Jung Hoseok, better known as j-hope of BTS, rose to the top not only as a BTS member but also as a solo artist. 

As of Feb. 25, the company, BIGHIT MUSIC, released an official statement confirming that j-hope has initiated the South Korea military enlistment process, leaving fans to dread the day he leaves. Trying to cheer fans up, j-hope announced that he’ll be releasing a new single called, “on the street” with J. Cole on March 3 as his formal farewell while the company waits for the status of his enlistment.

j-hope debuted as a rapper, main dancer, songwriter and producer of BTS on June 12, 2013. Before that, he was part of an underground dance team called “Neuron” where he practiced a variety of dance styles and participated in competitions against other teams. Today, he is known as the best third generation K-Pop dancer. 

As BTS rose to global fame, the rappers of the group, better known as the rap line, began to slowly explore into their solo careers. On March 2, 2018, j-hope released his first self-made mixtape, “Hope World,” with his title tracks “Airplane” and “Daydream,” earning lots of attention from fans, who are also known as “ARMY.” 

After the success of his first album, j-hope began to progressively release hit singles such as “Chicken Noodle Soup” featuring Becky G and “Blue Side.” However, during the group’s ninth anniversary, better known as #2022BTSFESTA, BTS announced that they will be going on a hiatus as a group so they can focus on their solo careers and enlist for military service, which is mandatory for males between the ages of 18 and 35 in South Korea. 

After their announcement, j-hope became the first member to make his official solo debut with his album “Jack In The Box” on July 15, 2022, with his title tracks “MORE” and “(방화) Arson,” becoming the first Korean soloist to surpass 200 million streams on Spotify and the first member of BTS to chart on the Billboard Hot 100. Following the success of his debut, j-hope performed at Lollapalooza on July 31, where he performed songs from his albums and older BTS songs such as “Cypher Pt.1” and “Trivia 起: Just Dance.” 

“You know what’s really scary?” j-hope said in a YouTube vlog. “If there’s just a couple ARMY and the rest of the audience is empty.” 

j-hope’s performance not only was a success but it also drew a record-breaking 105,000 music fans to explore his album and the talents behind BTS. He became the first Korean act to headline a main stage at a major US music festival. 

Following the concert, he released a documentary on Disney+ called “j-hope IN THE BOX” on Feb. 17. This allowed fans to look into the rapper’s journey as a solo artist and what it’s really like behind the curtains. 

As j-hope’s new single drops tomorrow, he hopes to connect with fans more through his livestreams, Instagram posts and YouTube vlogs. Fans are very excited to see what j-hope and J. Cole have in store for them.Let’s make March a memorable “Daydream” and stream j-hope’s upcoming single, “on the street.”