V

The self-designated old soul of Grammy-nominated K-pop group BTS, V is known for his smooth voice, love of jazz and captivating stage presence. Born 김태형 (Kim Tae-hyung) in Daegu in 1995, the musician grew up with his grandparents in the Korean countryside before moving to Seoul as a teenager to become a K-pop trainee under Big Hit Entertainment. In 2013, he would debut in 방탄소년단 (or Bangtan Sonyeondan), aka BTS, alongside RM, JIN, SUGA, j-hope, Jimin and Jung Kook. Conceived as a hip-hop idol group, BTS evolved to incorporate a wide variety of genres, becoming one of the most successful musical artists of all time. In 2016, their second studio album, Wings, with its lead single “Blood Sweat & Tears”, became their first album to sell one million copies in Korea. V’s solo song on the album, the neo-soul track “Stigma”, explored feelings of loneliness and guilt in line with V’s character within the Bangtan Universe storyline. Other notable solo songs V released under the BTS umbrella include 2018’s “Singularity” and 2020’s “Inner Child”, both of which highlight the richness of the singer’s husky baritone. In 2023, during a BTS group hiatus undertaken so that all members could perform mandatory military service, V made his solo album debut with Layover. The six-track mini-album eschews traditional K-pop sounds for a smoother signature, influenced by vintage jazz and R&B. The album explores questions of regret, love lost and longing, immersing listeners in a languid world of lo-fi heartache that only V could create.