On January 19, 2024, fans of BTS member Kim Taehyung, also known as V, took to social media with the hashtag "LAYOVER NO SKIP ALBUM" to celebrate the success of his first solo album, Layover. The album, released on September 8, 2023, quickly gained recognition, with TimeOut magazine listing V as the only K-pop artist in their 2023 'The 30 Best Music List.'
Layover, a blend of pop, R&B, and jazz, showcases V's soulful melodies and was created in collaboration with creative director Min Hee-jin. The album consists of six tracks, including a piano rendition of "Slow Dancing," and each song has its own music video.
The album's title track, "Slow Dancing," released on the same day as the album, catapulted V to international acclaim, breaking records and dominating music charts. Layover became the best-selling Korean album by a solo K-pop artist on Japan's Oricon chart and achieved the greatest debut by a K-pop soloist on the Billboard 200 list. It also holds the distinction of being the second-longest-charting album by a solo K-pop artist on the Billboard 200.
Layover kept making waves; it was the only album by a K-pop soloist to have every song appear on the daily Spotify India list. It broke records as the number one song overall each week on Spotify Japan's Top 100. The album also set a record for the longest charting position held by a K-pop soloist on the UK's official album downloads list.
Layover became the third album by an Asian artist to reach the two million copy mark on the Hanteo chart after receiving over 100 million streams in its first week of release.
On Twitter, fans showed their happiness by announcing that Layover was a "NO SKIP ALBUM." All of the album's tracks have received over 60 million Spotify streams by December 16, 2023, making it the first and only K-pop soloist album to do so.
Layover is:
— TAE GUIDE (@taeguide) January 19, 2024
— Best selling Korean album by a Kpop soloist on Japan’s Oricon chart
— Highest debut by a Kpop soloist on the Billboard #200 chart (tied)
— 2nd longest charting album by a Kpop soloist on Billboard 200
— Only album by a Kpop Soloist to debut all songs on Spotify… pic.twitter.com/ruTsj28Dqf
OUTSTANDING ARTIST TAEHYUNG
— ꪜ⁷☆ʟᴀʏᴏ(ꪜ)ᴇʀ☆ wherever u r (@kthv9595) January 19, 2024
LAYOVER NO SKIP ALBUM#FirstAndOnlyIdolV pic.twitter.com/uS8Fd6tCfV
Despite his achievements on his own, Kim Taehyung was compelled to enlist in the military on December 11, 2023, and he just finished basic training on January 16, 2024, becoming an Elite Soldier.
