The best solo songs from BTS’ second chapter
Since debuting in 2013, BTS have done it all as a group. Their story is one coloured by a kaleidoscope of sounds – from sharp hip-hop to full-hearted ballads – with the seven-piece exploring new territory as they grew from hopeful rookies to global pop superstars. As they hit their ninth anniversary in 2022, though, they announced a new approach – a focus on solo activities, dubbed “chapter two” by both boyband and fans.
Through these projects, shared as each member prepared to enlist for their mandatory military service, they’ve shown us who they are as individual artists, with a collection of releases as eclectic as their group catalogue. Here are the BTS members’ best solo songs of this period, in no particular order.
Honorable mentions:
‘For Us’ (V)
‘Alone’ (Jimin)
‘3D’ (Jungkook)
‘Yun’ (RM)
‘Amygdala’ (Agust D)
‘What if…’ (J-hope)
RM – ‘Wild Flower’
“Yeah, my start was poetry / My one and only strength and dream that protected me so far,” RM shares in ‘Wild Flower’’s bridge. It’s a fitting admission to make here on one of ‘Indigo’’s most poetic songs and a track about staying true to yourself despite all the noise of the world around you.
- READ MORE: RM – ‘Indigo’ review: BTS leader makes emphatic bid for timelessness with remarkable solo debut
Truthfully, any song from the rapper’s debut solo album could have made it into this list, such is the stunning quality of the record, but ‘Wild Flower’ – his collaboration with Cherry Filter’s youjeen – just edges the other nine tracks because of its storytelling and its evocative lyrics. “Nights the beating of my heart kept me up / The mournful crescent moon hung beyond the window,” RM narrates at one point, just before the track bursts into bloom, coursing with beautiful urgency and intensity. The whole of ‘Indigo’ is a masterpiece, but especially this song.
Jin – ‘The Astronaut’
Jin has previously shared solo releases that span the emotional spectrum – if you want to give your mood whiplash, listen to the dark desolation of ‘Abyss’ and the joyously silly ‘Super Tuna’ back-to-back. But so far in BTS’ second chapter, he’s only had the opportunity to release one single, ‘The Astronaut’. On the track, though, he went big – both in who he worked with, the sentiment on display, and the sky-scraping sonics that make up the song’s backbone.
- READ MORE: BTS star Jin’s ‘The Astronaut’ is a galaxy-gazing Coldplay collab full of wide-eyed romanticism
Co-written with Coldplay and Kygo, ‘The Astronaut’ is, at its core, a love letter to BTS’ fanbase, ARMY, that expresses its feelings by turning to the biggest, grandest, vastest entity possible. “Just as the Milky Way shines upon the darkest roads / You were shining towards me,” Jin sings ahead of a chorus that gleams like the brightest consolation in our sky. Heartfelt and touching, it’s a gorgeous first foundation for the star to build on in the future.
Agust D – ‘Snooze’
On ‘Snooze’, Suga – under his Agust D alias – teams up with a hero and a peer to deliver an encouraging message to all those striving to achieve their dreams. Late Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto delivers a poignant piano backing as the rapper and The Rose’s Woosung join forces to offer comfort and courage on this standout track from ‘D-Day’, the final part in Suga’s Agust D trilogy.
- READ MORE: Agust D – ‘D-DAY’ review: lessons and liberation reign on final part of BTS rapper’s trilogy
“Dream, you will fully bloom after all the hardships,” Suga reassures. “Dream, the beginning may be humble, but the future will be prosperous.” After his words, which are as insistent as they are gentle, Woosung takes over for one final, beautiful chorus: “When the last petal falls / I’ll accept it, hold tight / When you reach the end of the rainbow / I’ll leave, bye / Blooming dream.”
J-hope – ‘Arson’
J-hope was the first BTS member to share an official solo release back in July 2022 with his debut album ‘Jack In The Box’, and he set the bar incredibly high. ‘Arson’, the final track on the record, is proof of that – a revving, gasoline-soaked closer that lingers with you long after the music’s stopped playing.
- READ MORE: J-Hope – ‘Jack in The Box’ review: bright BTS rapper delves into darkness on sublime solo album
An ode to the rapper’s passion, ambition and success – as an individual, and with his “label” HYBE and his “fellas” BTS – ‘Arson’ blazes a blinding path to a crossroads of sorts. “If anyone asks me / ‘Right, I lit the flame’,” its creator muses. “Now I ask myself, choose what / Do I put out the fire, or burn even brighter?” ‘Jack In The Box’ makes that question seem largely rhetorical – J-hope’s talent on it is so ferocious, his flame seems impossible to extinguish.
Jimin – ‘Like Crazy’
BTS are no strangers to breaking records and redefining what’s possible in modern music, and Jimin continued the group’s milestone-setting work with his debut solo album, ‘Face’. Its lead single ‘Like Crazy’ became the first solo release from a member of the seven-piece to hit Number One on the Billboard Hot 100, and it’s not hard to see why.
- READ MORE: Jimin – ‘FACE’ review: BTS singer captures the turbulence of modern life in shadowy debut solo album
A piece of metallic synth-pop that fluctuates between shadowy and sparkling – like a corner of a club the bright lights only occasionally reach – it takes inspiration from the Jennifer Lawrence-starring Like Crazy to depict someone trying to escape an impending breakup. “I’d rather be lost in the lights,” the singer sighs, turning to the dancefloor to avoid reality. “I’m outta my mind / Hold onto the end of the night.” When he cries, “This will break me / This is gonna break me,” you can feel his anguish piercing through the synth melodies. A commercial smash and a creative triumph.
V – ‘Slow Dancing’
For years, V has been sharing his love of soulful, jazzy sounds with his fans, so it was no surprise that his first official solo release stepped into that world. ‘Slow Dancing’, one of the highlights of ‘Layover’, perfected smooth, easy listening with a laidback combination of dreamy-but-yearning vocals and an enchanting flute solo, played by Cautious Clay.
But while the song might sound pretty and relaxed, those first impressions are deceiving, with its lyrics telling a far different story. “We were so much alike / Now we’re just distant neighbours,” V sings of a love slipping out of his grasp. Whether it is hope or a refusal to let go of a dream is open for interpretation, but he offers an affectionate solution in the chorus. “Maybe we could be slow dancing / Until the morning,” he suggests. “We could be romancing / The night away.”
Jungkook – ‘Seven’
Jungkook burst into action for his solo activities with ‘Seven’, a summery, club-ready single that danced through sticky UK garage beats. The track came in two versions – clean and explicit – and while, usually, a few censored words don’t much too much difference, here, the singer presents two adjacent moods. On the clean version, he becomes a lovestruck partner, committed to loving another “seven days a week” in a romantic serenade.
On the explicit take, though, he ventures into lust, promising “night after night” of steamy activity and matching the spirit of guest star Latto’s verse. “Leave them clothes at the door,” she instructs as the beat transforms into a playful bounce. “Going to the sun up, we ain’t getting no sleep / Seven days a week, seven different sheets, seven different angles / I can be your fantasy.”
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Rhian Daly
NME
