Star Image: Kim Taeyung
Kim Tae-Hyung, also known by his stage name V, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, and actor. On June 13, 2013, he made his debut as a member of BTS on Mnet's M Countdown with the track "No More Dream" from their debut single album, 2 Cool 4 Skool. He was first credited for music composition in The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 1 when he co-wrote and co-produced the song "Hold Me Tight". He also contributed to writing lyrics for the song "Fun Boyz", co-composed by bandmate Suga. For the song "Run", V's melody was used with Jungkook's original lyrics for the next album The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 2. Furthermore, he contributed to music composition and lyrics for a solo song called "Stigma" from the album Wings. V has also released, unofficially, a cover of "Hug Me" with bandmate J-Hope as well as a cover of "Someone Like You" by Adele.
In May 2018, his second solo song, "Singularity" was released as the trailer for BTS' then-upcoming third LP, Love Yourself: Tear. The track made its UK radio debut on BBC radio on October 25. A month after its release, The Guardian added "Singularity" to its "Top 50 songs for the month of June 2018" playlist and Billboard included it in their Critics' list of the "Top 50 BTS songs" at number 28. Overall, "Singularity" was generally well-received by critics and as a result, was mentioned on several year-end Critics' Choice lists. The New York Times ranked it twentieth on its list of "The 65 Best Songs of 2018" alongside "Fake Love", LA Times Pop Music Critic Mikael Wood named it the fourth "best and most replay worthy song of 2018", and Guardian Music Critic Laura Snapes included it as one of her favorite tracks in their “Best Music of 2018: Albums and Tracks" list.
On October 24, V became one of the youngest recipients of the prestigious fifth-class Hwagwan Order of Cultural Merit medal, awarded to him by the President of South Korea along with the other members of BTS for their role in the spread of culture.
V, together with bandmate J-Hope, collaborated with Swedish singer Zara Larsson on a song called "A Brand New Day" for the soundtrack album of their mobile game BTS World. It was released on June 14, 2019, and debuted at number 1 on World Digital Song Sales Chart. Eight months later, he collaborated with bandmate Jimin for the song "Friends" and he also participated in the composition and writing of his solo song, "Inner Child" on their album Map of the Soul: 7.
In July 2021, V was appointed Special Presidential Envoy for Future Generations and Culture by South Korean President Moon Jae-in, along with the other members of BTS, to help "lead the global agenda for future generations, such as sustainable growth" and "expand South Korea's diplomatic efforts and global standing" in the international community.
In 2016, V made his acting debut with a supporting role in KBS2's historical drama Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth under his real name. He also collaborated with bandmate Jin on a duet for its soundtrack entitled "It's Definitely You". To celebrate BTS' fourth anniversary, V released "4 O'Clock" on June 8, 2017, a song he co-produced with bandmate RM.
V released his first full solo track outside of BTS, "Scenery", on January 30, 2019, through the group's SoundCloud page. The ballad was written and composed by V—he also photographed the cover artwork—and produced by Big Hit producer Docskim, with additional contributions from two other Big Hit producers, Pdogg and Hiss Noise. It broke SoundCloud records for reaching 100 million streams from 20 million in over fourteen days, the shortest time for the platform. Over the two weeks following its release, "Scenery" broke the daily streaming record nine times. Seven months later, he released his second solo song and his first full English song entitled "Winter Bear" through SoundCloud, accompanied by a self-directed music video via BTS' YouTube channel on August 9. He co-produced the track together with RM, Hiss Noise, and Adora. He also photographed the cover artwork using his pseudonym Vante.
In 2020, V participated in a song titled "Sweet Night" for the soundtrack of the JTBC drama Itaewon Class which was released on March 13, 2020. Produced, written, and sung by V, the indie-pop song is entirely in English. The song received generally favorable reviews for its composition, vocal performance, and warm lyrics, and debuted at number 2 on Billboard's U.S. Digital Song Sales chart, the highest debut for a Korean soloist in the chart's history. On December 25, 2020, V released a solo track titled "Snow Flower" featuring Peakboy.
V coined the phrase "I purple you" during BTS' fan meeting in November 2016. Ever since then, purple has become a symbol of BTS and its fans. UNICEF also used the phrase for their anti-bullying campaign in collaboration with BTS.
In 2018, Eugene Investment & Securities Co., Ltd. conducted analytical research on Google search trends relating to the K-pop industry. "V" ranked first on the chart, meaning it was the number one most searched keyword for the past five years in South Korea. In a survey conducted by Gallup Korea, V was chosen as the 4th most preferred idol of 2019; he was previously ranked 9th in 2018.

Comments
Post a Comment