Dear Gossips, 

When BTS announced last year that they’d be pausing group activities to focus on solo projects and allow for all seven members to fulfill their mandatory military service in South Korea, there was some question as to exactly how RM, Jin, Suga, j-hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook could differentiate their own work from the work they achieved together as a band, and of course, how successful they would be independent of each other. 

 

Last June, during an hour-long video to celebrate FESTA, BTS’s anniversary, an emotional RM said that it is hoped that BTS will always be together, but – and I’m paraphrasing, so ARMY please don’t come for me – it’s also important to develop their singular voices, if for nothing else than for the sake of creative longevity as a group in the future. After all, as a group, their music represents every person who’s on a given song. And, sometimes, we all just have some sh-t to say that comes from ourselves and not anyone else. 

This is what j-hope kicked off last summer with his album Jack in the Box. Jin did the same with his send-off song, “The Astronaut” before he enlisted. And RM certainly explored and shared his own feelings with the release of his album Indigo back in December. As expected, all three had the full support of their fans, charting around the world, and impressively racking up real sales figures along with streaming numbers. 

 

Last week it was Jimin’s turn with his debut solo album FACE and its two singles “Set Me Free Pt 2” and “Like Crazy”. He was on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon for two nights in a row. So how’s he doing? 

 

Which means that… 

Pretty sure you can’t say that about any other band – as a collective, BTS has been a phenomenon, but as individuals, what RM, Jin, Suga, j-hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook are doing is phenomenal, and unprecedented. 

Attached - Jimin at Live Music Bank at KBS in Seoul on Friday. 

Yours in gossip, 

Lainey