BTS’s V has added two new feathers to his cap. The official music video for his solo song “Winter Bear” has earned 78 million YouTube views. The song itself, which is on SoundCloud, has earned 140 million streams as of this writing.

V—whose birth name is Kim Taehyung—released “Winter Bear” two years ago, in August 2019. He poured blood, sweat, and tears into this song, as he composed, wrote, and produced it. He also directed the video. V used “Winter Bear” to demonstrate his immense talent as an actor, director, singer, and songwriter. Critics and fans alike absolutely adored it.

The official music video of “Winter Bear” is a visual treat. It shows clips of V exploring some of BTS’s tour stops, such as Los Angeles, New York, London, and Paris. He can be seen with his camera in hand, ready to take snapshots of whatever he sees to preserve them for posterity. Even with shots of animals, breathtaking landscapes, and magnificent architecture, V’s striking good looks stand out.

ARMY were caught off guard when the song dropped, because neither V  nor anyone from his agency warned them that he would be dropping new material. But they bounced back quickly, as within minutes of its release, the song became a top trending topic on Twitter.

V is currently working on more new songs, which he plans to release on a mixtape. V has been working on this mixtape for quite a while, and ARMY is eager to hear the fruit of his labor. However, if his recent statements regarding the status of his mixtape are to be believed, ARMY may have to wait longer for it.

“I have one song that was given to me, and ten that I made myself, but I started to not listen to them, and I worried that it would be the same for ARMYs, so I’m slowly remaking all the songs step by step. I’m working hard,” he said.

Although he admits that it’s tough to make music on his own sometimes, he’s determined to see this mixtape through to the end. He enjoys having an opportunity to tell his own personal stories in song, which is why he’s never going to give up on it no matter what.

“We’ve worked and made music as a group, and as a group only. So working on my own mixtape means that I have to do everything related to all the songs on the album. I have to take part in writing the lyrics and melodies for all the songs and the production process. So, it is a bit of a pressure to bear all of the load that is distributed among the other members for a group album. But what is good about it is it gives me an opportunity to show who I am, and show music that really has the color of Kim Taehyung, the color of V, to our ARMY. So that’s a great opportunity of course, and that’s what makes creating this mixtape so much fun and fulfilling.”

He says he almost released his mixtape—which fans have taken to calling KTH1 in lieu of an actual title—last year, but ultimately decided against it because he realized it wasn’t ready. He didn’t want to release anything half-baked, so he pushed back the release date.

“I thought I would release it early this year. But again, it turned out to be a bit more tough than I thought it would be! So now I’m looking at the end of this year,” he says.

How excited are you to hear KTH1 in full?