BTS Solo Projects (So Far) – Billboard

RM was the first member to release a solo project and shared his self-titled mixtape, RM, on March 20, 2015. The mixtape, which contained a total of 11 tracks, saw the BTS group leader reflecting on his doubt and internal struggles while also affirming his belief in himself as a talented rapper. The mixtape contained three singles: “Do You,” “Awakening” and “Joke.”

RM later followed up his debut mixtape with the release of Mono in 2018. This time around, the rapper went for a more collaborative effort with writing and producing the tracks, tapping Honne, Supreme Boi, Sam Klempner, Hiss Noise, Adora and more to craft the mixtape’s more introspective sound. “Forever Rain” was released as the only single from the body of work. The album charted at No. 26 on the Billboard 200.

Watch RM’s “Do You” music video.

Agust D, Suga‘s debut mixtape, arrived in 2016 — and with it, a bold new persona and stage name for the BTS rapper. The release was a departure for the BTS star, highlighting his hardcore rap and underground influences with help from writer-producers Slow Rabbit, June, Pdogg and Supreme Boi. “Agust D” and “give it to me” were released as the two singles for the project.

Suga followed up the mixtape in 2020 with D-2. The mixtape was helpful to the rapper as he started focusing on his experiences as a then-28-year-old as opposed to reflecting on his past. The mixtape was commercially successful, charting at No. 9 on the Top Rap Albums chart and No. 11 on the Billboard 200.

Watch Suga’s “Agust D” music video.

J-Hope is the only rapper of BTS with only one mixtape out, but he’s hard at work on a new album. Hope’s solo debut, Hope World, arrived in 2018 and served as an introduction to him as a rapper outside of BTS and a reflection on his road to becoming a producer. The project, led by singles “Daydream” and “Airplane,” charted at No. 19 on Top Rap Albums and No. 38 on the Billboard 200.

He revealed on June 26, 2022, that his solo album, Jack in the Box, would be arriving on July 15, making him the first member of BTS to launch a solo release after the global superstars announced that they would be taking some time to focus on their personal projects. According to the press release, Jack in the Box “represents [J-Hope’s] aspirations to break the mold and grow further.” The album’s first single, “More,” is set to arrive shortly before the full set, on July 1.

Watch J-Hope’s “Daydream” music video.

Jin most recently lent his musical chops to the South Korean television drama series Jirisan and contributed the track “Yours” to the television show’s official soundtrack. Single “Super Tuna” additionally arrived on the singer’s 29th birthday, serving as a fun and playful gift to fans.

The singer also released a wistful solo track in 2020 titled “Abyss,” which was a birthday gift from him to his fans. In the track, he discusses fading out into darkness, inspired in part by his struggles with feeling insecure about his music. Jin’s first solo track “Tonight” was shared as part of BTS’ annual Festa party in 2019.

Listen to Jin’s “Abyss.”

Jimin teamed up with former Wanna One member Ha Sung Woon for their collaborative track “With You,” released as part of the soundtrack for South Korean drama series Our Blues. In May, the track topped Billboard‘s Hot Trending Songs and spent a total of seven weeks and counting on the chart.

Jimin also gave BTS ARMY a new Christmas song to add to their rotation, sharing the sentimental — and seasonally appropriate — track “Christmas Love” just two days before Christmas 2020. Jimin’s first solo track, “Promise,” was released in 2018 via SoundCloud.

Listen to Jimin & Ha Sung Woon’s “With You.”

It’s been a busy year for Jung Kook‘s solo ventures — the singer released solo track “My You” in June on BTS’ ninth anniversary as a gift to fans. The lyrics of the track honor Jung Kook’s relationship with BTS ARMY; he additionally thanked fans for standing by him and allowing him to live a blessed life. Earlier in the year, “Stay Alive” was released as part of BTS’ 7 Fates: Chako webtoon (Jung Kook appeared in the webtoon as Zeha). Jung Kook shared his first single, “Still With You,” in 2020 as part of BTS’ annual Festa party.

Listen to Jung Kook’s “My You.”

V‘s first solo tracks outside of BTS arrived in 2019, releasing the ballads “Scenery” and “Winter Bear” (the latter of which was release entirely in English). “Snow Flower,” a collaborative Christmas track released on SoundCloud alongside Peakboy, followed in 2020 and saw the singer continue his love of slow-burning, romantic tracks. V also followed in the footsteps of his BTS bandmates, most recently going solo to contribute “Christmas Tree” to the soundtrack for South Korean drama series Our Beloved Summer.

