The Top Seven BTS Solo Songs
Ahhh yes, here we are at day four. I told you I was gonna keep doing this, and I meant it. I leave on Thursday for Chicago, so you've got a few more days of this, gentle reader.
I might not have told you before, but my boys of BTS are very prolific. Not only do they work on BTS material, but they also work individually on their own projects. Sometimes it's a song that doesn't fit on the album, sometimes it's a cover they did for fun, sometimes it's a full extra side project. They've all done it, and so I decided to pick my favorite ones for each member.
7. Jimin - Promise.
This is incredibly cute and gentle. It's a pretty accurate representation of Jimin, or at least the aspects of himself he chooses to show us. It came out for free on Soundcloud and immediately broke Drake's record for the most streams in a day (probably helped that "Promise" is about half the length of the Drake song, but hey). Jimin isn't confident as a songwriter so this took him a long time to write - and eventually asked Namjoon for some help. And now we have another little gesture to make at concerts - the pinky swear.
6. V and Jin - Even If I Die, It's You. /It's Definitely You
This is a duet, but I consider this V's song. He didn't write it, although he has written several songs for himself. It was prepared for a television show he was in called Hwarang, which is about a group of elite guards who are trained in ancient times. I've seen it and it's pretty good, and there's a scene where V really broke my heart, let's leave it at that. It was only one season, but he contributed to the soundtrack with this.
5. Jin - Autumn Outside The Post Office.
This is a cover of a folky song from 1994 by Yoon Do-hyun, who is also the leader of a rock band called YB. I enjoy his take on it, and Yoon Do-hyun liked it too, saying:
I’m happy to know that a junior who is popular all over the world has covered my song. Actually, my daughter is an ARMY. I’m not an ARMY but I’m close to it. I feel like for her, my status as her father has been raised.
Isn't that always the way. Your dad could be an awesome rock star and it doesn't make him cool at home. I think Seokjin really prefers a more rock/folk sound than the others. Epiphany could definitely be considered a rock song, and Awake is definitely piano rockish.
4. Augst D - Agust D.
Warning - This isn't safe for work. There are swears. It's rare for BTS to swear, but on his solo mix tape, Suga didn't censor himself. Yes, he's got a separate stage name for his solo stuff. It's another playing around with the language kind of thing. Yoongi's stage name is Suga because he used to play basketball and was a shooting guard (get it, shoo- gaaa), and Agust D is just an acronym backwards. Daegu Town Suga (Yoongi's from a city called Daegu). He actually does that a lot, little plays on words. This is an extremely catchy but very aggressive song. I like the James Brown sample. He got pretty raw on his solo album, talking about his social anxiety and depression.
3. J- Hope - Daydream.
If someone was to ask me what represents J-Hope, it would be this. Mostly bright and sunny, but still has doubts. J-Hope is often called "Sunshine" by his fans. This song is pretty representative I think of his work ethic - it took about a year to finish the "hixtape" if you will. This song is so catchy and clever, and makes several references to books (his father is a literature teacher). He talks about how he's so busy and wants time to be free, but at the same time he loves his busy life. Fun Fact: When J-Hope is sitting on the bed (about 3:07), the "sleeping J-Hope" is actually Taehyung. He had come by the video set with Yeontan (his dog) to cheer Hoseok on. The PA who was originally in the bed was a woman and it was obvious, so they decided to have V do a little unaccredited cameo.
2. Jungkook and Jimin - We Don't Talk Anymore.
It's Kookie's turn. Jungkook does a lot of covers online of different songs he likes from all sorts of singers, from IU to Justin Bieber to Maroon 5 and Tori Kelly, and a ton of others from Korean artists. This one is originally by Charlie Puth with Selena Gomez. Charlie ended up liking it so much that when he came to Korea, he collaborated with Jungkook and BTS on his awards show performance (which, again, in My Opinion, Charlie kinda choked at when it came to their collaboration. He did fine on his own, but when they got together... no.) I gotta say though that I give an Honorable Mention to the Jungkook/RM cover of Troye Sivan's "Fools" which was amazing.
1. RM - Seoul.
Late last year, around the same time BTS were doing their Love Yourself campaign with Unicef, RM decided to put out his second mix tape, Mono. This is a very refined and... thoughtful record. It's completely different from anything he or BTS had done before. It has a kind of.... melancholy to it. It's the kind of record that's perfect to listen to on a rainy day. And he really challenges himself vocally on this record - he continually says he's not a singer, but I think he has a good, almost rough tone that really works. And lyrically, well. I won't go into it a huge amount. He's got a way with words, let's put it that way.
So there you have it, my uncultured, unrefined opinion. Back to your regularly scheduled programming.
Bangtanily yours,
Behka