Celebrate Jimin of BTS’s Birthday with These 10 Songs

Mary Siroky
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The post Celebrate Jimin of BTS’s Birthday with These 10 Songs appeared first on Consequence.

Happy birthday to the one and only Park Jimin! The BTS member, known for his incredible stage presence, contemporary dance background, lovely vocals, and kindhearted demeanor, turns 27 years old on Thursday, October 13th.

To celebrate, we’ve rounded up 10 of our favorite tracks to keep the birthday festivities going for the vocalist and undeniably ethereal dancer in the world’s biggest septet. This weekend, BTS will be taking the stage in Jimin’s hometown for “BTS YET TO COME In BUSAN.” In the meantime, we can continue to get excited for the live performances by marking another trip around the sun for this very special member.

In his now beloved “Dear Class of 2020” speech, Jimin provided some words of comfort by saying, “Remember there is a person here in Korea, in the city of Seoul, who understands you.” In addition to always working to create an atmosphere of joy through his music as a part of BTS, he strives to be a safe place of sorts for members of ARMY in everything he does.

Check out 10 tracks that highlight Jimin below, and scroll to the end for a playlist of the songs available on Spotify.

“Serendipity”

“Serendipity” is a very special song in the BTS canon. From the wonderful Love Yourself era, this solo track — penned by bandmate RM — suits Jimin’s acrobatic vocals and sweet spirit remarkably well. It’s a love song through and through, one that even borders on flirtatious and alluring once the chorus hits. Plus, every live performance of the song is a true wonder to behold — bring back the bubble!

“Lie”

BTS’s Wings album was a turning point for the group in many ways, including being the first place for members to record solo tracks. There’s a darkness to the entire record, along with a brutal honesty, something that has always been a beacon for BTS fans throughout every stage of the band’s career. Jimin’s solo song, like many on this list, can be interpreted in a number of ways. But at its core, “Lie” is the narrative of struggling with feelings of impurity and anguish. It’s a heavy one; “Caught in a lie/ Pull me from this hell/ I can’t be free from this pain/ Save me, I am being punished,” he sings desperately.

“Filter”

Jimin’s solo offering on Map of the Soul: 7 offered a look into his psyche. “Filter,” with its Latin-inspired sound, was a very different direction from the vocalist’s previous individual tracks, moving away from the angst of “Lie” and the sweetness of “Serendipity” into more confident, playful territory. Not only does the studio version feature a wild vocal performance, but the heart-stopping live stage provided countless new layers on identity, duality, and expression for ARMY to unravel and explore for years to come. “Pick your filter/ Which me do you want?” All of them, Jimin.

“With you” with HA SUNG WOON

“With you” marked the first time Jimin appeared on the OST for a television show. Written for the K-drama Our Blues, the delicate song also features fellow K-pop vocalist HA SUNG WOON, a longtime friend of Jimin’s, who convinced Jimin to be part of the track under the condition that HA SUNG WOON would sing alongside him. The tender guitar ballad features Jimin’s undeniable range, even providing some rare time spent in his lower register.

“Black Swan”

While not a solo song of any kind, it’s hard not to associate “Black Swan” with Jimin. In the music video — and onstage in every performance of the song since recording — “Black Swan” has put Jimin’s ballet and contemporary dance backgrounds front and center, to stunning results. Jimin embodies the titular character through his prodigious movement skills; check out the footage from when the music video was recorded, or his unforgettable pas de deux interpretation with Jungkook, to get a look at just how connected to “Black Swan” Jimin has become. Watching him dance to this song feels like watching someone do what they were meant to do.

“Promise”

It wouldn’t be a BTS birthday list without at least one Bangtan Soundcloud exclusive. “Promise” was huge for Jimin, as the sweet love song was his very first solo, self-written release. In addition to promising to always strive to “be a light” for fans, he encourages listeners to be a light for themselves, too. As of 2021, “Promise” was the most-played song on SoundCloud of all time, having been streamed over a mind-blowing 300 million times.

“Dream Glow” feat. Charli XCX

The highly underrated BTS WORLD soundtrack gave us so much — RM and Suga’s collaboration with Juice WRLD, “Heartbeat,” a feature from Zara Larsson, and “Dream Glow,” which teamed up Jungkook, Jin, and Jimin with Charli XCX. The Brit pop star is a perfect fit on the mellow, optimistic track, matching the energy the members of BTS are providing. “My constellation is of the Sun’s fragment/ A radiant blackout, the dance of shadows,” Jimin sings on the second verse. Maybe it’s time for another Jimin x Charli XCX moment — thoughts for PJM1?

“Friends”

Naturally, we can’t discuss Jimin without discussing his “soulmate,” V. In retrospect, the sentence “Vmin have dropped a subunit song and it’s all about their best friendship and eternal love for each other, and they performed it for the first time holding hands in their old school uniforms” sounds like it came from a fever dream, but every word of it is somehow true. And thank goodness for that — “Friends” is such a special song within the massive BTS discography, and one that only feels more tender with time.

“Home”

Once again, this is a song that features all seven members, but Park Jimin does steal the show a bit. This treasure from Map of the Soul: Persona was never released as a single, and was something of an underrated gem for a few years. Then, during BTS Week on Jimmy Fallon in 2020, the group pulled the song out for an innovative, joyful, and all-around adorable performance. Plus, crowds at Day 4 of “PERMISSION TO DANCE ON STAGE” in Los Angeles were lucky enough to experience the very first live performance of the song in the United States. Icon behavior all around.

“EPILOGUE: Young Forever”

To dig into the HYYH era in its entirety would require a lot more time and energy, but for now, isolating “EPILOGUE: Young Forever” is a perfect way to wrap our Jimin birthday celebration. It’s an incredibly emotional song on its own, and one that captures a certain moment in BTS’s career and in their youth. It feels like it’ll be a time capsule to reflect on far in the future, and, after the group’s performance at Wembley Stadium, it’s also far too easy to associate this song with Jimin calling out to ARMY at the top of his lungs.

Jimin Birthday Playlist:

Celebrate Jimin of BTS’s Birthday with These 10 Songs
Mary Siroky

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