Solo Career, Making ‘Arirang,’ Group Egos

V
spent much of his childhood with his grandmother in Geochang, a small town in southern South Korea. He came away with a taste for older music, from Chet Baker to Frank Sinatra to Elvis Presley, and a broody, smoldering vibe that stands out among his bandmates. He has a voice to match, a smoky baritone that he lets loose on his vibe-y, bedroom-eyed debut EP, Layover. He’s always been an essential element in BTS’ sound, and on Arirang, his songwriting contributions included essential tracks like “Into the Sun.” He seems quietly confident about it all, with the exception of his inability to hit the kind of high notes that come so naturally to the likes of Jimin. “I am on the lower end,” he says, in a February interview conducted in Hybe’s Seoul, South Korea headquarters. “But I’ve learned a lot. I’ve gotten better since learning from our past albums, but it will always be a challenge for me.”

How did you feel in 2022, when it became clear a break was coming? This is all you’ve known for so long.
Well, while we’re in the military, we can’t perform even if we want to. So I did really yearn to perform. I wanted to release an album, I wanted to sing and dance. I definitely felt that … desire? Let’s call it desire. But since we were needed by our country, we had to do the best with our situation at the time. So I tried very hard to forget about V of BTS for a while, so that I could concentrate on living my life as Kim Taehyung.

You said that after discharge, you rebuilt and reset your mind and body. What does that mean to you?
That idea was so important to me. I knew that my time in the military was going to be quite long, so I thought very hard about how to spend it well and not waste it away. First off, I considered my values and my health. I tried to organize and give a lot of thought to my inner world, looking back on myself and contemplating the kind of person I ultimately want to become. So for that year and a half, I worked out a whole lot. Read a lot, listened to a lot of music. And I think that gave me the opportunity to rebuild my body and mind.

What’s the most important thing you read?
I asked my friend: “Hey, I want to read! Do you have any books to recommend?” And they got so excited and recommended Han Kang’s and Keigo Higashino’s books. So that’s literally all I read. There was also a book called Eleven Steps. It was kind of a philosophy book. But with any of the different books, I found myself putting myself into the text. Like imagining myself as a character in a novel, for example. I was so deep in my imagination at the time. Was it helpful? I’m not sure.

Rolling Stone’s May issue features the most ambitious cover-story package in the magazine’s nearly 60-year history: eight different print covers in all. In addition to the group cover and story, we’re rolling out the seven solo covers — each with a video and solo Q&A — through Monday, April 20. Click here for continuing coverage, and click here to buy a box set of all eight covers.

Rolling Stone’s May issue features the most ambitious cover-story package in the magazine’s nearly 60-year history: eight different print covers in all. In addition to the group cover and story, we’re rolling out the seven solo covers — each with a video and solo Q&A — through Monday, April 20. Click here for continuing coverage, and click here to buy a box set of all eight covers.

ARMY says you seem more confident. Do you feel that way?
It’s just that … Actually, I found that after working out, I looked and felt different from when I didn’t work out, both on the outside and inside. So I guess I have a more confident figure.

You are so careful with your solo music. You have a lot of songs that you make, and then you don’t put out or you delete. What did it mean to get Layover finished and out into the world?
Layover came to me at a time when I felt the need to look back on my journey so far as V of BTS. The word “layover” can mean a stop between destinations, but to me, it’s expressing that my life is not a straight path. I want to say: I can make this kind of music, but I also like many other styles. I love jazz, classical music, and even more alternative music, so I wanted to share that with ARMY and our listeners. I genuinely love music with all my heart, and Layover is that representation of me.

The new BTS album is very different from your solo work. Going into it, what were your personal goals for the album?
First and most importantly, there’s not a single song on this album that is not my style. Every single one is my style and the kind of music I’ve wanted to make. I think this was another color I wanted to pursue, in terms of genre. So I gave it my all to create this album, and it has a lot of love in it. This Arirang album, I mean.

Watch the video interview below

Do you have a favorite moment, whether your own or from another member, on this album?
Since we worked on so many songs, there were plenty of songs I loved that didn’t get picked for the album. And of course I have my favorites among the songs that got included. But more than anything … I can’t wait to be onstage again. Because my favorite songs always change when we get to perform.

In a group of seven members, there’s only so much sonic real estate. Does ego ever get involved — “I would like to be more on this song,” or “This song where I’m featured more didn’t make it”?
Well, I think I was more worried about being able to do a good job. Because no matter how much I listen to what I like, it’s a totally different game to perform it myself. So even if I love something, I have to try very, very hard to interpret and reimagine it in a way that makes sense for me to do. But if I ever have fewer parts or I’m taking a less central part in a song, I don’t feel bad about that. Because another member will take that place. I just feel … relieved, in a way. The only thing is, if the seven of us don’t mesh, we just pass on that song.

I think the group is good at making everyone feel pretty much equal. 
Right. And since all seven of us have had a solo career, everyone’s individual ego is stronger now. I thought that might change things when we got together again, but we actually amplified each other and ended up making a better album. So I get the sense that our work is more polished than before.

Would it be accurate to say you have zero desire to be a solo pop star?
If I have zero desire, shouldn’t I stop being an artist? I learned so much from [the other members] while working on this album and got a lot out of observing their paths. I really learned a lot. So when the time comes to make my next solo album, I plan to absorb every member’s biggest strengths.

I love the jazzier sound on something like the solo track “Winter Ahead,” which is a really beautiful song. But it sounds like you may be open to making a pop album.
Yeah. Even that is a style of music I love — one that I’ve worked to pursue. So, of course. I don’t know when that would be, but someday, it’s a genre that I’d have to and would love to try. That’s what I think.

ARMY loves your acting, but they would like you to play a part where the character doesn’t die. Will you do more of it, and will you seek out a part where the character gets to live?
I think my mindset is the same in my acting as in my music. When I’m acting, part of the point is to try a bunch of different parts that I can’t experience in reality, right? So in the same way, I don’t want to limit myself to one genre of music. I want to experience every single genre I really love. And someday, if I get the chance, I hope I can act in a lot of different parts that I’ve wanted to try out.

If there’s one jazz artist you want ARMY to get into, who would it be?
Oh, there’s too many! Etta James!