In which Logo trailer For The Astronaut, BTS’ Jin is a blank space in a pitch-black universe. He drifts past meteorites, the moon, and even a dog that closely resembles his own. Nothing is stopping him. He is aimless and alone. But then: a flood of violet light.
This clip provides the backdrop for Jin’s first single as a solo artist, nine years after his debut as a member of BTS. He is the titular astronaut whose universe expands by yet another. He becomes her dream and she his only ray of light through which the sky shines. “The astronaut” works as a continuation of “My univers,” co-written with Coldplay, both tracks draw from the ever-expanding cosmos to describe an all-encompassing love. However, they also fit seamlessly into Jin’s larger discography, as he has always had a penchant for motifs of light and dark to explore relationships dear to his heart.
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Take Jin’s first self-composed track “This evening” (2019), who mourns the death of his family dog and sugar gliders. It begins with, “When this night is over, I’m afraid I can’t see you” and ends with, “When this night is over, I’m afraid I’ll be left all alone.” This longing seeps through his other self-confessed soundcloud as well -Publication. in the “Abyss” (2020) Jin catches his breath and enters the deep, dark sea of his being. He wants to talk to himself, even if it means drowning. But he is voiceless and can only swim desperately after his shadow without getting close.
Oddly enough, even projects he didn’t co-write reflect the above themes. Jin covered Yoon Dohyun’s 2018 In Front of the Post Office in Fall, which laments the impermanence of things as day turns into night. And in “Yours,” for Korean drama Jirisan (2022) Jin sings of being lost in a gathering darkness, searching for another before the light dawns. “Am I trapped in this place?” he wonders before grim fear turns to wailing. “Every day you seem too far away / Every time you do I tell myself / keep waiting in this place / Every night I see you in my heart / Every time I do I cry.”
Under such songs one can not help but shine brighter. in the “Moon,” his solo track for Map of the Soul: 7 (2020), He shares that “everyone says I’m beautiful, but / my sea is actually pitch black / A star where flowers bloom and the sky is deep blue: / the one who is really beautiful is you.” He continues that even when he is sad or in pain, they still take care of him. As a result, he orbits her as a moon to her Earth, promising to reflect light back on her. Here at last is a relationship where both parties continue to be seen, acknowledged, and loved by one another. Who else could Earth be but ARMY, the fans of BTS?