Listen to V’s “Snow Flower,” featuring Peakboy.

On July 6, In the Soop announced that V had joined the docuseries In the Soop: Friendcation, with episodes first airing on a Korean TV network and Hotstar in the Asia-Pacific region. The show will come to Disney+ worldwide at a later date.

Jin announced during the Yet to Come concert in Busan on Oct. 15 that a solo single was coming soon. “I got the opportunity to work with someone I like, so a single will come out soon,” he teased from the stage of the show, which was livestreamed to fans around the world.

On Oct. 28, Jin unveiled  “The Astronaut,” co-written with Coldplay, and the entire song reveals the stadium-sized rock sound that the British band is known for as a perfect bed for Jin’s steady, soothing vocals.

Listen to Jin’s “The Astronaut” here.

Jung Kook dropped the video for his solo track “Dreamers” on Nov. 28, in which the singer explores Qatar, the site of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The dreamy song that is part of the official soundtrack of the global football classic that kicked off this week in the tiny Middle Eastern country features Jung Kook singing alongside Qatari artist Fahad Al-Kubaisi.

Watch Jung Kook’s “Dreamers” video here.

RM finally unveiled his long-awaited debut solo album Indigo on December 2 with guests assists from the likes of Erykah Badu (opener “Yun”), Anderson .Paak (“Still Life”), Epik High leader Tablo (“All Day”), Paul Blanco and Mahalia (the Honne-produced “Closer”) and more.

Earlier, on Nov. 22, RM teased the album’s themes in a preview video that read, “Record of RM: Indigo. From the colors of nature, human, etc. Documentation of my youth in the moment of independent phase. Sun-bleached record faded like old jeans. The last archive of my twenties.”

Listen to RM’s Indigo here.

Jimin announced details about his first solo album, FACE, which arrived on March 24, with a 35-second video featuring ambient music and a series of water droplets spinning out ripples on the surface of water that eventually form the album’s title.

Jimin’s first full-length solo album follows on the heels of his hit single with fellow K-pop singer TAEYANG of BIG BANG, “Vibe,” which gave both stars their first visit to the Hot 100. To date, Jimin has released the solo songs “Lie” and “Serendipity,” as well as the song “With You’” from the soundtrack to the TvN drama Our Blues.

In Road to D-Day, which arrived April 21, Suga travels the world, with the trailer showing a montage of snapshots of cities around the globe (Seoul, Tokyo, Pyeongchang, Chuncheon, Las Vegas, Malibu and San Francisco.

“This is my first time walking down this road. I’m really excited right now,” he says in the clip while taking a late-night walk while wearing a face mask in the video in which he jets around the globe on his own — including taking a sunset drive through the desert.

“Whenever a concert ends and I go in [and say] ‘Ah, I’m tired.’ No like, it’s my first time doing this in my life! Even in Korea I’ve never done this before,” he says in the translation of his inner monologue in the video preview.

Watch the trailer here.

On April 2, Suga announced that his first solo album would soon be dropping. D-DAY — released under the name Agust D — arrived April 21, and is the final piece of his mixtape trilogy.

The BTS rapper signed on for a re-imagining of pal Halsey’s If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power track “Lilith,” which arrived June 6. The reworking of the song was done in collaboration with Blizzard Entertainment for the latest installment of Diablo, a series that Suga has previously enjoyed. The K-pop star raps a new verse on the track, and also appears alongside Halsey in the dark, gothic music video.

In an interview with Billboard, the “I Am Not a Woman, I’m a God” singer praised the BTS member for his part of the collab. “Together, we were able to infuse the anthem with intricate narratives that encompass a wider range of emotions I wouldn’t have been able to tell without him,” she said at the time. “He added a whole new perspective to the song. Plus, it was just honestly really cool to do something so badass with my friend.”

BIGHIT Music announced via Weverse on June 29, 2023, that Jung Kook’s next solo single would be arriving July 14, and is titled “Seven.” The announcement described the song as “an invigorating summer song” that will give fans “the full breadth of Jung Kook’s charm.”

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.”

Jung Kook announced his first solo album, GOLDEN, would arrive on Nov. 3, 2023. The press release described the 11-song album as a project that takes its theme from “the golden moments of Jung Kook as a solo artist.”

Jimin gave ARMY an early Christmas present when he dropped his solo single “Closer Than This” on Dec. 22, 2023. BigHit described the track as a “heartfelt fan song that encapsulates Jimin’s genuine feelings for ARMY.”