V of BTS takes music charts by storm with new digital single, ‘Fri(end)s’

V of BTS (Big Hit Music)

BTS is not planning on leaving a void while they are away serving their mandatory military duty.

On Friday, V of BTS released a new English digital single, “Fri(end)s.”

The single was played on Spotify more than 4.72 million times on the day of its release, quickly landing at No. 7 on Spotify’s Daily Top Song Global playlist.

The new single broke V's record on the chart as his previous release, “Love Me Again,” a B-side track of his first solo album “Layover,” had landed at No. 10 on the same chart dated Aug. 11, 2023.

“Fri(end)s” also topped iTunes’ Top Song chart in 87 regions worldwide and landed at No. 2 on Oricon’s Daily Digital Single Ranking.

“Fri(end)s” is a pop-soul R&B love song with English lyrics.

The song is about V being in love with a girl he has been friends with since 2009.

The girl defines their relationship as one of friends to which V argues friends don’t say words that make friends feel like more than just friends.

V wishes to stop pretending and put an end to their relationship.

The song's melody is very subtle atop a repetitive beat.

Making the song dramatic is the wide range covered by V’s falsetto and lower-register vocals.

“I was looking for a song to leave for my fans to enjoy while I was away when I found this song. It’s a charming song and I think Armys will like it,” said V in a press release on Friday.

Trailer for J-Hope's documentary series, "Hope on the Street" (Big Hit Music)

V is not the only BTS member to have stocked up projects before joining the military.

J-Hope of BTS is set to release a documentary series, “Hope on the Street,” on March 28.

The six-part documentary series shows J-Hope visiting Osaka, Paris, New York and his hometown of Gwangju in Korea to connect and dance with street dancers on the scene.

J-Hope met with dancers of diverse street dance genres including popping, house, hip-hop and locking, to communicate with them through dancing and to learn from them.

The documentary series was created by J-Hope before he began his mandatory military service in April last year.

Following the release of the documentary series, J-Hope will drop a special album, “Hope on the Street Vol. 1,” on March 29.

Under South Korean law, all able-bodied men are required to serve in the military for at least 18 months.

BTS is expected to resume its group activities in 2025 after all seven members are discharged from the military.

By Hong Yoo(yoohong@heraldcorp.com)