BTS’ V Announces Debut Solo Album, ‘Layover’
BTS‘ V is the latest member of the superstar K-pop group to announce a solo album. BIGHIT Music announced on Tuesday (Aug. 8) that V’s debut solo effort, Layover, will drop on Sept. 8. The collection will feature six tracks: “Rainy Days,” “Blue,” “Love Me Again,” “Slow Dancing,” For Us” and a bonus track piano version of “Slow Dancing.”
In a release announcing the collection, BIGHIT suggested that ARMY listen to the album’s tracks in order, from 1-5, noting that “Slow Dancing” is the focus track of the collection, describing it as a “1970s romantic soul style track [that] exudes a laid-back and free-spirited feeling.”
The announcement was accompanied by a 15-second visualizer in which a series of packages featuring the album float onto the balcony of an apartment building, ending with the album title in all-cap white letters — with the V rendered in purple — filling the screen.
“Love Me Again” is described as a “captivating R&B track that highlights V’s low pitch voice,” while “For Us,” is a “pop R&B track that serves as an epilogue, stirring up deep emotions with V’s vocals and unique lyrics.” All five album tracks will have official videos.
V worked with NewJeans creative director/ADOR president Hee Jin Min on the album, with BIGHIT revealing that Min oversaw the entire production of the collection, including music, choreography, design and promotion. V’s previous solo efforts include “Stigma,” “Singularity,” “Winter Bear” and “Inner Child”; his most recent original solo songs are 2021’s “Christmas Tree,” which was on the soundtrack of the Netflix K-drama Our Beloved Summer and last year’s version of the holiday classic “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas.”
The announcement about V’s album comes just after BIGHIT confirmed that Suga has begun his military enlistment process, becoming the third member to enlist in South Korea’s mandatory military service, following Jin and J-Hope.
Check out the Layover teaser below.
Gil Kaufman
Billboard