Whether it’s the lyrics, title, or instrumental, the original version of a song doesn’t always make the final cut. BTS‘s Suga revealed that his newest song, “People Pt.2”, was a perfect example.
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Speaking with Billboard magazine’s Jeff Benjamin, Suga said, “This is a story that you’ll personally love. The title wasn’t originally ‘People Pt.2’.”
Rather than “people” (saram/사람), Suga initially used a shortened version. He said, “Originally, the title was ‘sara’ (사라).”
Suga intended for listeners to add whichever consonant they wanted to the word, forming their own meaning for the song. It could’ve been interpreted as people or love depending on the person. There was one problem, though.
Depending on whichever consonant you put at the end of the word sara, it can become ‘saram (사람)’ and ‘people,’ or it can become ‘sarang (사랑),’ or ‘love’ in Korean. So, it’s the listener’s choice to put which consonant you want at the end of ‘sara.’
— Suga
There was a common misunderstanding when Suga let others hear the song, especially one of his friends. Instead of people or love, everyone misheard the title as a form of the word live. Ultimately, Suga and his team changed the title to eliminate that misunderstanding.
But I had my friend listen to this song, and people heard it as ‘salah (살아),’ which kind of means ‘live’ in Korean. And I was like, ‘This is not going to work.’ So, we finalized the title to be ‘People’ in the end.
— Suga
Even a creative genius like Suga sometimes has an idea that doesn’t turn out as planned. However, he still achieved his goal of reaching listeners and touching their hearts. And he was able to share the clever idea through his interview.