramanica shared a similar view, favouring the sound of the song and labelling it as "a fantastically squelchy beat.

"[42] Emlyn Travis of PopCrush called "Mic Drop" BTS' "quintessential hip hop track", noting that it evolved the band's sound "while keeping their old roots intact.

"[43] In a mixed review for Spin, Monique Melendez felt that the song is "inspiring in its lyrical confidence" but "doesn't push any musical boundaries.

[61] The song eventually received platinum certification from the RIAA in November 2018 for track-equivalent sales of one million units, making BTS the first Korean group to achieve this.

[19][74] Commenting on the setting of the music video, the director stated in an interview: "Listening to the song, the first thing that came to my mind was that I wanted to lock BTS in an interrogation room.

[78] Jennifer Drysdal from Entertainment Tonight called the video "epic" and praised the band's performance writing that the members "command the screen with electrifying dance sequences.

[84] The setting of the visual is almost identical to the remix music video, except for Aoki's figure, which was replaced by a hooded silhouette with glowing red eyes.

[90] They also performed the song on December 31, 2018, at the MBC Gayo Daejejeon,[91] wearing red and black outfits in styles similar to their attire for the music video.

[92] On August 11, 2019, the band performed the song during the one-night only Lotte Duty Free Family Concert at the Olympic Gymnastics Arena in Seoul.

[94] The band performed an "energetic" rendition of the song, trading off vocals and rapping verses on a "stark" stage decorated with flashing lights.

[102][103][104] Stephen Thompson of NPR wrote: "Lots of bands can seem strangely diminished by the SNL stage on TV, but on Saturday night, BTS filled every inch of the frame with flashy motion — tight choreography, bright colors, bold energy.

"[105] Tyler Watamanuk of GQ praised "the crooning vocals, precise choreography, and charismatic swagger" while also lauding the "expert-level" on-stage fashion style of the band.

[109] For performances of the song during the Love Yourself: Speak Yourself stadium extension of the tour, the band wore "retro-futuristic" outfits created by Dior artistic director and fashion designer Kim Jones, from his 2019 menswear pre-fall collection.