Jimin

Jimin had spent only six months as a K-pop trainee when he debuted in BTS—the least amount of any of the band’s members. With his natural charisma and strong background in contemporary dance, Jimin was considered a shoo-in for the group, but it would be years before he would get comfortable with his vocals. After more than a decade with BTS, though, Jimin would become one of the most distinctive voices in K-pop. Born in Korea’s southern city of Busan as 박지민 (or Park Jimin) in 1995, Jimin moved to Seoul at 16 to become a trainee at Big Hit Entertainment. In 2013, he debuted alongside RM, JIN, SUGA, j-hope, V, and Jung Kook as a dancer and vocalist in 방탄소년단 (or Bangtan Sonyeondan, aka BTS). They would go on to become one of the most successful musical artists of all time. In 2016, when BTS made international waves with the single “Blood Sweat & Tears,” it was Jimin’s raspy, sensual intro that lured in many new listeners. He further cemented his reputation as a uniquely expressive performer with the release of BTS solo songs “Lie” (2016), “Serendipity” (2017), and “Filter” (2020). In 2023, during a BTS group hiatus, Jimin collaborated with Taeyang, of BIGBANG, on the R&B track “VIBE” and released a solo mini-album called FACE. A six-track record written over a period of 10 months about Jimin’s intense feelings during the initial pandemic period, FACE hit at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, with synth-pop lead single “Like Crazy” debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Co-written by Jimin, the album is about confronting one’s self in order to become a better artist. “Finally free,” he sings again and again on “Set Me Free, Pt. 2,” a self-liberation song that features Jimin rapping—a reminder that finding one’s voice is not only a continuous, lifelong process for an artist, but one that can lead in unexpected directions.