Kim Tae-hyung also known professionally as V (Korean: 뷔), is a South Korean singer and a member of the boy band BTS. Since his debut with the band in 2013, V has performed three solo songs under their name—"Stigma" in 2016, "Singularity" in 2018, and "Inner Child" in 2020—all of which charted on South Korea's Gaon Digital Chart.

Outside of his projects with BTS, V appeared in the 2016 television series Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth and contributed the single "It's Definitely You" to its soundtrack. He released his first independent song, the self-composed "Scenery", in 2019. In 2023, V made his official debut as a solo artist with the release of the singles "Love Me Again" and "Rainy Days". His debut solo album Layover was released on September 8, accompanied by a third single, "Slow Dancing".

Early life and education

V was born Kim Tae-hyung on December 30, 1995, in the Seo District of Daegu, and grew up in Geochang County. He is the eldest of three children, with a younger brother and sister. V first aspired to be a professional singer in elementary school. With his father's support, he began taking saxophone lessons in early middle school as a means of pursuing a musical career. V eventually became a trainee for Big Hit Entertainment after passing an audition in Daegu.

After graduating from Korean Arts High School in 2014, V enrolled in Global Cyber University, graduating in August 2020 with a major in Broadcasting and Entertainment. As of 2021, he is enrolled at Hanyang Cyber University, pursuing a Master of Business Administration in Advertising and Media.

Career

2013–present: BTS
 

Pre-debut, V was the "secret member" of BTS: fans were unaware of his existence as his agency wished to keep him a surprise. He later stated that the concept made him feel lonely and uneasy at the time as he thought it was because he might be cut from the lineup. 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 the band's debut single album 2 Cool 4 Skool. V was first credited for music composition on The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Pt. 1 (2015) extended play (EP), as a co-writer and producer of the song "Hold Me Tight"; he also contributed lyrics for the song "Fun Boyz". On the band's follow up EP, The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Pt. 2, V's melody was used for the song "Run". He co-wrote and composed his first solo track "Stigma" for BTS' 2016 studio album Wings. He also released, unofficially, a cover of "Hug Me" with bandmate J-Hope, and "Someone Like You" by Adele.

In May 2018, V's second solo song, "Singularity", was released as a trailer for BTS' then-upcoming third studio album, Love Yourself: Tear. The track made its UK radio debut on BBC Radio on October 25. One 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 mentioned on several year-end critic's lists. The New York Times ranked it twentieth on its list of "The 65 Best Songs of 2018" alongside "Fake Love", Los Angeles Times critic Mikael Wood named it the fourth "best and most replay worthy song of 2018", and Guardian critic Laura Snapes included it as one of her favourite tracks in her "Best Music of 2018: Albums and Tracks" list.

On October 24, 2018, V became one of the youngest recipients of the fifth-class Hwagwan Order of Cultural Merit medal, awarded to him by the President of South Korea alongside his BTS bandmates for their role in the spread of Korean culture.

V and J-Hope collaborated with Swedish singer Zara Larsson on the song "A Brand New Day" for the soundtrack album of the BTS World mobile game. It was released as a single on June 14, 2019, and debuted at number one on Billboard's World Digital Song Sales chart. He next collaborated with bandmate Jimin on the song "Friends", and helped compose and write his third solo song "Inner Child". Both songs were included on BTS' 2020 studio 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, alongside his bandmates, to help "lead the global agenda for future generations" and "expand South Korea's diplomatic efforts and global standing" in the international community.

2016–present: Solo activities

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 the duet single "It's Definitely You" for the show's soundtrack. In celebration of BTS' fourth anniversary, V released "4 O'Clock" on June 8, 2017, a song he co-produced with bandmate RM.

V released his first independent song, "Scenery", on January 30, 2019, through the BTS SoundCloud page. V wrote and composed the ballad and photographed the cover art himself. The track was produced by Big Hit producer Docskim, with additional contributions from Pdogg and Hiss Noise. It reached 100 million streams from 20 million in over fourteen days, a new record on the platform. Over the course of the two weeks following its release, "Scenery" broke the daily streaming record nine times. Seven months later, V released his second solo and first all-English song, "Winter Bear", through SoundCloud, accompanied by a self-directed music video via BTS' YouTube channel on August 9. He co-produced the track with RM, Hiss Noise, and Adora, and photographed the cover artwork under his pseudonym Vante.

