K-pop singer Jin, a member of the hit boy band BTS, will release his first official solo single next week, the seven-member band's agency said on Wednesday, following this week's announcement that he will soon start military duty.
The song, titled The Astronaut, will be released on October 28 at 8am UAE time, with pre-orders to begin later on Wednesday.
"Since it's a song made with so much love toward the fans, we hope The Astronaut can be a gift to all of you," according to the Bighit Music statement posted on global fandom platform, Weverse.
The announcement came after the band'a management group Hybe, which owns Bighit, on Monday said Jin will cancel a request to further delay his enlistment in late October. The other younger band members also plan to serve their compulsory service.
Jin, who will turn 30 in December, is the oldest member of the record-breaking K-pop group, and will be the first to enlist under South Korea's strict conscription law, which stipulates that all able-bodied men are required to perform 18 to 21 months of military service.
This comes after the group said in June that its seven members — Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V, and Jungkook — would go on a "hiatus" as they pursue solo work. The news caused widespread alarm among fans, even leading to stocks of Hybe to plummet. The management company later issued a statement saying that the band would not be going on a hiatus, but that members will simply be focusing more on solo projects.
The group reunited on Saturday to perform a free concert in the city of Busan in support of South Korea's bid to host the World Expo 2030 in the port city.
— Additional reporting from The National
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