BigHit Music announced on their 9th Anniversary that BTS would temporarily halt group activities. As a result, the members embarked on solo careers to explore new ventures. Furthermore, the decision to pause group activities was made to allow the members to fulfill their mandatory military services. For the unversed, all the abled South Korean men between the age 18 to 28 has to fulfil their service for their nation. The military service usually lasts for a minimum of 18 months.
BTS: Chapter Two
On their way of the 2nd phase of musical journey, BTS members have released their solo albums, collaborated with other artists and also showed their unique variations of music. No matter as a group or as an individual, each member of BTS have received applauds for their musical productions.
The members have always supported each other for their solo works.
BTS Military Enlistment
After the hiatus was announced, Jin, the eldest of BTS members, was the first to enlist in the military as an active duty soldier in December 2022. J-Hope followed suit, enlisting in April 2023. Suga enlisted as a social service agent in September 2023 due to their previous shoulder injury.
As per the Weverse notice issued by BigHit Music on November 22, 2023, the remaining members of BTS i.e., RM, Jimin, V and Jungkook have initiated their enlistment process. They will be fulfilling their duties for their nation soon.
BTS is expected to reunite as group in 2025.
Here are the solo activities of each BTS Member during the 2nd phase.
JIN
Jin, the eldest member of BTS debuted as a solo artist in October 2022. He released a single featuring Coldplay called “The Astronaut”.
He performed the song live with the British rock band, Coldplay in Buenos Aires, Argentina during their Music of the Spheres World Tour.
Jin made his first solo entry on the Billboard Hot 100 with “The Astronaut”.
Military Enlistment:
Jin filed for the termination of postponement of military service in November 2022. Later, he enlisted as an duty soldier on December 13, 2022. He was enlisted at the Yeoncheon army base in the North Gyeonggi Province.
Jin completed his basic training with the 5th Infantry Division in January 2023. He was appointed as an assistant training instructor within the same division.
Jin is most probably to be back from military by the group’s 11th Anniversary. Based on few sources, he will be completing his mandatory military service on 12 June, 2024.
SUGA
Suga or Agust D is the main rapper of BTS. After the hiatus announcement, Suga has embarked on his journey of musical adventures by composing songs for other artists as well as for his solo album.
He produced and featured on the song, “That That” with PSY. The song was released on April 29,2022.
Suga has launched the talk show Suchwita on YouTube in December 2022. In the show, he invites guests and interview them over with drinks.
In January 2023, Valentino announced Suga as the brand ambassador. He was announced as the brand ambassador for the NBA.
D-Day:
Yoongi released his solo debut album, D-Day on 21 April,2023. He usually uses the name, Agust D for his solo works.
The album features the lead singles, “People Pt 2” and “Haegum”. Suga made his solo first top 10 entry on the Billboard 200 with this album.
SUGA : Agust D Tour
A documentary titled Suga: Road to D-Day was announced. It features the making of his solo album and his preparations for his solo world tour concert. The documentary for released in theatres for a limited duration. It is currently available in Disney+.
Suga began his first solo world tour concert, Suga Agust D Tour in April 2023.
He had several shows in US, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Japan and concluded the tour in South Korea.
Subsequently, after the completion of his world tour in August 2023, Suga applied for the termination of his postponement of military enlistment. As he had previously underwent shoulder surgery, Suga had to enlist as a social service agent. He began his duty on September 22, 2023.
J-HOPE
Jung Hosoek or J-Hope is the main dancer and rapper of BTS. J-Hope was the first BTS member to release his solo album, Jack in the Box.
Jack in the Box:
Following the group hiatus, J-Hope started his preparation for his debut album: Jack in the Box. He released the lead single of his album, “More” on July 1, 2022 followed by the album release on 15 July, 2022. For his album, J-Hope was nominated under six award categories. He made his solo performance debut at MAMA Awards show 2022 which was held in November.
Lollapalooza:
J-Hope was the headline of the Lollapalooza 2022 event. He made his solo performance debut in the event. He also became the first South Korean artist to headline such a main event.
J-Hope featured in the single,”Rush Hour” with the South Korean artist, Crush. The song was released in September 2022.
J-Hope in the Box
A documentary named J-Hope in the Box was released in theatres for a limited duration. The documentary is currently available to stream in Disney+. It features the chronicles on J-Hope’s journey in making of his album, Jack in the Box and also his appearance in Lollapalooza 2022 event.
He was announced as the brand ambassador for Louis Vuitton in February 2023.
On March 3, 2023, J-Hope released a single “On the Street” in collaboration with the American Rapper, J.Cole.
J-Hope became the first BTS member to earn a top 40 entry on the UK Singles Chart. He was also placed in the US Hot 100.
J-Hope began his mandatory military service on April 18, 2023 as an active duty soldier.
RM
Kim Namjoon aka RM is the leader of the boy band BTS. During their ninth anniversary celebration, RM had mentioned that he needs to think about his direction as a member and leader of BTS and even as an individual.
After the notice regarding the break from group activities was issued, RM featured on the single “Sexy Nukim” by Balming Tiger in September 2022.
Indigo:
RM released his debut solo album, “Indigo” on December 2, 2022. The album was lead by the single, “Wild Flower” ft Younjeen. The album peaked at number three on the Billboard 200, making RM the highest-charting South Korea soloist at that time.
RM also featured on the single, “Smoke Sprite” by So!yoON!, the lead singer and guitarist of Korean indie rock band SE SO NEON. The single was released on March 14, 2023.
In March 2023, Bottega Veneta announced Namjoon as the brand ambassador.
Colde released the single “Don’t Ever Say Love Me” featuring RM in May 2023.
