What Has V Been Up To?

While the members of BTS have been fulfilling their military services, all seven men have intermittently released content to engage the fans until they’re back together again. The group’s second youngest member, V, has been actively releasing solo content since last year and showing fans new sides of his musicality. Before enlisting, V made his solo debut in September 2023 with his album Layover, a six-track R&B and jazz-influenced project where he tackled themes including love and heartbreak. The multifaceted album connected with ARMY worldwide, amassing over one billion streams on Spotify and reaching No. 2 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. 

A few weeks after V enlisted in the military alongside RM, he celebrated his 28th birthday with a gift for ARMY. V teamed up with R&B singer UMI to release a heartfelt message through their song wherever u r. In a TikTok video, UMI answered fan questions about the creation of the song. She shared that she reached out to V for a collaboration after he shared one of her songs on his Instagram story and even admitted that she has been a fan of BTS since high school. UMI and V shared their respective messages about missing and remaining connected to those they love, with UMI addressing the song to her grandmother and V’s verses being meant for his loved ones and ARMY.

In January 2024, V showed off his acting chops in the dystopian-style music video for IU’s Love wins all, the lead single of her EP, The Winning. When brainstorming who she wanted to play the male lead in this video, IU felt V fit the role perfectly because of his youthful yet cool demeanor. Since he has a good friendship with IU, liked the song, and admired the video’s director, Um Taehwa, V agreed to star in the video amidst his hectic schedule. The video showed a couple, played by V and IU, running through a post-apocalyptic world to escape destruction at the hands of a flying cube-shaped object. Continuing to support IU’s endeavors, V and j-hope recently attended one of the Seoul shows on IU’s tour, “2024 IU HEREH WORLD TOUR CONCERT ENCORE: THE WINNING,” together.

Since Layover, V released one solo track, FRI(END)S in March 2024. Detailing the demise of a flirty friendship, V sang about wanting to detach from a friend who was sending him mixed signals. The music video depicted alternate universes, where V experienced different sides of love. He lived in one world where everyone was in love except him and another where he was in a loving relationship while the world combusted around him. Along with the song and music video, V recorded a live performance of FRI(END)S for fans. 

ARMY saw some aspects of V’s days off with his 224-page photobook, “TYPE 1.” The photobook featured photos of V in a more relaxed atmosphere as he enjoyed some time off from being an international superstar. V participated heavily in putting the photobook together, including picking the photoshoot locations, the title, and more. Limited-time pop-up exhibitions to promote the photobook were held in Seoul and Los Angeles this summer. A peek of one of the extravagant pop-ups was shown in an Instagram Reel V reposted to his Instagram Story on July 12.

Most recently, V appeared in a few episodes of Jimin and Jungkook’s Disney+ travel variety show, “Are You Sure?!.” After insisting on joining their adventures on Jeju Island, V became the first special guest on the show. 

With many of his releases since joining the military, V has created a trend of doing surprise drops and appearances. We sure hope there is more in store from V that ARMY can look forward to.

Written by: Amaya

Edited by: LJ

Designed by: Achan

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