BTS’ V Turns on the Waterworks With ‘Rainy Days’: Watch
V brings a little sunshine to ARMY with his “Rainy Days.”
The BTS superstar turns on the waterworks with this latest single, a ballad, arriving at the stroke of midnight.
“Rainy Days” will splash on the K-pop singer’s debut solo album, Layover, a six-pack set to drop on Sept. 8, and includes the first release “Love Me Again,” which appeared Wednesday with an official music video.
It’s a stripped back number, framed around V’s vocals, a snapping snare and an eccentric piano refrain. Big Hit Entertainment describes the fresh cut as an “alternative pop R&B track,” a statement reads, a “perfect mix of vintage percussion and modern drum sounds gives off a unique vibe.”
The music video for “Rainy Days” follows V as he gets about an ordinary day, waking up, prepping food, working, resting.
On it, he sings: “Rainy Days, I’m thinking ‘bout you/What to say/Wish I knew how to/Find the way/Right back to you.”
As previously reported, V worked with NewJeans creative director/ADOR president Hee Jin Min on the forthcoming LP, with BigHit revealing that Min oversaw the entire production of the collection, including music, choreography, design and promotion.
For “Rainy Days,” she says, “I wanted to focus on V’s inner self instead of his outwardly glamor. I had specific styles of music that I wanted to suggest to V, considering his vocal tone and style. As soon as he heard the tracklist I made for him, we instantly agreed on the direction.”
The new tune, she continues, “acts as an intro for the album, and V’s serene vocals and visuals stand out.”
Big Hit announced Tuesday that Layover will include a total of six tracks: “Rainy Days,” “Blue,” “Love Me Again,” “Slow Dancing,” “For Us” and a bonus track piano version of “Slow Dancing.”
And the tracklist comes with a suggestion, 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.”
V’s solo efforts come after releases from his fellow BTS members: Jung Kook released “Seven” featuring Latto — which crowned the Billboard Hot 100 — last month, while Suga’s D-Day arrived in April and Jimin’s FACE (including the Hot 100 No. 1 “Like Crazy”) in March.
His earlier releases include “Stigma,” “Singularity,” “Winter Bear” and “Inner Child”; more 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.”
Watch “Rainy Days” below.
Lars Brandle
Billboard