After BTS committed to releasing solo projects in the group’s “Chapter Two,” Jimin set the bar for creative ingenuity and commercial success with his Face EP from last spring. The brilliantly unconventional dark-pop lead single “Like Crazy” marked the first time a K-pop soloist hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, while the 164,000 equivalent album units Face sold in its first week, resulting in a No. 2 debut on the Billboard 200, created another set of new records for Korean artists.
Despite serving his mandatory Korean military service obligations at the moment, Jimin is still showing his willingness to expand and push himself with what he prepared with the release of his second solo record. A sharp contrast to the dark themes of his solo debut, Muse explores Jimin’s journey to find true inspiration to deliver an exploration of love through seven tracks.
Incorporating everything from R&B grooves and light hip-hop to Latin and Afrobeat flair, Muse flexes Jimin’s versatility as a genre-less artist. Meanwhile, the songwriting within the record feels intimate and introspective. With Jimin co-writing on six of the EP’s seven tracks, the opening song, “Rebirth (Intro),” sets the multifaceted theme of romance in searching for a lover as part of one’s self-improvement while the focus track “Who” explores the longing and confusion in love via Jimin’s first solo English single.
With “Who” and “Smeraldo Garden Marching Band” being Muse’s singles, all of the EP’s full tracks could fulfill that duty for their ability to successfully represent new sides of Jimin. Here’s our ranking of the songs on the BTS vocalist’s latest solo album, Muse.
