Every BTS Solo Song Ranked

The lyrics to J-Hope’s “Airplane” read like a precocious diary entry from his childhood, with the airplane symbolizing the freedom to explore the world on his own terms. He includes the line “Flying for years now/Got mileage close to a million,” to remind himself that what is the norm for him today was something that seemed unattainable to young Jung Ho-seok.

With a dynamic bass line anchoring the track, “Still Life” is anything but sedentary. Anderson .Paak opens the song sounding like the tipsy fun uncle whose malapropisms are excused because he’s the favored relative. “I’m still life,” he declares. As in a piece of inanimate artwork? Nah, RM mistakenly equated “still life” for “alive,” but then decided to run with it. Utilizing his unintentional wordplay, RM continues, “I’m still life, but I’m moving … /My life is on display, still life, still life.” And somehow, it works better than if he had used alive instead.

Suga, he’s just like us. Before he could afford luxury cars, he took the bus to school and work. The No. 724 bus is in his hometown of Daegu. The No. 148 bus is in Seoul. Suga gets so into his music that he sounds like he’s gasping for air, adding a dramatic propulsive touch. “724148” is less a complaint about the days when he had no money than it is a reminder that he doesn’t want to ever forget them.

RM explores how modern life is so crammed with responsibilities that we often forget what’s important. “My friends are sad/I’m sorry,” he gently sings. “I have so many thoughts/But I don’t have enough memory.” He’s joined on this ballad by folk singer Kim Sa-wol, who lends a comforting verse asking if he remembers the childhood smell of playing on grass. As their voices fade, the song ends with whistling, but no answer.

Suga teams up with RM on “Strange,” where the cerebral rappers tackle capitalism, corruption, and society’s inequalities from different angles. With exasperated hiccups, Suga considers how the poor are pitted against the wealthy, but then also blamed for being poor. RM, meanwhile, states that “no matter how much money is in your grasp, everyone’s a slave to this system.” His word choice is interesting, because naysayers often describe idols as slaves within the music-industry system.

Jin’s not the first BTS member to go a little bit country — RM did that in 2019 with “Seoul Town Road,” his surprise collaboration with Lil Nas X. But he went all in on “Rope It,” which begins like the intro of a spaghetti western. An ominous whistle wails, followed by a neighing horse. Then the twangiest of twangy guitars kicks in, signaling that Jin has officially entered his chaps era. Bonus points: Jin works in Michelle Obama’s famous 2016 quote (“When they go low, we go high”) into the chorus.

“Forever Rain” is atmospheric and melancholy, quiet and introspective. The rock track has soft beats that complement RM’s bilingual delivery. The rain he sings of serves as a facade for the rapper, who can go about his day unrecognized. But rain is also a constant he can rely on when he’s unsure of who will be there for him when he’s simply Kim Nam-joon, rather than the leader of BTS.

Backed by synthesizers and a manic piano run, RM contemplates how people change, but are immortalized by how they’re remembered. In his case, every move he’s made as a young adult has been documented in the media. “Fuck my interviews in years ago/I’m whole different, not that anymore/Fuck that Wiki … /I don’t know this fool.” 

With “Hangsang,” J-Hope confirms that while he likes his designer clothes and expensive merch, he loves his fellow band members even more. As with many of his songs, he ponders the inequality between the classes with references to baepsae (which also appears in BTS songs like “Baepsae” and “Not Today”). Baepsae is the opposite of silver spoons, who were born into privilege. He’s cognizant of the fact that it wasn’t too long ago that a very young BTS wore designer knockoffs, because that’s all they could afford at the time.

Best line in this rapid-fire rap: “A to the G, to the U, to the STD.” Runner up: “My seat is in business/You’re always behind me in economy, kissing my ass.”

RM first used the phrase “moonchild” in his 2017 duet with V on “4 O’Clock.” Here, the AutoTune’ing creates an echo chamber effect that makes RM sound like he’s floating in space, telling listeners who “can’t breathe in the sunlight … /That’s our destiny, see?” “Moonchild” is a song about resilience, reinforcing that “it’s OK to shed tears/But don’t you tear yourself.”

Jung Kook sounds good, but this song could’ve benefited from the addition of a woman responding to his pleas not to change.

“What Do You Think” is the fuck you-est of all fuck-you songs. To quote Suga, “I have no fucking interest in those who ask whether idol music is music … /No matter what you think, I’m sorry, but shit/I have no fucking interest.” The song was controversial not for the language, but the initial inclusion of a snippet of a speech by cult leader Jim Jones, which was later edited out.

V’s first self-composed song, “Scenery” is set to a delicate piano instrumental. We hear a camera clicking several times, as the shutterbug captures memories to cherish. “If you leave footprints,” he sings, “I’ll keep it warm.” The song shares the same melodic sentimentality as “Winter Bear,” which was also released in 2019, and the two songs work together as thoughtful companion pieces.

There’s sweet intimacy when Jin and Red Velvet’s Wendy harmonize together in this upbeat love letter of a song. When they promise, “Oh, I’ll love you better,” we have no reason to doubt them.

A portmanteau of two Japanese words, domodachi translates to “thanks friends.” But in this song, it’s clear that RM and Little Simz are using the word friends in a sarcastic way. “Domodachi” begins with dissonant horns and drums, while RM ties the lyrics together with his smooth, slick (and often profane) sensibility.

Jimin and Sofia Carson sound divine dueting on this R&B-influenced ballad, in which they speak about the merits of taking things nice and easy.

