BTS's V Opens Up About His Pandemic Life And "Blue & Grey"

Pandemic life hasn’t been easy, but during these dark times BTS‘s V is looking on the bright side.

In his solo interview with Rolling Stone, V talked about BTS’s BE album track “Blue & Grey,” a song originally intended for his mixtape. “Blue & Grey” was written during the first wave of COVID-19, when BTS was forced to postpone their Map of the Soul Tour.

That was when the Covid pandemic was just really expanding and becoming serious. We had prepared really hard to show ARMY our “ON” performances. And what I was finding difficult at the time was not being able to show what we practiced and prepared so hard.

— V

Not being able to perform live for fans left V feeling frustrated and burned out.

I was telling all ARMY on social media, “Get ready, we’re about to show you these great performances!” So that was really frustrating and difficult and it made me sad. I think there was a measure of being tired and really sort of burned out a little bit from the work as well.

— V

Even though the past year has been challenging, being off the road has given V time to delve deeper into his interests and hobbies.

It allowed me to really focus on something. Pre-Covid, I was so busy that I couldn’t really concentrate on one thing or really focus on something new. If I wanted to do a new thing, I was really forced to sort of be a dilettante. I couldn’t dive deep. But during the last year I had more time.

— V

V has been honing his skills as a producer and composer. With a less hectic schedule, he has been able to create more complex compositions when and how he wants to.

In my work, I really tried to do more producing and then go more in-depth on my music. My melodies before were not that complex, or intricate, I thought. But I was able to focus more energy into it, to listen to more music, and really sort of think about more things. And that, I think, helped me to really dive into the producing aspect of making music.

And I had a lot of time to come up with good melodies, and also had a lot of time to just sort of sit and vegetate. [Laughs] And that also helped me.

— V

For more, check out what V told Rolling Stone about his mixtape, his acting plans, and how he feels about being BTS’s hidden member now.