V

*See also: His KProfile and BTS Wiki Page*

V

## Signature

**Kim Tae-hyung** (김태형; born December 30, 1995), also known by his stage name **V**, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is a vocalist of the South Korean boy group BTS.

## Early life and education

V was born Kim Tae-hyung on December 30, 1995 in Daegu, South Korea, and grew up in Geochang County. He is the eldest of three children, with a younger brother and sister. V first aspired to be a professional singer in elementary school and eventually began taking saxophone lessons in early middle school as a means of pursuing the career. V initially became a trainee for Big Hit Entertainment after passing an audition in Daegu.

After graduating from Korean Arts High School in 2014, V enrolled in Global Cyber University.

## Career

### 2013–present: BTS

*Main article: BTS*
On June 13, 2013, he made his debut as a member of BTS on Mnet's *M Countdown* with the track "No More Dream" from their debut single album, *2 Cool 4 Skool*. He was first credited for music composition in *The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 1* when he co-wrote and co-produced the song "Hold Me Tight". He also contributed to writing lyrics for the song "Fun Boyz", co-composed by bandmate Suga. For the song "Run", V's melody was used with Jungkook's original lyrics for the next album *The Most Beautiful Moment in Life, Part 2*. Furthermore, he contributed to music composition and lyrics for a solo song called "Stigma" from the album *Wings*. V has also released, unofficially, a cover of "Hug Me" with bandmate J-Hope as well as a cover of "Someone Like You" by Adele.

In May 2018, his second solo song, "Singularity" was released as the trailer for BTS' then upcoming third LP, *Love Yourself: Tear*. The track made its UK radio debut on BBC radio on October 25. A month after its release, *The Guardian* added "Singularity" to its "Top 50 songs for the month of June 2018" playlist and *Billboard* included it in their Critics' list of the "Top 50 BTS songs" at number 28. Overall, "Singularity" was generally well-received by critics and as a result, was mentioned on several year-end Critics' Choice lists. The *New York Times* ranked it twentieth on its list of "The 65 Best Songs of 2018" alongside "Fake Love", *LA Times* Pop Music Critic Mikael Wood named it the fourth "best and most replay worthy song of 2018", and *Guardian*  Music Critic Laura Snapes included it as one of her favourite tracks in their "Best Music of 2018: Albums and Tracks" list.

On October 24, V became one of the youngest recipients of the prestigious fifth-class Hwagwan Order of Cultural Merit medal, awarded to him by the President of South Korea along with the other members of BTS for their role in the spread of culture.

V, together with bandmate J-Hope, collaborated with Swedish singer Zara Larsson on a song called "A Brand New Day" for the soundtrack album of their mobile game BTS World. It was released on June 14, 2019 and debuted at number 1 on World Digital Song Sales Chart. Eight months later, he collaborated with bandmate Jimin for the song "Friends" and he also participated in composition and writing of his solo song, "Inner Child" on their album *Map of the Soul: 7*.

### 2016–present: Solo activities

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. He also collaborated with bandmate Jin on a duet for the *Hwarang* soundtrack entitled "It's Definitely You". On June 8, 2017, he released "4 O'Clock", a song he co-produced with bandmate RM, to celebrate BTS' fourth anniversary.

V released his first full solo track outside of BTS, "Scenery", on January 30, 2019, through BTS' SoundCloud page. The ballad song was written and composed by V (who also photographed the cover artwork), produced by Big Hit Entertainment producer Docskim, and featured additional contributions from Big Hit producers Pdogg and Hiss Noise. 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. The song received generally favorable reviews following its release, with particular praise directed to the nostalgic and sentimental qualities of the lyrics, which were equated to a diary entry. Seven months later, he released his second solo song and first English song, "Winter Bear", through Soundcloud, accompanied by a self-directed music video via BTS' YouTube channel on August 9. He co-produced the track together with bandmate RM and Big Hit Entertainment producers Hiss Noise and ADORA. He also photographed the cover artwork using his pseudonym, *Vante*.

In 2020, V participated in a song titled "Sweet Night" for the soundtrack of the JTBC drama *Itaewon Class* which was released on March 13, 2020. Produced, written and sung by V, the indie pop song is entirely in English. The song received generally favourable reviews for its composition, vocal performance and warm lyrics and debuted at number 2 on *Billboard*'s U.S. Digital Song Sales chart, becoming the highest debut for a Korean soloist in the chart's history.

### Impact and influence

V coined the phrase "I purple you" during BTS' fanmeeting in November 2016. Ever since then, purple has become a symbol of BTS and their fans. UNICEF also used the phrase for their anti-bullying campaign in collaboration with BTS.

In 2018, Eugene Investment & Securities Co., Ltd. conducted analytical research on Google search trends relating to the K-pop industry. "V" ranked first on the chart, meaning it was the number one most searched keyword for the past five years in South Korea. In a survey conducted by Gallup Korea, he was chosen as the 4th most preferred idol of 2019 while ranking 9th in 2018.

Various artists have cited him as an influence and role model, such as The Boyz's Younghoon and Hwall, Golden Child's Jaehyun and Jangjun, MVP's Been, Rainz's Byun Hyun Min, Cravity's Serim, Ateez's Yeosang and Mingi, D-Crunch's Jungseung and Dylan, Lucente's Bao, Newkidd's Yunmin, Boy Story's Hanyu, TXT's Beomgyu, Produce X 101 contestants Koo Jung Mo, Lee Tae Seung and Mahiro Hidaka, and former Wanna One member Park Ji Hoon.

