V

Kim Tae-hyung (Korean: 김태형; born December 30, 1995),^[1] also known professionally as V, is a South Korean singer and songwriter. A member of the South Korean boy band BTS,^[2] V has released three solo tracks under the band's name: "Stigma" in 2016, "Singularity" in 2018, and "Inner Child" in 2020, all of which have charted on South Korea's Gaon Digital Chart. In 2019, V released his first independent song, the self-composed digital track "Scenery". He also appeared on the Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth (2016) soundtrack alongside bandmate Jin.V was born Kim Tae-hyung on December 30, 1995, in the Seo District of Daegu, South Korea,^[3][4] and grew up in Geochang County.^[5] He is the eldest of three children, with a younger brother and sister.^[6] V first aspired to be a professional singer in elementary school.^[7] With his father's support,^[8] he began taking saxophone lessons in early middle school as a means of pursuing the career.^[6][7] V eventually became a trainee for Big Hit Entertainment after passing an audition in Daegu.^[9]

After graduating from Korean Arts High School in 2014,^[10] V enrolled in Global Cyber University—he graduated in August 2020 with a major in Broadcasting and Entertainment.^[11] As of 2021, he is enrolled at Hanyang Cyber University, pursuing a Master of Business Administration in Advertising and Media.^[12]In 2016, V made his acting debut with a supporting role in KBS2's historical drama Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth under his real name.^[27] He also collaborated with bandmate Jin on the duet "It's Definitely You" for the show's soundtrack.^[28] To celebrate BTS' fourth anniversary, V released "4 O'Clock" on June 8, 2017, a song he co-produced with bandmate RM.^[29]

V released his first independent song, "Scenery", on January 30, 2019, through the BTS SoundCloud page.^[30] The ballad was written and composed by V—he also photographed the cover artwork—and produced by Big Hit producer Docskim, with additional contributions from Pdogg and Hiss Noise.^[31] It broke SoundCloud records for reaching 100 million streams from 20 million in over fourteen days, the shortest time for the platform. Over the course of the two weeks following its release, "Scenery" broke the daily streaming record nine times.^[32] Seven months later, he released his second solo song—it was also his first all-English work—"Winter Bear" through SoundCloud, accompanied by a self-directed music video via BTS' YouTube channel on August 9. He co-produced the track with RM, Hiss Noise, and Adora, and photographed the cover artwork, under his pseudonym Vante.^[33][34]

In 2020, V contributed the single "Sweet Night" to the soundtrack of the JTBC drama Itaewon Class—it was released on March 13.^[35][36] Produced, written and sung by V, the indie pop song is entirely in English.^[37][38] The song received generally favourable reviews for its composition, vocal performance and warm lyrics,^[38][39] and debuted at number two on Billboard's U.S. Digital Songs chart.^[40] On December 25, he released the Christmas-themed song "Snow Flower" featuring Peakboy.^[41]

In 2021, V participated in the original soundtrack for the Studio N drama Our Beloved Summer, which premiered on December 6.^[42] Titled "Christmas Tree", the song debuted at number 79 on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned V his first solo entry on the chart,^[43] following its December 24 release.^[44]