V's 'Layover' to Jungkook's 'GOLDEN': A look at all BTS members solo projects (so far)

Mandated to fulfil their military service obligations in South Korea, the globally renowned group BTS decided to take a hiatus from their collective activities at the peak of their success. This marked the beginning of the second chapter of their journey, characterized by their individual solo endeavours.

Despite widespread misconceptions about the potential disbandment of the group, the members—RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook—have clarified that they will reunite in 2025. In the meantime, each member has embarked on their solo ventures, with Jin releasing a solo song and the others unveiling solo albums.

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The following article is an overview of BTS' solo projects and songs:

Jin (Kim Seok-jin):

Jin, the first member to embark on military service, marked his official solo debut in October 2022 with the release of the single "The Astronaut," a collaborative effort with Coldplay. His musical prowess was further highlighted by his contribution of the track "Yours" to the South Korean television drama series "Jirisan."

In a delightful surprise to fans on his birthday, Jin unveiled the single "Super Tuna," a lighthearted song that, in true ARMY fashion, swiftly gained widespread popularity on the charts. In 2019, Jin explored independent releases with the digital track "Tonight."

Before his official solo debut, Jin had already showcased his musical talents with the poignant solo track "Abyss," released in 2020 as a heartfelt birthday gift to his fans. Within BTS, he has co-written and released three solo tracks: "Awake" in 2016, "Epiphany" in 2018, and "Moon" in 2020, all achieving notable success on South Korea's Gaon Digital Chart.

RM (Kim Nam-Joon):

Namjoon made history as the first BTS member to embark on a solo project, sharing his self-titled mixtape, "RM," on March 20, 2015, featuring a total of 11 tracks. This marked the beginning of his solo journey.

Building on the success of "Mono" in 2018, which charted at No. 26 on the Billboard 200, Namjoon fulfilled the anticipation by unveiling his highly anticipated debut solo album, "Indigo," on December 2. The album achieved significant success, peaking at No. 2 in South Korea and No. 3 in Lithuania, Portugal, and the United States. Notably, it became the highest-charting album by a Korean soloist on the Billboard 200 at the time.

"Indigo" garnered widespread acclaim and received certification as a double platinum album from the Korea Music Content Association in January 2023. 

The album's success continued to soar, with over 800,000 copies sold domestically as of July 2023 and over 100,000 units sold in the United States. Namjoon's solo endeavours showcased his individual artistry and resonated with fans worldwide.

Suga (Min Yoon-gi):

Also known as "Agust D," he debuted his mixtape in 2016, collaboratively crafted with esteemed writer-producers Slow Rabbit, June, Pdogg, and Supreme Boi. Building on the success of his debut, he followed up in 2020 with the mixtape "D-2," achieving commercial triumph by reaching No. 9 on the Top Rap Albums chart and No. 11 on the Billboard 200

On April 21, he released the docu-series "Road to D-Day" and unveiled his album "D-DAY," concluding his mixtape trilogy. The album achieved extraordinary success, surpassing 1 million copies in sales within a single day on Hanteo, setting an all-time record for the highest first-day sales by a soloist. Agust D also set numerous records on various album charts and Rap/Hip Hop genre-focused charts worldwide.

Further showcasing his versatility, he collaborated with his friend Halsey on the track "Lilith (Diablo IV Anthem)." Notably, they had previously collaborated in 2019, releasing the song "Suga's Interlude."

Suga boasts songwriting and production credits on over 150 songs, including Suran's "Wine," which peaked at number two on the Gaon Music Chart and won Best R&B at the 2017 Melon Music Awards. On May 6, 2020, IU released the digital single "Eight," featuring and produced by Suga. He also co-wrote, produced, and featured on the song "That That" for Psy, released on April 29, 2022, as the lead single from the singer's eighth studio album Psy 9th.

J-Hope (Jung Ho-seok):

J-Hope has one mixtape titled "Hope World," released in 2018, which achieved chart success at No. 19 on Top Rap Albums and No. 38 on the Billboard 200. 

In 2019, J-Hope continued his solo endeavours by releasing the collaboration single "Chicken Noodle Soup" featuring American singer Becky G on September 27. The track made a significant impact, debuting at number 81 on the Billboard Hot 100. This achievement marked J-Hope as the first member of BTS to chart on the Hot 100 as a solo artist, the third Korean solo artist to do so (after Psy and CL), and the sixth Korean artist overall. 

