K-pop mega group BTS’ Jin sent the internet into a frenzy when he announced his new solo project and artist collaboration on Oct. 15. After the band revealed their plans to shift their focus to solo work earlier in 2022, J-Hope became the first member from BTS to reveal his plans for a solo release during the shell-shock announcement, making Jin the second member to officially “go solo” in this new chapter. Jin recently revealed that he had been working with a collaborator to create his new project, and that’s left everyone wondering: Who is Jin’s mystery collab going to be with?
On Oct. 15, BTS held a “Yet To Come” concert in Busan, South Korea, where Jin uncovered his plans to officially embark on solo pursuits. Though this isn’t the first time that the BTS member has worked on music individually, it is the first time that Jin has announced a single separate from the band since the announcement of BTS’ brief break.
Jin spoke about his new project while on stage, saying, “I have something to tell you… I’ve ended up becoming the second [BTS member] after J-Hope to release my own album. It’s not a huge album or anything, it’s just a single.”
His announcement comes at an unknown time for the group as members have reported that they will be begin serving South Korea’s mandatory 18-month military service. After BTS declared they would be focusing more on solo work, it makes sense that members would decide to embark on their obligatory military time during their “break,” with Jin reportedly anticipating the beginning of his service time by the end of October.
Though Jin may be taking a break from music for a little while to serve in the military, it’s safe to say everyone is excited for his solo project. Jin raved about his mystery collab during BTS’ Oct. 15 concert, “I was able to work together with someone that I’d always really liked, so I’ll be releasing a new song. I’ve filmed a lot of different things recently, and there’s still a lot of [content] left to film, so I hope you’ll enjoy all of it.”
So, who has Jin been working with to create a new single? There’s been a few fan theories floating around as to who we can expect Jin to collaborate with in his solo pursuits.
- Taylor Swift
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Ahead of her upcoming Midnights album, fans think that Swift might be Jin’s potential collaborator. The theory stems from the fact that Swift is also dropping a project this October, and the mere fact that many want to see Jin collaborate with a woman artist. Jin has also previously raved about his love for Swift, adding some of her music to one of his playlists in the past. Swift even publicly responded and showed her admiration for BTS and Jin, which would make a collaboration between the artists pure perfection.
- RM
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Yes, a lot of people have been speculating about a potential collab between Jin and his bandmate RM, aka Kim Namjoon. It’s safe to say that fans love to see the duo together, with many referring to them as “NamJin.” Many thought that Jin’s mention of working with someone he’s “always really liked” may be a reference to RM, but there’s no clear distinctions telling us so quite yet!
- Olivia Rodrigo
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A potential collab between Jin and Rodrigo has ignited Twitter, and it might just be the most polarizing fan theory thus far. BTS and Rodrigo both work under Geffen Records, and a Tweet from the record label on Oct. 12 mentioning a “BTS-related” project left fans thinking this meant Jin’s solo album was on its way to release. Some believe that Jin and Rodrigo could definitely be working together, with others not so sure. I guess we’ll have to see, won’t we?
- Rina Sawayama
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“This Hell” singer Sawayama is another name floating around that I could potentially see Jin collaborating with. In the past, Sawayama has publicly spoken about how she’s written and worked with Jin’s bandmate RM in the past, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if she worked with Jin on another project to come.
No matter who the secret collaborator ends up being, it’s sure to produce a track that the BTS ARMY will love. We’ll just have to wait and see if any of these theories end up being correct.