In 2020, V contributed the indie pop single "Sweet Night" to the soundtrack of the JTBC drama Itaewon Class, released on March 13. Self-written and produced, it received generally favorable reviews for its composition, vocal performance and warm lyrics, debuting at number two on Billboard's Digital Songs chart in the United States. On December 25, he released the Christmas-themed song "Snow Flower", featuring Peakboy.

On December 24, 2021, V released the single "Christmas Tree" as part of the original soundtrack for the Studio N television series Our Beloved Summer. It debuted at number 79 on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned V his first solo entry on the chart. The following year, he starred in the Disney+ reality series In the Soop: Friendcation with Peakboy, Park Seo-joon, Choi Woo-shik, and Park Hyung-sik; the series premiered in July and ended in August. In February 2023, V appeared in a second reality series, the Prime Video exclusive cooking-travel show Jinny's Kitchen, alongside Park Seo-joon and Choi. The following month, he was announced as a brand ambassador for the Indonesian investment company SimInvest and a global ambassador for the French luxury brand Celine. He became a brand ambassador for Cartier and the face of the Panthère de Cartier campaign in July. "Scenery", "Winter Bear", and "Snow Flower" were made available on digital download and streaming platforms worldwide as official singles under V's name on August 28, ahead of his debut solo album Layover, which was released on September 8. Per Hanteo Chart, Layover recorded the highest first-week sales by a K-pop solo artist in history, with 2.1 million copies sold. In the US, it debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, tying V with bandmates Jimin and Suga as the highest-charting Korean solo artists in Billboard chart history.

Artistry

V possesses a baritone singing voice that has received a generally positive critical reception, with particular praise for his vocal range and "husky" tone. He gained wider vocal recognition for his performance of his solo song "Stigma", and was praised for his falsettos that showed off his vocal range and unique musicality. V's tonality on "Singularity", the opening track of BTS' Love Yourself: Tear (2018), was noted as a prominent "tone setter" on the album by music critic Blanca Méndez. Similarly, Katie Goh of Vice deemed it as "one of V's best vocal performances." Karen Ruffini of Elite Daily stated in their article that "V... has no problem producing super soothing, low tones that are a key element in the overall sound for BTS," with Tamar Herman from Billboard also noting that V's lower range is a prominent piece of BTS' music. V's musicality is heavily influenced by his love for jazz and classical music. Eric Benet and Ruben Studdard are among his inspirations.

As a performer, V is known for his "duality", or his ability to evoke various emotions on stage. British journalist Rhian Daly, writing for NME, particularly noted this when discussing V's performance of "Singularity" during the Love Yourself: Speak Yourself World Tour, describing his movements as "precise and deliberate". Crystal Bell from MTV noted V's performances often work with live cameras in concert venues, and how he utilizes them to create subtle expressions during performances.

Impact and influence

V coined the phrase "I purple you" during BTS' fanmeeting in November 2016; since then, purple has become a symbol of BTS and their fans. UNICEF used the phrase in their anti-bullying campaign 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 as the most-searched keyword for the past five years in South Korea. In a survey conducted by Gallup Korea, V was chosen as the fourth most-preferred idol of 2019, previously ranking ninth in 2018. In 2021, he ranked as the most popular Korean celebrity in Japan for twenty-eight consecutive weeks.

Various artists have cited him as an influence and role model: The Boyz's Younghoon and Hwall; Golden Child's Jaehyun and Jangjun; MVP's Been; Rainz's Byun Hyun-min; Cravity's Serim; Ateez's Yeosang and Mingi; D-Crunch's Jungseung and Dyla; Lucente's Bao; Newkidd's Yunmin; Boy Story's Hanyu; Tomorrow X Together's Beomgyu; Produce X 101 contestants Koo Jungmo, Lee Taeseung and Mahiro Hidaka; and former Wanna One member Park Ji-hoon.

Personal life

Since 2018, V has lived in Hannam-dong, Seoul, South Korea with his bandmates. In July 2019, he bought an apartment worth ₩5.1 billion (2019) (US$4.38 million).

Health

In October 2018, during the Love Yourself World Tour concert in Paris, V had difficulty singing due to an illness and had to abstain from some of his parts during the concert. In October 2021 V's agency announced he would abstain from choreography during their Permission to Dance on Stage concerts due to a calf injury and would remain seated while singing.

Awards