Shortly after BTS released the first taste of their upcoming second English-language single “Butter” on Tuesday (May 18) veteran British rockers Queen posted a cheeky response about the song’s very familiar backbeat, hinting that the song is a superstar K-pop-rock summit. “Are you ready hey are you ready for this…” the band tweeted along with the message “Another One Bites The Dust x #BTS_Butter,” accompanied by a GIF of late Queen frontman Freddie Mercury singing the Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 single from 1980.
The 23-second black and white teaser featured the seven-man K-pop boy band standing in a line wearing sharp suits and bopping their heads to the side to what sounds like the indelible “Dust” beat, ending with the lads putting their hands to their mouths and the delectable image of a stack of pancakes topped by a melting pat of butter and dripping syrup.
The clip has racked up more than 26 million views in its first 24 hours, and nearly as many comments about the similarity to the Queen classic, including an avalanche of puns, including “Another One Bites the Butter.” The tweet from the English rockers appeared to confirm that the similarity was not accidental but seemingly a superstar collaboration on the song that will drop on Friday (May 21).
Some eagle-eyed ARMY members also pointed out that BTS’ Jin performed a loving tribute to Mercury’s signature “whoa-oh” chant when the band made history in 2019 when they were the first K-pop group to sell out Wembley Stadium. Spokespeople for BTS and Queen had not returned requests for comment at press time.
See the tweet and the teaser video below.