In his interview with Weverse Magazine, Kim Taehyung, aka V, shared the challenges and ideas behind BTS's 'Butter' performance at the 2022 Grammys.

This past April, BTS made their first in-person solo stage at the 2022 Grammys performing their hit single 'Butter.' Their performance received rave reviews for its creativity and execution and was named by Rolling Stone as the 13th greatest Grammy performance of all time.

Taehyung and Olivia Rodrigo's introduction skit for the 'Butter' performance was the most-talked-about moment of the day and became a viral meme on the internet.

When asked how he ended up doing the skit with Olivia Rodrigo, Taehyung revealed it was a spontaneous plan, and he actually didn't know he would be seated next to her. 

"Ah, that was a suggestion from the people at the Grammys that was agreed to on the same day as the show. So I had no way of knowing who I would end up seated next to."

Thanks to Taehyung and Olivia's great acting, the improvised skit went smoothly, and their on-screen chemistry made headlines. He went on to share more details about what he whispered to her. 

"I got asked about that a lot. I was honestly really nervous there because of the clothing choreography. A light whisper in her ear probably would have been enough in that situation, but I think I just said “blah blah blah” without saying anything real. Leading up to the moment, I thought I could just show it on my face or set the scene—and thought I didn’t have to say anything in particular—so I wasn’t saying anything special. Olivia Rodrigo knew that’s what I was doing, too. For a 10- or 15-second take, the performers don’t have to say anything special and can still make it look fun.

Because they didn't have time to practice the skit, Taehyung further revealed the difficulties he had, making sure his timing in throwing the card was right while doing the improvised skit at the same time. 

"Yes. So if we had kept going with the conversation, I could have missed the timing on throwing the card. I was counting the beat in my head the whole time to keep track of when I should throw it. I kept going, One, two, three, four, in my head. And it was hard to know exactly what Olivia Rodrigo was saying since I had in-ears in both my ears at the time. Honestly, I was so nervous. I was so worried over doing the clothing choreography properly and it was all I could talk about before going on stage. We only had the day of and the day before to get it right before going up there all together, so I was more worried about that than anything else." 

Taehyung, a cinema lover, shared how the 'Now You See Me' movies inspired the card tricks and heist concept of their 'Butter' performance. 

"I kept thinking about the 'Now You See Me' movies. The way the performance on the stage unfolded also reminded me of Jason Bourne, but for talking with Olivia Rodridgo, I thought it was really important to capture the feeling of the way they con people while talking to them in Now You See Me. I thought maybe I should just speak to her casually, and that it would be like magic if I could steal her card without her noticing while we’re talking, and how it would look if we locked eyes in a fun way. Things like that."

Being the biggest Jazz enthusiast in K-pop, he also talked about why he approached Lady Gaga during the event. 

"I watch too many videos of Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett performing together. Tony Bennett is one of my favorite jazz musicians, and I’m absolutely into the way Lady Gaga performs jazz. So I said I’m a huge fan, I really enjoy listening to your music, and I genuinely believe you’re this generation’s jazz queen.

Taehyung also explained why jazz means so much to him and how it is the style of music he is doing now. 

"If you like something for a long time, that feeling sort of intensifies, and whenever I like something, I end up doing something about it. I grew up listening to a lot of jazz, which I love, and I feel like it’s the style of music I want to do be doing now."

He also added, "Jazz is free-form. Nothing’s planned out. That’s what I love about it."

Watch BTS's 'Butter' performance at the 2022 Grammys here: 

Read Taehyung's complete Weverse Magazine interview here: