BTS Boys' Solo Careers- Part 2

Last month I wrote a post about the members of Korean boyband BTS' solo careers. I ended up splitting it into two parts because it was getting long! Part 1 featured 4 members- RM, SUGA, j-hope and Jimin. You can see it here: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2024/10/bts-boys-solo-careers-part-1.html

Now in Part 2 I'm focusing on the other 3 members, Jin, Jungkook and V. As I mentioned in the first post, the majority of the BTS boys are currently doing their military service. However, Jin finished in June and j-hope last month. :) 

V

V (real name Kim Tae-hyung/Taehyung) has released several solo songs as part of BTS and also released the single It's Definitely You (a collaboration with Jin; see below), for the soundtrack of the 2016 South Korean TV series Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth (in which he also made his acting debut). He has also appeared in a couple of reality shows.*

In January 2019 he released his first independent song Scenery, through BTS' SoundCloud account, which broke the daily streaming record 9 times. He went on to release another song through SoundCloud that summer, the English language Winter Bear.

In addition to singing on the soundtrack for Hwarang, V has also contributed to the soundtracks of two other TV shows- Sweet Night from Itaewon Class (2020) and Christmas Tree from Our Beloved Summer (2021). The latter was his 2nd Christmas/holiday song, coming after  Snow Flower featuring Korean rapper Peakboy, which was released on Christmas Day (25th December) 2020.

In August 2023, V released Love Me Again and Rainy Days, the first two singles from his debut album Layover (also stylised as Layo(v)er), which was his official solo debut. They were released a day apart. Then on 8th September (2023) Layover) came out, along with the 3rd single, Slow Dancing. For Us and Blue were also released on the same day but I'm not sure if they were official singles.

The album features K-pop/pop, R'n'B and jazz music. With only 6 tracks, it's more the length of an EP but has most often been described as an album. It set a record on the day of release for the highest first day sales by a solo K-pop artist (over 1.6 million copies). Plus, it reached No. 1 on charts in Korea and abroad, (including in the UK Album Downloads Chart) and debuted at No. 2 in both Japan and the US.

V has released one more single to date, F(riends), which came out in March this year. He is set to bring out another two Christmas/winter singles- Winter Ahead (a duet with Korean singer Park Hyo-shin) on 29th November and a new version of White Christmas on 6th December (a collaboration with the late Bing Crosy, remixing his classic 1942 song).

 

Winter Bear

This is Winter Bear, which was released through SoundCloud in August 2019 . It's a gentle ballad sung in English. The song is thought to be a tribute to V's late grandmother, who died in 2016. The music video features footage from his travels.

 

Love Me Again

Next is Love Me Again. This was the first single from Layover and was released on 10th August 2023 (followed by Rainy Days on the 11th). It's a slow R'n'B style song about wanting to get back with a lover after you've broken up.

The lyrics are a mixture of Korean and English. Click "Subtitles/closed captions" on YouTube for English subtitles. :) 

 

 

Also check out the video for Rainy Days: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTsINmrAK4I

 

Slow Dancing

Slow Dancing was the 3rd single from Layover and came out on 8th September last year, the same day as the album. It's described as a "soul track with a simple jazz rhythm".and is a love song. There are 2 remixes, a FRNK remix and a Cautious Clay one.

This track is also a mixture of English. A nice, relaxed song and I especially like the instrumental around 2 minutes in. English subtitles available! :)

 

 

FRI(ENDS)

And here is FRI(ENDS), V's most recent single. It was released digitally in March this year and isn't from the album. It's about having a crush on a friend and fans think it may be a sequel to For Us, from Layover. 

FRI[ENDS] is an all-English song. This is actually the only solo song of V's that I'd heard prior to doing this post! The music video was on the music channels a lot earlier this year, but sometimes it was a cut version. V's friend/love interest is played by British actress Ruby Sear.

 

 

Update 24/11/24: A teaser for Winter Ahead has just been uploaded to HYBE MUSIC (V/BTS' record label BIGHIT MUSIC'sYT channel). Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGBjW1zULxs

Update 2- 3/24: The official music video for Winter Ahead has now been uploaded: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAWYOuMGkK0

 Follow V on his official Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thv/

Jung Kook

Like the other members, Jungkook/Jung Kook (full name Jeon Jung Kook)  recorded several solo songs for BTS albums. As part of the group's 4th anniversary celebrations, he teamed up with SUGA and Jin (see below) for an alternate version of SUGA's So Far Away, from his debut mixtape Agust D (see Part 1). 

He also collaborated with American singer Charlie Puth on the single Left and Right and the FIFA World Cup with the song Dreamers, in June and November 2022 respectively.

In July 2023, Jung Kook officially launched his solo career, with the release of his debut single Seven featuring American rapper Latto. His 2nd single 3D featuring American rapper Jack Harlow, followed in September that year. Both singles (which later appeared on Jung Kook's debut album GOLDEN) made him the first Korean solo artist to have two Top 5 singles in the UK.

He also teamed up with Australian rapper and singer The Kid LAROI and British rapper Central Cee for the recent single Too Much, which came out in October 2023. 

In November 2023, Jung Kook released his first studio album GOLDEN, along with the single Standing Next to You. GOLDEN's songs are all English language since it's for the overseas market.

His most recent single is Yes or No, which seems to have had a limited release, having come out in November 2023 and then on Italian radio this September.