On November 22, 2023, an announcement revealed that RM, along with Jimin, V, and Jungkook, had commenced their military enlistment process.
JIMIN
Jimin is the vocalist and main dancer of BTS. His kind personality and unique voice are well-known.
In April 2022, Jimin featured in the single, “With You” along with Ha Sung-woon, for the soundtrack of the series, “Our Blues”.
In January 2023, Jimin not only co-wrote but also featured in the single ‘VIBE’ by Taeyang. Consequently, this solo official project marked Jimin’s debut entry on the Billboard Hot 100 as a solo artist.
In January 2023, Dior announced Jimin as the global ambassador. In March 2023, “Tiffany & Co.” declared him as the brand ambassador.
He also officially released the singles, “Promise” and “Christmas Love” on streaming platforms globally in March 2023.
Face:
Jimin released his debut solo album, “FACE” on March 24, 2023. The album’s two leading singles, “Set Me Free Pt 2” and “Like Crazy” entered the Billboard Hot 100. “Like Crazy” made to the number one spot earning Jimin the first South Korean solo artist in history to achieve it. The album also set several chart and sales records. It debuted at number one in South Korea and Japan, and at number two in US. This made him the highest-charting solo Korean artist on the Billboard 200 of all time.
Jimin was featured on the single “Angel Pt 1” alongside Jvke and Muni by Kodak Black and NLE Choppa. It was released in May 2023., and the soundtrack was included as a part of the tenth installment of the film series, “Fast and Furious: Fast X“.
On November 22, 2023, BigHit announced that Jimin along with RM, V and Jungkook has initiated the military enlistment process and will be enlisting shortly.
V
Kim Taehyung aka V is the vocalist of the globally popular boyband BTS. His charming looks and deep voice are well-known.
Taehyung starred in the reality series, In the Soop: Friendcation along with his Wooga Squad members: Park Seo-joon, Choi Woo-sik, Park Hyung-sik and Peakboy. The series premiered on Disney+ in July 2023 and concluded the following month.
In February 2023, V appeared in the cooking-travel reality show, “Jinny’s Kitchen”. Alongside V, the show featured South Korean actors: Park Seo-joon, Choi Woo-sik, Lee Seo-jin, and Jeong Yumi. The series, which comprised a total of 11 episodes, was released on Amazon Prime Video.
Cartier:
In March 2023, V was announced as the global ambassador for the French luxury brand Celine.. He became the brand ambassador for Cartier in July 2023. He was also the face of the Panthere de Cartier campaign.
V’s previous solo works “Scenery”, “Winter Bear” and “Snow Flower” were made available on streaming platforms and for digital download on August 28, 2023.
Layover:
He made his solo debut with the album, Layover. The album was released on September 8, 2023. Layover comprises of six songs, with “Slow Dancing” being its lead single. Other songs of the album are: “Love Me Again”, “Rainy Days”, “Blue”, “For Us” and the piano version of “Slow Dancing”. The album cover of Layover is of V’s pet dog, Yeontan.
Layover had the highest first-week sales by a Korean artist in history with a whooping 2.1 million sold copies. It debuted in the Billboard 200 at the second position. V tied with his BTS bandmates Suga and Jimin as the highest-charting Korean solo artists in the history of Billboard.
On November 22, 2023, BigHit announced that V along with RM, Jimin and Jungkook has initiated the military enlistment process and will be enlisting shortly.
JUNGKOOK
Jeon Jungkook is the youngest (Maknae) of the BTS members. He is fondly called as the “Golden Maknae”.
Jungkook featured in the single “Left and Right” with American singer, Charlie Puth. Aftter its release on June 24, 2022 the single peaked at 22nd position on the Billboard Hot 100.
Dreamers:
On November 20, 2022, Jungkook released an official song for the FIFA World Cup soundtrack titled “Dreamers”. He became the first South Korean artist to release a song for FIFA World Cup. He also performed the song in the 2022 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony at Al Bayt Stadium. Jungkook is the first South Korean artist to have performed in the opening ceremony.
The American fashion brand Calvin Klein announced Jungkook as the global ambassador in March 2023.
His previous singles “Still With You” and “My You” were officially made available for streaming as his official singles on July 3,2023.
Seven:
Jungkook made his solo debut with the single, Seven ft Latto. The release of the single was on July 14, 2023. It debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, Global 200, and Global Exclusive US Charts. This made him the first solo Korean artist to simultaneously top the 3 charts. He became the second Korean artist after Jimin to debuted at Billboard Hot 100. The song made the record for surpassing the fastest 1 billion streams on Spotify.
3D:
His second solo single, “3D,” featured Jack Harlow and was released on September 29, 2023. It debuted at number 5 on Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart.
Jungkook became the first South Korean solo artist to earn two top 5 singles at the UK Singles Chart.
In October 2023, Jungkook released the single “Too Much” in collaboration with the Kid Laroi and Central Cee. The song debuted at 10th position in the UK, making him the first South Korean solo artist to have three top-10 singles in the chart.
Golden:
Jungkook released his solo debut album, “Golden” on November 3, 2023. The album features Jack Harlow, Latto, DJ Snake and Major Lazer. The album includes the singles, “Seven” and “3D” followed by a third single, “Standing Next to You”. Jungkook made a surprise concert on November 9, 2023 at the Times Square, New York city.
Subsequently, Jungkook wrote a lengthy Weverse post, stating that he will enlist to carry out his mandatory military service in December 2023.
On November 22, 2023, Hybe announced that Jungkook, along with his bandmates RM, Jimin, and V, will be carrying out their military service soon.
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