BTS’ V Brings a Quiet Storm to ‘Tiny Desk Korea’

BTS’ V delivered a trio of tender, swooning songs during his short but sweet performance on NPR’s new Tiny Desk offshoot, Tiny Desk Korea. 

The performance was filmed last month in Seoul and found V working alongside an eight-person band of musicians, most of whom had flown from the U.S. to South Korea for the gig. Despite their recent formation — and ostensible jet lag — the musicians provided V with the most dulcet of tones as he breezed through some of the songs off his debut solo EP, Layover. 

V opened the performance with “Love Me Again,” followed by “Slow Dancing,” an irresistible bit of groove-ready R&B punctuated by V’s swooning vocals and a fiery saxophone solo. The set closed with “For Us,” though before launching into the track, V said in Korean, “These songs evoke a sense of fleeting tranquility, as if they effortlessly pass by and offer a soothing pause.”

Released last week, Layover marks a major culmination for V, who spent several years writing songs and trying to figure out the right direction and sound for his solo career. As he recently explained to Rolling Stone, this pursuit started as BTS was scoring major hits with “Dynamite” and “Butter” and continued as the group entered a hibernation period to focus on solo careers and complete their mandatory military service. Ultimately, V settled on a sound heavily inspired by soul and R&B, as well as jazz and classical. 

“Jazz and classical are my favorite genres, so I think I always had the desire to try making it myself,” he said. “It was the music that I grew up listening to. Whenever I had free time, or when there was a break between my work, I tended to go back to those styles. I felt a sense of comfort while listening to them, so I really wanted to try to make music that also brings that feeling of consolation to the audience. While I was preparing this album, I thought, ‘Since this is the music that was always my source of comfort, why don’t I try to return the feeling for ARMY?’” 

From Rolling Stone US.