In South Korea, mental health issues usually aren’t openly addressed, especially by celebrities. But since the beginning of his career, Suga has been open about his ongoing depression. He begins “The Last” with deep breaths before revealing that he developed social anxiety at 18 and visited a psychiatric ward not long after. His words are chillingly honest, as he tries to navigate the world he lives in that had once seemed like a dream, but hasn’t solved his “dead passion.” Suga has a knack for penning blistering diss tracks. Here, he acknowledges that those are the words he spits out to “hide my weak self.”

Thanks to voice-isolating technology, V gets to duet with one of his all-time favorite artists. Did Bing Crosby’s Christmas classic need to be remade? No. But it is well-executed. The singers’ deep voices work well together in this sentimental song, with their harmonies sounding smooth like butter.

The childlike oompa loompa intro doesn’t prepare listeners for what’s to come — Suga’s spitfire clap backs, with a dose of healthy bragging about his success. He goes so hard that at times it sounds like he’s having trouble breathing. Nope, he’s just recharging.

Addressing what he had to give up to become J-Hope, the rapper notes that he needs a safe zone for his own piece of peace. This slowed-down R&B track leaves him searching for a metaphorical place where he can feel relief from his dark emotions.

The opening track on Suga’s mixtape D-2 finds the rapper wrestling with doubt and worries: “Sometimes I feel like I’m a genius/Sometimes I feel like I have no talent.” Imposter syndrome haunts him. But he finds comfort in the moonlight that is always there to shine on him.

“Why is being different a sin?” J-Hope asks in “= (Equal Sign).” “Starting with myself/You must know that the victims of prejudice are none other than ourselves.” The song is his plea for equality, especially for marginalized communities who are afterthoughts, if thought of at all.

Jung Kook mines emotional depth in this sweeping song that was produced by Suga. The dreamy song was recorded for the soundtrack of 7Fates: Chako — the BTS-based fantasy webtoon.

Jin closes Echo with “To Me, Today,” an optimistic number that gradually builds in tempo to a frenetic finish. “Come on and lessen your worries,” Jin says. “Live in the present … /This very moment.”

Piano meets synth meets J-Hope yearning to be a force for good. “Someone’s strength, someone’s light/I wish I could be a piece of peace,” he sings. This song is nothing if not full of hope.

Jung Kook questions whether he can love again after a breakup. Rather than being bitter or angry, he wonders, “Am I ever gonna feel again?” The sparse instrumentation suits the ballad, allowing Jung Kook’s pleas to make a powerful impact.

Le Sserafim’s Huh Junjin trades verses with J-Hope on a pop song that captures the excitement of a new relationship and the uncertainty that it could end just like that: “You believed that I would never leave your side/Oh, I can’t believe it all.”

Jin collaborated with Taka from the Japanese rock band One OK Rock on “Falling.” Less rock & roll than some other songs on Happy, the collaboration resulted in a pleasant soft-rock song with both singers’ voices sounding eerily similar throughout the track.

RM doesn’t sing or rap here. He speaks. Maybe it’s the jazz instrumentals or the thoughtful aura he exudes, but even when he speaks commonly used idioms like “What goes around comes around,” he sounds wise.

An eerie piano starts off the song. Someone opened Pandora’s box and unleashed a feral J-Hope. Thanks, Pandora!

Jimin’s lovely Christmas song from 2020 was enough to almost make us forget about the Covid-19 hellscape that dominated that year.

RM has talked about how he can read a thousand positive comments, but if he spots a hateful post, that’s something that becomes wedged in his psyche. In “P.D.D.,” he’s telling himself — and even the “suckers and the haters and the wankers” — to chill out and “please don’t die.” The song has good flow and a smooth West Coast-vibe, courtesy of rapper Warren G.

It’s strange to think Jimin initially trained to join BTS’ rap line. Can you imagine his unique falsetto not being heard on tender ballads and lush pop songs? Here, his winsome voice is complemented by soft guitars on this acoustic number.

Before he became RM, he was Rap Monster, a 21-year-old who hated being dismissed as an artist because he knew his worth as a musician. While modest in interviews, RM will unleash his bravado in his music. He starts the song off by pointing out that his height is similar to a model’s. (His loudest haters were notoriously short — not that there’s anything wrong with that!) For a song that’s got as many disses as “Monster” does, it is also a declaration of having pride in who he is: “R to the M, I’m a motherfucking monster!”

In this bright, smooth track, Suga sounds optimistic, even as he works through his ennui: “Yeah, somebody does love/But I’m thinking about you.”

With a series of metronomes loudly ticking a monotonous beat, RM rattles off a list of music genres: “I’m not pop, I’m not rock, I’m not funk, I’m not R&B or hip-hop.” To quote Ricky Nelson via his song “Garden Party,” “You can’t please everyone/So you’ve got to please yourself.” Or in RM’s abbreviated way, “Do you.”

Not to be confused with Suga’s “Interlude: Set Me Free,” Jimin’s “Set Me Free Pt.2” looks forward to the future. Sonically, it includes a choral introduction and modulations of Jimin’s voice to make it sound futuristically dehumanized. But by the end of the song, Jimin is free and so, too, is his voice.

This first track on Indigo begins and ends with samples of the Korean abstract painter Yun Hyong-keum gently talking about the goodness in humanity. “Yun” is an homage to the late artist, whose words remind RM to reflect on what it means to be human. The song, which is set to a classic boom-bap beat, benefits from Erykah Badu’s extraordinary vocals. “You be a human, until the death of you,” she reminds him, echoing Yun’s own words.

Jin hits all the high notes in this pulsating song about resilience — a bold and dramatic alt-rock number with a 1970s vibe.

The song starts with a heavily processed and jarring high-pitched voice taking on the role of a lover who tells V that they are still waiting for him. “I wish I could stay with you,” he croons back. “I would give it all up for us.”