Rock Influence, Solo Work, Coldplay, Touring With BTS

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mong the things that Jin, born Kim Seokjin, loves the most in this world are the music of Coldplay, his certified “worldwide handsome” status, and, perhaps most of all, being a member of BTS. Even in a remarkably fan-centered group, his attentiveness to the feelings of ARMY is intense — he saw his solo EPs and shows primarily as a way to keep fans entertained during the group’s break, and he pushed to extend BTS’ tour. He’s also the group’s designated rocker, even collaborating with Coldplay, though he hasn’t had time to see as many bands as he’d like. “I haven’t actually been to many concerts,” he says, in a February interview at Hybe’s headquarters in Seoul, Korea. “Even though I’ve done so many.”

I really love your solo song “Loser.” 
I collaborated with a Korean artist called Choi Yena for that one. So, I’m 35 [in the traditional Korean age system — 33 by international count] now. But for that song, I was trying to create a younger vibe. I’m so glad to hear you liked it.

I tend to like rock-adjacent genres, and have always wanted to include that sound in a solo album. So I made more requests than usual. In the early stages, the song didn’t sound as intense, so I asked for things like, “What if we amplified the shouting — what if we changed the sound?” I made a lot of adjustments.

Rolling Stone’s May issue features the most ambitious cover-story package in the magazine’s nearly 60-year history: eight different print covers in all. In addition to the group cover and story, we’re rolling out the seven solo covers — each with a video and solo Q&A — through Monday, April 20. Click here for continuing coverage, and click here to buy a box set of all eight covers.

Rolling Stone’s May issue features the most ambitious cover-story package in the magazine’s nearly 60-year history: eight different print covers in all. In addition to the group cover and story, we’re rolling out the seven solo covers — each with a video and solo Q&A — through Monday, April 20. Click here for continuing coverage, and click here to buy a box set of all eight covers.

How do you feel about being 35, and being an idol? You look very young, you feel good, but how do you reconcile that in your mind? 
I guess it’s always physically taxing. While it’s true that the same moves can feel a bit more difficult now, that’s just my burden to bear. For audiences, I need to display myself at top form. So I’ve got to work harder. To be honest, I’m aware that I don’t move quite as well as the other members. So I’ve always come early to practice, or stayed late to catch up. I still do that.

But, still handsome. I gotta say.
Yeah, I guess I got lucky. I do think I’m more good-looking than the other members. Even though everyone is very handsome. I should have at least one thing I’m best at in the group [smiles].

Your solo tour had rock energy and a new approach — it was very different from what you do with BTS. How did that experience carry forward into both making the album and when you’re going to be touring with BTS?
So I only toured with the band for a few months. Whereas I toured with BTS for over a decade. So I don’t think the band experience will make a big difference. The group spent over 10 years making music together and getting in sync. I think we’ll probably get back into touring harmony without much trouble. All of the members have been wanting to tour so bad; they’ve been going at it with gritted teeth. It’s been tough for me to keep up, but I’ll do my best.

Watch the video interview below

You were finishing your solo tour during the writing process of the album. Arirang is so good, but imagine how much better it would be if it had just a few more writing credits by you!
[Smiles.] I do think it would have been better. But the other members did a beautiful job. Plus, if I had been greedy and pushed the whole session just so I could add my own songs, this interview would be happening months from now. Wouldn’t the fans be too bored during that time? The recording was scheduled about three months in advance, and my tour was scheduled earlier than that. So the timing just didn’t work out.

I feel they were influenced by your rock music, even if you weren’t there for the writing. I feel like it takes those rock elements that you love and that you use so well.
I don’t know if there are too many rock elements in this album. Our group has always had a hip-hop foundation, after all. The other members enjoy rock music, too, but I’m the biggest fan. So that’s why my solo album has a rock approach. But I don’t know if it had a big influence beyond that.

On the edges, especially in the second half, I hear the rock.
If there’s anything … the others saw me in concert and kept telling me they want to perform, too. So if I influenced anything, it could be that my concert inspired the others to want it so much, and gave them a bit of a push. That might have had a small effect. V was a special guest at my concert once. And when he watched me perform, he felt such a longing for it that he burst into tears onstage.

What is your favorite rock song of all time?
I’d say my favorite is “Viva La Vida,” by Coldplay. I’ve been a guest at their concert twice. I really wanted to watch that song, even though I wasn’t called until much later. So I remember I was jumping up and down backstage while I watched the song alone.… There are other great songs, of course, and popular songs, too, but that song in particular feels special to me. When I watch that stage, I can feel my heart pounding. It has such a stirring, emotional quality. It’s the kind of song that gives me all kinds of new inspirations. So I thought about those feelings a lot when I made my solo album.

Being the eldest of the band does have a certain responsibility to it. What do you like and dislike about the role of being the eldest in the band?
I am the eldest, but within the team, the members don’t really … treat me like the eldest? Is that weird to say? I guess they don’t think of me as the eldest. Nor do I act like it. But when they act all friendly, calling me brother, and they treat me comfortably, that’s what I like the most. I guess the inverse of that is that I don’t like when they get overly casual? Like when they slap my butt, for example. I’d say that’s my least favorite part [laughs].

By the way, 35 is very young.
Yeah, I know, I know. But I realized, there’s definitely a difference between 25 and 35.

And you’re always the first one to experience that in the band. 
You’re absolutely right. Let me tell you what a fellow member told me once. He said, “Jin, if you’re having trouble, you can try harder and overcome it!” and he’s about two, three years younger than me, right? He came back to me after two, three years and said, “Wow, this is how bad you felt at this age? I had no idea.”

Your role on the Korean variety show Kian’s Bizarre B&B was a big success — everyone loved it. How does that affect the way you think of career possibilities going forward?
I’ve always thought there’s no reason to continue if it’s not with the group. I guess a solo career is just not that important to me. If I did anything, it would be … trying something different within the group when the fans are bored. I’m not interested in acting or anything like that.

Now, you’ve finally let that go? It was always floating in the air.
I haven’t really been considering that possibility for years now. I guess I thought about how the timing wouldn’t be right. But I’m pretty convinced that the timing won’t be right for a very long time.

What is your biggest personal ambition for the next five years?
My biggest dream has been to go on tour with BTS and meet as many fans as I can, from all over the world. But when we first got our tour plans, it didn’t have very many stops, and it was only going to last about three to four months. I said, ‘Now that we’re back, we promised so many people that we would come and meet them, and I feel like this is breaking our promise. I’d like to restructure this tour so that we can touch on more cities than this.’ So that’s how we landed on the final tour schedule. We were able to extend a four-month tour to over a year.