Jimin of BTS is back — sort of. While the global star is still in the midst of serving his compulsory time in the South Korean military, he recently released his second solo project, a summery, sunny effort titled MUSE.
In addition to recording a second full album before heading to the military, Jimin prepared something extra special for ARMY by making sure to pre-record a live performance of the album’s focus track, “Who,” for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Watch it below, and read on to dig into five highlights from the confident performance.
The Mic Is On
For anyone who has been following BTS for any period of time, live performances being truly live should come as no surprise — but Jimin’s voice sounded especially clear during this performance. As a member of BTS’ vocal line, Jimin tends to take responsibility for parts in the higher vocal range; when on his own, he prefers to stay in that same space. Even with the intense choreography that “Who” demands, and a lack of the sort of breaks he would get when performing with the rest of the band, he sounds strong and confident throughout the performance.
It’s the Seven Again
Jimin is supported by both male and female dancers throughout this performance. But when it’s time for the boys to shine, Jimin is conveniently backed by exactly six of them, recalling the formations so often used by BTS when all seven of the members are together on stage. There’s a familiarity to it that is immediately identifiable to the audience, and might even feel a little cozier for Jimin, too.
One Take Wonder
Perhaps in an effort to try and capture the feeling of the performance being as “live” as possible, Jimin’s performance of “Who” is structured to look like one take. The only place a cut might be hidden is around two minutes in, when the camera hovers below Jimin and zooms in on his jacket, but the multi-cam video, overall, is extremely convincing. If he couldn’t come to 30 Rock himself to do it all live, this feels like the next best thing.
“The World and So Much More”
While BTS have dabbled in English-language songs as a team in the past, and Jimin’s “Like Crazy” featured quite a bit of English, too, “Who” is entirely in English. Co-written with dependable BTS collaborators Pdogg and GHSTLOOP, “Who” was co-produced by Jon Bellion. Elsewhere in the episode, Jimmy Fallon revealed that he bumped into Jimin when he was in the US working on MUSE, and was lucky enough to hear an early cut of the song. “Who” is catchy and accessible, and feels like the latest step in BTS’ individual paths to global success.
Facing the Muse
After being lucky enough to have Jimin around IRL for promotions of his first album, FACE, it’s fun to see the growth between “Like Crazy” and “Who,” with the latter acting as the perfect bridge to connect his first solo project to this current era. Jimin has quite a bit of range — he suits a cheerful, comforting track just as easily as pulling off a more dramatic or introspective number, like “Lie” or “Set Me Free pt.2.” This performance is the ideal anchor for this chapter of his solo story.