 

Seven feat. Latto 

Seven was Jung Kook's debut single (and the first pre-release single from GOLDEN), released back in July 2023. It was very successful, reaching No. 1 in several countries, including the US and Vietnam. It debuted at No. 3 in the Official UK Singles Chart and was Top 10 in more countries, including South Korea, Australia, Canada and Ireland. In addition, it broke streaming records on Spotify. 

Seven features American rapper Latto, and is described as a "romantic UK garage pop track" about Jung Kook wanting to be with his lover 7 days a week. There is also an explicit version, plus several remixes. The explicit version was used for GOLDEN. 

The music video features Korean actress Han So-hee as Jung Kook's girlfriend.

 

Watch a lyric video for the explicit version here (unofficial): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p079SbNCtp4

3D feat. Jack Harlow

3D was the 2nd pre-release single from the album and came out in September 2023. It features American rapper Jack Harlow.

The video was a Weekly Music Video in November last year: https://starsparklex.blogspot.com/2023/11/weekly-music-video_8.html

 

Standing Next to You

This was the 3rd single from GOLDEN, and both album and single were released on the same day (3rd November 2023). It was Top 10 in several countries, including the UK (marking Jung Kook's 4th UK Top 10 entry).

A remix featuring American singer Usher was released last December.

 

Watch the official performance video  for the Usher remix here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1d2DYZZrek

 

Yes or No

And here is Yes or No, which is one of Jung Kook's most recent single. I think it originally came out in November last year (on 3rd Nov, the same day as the album) and charted in a few countries, including South Korea and the US. And according to Wikipedia, it was released to Italian radio by EMI Records on 13th September this year.

This is the audio for Yes or No. If there's a music video later, I'll update this post. :)

 

 

Jung Kook no longer has an official Instagram account, but you can follow his fan account here: https://www.instagram.com/jungkook_bighitentertainment

Jin

Finally, we come to Jin (Kim Seok-jin), who is the final member to bring out a solo album. Although he made his official solo debut in 2022 with the single The Astronaut, he has only just released his first studio album this month.

Prior to his debut single release, Jin collaborated with bandmate V on the 2016 single It's Definitely You (see above). He also recorded solo covers and teamed up with SUGA and Jin (see above) for an alternate version of SUGA's So Far Away, from his mixtape Agust D.

Then in June 2019, Jin released his first independent single Tonight on SoundCloud. It was followed by Abyss (released on SoundCloud and YouTube) in December 2020. 

In October 2022, Jin released The Astronaut, his debut solo single. It was quite successful and was Jin's first solo entry on the American Billboard Hot 100 Chart.

This June, Jin became the first member to complete his military service. In October, his debut solo album Happy was announced. It was preceded by pre-release single I'll Be There which was released last month. The 2nd single and title track Running Wild was released this month, along with the album.

Happy came out earlier this month (15th November). It only has 6 tracks, so it's more the length of an EP but (as with V's debut Layover; see above) it's being described as an album. The inspiration behind it (and the title) is "Jin's journey to true happiness" and also a way from him to connect with ARMY.

The album is a mixture of Korean and English and contains several collabs with other artists, including Running Wild  which was produced by Gary Barlow from British boy band (or man band now!) Take That and Heart on the Window, a duet with Wendy from K-pop girl group Red Velvet.

So far, Happy has reached No. 2 and 3 in Japanese and South Korean charts, and charted elsewhere (No. 19 in the UK). 

Abyss

This is Abyss,  Jin's 2nd independent song. While his first song Tonight was released solely on SoundCloud, Abyss was released both there and on YouTube.

The track came out on December 2020, several hours before Jin's 28th bitrthday on 4th Dec. (He is the oldest member of BTS, now aged 31, coming up 32.) It's a gentle ballad, where Jin reflects on feeling sad and doubtful at times.

This is the official audio.

 

 

The Astronaut

The Astronaut was Jin's first official solo single, released in October 2022.  It was co-written by Jin, British band Coldplay, Norwegian DJ Kygo and Moses Martin, son of Coldplay's lead singer Chris Martin (who is now a singer with his band Dancer). Coldplay previously worked with BTS on the single My Universe in 2021.

The Astronaut is a pop rock track about Jin's relationship with his fans (known as ARMY). He described it as a gift to fans, since it was released prior to him enlisting in the military for his mandatory service (the first member of BTS to do so). 

 

 

I'll Be There

I'll Be There was the pre-release single from Happy, released on 25th October. It's a rockabilly inspired pop rock song, sung in a mix of Korean and English. Jin co-produced the song, along with American singer/songwriter MAX.

The track aims to "uplift those who feel downhearted and alone by delivering joy" (through Jin's music).

 

 

Running Wild

And here is Running Wild, his newest single. It's the title track from the album and was produced by British singer/songwriter Gary Barlow (a member of the group Take That). It's an-all English song about not letting go of love and wanting to reignite it.

Running Wild was released on 15th November, along with Happy.

 

For more on Happy check out this post: https://consequence.net/2024/11/jin-bts-happy-album-highlights

And go to this link listen to/buy the album: https://jin.lnk.to/Happy

 

And here's Jin's official Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jin  

Hope you liked the post! :) Which member's solo music do you like the most? (Or maybe you like all of it!) For me, I like V's the most and then Jung Kook's. :)

 

*Korean names are written with the surnames/family names first.