Hans Zimmer is one of the most prolific film score composers of all time. Zimmer has composed well-known scores including The Lion King, The Prince of Egypt, the Pirates of the Caribbean series, The Dark Knight trilogy, Inception, and Interstellar. In an interview with Weverse Magazine, Suga of BTS revealed that he is a fan of Zimmer’s work.
When BTS debuted in 2013, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook primarily released music that belonged to the hip-hop genre. Over time, the band members expanded their discography and have released songs that fall into pop, EDM, R&B, and more.
Suga told Weverse Magazine that as a pop group, BTS’ ability to cover multiple genres is a “natural” process.
“I think it’s a natural course of event for those of us who make pop music. Artists mix and match different genres as they grow, and the music develops as the people of its time listen to it. I’ve been listening to a ton of music lately, and thanks to the times we live in, if I listen to a song a few times, they recommend me more songs in a similar style. And after listening to them, I realized the style of hip hop is also changing and is splitting off into different offshoots,” Suga said.
In the interview with Weverse Magazine, the BTS rapper then revealed that he frequently listens to movie scores composed by Zimmer.
“Other than hip hop, I also listen to a lot of instrumental music. I’ve always liked Hans Zimmer’s music. There have been many times where a movie I like turns out to have music by Hans Zimmer,” he said.
When asked why he is a fan of Zimmer, Suga replied, “I like orchestral music. There’s a lot of pop songs that are under the three-minute mark now, and whereas it’s sort of predetermined that they’re always written with intros that are four bars long, orchestral music can do a lot within its framework.”
Outside of his work in BTS, Suga also releases solo music under the stage name Agust D and produces music for other artists.
“I’m BTS’s SUGA, and I’m Agust D, and when I’m producing, I go by ‘by SUGA.’ But when it comes to by SUGA, I make perfectly commercial music,” Suga told Weverse Magazine.
While Suga loves hip-hop music first and foremost, over the years he has learned to balance trying other genres when creating music.
“As I grew up and became an adult, I came to realize that I have to negotiate between what I want to do and the kind of music the public wants without compromising anything,” he told Weverse Magazine. “When I give up on something I wanted to do, I ask myself, What will I get out of this? And conversely, when I want to do something, I ask myself, What can I get out of this? That’s how I keep my balance to make it to where I am now.”