Permission to Dance

The harmony is deliberately uncomplicated—an E major I-V-vi-IV loop at 125 BPM in 4/4. The song's emotional impact comes from production density (strings, piano, multi-part BTS vocals spanning C#4 to B5) rather than chord variety. That restraint is an editorial choice: with six vocalists and a full arrangement, a stable harmonic bed lets the performance breathe. All chord details here are inferred from training knowledge; no published transcription was consulted.

Ed Sheeran wrote 'Permission to Dance' for BTS alongside Johnny McDaid, Steve Mac, and Jenna Andrews. Sheeran had already collaborated with the group on 'Make It Right' from Map of the Soul: Persona (2019). On June 27, 2021, he publicly revealed the new song in an interview with Most Requested Live. The tracklist for the CD edition of 'Butter' was unveiled on July 1, confirming the title. J-Hope described receiving the track to Entertainment Weekly: 'Ed sent us this amazingly good song, and as soon as we listened to it we just couldn't resist it. We thought it went really well with our image too, so we just went with it.'

Released July 9, 2021, 'Permission to Dance' is an upbeat dance-pop anthem built on punchy strings, a bouncy piano line, and BTS's layered vocals. Written by Ed Sheeran, Steve Mac, Johnny McDaid, and Jenna Andrews, it made BTS the first act to self-replace at the top of the Hot 100 since Drake in 2018. The song capped five number-one singles in just over ten months for the group—a pace unseen since Michael Jackson in 1988.