## Artistry

V is a baritone whose voice has received a generally positive critical reception, with particular praise to his vocal range and "husky" tone. He gained wider vocal recognition for his performance of his solo song "Stigma" and was praised for his falsettos that showed off his vocal range and unique musicality. V's tonality on "Singularity" the opening track on BTS' *Love Yourself: Tear*, was noted as a prominent "tone setter" on the album by music critic Blanca Méndez. Karen Ruffini of Elite Daily stated in their article that "V... has no problem producing super soothing, low tones that are a key element in the overall sound for BTS," with Tamar Herman from *Billboard* also noting that V's lower range is a prominent piece of BTS' music. V's musicality is heavily influenced by his love for jazz and classical music. Eric Benet and Ruben Studdard are among his inspirations.

As a performer, V's style is known for its "duality", or his ability to evoke various emotions on stage. British journalist Rhian Daly, writing for *NME*, particularly noted this when discussing his performance "Singularity" during the Love Yourself: Speak Yourself World Tour, describing his movements as "precise and deliberate". Crystal Bell from MTV noted V's performances often work with live cameras in concert venues, and how he utilizes them to create subtle expressions during performances.

### Other songs

 2017
 2019
 "Winter Bear"

### Writing credits

All song credits are adapted from the Korea Music Copyright Association's database unless otherwise noted.

## Awards and nominations

*Main article: BTS (Awards and nominations)*

Name of the award ceremony, year presented, nominee(s) of the award, award category, and the result of the nomination
 Soompi Awards | 2018
 2019

## Trivia

**Jungkook:** Although he's a hyung, I have no answer to describe his personality.
**Suga:** Compared to his age, he's immature and isn't able to become serious. It seems he doesn't care what others think.
**Jimin:** He has a cheerful personality and really doesn't notice his surroundings. He likes playing around. He's innocent.

**Jimin:** We'll try V's cooking sooner or later. I just hope that V will stop stealing the food I'm cooking.

* V's family consists of his father, mother, younger sister, and younger brother.

* V comes from a poor family. He grew up in a family of farmers and often takes pictures of the farm they own.

* Even after he had been in the group for a while, fans didn't know or hear of him until his debut.
* It is said that when his teaser image was released, 5 personal fan clubs were created.
* He is semi-fluent in Japanese.
* His favorite color is grey.
* His favorite number is 10.
* V's favorite items are his computer, big dolls, clothes, shoes, accessories, and anything unique.
* He has one single eyelid and one double eyelid.
* He's got his driver's license.
* He clenches his teeth while he sleeps.
* He can only drink one glass of beer before he gets drunk.
* He doesn't like coffee but loves hot cocoa.
* He likes anything that is unique.
* Taehyung can dance in high heels.
* Taehyung is the pickiest eater out of all the members.
* His favorite artist is Eric Benét.
* His role model is his father. He wants to be a father like his father, someone who takes care of his children, listens to everything they say, and encourages and advises them in their future plans.
* He has the same hobbies as Jin.
* Whenever V has a problem, he will share it with Jimin and Jin. But he thinks it's easier to talk to Jimin since they are the same age.
* In an early log, V said Jimin was his best friend.
* He's friends with Park Bogum, BTOB's Sungjae, GOT7's Mark, SHINee's Minho, Kim Minjae, and EXO's Baekhyun.
* Fans noted that V looks like EXO's Baekhyun and B.A.P.'s Daehyun. He responded saying that Baekhyun is his mother and Daehyun is his father.
* RM said that V is the 2nd best English speaker in BTS.
* Taehyung loves GUCCI.
* The first-ever album that V bought was a Girls' Generation album.
* He is interested in photography and said that if he wasn't an idol, he would probably be a photographer.
* V has a habit of collecting ties.
* According to a Yahoo Taiwan poll, V is the most popular BTS member in Taiwan.
* In the dorm, V is in charge of the washing machine.
* V likes amusement parks. He especially likes the gyro drop, gyro swing, and roller coasters.
* V can climb a tree but he can't get back down.
* V is ambidextrous. He was originally left-handed, but he's ambidextrous now.
* V loves classical music a lot and he always plays classical music when he sleeps.
* He likes Vincent van Gogh.
* If he'd get a day off, V would visit his parents.
* V said the 3 requirements for his happiness are family, health, and honor.
* V likes Kyunghoon.
* As of December 2017, V got a new puppy named Yeontan. It's a black Pomeranian Teacup.
* V ranked 1st in the "Top 100 Most Handsome Faces of 2017".
* V is ranked 5th on TC Candler's "The 100 Most Handsome Faces of 2018".
* V shares the same birthday as K.Will. Once, K.Will's waiting room was beside BTS's room. So K.Will came to him and said, "Hey, is it your birthday today? It's mine too! Let's blow out the candles together.", which made V very happy.
* Jin ranked V as the noisiest member.

* In the old dorm, he shared a room with RM.
* In the new dorm, he has his own room.
* V's ideal type is someone who takes care of him and loves only him and who has a lot of aegyo.

## Notes

1. ↑ For his role as Suk Han-sung in *Hwarang: The Poet Warrior Youth*