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Jimin’s Production Diary Documentary

Things I learned or confirmed

When Jimin does new projects, I’m never quite sure what to expect because each of his products has been so diverse and creative.  Based on every project so far, what I am sure of is that I’ll be delighted by whatever he creates and/or will learn something from it - usually both.  I have enjoyed all of Jimin’s solo songs within the BTS catalog. I have also liked his solo creations outside of BTS. My appreciation and enjoyment were even more heightened with his impressive debut solo album, FACE.  For me, it is a no skip album, which is rare for me. I already wrote my pre- and post-release thoughts about the album and its contents in other posts (See my FACE posts in my archive for more.), so I won’t go back into that information. This time I wanted to speak more about Jimin’s Production Diary documentary, which shows the making of the album. 

I’m really glad they released the documentary for several reasons.  For me, I learned a method of how songs can be made. I definitely didn’t know any process by which this was done, and I’ve always wanted BTS to show more of their development activities. However, with competition, I understand why they haven’t revealed details of these methods. In this documentary, I also got to know Jimin more and got to hear his laughter, which is always delightful for me.  For others who may have doubts, the release of the documentary was to make sure there was recorded evidence that Jimin was involved in the process 100%.  I feel that is one of the reasons that Jimin released photos of his handwritten, songwriting notes within the WeVerse version of his album. Another reason for the photos may have been that some of the lyrics he loved could not be used in the final recordings, but he wanted fans to know a fuller version of what his story and words were.

Jimin has previously said he is good at creating melodies, and this documentary verified that.  In addition to this album, prior melodies have been attributed to Jimin both in his solo projects (i.e. Promise; Christmas Love) and in BTS content (i.e. Friends; Blood, Sweat, & Tears; Dis-ease).  When they were recording Dis-ease, a producer heard Jimin humming something to a beat and asked him to work with that to write a bridge for the incomplete song. Jimin's bridge was included in the final recording. The same type of interaction could be seen in the documentary when Jimin was working with legendary producer PDogg as well as GhstLoop and Evan. Jimin was constantly pacing around and humming in the background. They’d overhear him, like what they heard, and record it right away into a phone or directly into the track then work from there. Many of the off-the-cuff creations were used in the final drafts. 

Included in the BTS book Beyond The Story, Jimin recalled that during the (cringy) BTS reality show American Hustle Life, he was excited that a well known hiphop producer, with whom they were fortunate enough to be exposed at that time, had assigned Jimin to write a melody. He said it was the first time someone entrusted him to do that. It touched him so much that I have heard him repeat this story a few times, and he made sure to include it in the book.  I wonder if that producer heard a pacing Jimin humming and thought what he heard was pretty good.  Either way, at some point Jimin realized creating melodies was a strength of his. In fact, he called himself an “idea bank” while working with his team on the album (and videos).  I’ve heard him previously joke about being the idea man while others would develop the ideas into action.  These descriptions were confirmed in the documentary.

After all the hype about autotune being used on Jimin’s voice, the documentary should have proven to people that much of what was thought to be autotune was actually just Jimin’s voice. It’s not to say they didn’t use any at all for creative enhancements (as they do in 99% of songs these days), but in spite of even Jimin’s protestations sometimes, Jimin is a good vocalist. He just has that versatile of a voice that he is able to use more pitches, textures, and articulations (fry, squeak, creak) than most vocalists or more than most people would expect from singers. Despite the documentary showing them recording gibberish as words to capture the tune of the melody they wanted (not yet focusing on the final lyrics or singing effort), you could hear what ended up being the final sound of the songs taking shape. 

I mention Jimin’s protestations about his voice because lately, Jimin has been asking fans to wait for him because he will become a good singer.  I’m astonished by those comments because I actually think he is a great singer already. He is able to sound uniquely different, express emotion, and add flavor more than most singers I have heard.  Can everyone add to and improve skills they are already good at?  Of course.  But it sounds as though he is implying that he is not a good singer yet - which could be a mistranslation of what he means. A listener can say they do not prefer his voice, but to say he is in any way a bad singer is just spitefully inaccurate.

