BTS's V has reached an incredible milestone by surpassing 3.6 billion streams on Spotify with his solo songs, proving his strong global influence.

As of September 22, V’s solo tracks on his Spotify profile have combined to reach over 3.6 billion streams. His profile includes songs from his solo album Layover, drama OSTs, self-composed tracks, and the song "Friends (FRI(END)S)," released while he was serving in the military.

What makes this even more impressive is that V achieved this without collaborating with any global pop stars, showing how powerful his unique music is and how much fans appreciate the warm, comforting messages in his songs.

His first solo album Layover made history as the first album by a K-pop solo artist to have all its tracks surpass 100 million streams on Spotify. The album also hit #1 on Spotify's Global Weekly Chart with every track. By September 25, Layover had reached a total of 1.9 billion streams and topped iTunes Album Charts in 109 countries.

One of the standout songs from Layover, "Love Me Again," has been on Spotify’s Global Chart for more than 400 days, making it the first K-pop B-side track to achieve this.

V’s digital single "Friends," released on March 15, became the most streamed K-pop solo song in Spotify's 2024 mid-year report. It also ranked in the top 10 for the longest-charting K-pop solo songs on Spotify's Global Chart, further proving V's immense popularity.

As of September 28, V has gained 18,762,269 followers on Spotify, making him the first K-pop solo artist to surpass 18 million followers.

He ranks first among K-pop solo artists and fourth overall in K-pop, including groups. Globally, he is ranked 105th in Spotify followers, and only 263 artists worldwide have more than 10 million followers, highlighting his massive influence as a solo artist.

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Hyun Bin is finally addressing the long-standing "ddongcha" (poop car) theory surrounding his character from My Name is Kim Sam-soon—and he's not holding back!

In an interview on the 19th with Star News, the beloved actor confessed, "I was wrong," responding to the reevaluation of his iconic role as Hyun Jin-heon from the 2005 hit drama. The "ddongcha" theory has been a subject of online debate for years, with many viewers critiquing Hyun Jin-heon’s character as overly arrogant and entitled.

Hyun Bin, who first rose to fame in My Name is Kim Sam-soon, took the time to reflect on the character that made him a household name. He shared, “I was just following the script; there were no personal opinions added to the character of Hyun Jin-heon. At that time, I knew Hyun Jin-heon was portrayed as a ‘bad boy,’ and the way it was expressed was different from today’s standards.”

With My Name is Kim Sam-soon now being re-released as part of Wavve's "New Classic" project, fans are revisiting the 2005 drama, and the character of Hyun Jin-heon is under fresh scrutiny. Director Kim Yun-cheol even admitted that the "prince on a white horse" and "bad boy" tropes that once worked in 2005 don’t quite match today's sensibilities, leading to edits in the 2024 version.

Hyun Bin humbly acknowledged his gratitude for his successful career and hit works, saying, "It’s wonderful and I am grateful to have so many hit works. I’ve been fortunate to work with amazing writers, directors, and actors. Thanks to them, I’ve received a lot of attention and love." He also shared a sense of humility, noting, “But I never know when that luck will come again."

Despite the dramatic shift in perspective on his character, Hyun Bin’s charm and dedication remain strong. Fans are eager to see him in his upcoming film Harbin (directed by Woo Min-ho), set to be released on the 24th.

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