Jin’s highly anticipated solo single “The Astronaut” and its official video have arrived.
The song was written by British band Coldplay with credits also given to Jin, DJ-producer Kygo and Coldplay frontman Chris Martin’s 16-year-old son Moses Martin. (Also listed are 75-year-old composer and vocalist Joan La Barbara and the late Icelandic composer Jóhann Jóhannsson – both of whose work is interpolated.)
Chris Martin, Moses Martin and James Keys provided backing vocals on the song, which was produced by Kygo and frequent Coldplay collaborator Bill Rahko.
“It does feel more distinctively like a Coldplay song than it necessarily does a Jin song,” opined Rhian Daly at NME, who praised Jin’s vocals. “Though Jin stands apart from BTS here, his individual artistic identity still isn’t given much room to manifest.”
Rolling Stone’s Kristine Kwak noted: “The song captures elements of Coldplay’s signature sound with its echoing vocal effects and synth buildups.”
The official video for the song features a cameo by Chris Martin as a news anchor.
Jin will perform the song live for the first time at Coldplay’s concert in Buenos Aires on Friday. (Coldplay collaborated with BTS last year on "My Universe.")
Jin, who turns 30 in December, will be the first member of BTS to enlist for mandatory military service.
“Jin will initiate the process as soon as his schedule for his solo release is concluded at the end of October,” Big Hit Music said in a statement earlier this week. “He will then follow the enlistment procedure of the Korean government. Other members of the group plan to carry out their military service based on their own individual plans.
“Both the company and the members of BTS are looking forward to reconvening as a group again around 2025 following their service commitment.”
He and the remaining members of BTS, who currently range in age from 25 to 29, announced in June that they are taking a break.
Check out the video below: