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BTS members Taehyung and RM are set to be discharged from the military on June 10, 2025. Taehyung enlisted in December 2023 in the Special Duty Team (SDT) of the Military Police Corps, which is considered to be one of the toughest units of the Korean armed forces.
During his military stint, the artist had several viral moments, while his music continued to dominate the world's charts. As they are excited for him to come back, the singer's fans are looking back at the BTS member's feats as a solo artist.
Although he has a relatively small discography, with only 16 official solo songs, Taehyung has left an undeniable mark on the global music industry.
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His first studio album Layover, was released in September 2023 and has pop, R&B, and jazz influences with music videos for each of its six songs. It topped the charts immediately upon release and became a critical and commercial success.
Layover debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 and became the first Korean album to win Favorite Debut Album at the iHeartRadio Music Awards. Its success was further amplified as all tracks surpassed 100 million streams on Spotify, setting a record for K-pop soloists.
Taehyung’s solo music achievements and records
However, Layover wasn't the singer's only album that got praise from fans across the world. His previous track, Sweet Night, from the Itaewon Class OST, continues to set global records.
Similarly, his holiday songs White Christmas and Winter Ahead broke streaming records for their respective genres.
Despite being away from active promotions due to military service, Taehyung has amassed an impressive collection of music awards and accolades. This makes him one of the most celebrated K-pop soloists today. Here are some of his musical achievements:
Album & Physical Sales
- Layover by Taehyung became the first album by a K-pop soloist to surpass 2 million sales on both the Hanteo and Circle charts, breaking a 23-year-old record.
- The album sold 2.2 million copies in just six hours on release day.
- It debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 and stayed on the chart for eight consecutive weeks.
- First Korean album to win Favorite Debut Album at the iHeartRadio Music Awards.
- #1 best-selling Korean album in Japan by a soloist in Oricon history; certified Gold by RIAJ.
Spotify & Streaming Records
- Layover became the fastest K-pop and Asian album to have all tracks surpass 100 million streams on Spotify (in 258 days).
- Fastest Korean album by a K-pop soloist to reach 1 billion and 1.5 billion streams.
- Taehyung became the only Korean and K-pop soloist to debut all album tracks on Spotify Global Daily and Weekly Charts.
- First album by a K-pop soloist to have all songs sell 100,000 units each in the US.
- It is the first and only Korean album to have multiple solo songs surpassing 500 million streams.
- Taehyung is the K-pop soloist with the most solo songs surpassing 300M, 400M, and 500M streams.
- Total Spotify streams: 4.72 billion, with 82% being solo streams.
- Love Me Again surpassed 1 billion streams, the longest-charting Korean solo song on Global Spotify.
- Slow Dancing surpassed 500 million streams.
- Sweet Night became the only song in history to hit #1 on iTunes in 119 countries.
Billboard & Chart Records
- Taehyung is the only Korean soloist to debut all album tracks on Billboard Global 200 and Global 200 Excl. US charts.
- First Korean soloist to chart six solo songs on the Billboard Hot 100:
- Christmas Tree (#79)
- Love Me Again (#96)
- Slow Dancing (#51)
- FRI(END)S (#65)
- Winter Ahead (#99)
- White Christmas (#93)
- First Asian artist to top the Billboard Holiday Digital Song Sales chart with three songs: Christmas Tree, Winter Ahead, and White Christmas.
- Holds the record for the most entries on the Billboard Holiday 100 chart by an Asian artist.
Holiday & Genre-specific Records
- White Christmas earned the biggest streaming debut for a Christmas song in Spotify history.
- Winter Ahead broke the record for the biggest jazz debut on Spotify (4.2M streams).
- Only Asian soloist to top all major music markets on iTunes.
- Layover became the second album of the 2020s with the most #1s on iTunes (110 countries), after Taylor Swift’s Speak Now.
UK & International Chart Success
- First K-pop soloist to sweep the UK Official Single and Album Download charts simultaneously.
- FRI(END)S became the first song by a K-pop soloist to chart for five consecutive weeks on the UK Big Top 40 chart.
- First K-pop soloist to spend consecutive weeks in the UK Official Album Download Top 20.
Additional Notable Achievements
- Taehyung is the most-followed K-pop soloist on Spotify (19.5 million followers as of June 2025).
- Layover became the first album by a K-pop soloist to debut with 100 million Spotify streams in its first week.
- First soloist to achieve an all-kill on Hanteo charts across the USA, Japan, and China for two consecutive weeks.
- 125 physical awards won as a soloist, spanning Best OST, Artist of the Year, Trend of the Year, Spotify & YouTube milestones, and major Korean and international music awards.
As Taehyung’s military discharge approaches, fans are eagerly awaiting to see what the singer has planned next for them. With a historic solo career already secured, the BTS member is poised to embark on an exciting new chapter.
BTS' RM and Taehyung will be discharged from the South Korean military on June 10, 2025.
