BTS’ V Croons New Single ‘FRI(END)S’ in Luxury Live Performance Video

Gil Kaufman
·2 min read

There’s a reason BTS‘ V looks super put-together in the new live performance video for the K-pop superstar’s emotional solo ballad “FRI(END)S.” The clip cut in collaboration with French luxury brand Cartier is dripping in swag, opening with a tight shot of the singer’s face as the song’s spare, R&B backing tracks oozes out and V sings, “You’re in my head/ I had plans for the weekend/ But wound up with you instead/ Back here again/ Got me deep in my feelings.”

As the camera pans back, we catch a glimpse of V standing in the opulent Cartier Maison Cheongdam “La Résidence” showroom in Seoul, dressed in wide-leg tan pants and a brown sweater vest over a cream-colored shirt and a burgundy tie, with a generous compliment of Cartier gold pieces on his wrists, fingers and ear. The soaring-ceiling, elegant interior of the high-fashion brand’s Seoul storefront rises around the singer as he laments the friend-zoning in the track.

More from Billboard

“FRI(END)S” is V’s first new solo venture since the release of his debut solo album, Layover, in September. The English-language R&B song is a smoldering tribute to a longtime friend with love potential. “So wouldn’t it make sense if I was yours/ And you could call me your baby/ But we say we’re just, say we’re just,” V sings on the pre-chorus before dipping into the heartbreaking chorus: “Friends, just for now/ Yeah, but friends don’t say words that/ Make friends feel like more than just/ Friends, just for now.”

V was announced as a brand ambassador for the French luxury brand last July. The “FRI(END)s” single was released on Friday along with the original video, which finds the singer making his way through the world alone as couples all around him luxuriate in their endless love until a plot twist in the middle of the visual turns things around.

V began the military enlistment process for his mandatory 18 month South Korean military service — alongside bandmates Jimin, RM and Jung Kook — in November; the group is currently on hiatus until 2025, until all seven members complete their service.

Watch the new “FRI(END)S” video below.

Best of Billboard