Here’s How BTS’s J-Hope Feels About Being The First Member To Go Solo After The Big “Hiatus” Announcement
BTS shocked the world when they dropped a bomb on fans in June 2022. The successful team announced that they would be taking time to focus on solo promotions. During their 2022 FESTA Dinner, the members announced that they currently plan to focus more on solo activities at this time. According to HYBE’s statement, this does not mean the group will be on hiatus as they are planning to work on projects both as a group and individually.
BTS are not taking a hiatus. The members will be focusing more on solo projects at this time.
— HYBE
J-Hope is the first member to step out with a full-length solo album post-announcement. Although the other members, including J-Hope himself, have all released mixtapes and singles in the past, he’s the first to actually drop a full-length album. In an interview with Rolling Stone, he shared how the decision came about.
There were two main reasons that led up to this big break. Thanks to his consistent preparations and work on his own music, he ended up becoming the first, proving that success truly is a mixture of good timing and hard work.
Rather than thinking of an order of who would release first, while promoting as BTS, I kept asking myself the question “What type of music can I do as BTS’ J-Hope?” I am always asking myself that question, steadily coming up with a plan. I think by doing that, naturally, my [2018] mixtape Hope World came out … and from reflecting more, I realized I wanted to show more dancing, which you can consider as my main foundation. That led to the creation of [2019 solo single] “Chicken Noodle Soup,” which features more of that. I started to think that J-Hope needed to show more sincerity in music, and that’s what I focused on while approaching Jack in the Box. I think timing-wise, I ended up becoming the first because I was constantly preparing. I didn’t approach the project with wanting to be first in mind.
— J-Hope
While the releasse may have been a combination of his own consistent hard work and good timing, J-Hope certainly deserves the chance to shine! Catch “ARSON” below to show some support.
