Ever since the members from the boyband BTS started off their enlistment in the South Korean Military, each member has released their own ep album. Kim Taehyung also known by his stage name of “V” has the role of a vocalist, and dancer in the group. Out of the seven members, V was the last one to release his solo ep album. 

On September 8, 2023, V’s first solo EP, Layover, was released. Layover consists of six tracks that have a mix of both Korean and English: “Rainy Days”, “Blue”, “Love Me Again”, “Slow Dancing”, “For Us”, and “Slow Dancing (piano version). 

The meaning behind Layover is hitting pause, in other words, taking a moment to restart after completing a phase of life. The EP reached  #2 on the billboard 200 on the week of September 17, 2023.

V produces several music styles, but the main genres in his solos are classical, R&B, and K-pop. V’s voice is on the deeper side, which adds a special touch to the songs. His voice is unique and he is known for having a baritone voice.

The songs are mostly R & B-tinged and jazz influenced. All of the songs are slow, nice, and calm songs to listen to, with the exception of “Rainy Days.” “Rainy Days” has a more upbeat type of rhythm to it, in a pop genre style. The EP is overall about relationships that have changed or gone the wrong direction. The songs deal with V thinking that they can go back to normal or back on track but at the end finally realizing that it won’t work out. 

From the six tracks in the album, my top two are, “Slow Dancing,” and “Love Me Again.” When I first heard the album, these songs were the ones that caught my attention, and are the ones that I would listen to over and over again. The melody to the songs is pleasing to the ear, and the lyrics to them are most understandable or relating compared to the other songs on the album. 

After listening to the full album at once, it seemed like the songs were listed in an order that could be stages of grief. “Rainy Days” being the denial stage, “Blue” being anger, “Love me again” being coming to agreement, “Slow dancing” being the sorrow stage, and “For Us” being the final stage of acceptance. 

“Rainy Days’ ‘ – Opens up with a piano melody, later it’s a bit more upbeat while still being able to hear the piano melody in the background. It starts off and ends with the sound of typing text messages being sent and received. I found this interesting as it then led into the actual singing after receiving a final text message. “Rainy days” is about having regret and nostalgia about not being able to be around his partner anymore, in other words a sense of loneliness. The lyrics convey a message of having the desire to rebuild the connection that he had with his lost love. “Wish I knew how to find my way, right back to you”, which I think expresses the desire to be able to get back with that someone, the desire to rebuild their relationship. Personally, this isn’t my go to on the album, it’s not bad, but it would be a song that I would play occasionally or possibly even skip. 

“Blue” sounds like music that would be played in a cafe, as the song is more on the classical, jazzy side. It starts off with the repetition of “On and on and on” which could mean or represent the hope that he has for his relationship to be continued or for him to still be loved. It then transitions to a slow steady beat, and throughout the song it consists of backing vocals. “Blue” is the type of song that I would play when trying to study or doing my homework as it is not on the upbeat side, but rather calming. Since “blue” is being repeated a lot throughout the song, it could be a reference to the emotional state, in which it is being sad or feeling nostalgic about his relationship. “Blue” also isn’t one of my go to’s in the album, however I wouldn’t skip it, as I like how it’s a slow song and would be a good song to listen to when reading or doing homework. 

  “Love Me Again” – This song was the first song to be released prior to the full release of his album. The song was dropped with a music video as well. In the music video, V is performing the song as if he were being broadcasted on T.V.  This song seems to be V’s thoughts about what he is expecting to say in the conversation with his partner.  The lyrics to the song give off a vibe where he seems desperate to go back to his partner. “I wish you could love me again, no I don’t want nobody else”/“Is that all you have to say? One word, that’s it?” When I heard these lyrics, it seemed to me like he was focusing on what his responses were going to be, like if he were trying to get the perfect responses. The lyrics of the song express a sort of need or desire for the other person in the relationship to feel the same as they once did towards V, trying to bring back that love that they once had.  In other words, hoping for another chance, and hoping to get back together which ties back to the title “Love Me Again”. This song is also one of my favorites on the album because I feel it’s easy to get a grasp of and go along with the rhythm.

“Slow dancing”– It seems to be a song where V is trying to be more open about his feelings and also being more clear about how he feels. How he hopes to be able to be with his partner for a longer period of time. . “Stay with me, till the end of the day”, “Gimme a minute if it ain’t too late”, which connects back to him wanting to stay with their partner for a long time, in other words prolonged companionship. Out of all the tracks, I would say this one is my favorite. This is my go to in the album as the song has a flowy melody which I love. I also like the vocals that create a more comforting and warm song. The melody or beat to this song is similar to one of V’s previous solo works like “Sweet Night” and “It’s Definitely You.” These are also songs that I like which I think also have an influence on why I like “Slow Dancing” more since they have a similar vibe. 

For us – The last track on the list is “For Us”. This song starts off with pitched up vocals in the beginning and transitions to a slow and steady melody. It is also fully in English which is something that is out of V’s comfort zone but managed to do. The meaning behind this song could be that  V and their partner shared some good moments and had a great connection, but the relationship did not end up working at the end despite them giving their best for it to work out. For example the lyric, “Now I’m in California, I’m still waiting for ya. Will you change your mind?” is said by a narrator while V responds with “I wish I could stay with you.” It could be that one of the reasons why he couldn’t stay was because the person is in California and he has to go back to Korea, yet he is still hoping that they’ll be able to reach each other again. This track is more of a heartfelt, melodic song that could be listened to when going out for a drive at night. 

Overall I find the album to be very pleasing, and it’s an album that I would continue to replay. I give it an 8/10, as I do have some songs that I would skip at times, however, the rest of the songs being really good brings up the rating. It was nice to hear a different type of genre, especially since the jazzy and classical side does compliment V’s voice. I would recommend this album if you enjoy music made by artists like Steve Lacy, The Marias, or Clairo.