With the release of his single “The Astronaut” on October 28, Jin became the second member of BTS (after J-Hope) to officially release music as part of the group’s primarily solo-driven Chapter 2.
“The Astronaut” marks the culmination of Jin’s journey as an artist so far; a fitting goodbye-for-now ahead of his compulsory military service in the coming months.
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Big Hit Music / Hybe Labels / Via youtube.com
Jin, who won an individual fan-voted popularity award at the Fact Music Awards recently, will be away from the spotlight for about 18 months, so it’s the perfect time to get caught up on and/or revisit his career to date…
With the self-perpetuated nickname “Worldwide Handsome,” which he started using after he basically went viral for being hot, Jin (whose full name is Kim Seok-jin) is undoubtedly very good-looking, but he’s also incredibly charming and funny.
As the eldest member of BTS, Jin plays a large part in maintaining the harmonious dynamic of the group, and is known for his charisma, his ice-breaking jokes, and his willingness to embarrass himself for the entertainment and comfort of others.
Tae tripped and fell on his knees so Jin did it as well so he wouldn’t feel embarrassed., 🥺😭
#BTSatGDA @BTS_twt
JTBC / Via Twitter: @taebokkiii
He also frequently organizes events and moments during concerts purely to show his affection for fans and to make them smile.
But while Jin often expresses his desire to only show his bright side to fans, he also isn’t afraid to be honest and vulnerable about his emotions — often using his music to explore darker feelings and themes of self-worth and mental health.
Jin : You see the bright and funny side of me, but I also get depressed very often. I’m just trying to stay positive for you guys.
Jin I’m crying now, I love you.
#BurnTheStage #PremiosMTVMiaw #MTVBRKPOPBTS @BTS_twt
Big Hit Music / Via Twitter: @choi_bts2
Jin didn’t originally plan to be a singer — he was actually studying acting at Konkuk University in Seoul when he was scouted off the street by Big Hit, the entertainment agency that went on to form BTS.
Big Hit Music / Via Twitter: @bighit_music
Rappers RM, Suga, and J-Hope were already BTS members when Jin became a trainee with Big Hit, and he was added as a vocalist to the group around the same time as fellow vocalist Jungkook, with V and Jimin rounding out the vocal line shortly after.
While the bulk of BTS songs feature all seven members of the group in some way, they also often release sub-unit songs as well as solos. On the group’s second album O!RUL8,2?, Jin took part in a track by the vocal line sub-unit (that is, the vocalists of the group — Jimin, Jungkook, and V), “Outro: Luv in Skool.”
Jin has also featured on a bunch of other sub-unit songs featuring different combinations of BTS members, including “It’s Definitely You” with V for the Hwarang K-drama soundtrack, “So Far Away” with Suga and Jungkook, “Jamais Vu” with J-Hope and Jungkook, and “Stay” with RM and Jungkook.
Jin’s first official solo release was the heart-aching ballad “Awake” for BTS’s 2016 album Wings. The song, which Jin co-wrote, seems to explore his feelings about his abilities and his place within BTS, and his determination to keep bettering himself. Its release was accompanied by a short film.
He followed that up with another emotional ballad, “Epiphany,” in 2018 for BTS’s Love Yourself album series, which told a narrative of falling in love and experiencing a toxic relationship, before finally breaking free. “Epiphany” explores the last act, focusing on learning to love yourself.
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Although Jin didn’t have any songwriting credits on the official version, the demo version of the song he created, “Epiphany (Jin Demo),” was released on physical copies of the Proof anthology in 2022.
Big Hit Music / Hybe Labels / Via youtube.com
“Moon,” released on 2020’s Map of the Soul: 7, is a boppy, bright song also co-written by Jin.
Big Hit Music / Via Twitter: @seokjinstrack
It was the first (but not the last) time he used the imagery of space to explore his feelings about fans. In the song, he positions himself as the moon and fans as the Earth, which he is dedicated to.
Map of the Soul: 7 was originally intended to be BTS’s final release before they began their compulsory military service (but the pandemic interfered with their plans), and so “Moon” would have likely been intended to serve the same reassuring function as “The Astronaut” is now (the same could be said for Jin’s co-written unit track “Stay,” which came in between his two space solos at another point in which BTS intended to begin military service before their plans changed once again).
Outside of his work on BTS albums, Jin also released several solo tracks before “The Astronaut,” which were initially unofficial releases but have since been officially added to his discography. “Tonight” was the first, in 2019. It’s a moving ode he wrote to his beloved pets who have passed away.
[tonight] by jin
— lyric translation 🙂note:
“hello this is jin.
this is a song i wrote, thinking about my [late] pets.
it’s my first self-written song, so please listen to it well.
next time, too, i’ll work hard to make another good song for you [to listen to]. thank you army”
In 2020, Jin released the heart-wrenching yet cathartic “Abyss” as a gift for his birthday. He wrote the song to explore some of his mental health struggles and the darker emotions he’d been feeling in the wake of BTS’s global success with their first English track “Dynamite.”
201203 Jin’s Tweet & Blog Post
Hello, this is Jin
It’s two hours before my birthday
This is something I worked hard on, I’ll leave this here!#JIN #Abyss
https://t.co/4MfJe2yGBZ
https://t.co/kCfYG3KSGJTrans cr; Aditi, Denise & Faith @ bts-trans
© TAKE OUT WITH FULL CREDITS https://t.co/2DpMnE4LCH
In 2021, he celebrated his birthday with a very different track — the silly, upbeat “Super Tuna,” which leans into Jin’s more playful side and which he wrote about one of his favorite hobbies — fishing.
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Although Jin describes the song as “embarrassing” and says he doesn’t want anyone except fans to know about it, the song went viral and delighted millions. The same year, Jin also had a solo song featured on the soundtrack for K-drama Jirisan, a soft ballad called “Yours.”
Big Hit Music / BangtanTV / Via youtube.com
Which brings us back to “The Astronaut,” the song Jin co-wrote with Coldplay. Jin has long been a fan of the British band, and connected with them when they collaborated with BTS on their song “My Universe” — another space-themed love song, which is actually referenced in the opening lines of “The Astronaut.”
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According to Chris Martin, Jin contacted him to request his help with a song to express his love for fans ahead of his military service. The result is “The Astronaut,” which picks up on the themes present not only in “My Universe” but also Jin’s previous solo track “Moon.” Jin got to perform “The Astronaut” at Coldplay’s concert in Argentina the day after the song was released, and it was a fitting first performance as well as a farewell (for now) — which you can watch in full in the video above.
Big Hit Music / BangtanTV / Via youtube.com