Early on, as Jimin was learning his craft and using his untrained voice, there were vocal strains and occasional inconsistencies that likely made him concerned about the stability of his voice. (See my “Chameleon Park Jimin Series” in my archives for more.) Jimin was not trained properly (or at all) to be a singer and especially to be a stage singer (which is different in some ways) and with his higher pitch, lighter tone, and all the dancing and movement they do, he did an excellent job with stability but would have benefitted from instruction about how to use and preserve his voice most effectively and reliably. With as unique a voice as Jimin has, I do wonder if the company had anyone on hand that understood just how to train a voice such as his. Jimin, in large part, is a self-trained singer, which may have allowed him to tap into all these different sounds and skills that other vocalists don’t always do.  (I am not excusing or rewarding the lack of training because he also could have damaged his vocal chords, thus destroying his rare vocal gift.)  Anyway, he says he is working on strengthening and (re)learning some skills from the ground up, which could only help to enhance an already stellar ability.  

Along with debunking the autotune nonsense, the documentary also confirmed a few other things that I already knew. One is that Jimin thrives from interactions with people. He really enjoyed that process of collaboration with his production team. I hope he continues to surround himself with skilled and supportive people, such as what he seemed to have in the “Smeraldo Garden Marching Band”, which is what the team of 4 named themselves. I don’t recall the reason for the name, but it demonstrates the fun and camaraderie the group had while working together. Jimin was also shown reaching out to RM for advice about lyrics and to JK to sing background vocals on a special song.  He has mentioned having conversations with JHope that sounded like encouragement throughout the process. Jimin is a people person, and he is getting better at reaching out for help and support, something he has said in the past he has had trouble doing. I hope he is able to continue to identify good, reliable, trustworthy people with whom he can work comfortably and create more enjoyable work.

Another confirmation was that Jimin was celebrated for the Hot100 #1 chart achievement with not one, but two cakes! (See my “As Information Unfolds” post in my archives for more.) I’m glad that he and the team were recognized at least within the company for the accomplishment. In spite of the fact that I feel someone dropped the ball on not revealing the acknowledgement earlier, I wasn’t one who was hugely disturbed by the lack of cake, especially knowing that Jimin doesn’t really love sweets and cakes and that he unfortunately still has weight/dieting issues and worked to lose too much weight before the promotional performances. The documentary showed him go from what looked like a healthy weight while working on the album to an extremely thin weight by the time the Hot100 news came out, when he was in the midst of promotional activities. I looked up the healthy weight for someone of his height, and the goal he was trying to maintain during promotions is far below what is listed. (He mentioned weight, dieting, & food several times this year from Vibe to FACE, but this comment was specifically in a behind the scenes video for Set Me Free, Part 2.)

Finally, the documentary confirms that Jimin is growing and developing in a lot of areas, while remaining sweetly and comfortably the same Jimin we came to love and enjoy.  I really was pleased to see him being encouraged by the acceptance and use of his contributions. The team helped Jimin pull together his thoughts, story, and concepts, and they were all pleased with the results. (Prior to the release of FACE, PDogg posted a photo of a statement they hung on the wall that said that Jimin was going to end KPop with the release of this album. That is quite a statement from an experienced producer such as PDogg, even if it was only meant as a statement of encouragement and confidence in the artist.) Even Jimin, who can be rather hard on himself, seemed happy with what he created.  I feel this experience was something he has needed in order to shine with the confidence he should always carry.  He needed that type of environment and support to help him to feel free to express and expose all the creativity I have always felt he had, and I believe there is far more than we’ve seen so far.  I feel Jimin has been reminded of that passion he has known within himself, and he seems excited to share more of his efforts.  

While Jimin was very disappointed about the pandemic and all that resulted from the quarantine time, I hope he is able to look back and appreciate events that happened in the midst of that time, which might not have come to pass without that situation. That moment may have helped him get to a road he needed to be on that he had only imagined up to that point.  I’m glad he got to experience the production of and success of his album before he has to pause to complete his military service.  I hope he can carry the memories and energy generated from this experience to motivate him throughout the time he is serving. I also hope he learned from the quarantine experience that good things can sometimes come from events that seem off track.  FACE was an excellent start to Jimin’s solo career, and I look forward to seeing what else he will produce in the future.  

Note: I have not yet seen the accompanying full Live or Commentary videos, which may add to my thoughts and fill in more gaps.   (UPDATE: To PDogg's claim, Jimin became the first Korean soloist to have album to make the Billboard 200 end of year list [#193]).