V (Kim Taehyung) of BTS has once again proven his dominance in the global music industry with his first solo album ‘Layover‘ surpassing 100,000 units sold in the US. This achievement solidifies V’s position as a powerhouse in the world of music, showcasing his unique musical style and artistry.
V: A Music Powerhouse in the US
V has beyond doubt not only entrenched himself as a force to reckon with in the music industry in one of the largest music markets in the world, the United States of America. From V’s new solo album, ‘Layover’, the pop R&B genre proves to be an impressive breakthrough for this prominent figure as a solo artist. When Billboard celebrated the album, it did so for its ability to capture the tender side of V’s personality as well as his versatility.
Record-Breaking Sales Figures
As soon as it came out, ‘Layover’ created a wave, especially because it entered the second position on the Billboard main chart, known as the ‘Billboard 200‘. This has been an impressive record that a K-Pop solo singer has ever had. Even more remarkably, two songs from the album, ‘Slow Dancing’ and ‘Love Me Again,’ climbed Billboard’s central singles A&R chart, the ‘Hot 100’.
Critical Acclaim and Recognition
The critics highly appreciated ‘Layover’ and various media sources paid attention to it. Time Out, an exclusive magazine from Great Britain, included the album in the list of ’30 Released the Best Albums of 2023.’ It, too, gave recognition to ‘Layover,’ and placed it to the 2nd spot of the ‘25 Best K-Pop Albums of 2023’. Also, at the iHeartRadio music awards of 2024, V’s album was given the ‘Favorite Debut Album’ award.
Unprecedented Streaming Success
V kept on dominating ‘Layover‘, where he became the first K-pop singles artist to experience all track on the album amass more than 100 million streams on Spotify within the week. The track Rainy Days from Layover reached on the 58th position in Rolling Stone’s annual countdown 100 Best Songs of 2023. By the 4th, ‘Layover’ has received 1 million fans overall fans and 737,097 likes on facebook. It currently sees 1.534 billion streams on Spotify.
The Significance of V’s Achievement
What is so special about V and ‘Layover’ is, ‘Layover’ did all this without promotion in the United States. It could not benefit from television, the radio, or even music release promotions like most famous albums of that time. It was V’s celebrity and musical skills that brought ‘Layover’ to life, and made the video so popular.