Following this success, his solo album, "Jack in the Box," was unveiled on July 15, 2022, making him the first BTS member to release a solo project after the group's announced "hiatus." The album debuted impressively at number 17 on the Billboard 200 in the US. During its release week, the album sold over 470,000 copies and earned platinum certification from the Korea Music Content Association (KMCA).

He later released a single "On the Street" along with American rapper J. Cole which was released as a digital single through Big Hit Music on March 3, 2023.

Jimin (Park Ji-min):

Jimin joined forces with former Wanna One member Ha Sung Woon for the collaborative track "With You," featured in the South Korean drama series "Our Blues." The song not only topped Billboard's Hot Trending Songs but also sustained its presence on the chart for a remarkable seven weeks and counting. 

Additionally, Jimin treated fans to heartfelt tracks like "Christmas Love" and "Promise" in 2020 and 2018, respectively. Other notable contributions include soulful songs like "Lie" and "Serendipity."

The pinnacle of Jimin's solo career came with the release of his first full-length solo album, "FACE," on March 24, 2023. The album's lead track, "Like Crazy," achieved a remarkable feat by topping the Hot 100 chart, making Jimin the first South Korean solo artist to achieve this distinction. Following this success, he collaborated with fellow K-pop singer TAEYANG of BIG BANG on the song "Vibe."

He also featured along with Jvke and Muni Long, on the single "Angel Pt. 1" by Kodak Black and NLE Choppa in the soundtrack for the film Fast X.

V (Kim Tae-Hyung):

V has demonstrated his solo artistry with three distinct tracks—"Stigma" in 2016, "Singularity" in 2018, and "Inner Child" in 2020—all securing positions on South Korea's Gaon Digital Chart.

In 2016, V, who also marked his acting debut with a supporting role in KBS2's historical drama "Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth," collaborated with bandmate Jin on the duet single "It's Definitely You" for the show's soundtrack.

To commemorate BTS' 4th anniversary, V released "4 O'Clock" on June 8, 2017, a song he co-produced with bandmate RM.

In 2019, V gifted fans with the emotionally resonant ballads "Scenery" and "Winter Bear." Collaborating with Peakboy, he dropped the Christmas track "Snow Flower" in 2020 on SoundCloud. In the same year, V contributed the indie pop single "Sweet Night" to the soundtrack of the JTBC drama "Itaewon Class," released on March 13.

Following in the footsteps of his BTS counterparts, V added the track "Christmas Tree" to the soundtrack of the South Korean drama series "Our Beloved Summer."

V also joined the docuseries "In the Soop: Friendcation" alongside his actor friends and lent his vocals to the series' theme song "Polaroid" in Peakboy's studio.

On September 8, the much-anticipated solo album, "Layover," by V hit the scene. The album debuted impressively, selling a remarkable 1,672,138 copies on its first day—a milestone duly recognized by the Hanteo Chart.

Jung Kook (Jeon Jung-kook):

The singer marked BTS' 9th anniversary with the release of the solo track "My You" in June. Following this, he contributed "Stay Alive" to BTS' "7 Fates: Chako" webtoon. Jungkook also shared his debut single, "Still With You," during BTS' annual Festa party in 2020.

In 2022, Jungkook collaborated with American singer Charlie Puth on the single "Left and Right," reaching number 22 on the US Billboard Hot 100. He was part of the lineup for the FIFA World Cup 2022 singers and released the song "Dreamers" alongside Qatari artist Fahad Al-Kubaisi.

Jungkook's solo journey took a monumental turn in 2023 with the release of his debut solo single "Seven," featuring Latto. The song made history by debuting at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, the Global 200, and the Global Excl. US charts. It became the fastest song in history to surpass 1 billion streams on Spotify.

His subsequent single "3D," featuring Jack Harlow, debuted at number five on both the Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart, making Jungkook the first South Korean solo artist to achieve two consecutive top-five entries on the latter chart.

On November 3, the youngest member of BTS dropped his highly anticipated solo album, "Golden," poised to make history on the Billboard charts.

Presently, three members, namely Jin, J-Hope, and Suga, are actively serving in the military. The attention will be on RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook as fans await information on when they might commence their military service as the group has said they will be back together in 2025.