Layover (V album)

Layover (stylized as Layo(v)er) is the debut studio album by South Korean singer V of BTS. It was released on September 8, 2023, by Big Hit Music. The record has been described as a pop, R&B and jazz album "led by soulful tones of V's voice".

Layover consists of 6 songs, including an additional piano version of the track "Slow Dancing". All tracks from the album were accompanied with a music video. The official music videos of "Love Me Again" and "Rainy Days" were released prior, while the music video for the main track "Slow Dancing" was released on September 13, alongside the album.

According to Hanteo Chart, Layover sold over 1.67 million copies on its opening day, setting a new record for the highest first-day sales by any solo K-pop artist in chart history. It topped the component Download Albums chart and the component Digital Albums Chart. The album debuted at number two on the Billboard Japan Hot Albums chart and on the corresponding issue of the Oricon Albums Chart. Layover debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 in the United States, with 100,000 equivalent album units earned in its first week, making him the highest-charting Korean solo artist in Billboard chart history, along with his bandmates Jimin and Suga.

Background and release
On August 2, 2023, it was reported that V started collaborating with NewJeans creative director Min Hee-jin for his upcoming studio project. Big Hit Music announced the album on their social media on August 7. The post was accompanied by a visualizer that included the album title and revealed the six tracks featured on the record. According to hints dropped by Big Hit, the album will largely focus on an "R&B sound" with "elements of pop". Song descriptions range from R&B ("Blue", "Love Me Again" and "For Us") to "'70s romantic soul style" on the focus track "Slow Dancing". All of the tracks are set to arrive with their own music video. In an accompanying press release, Big Hit stated that V is set to "showcase amazing new performances" and will make several appearances alongside the album release. Upon the announcement, the singer mentioned that he wishes to "deliver" box sets of the album to his fans with "lots of love".

Music and lyrics
Layover comprises six songs, including the single "Slow Dancing" and B-sides "Love Me Again", "Rainy Days", "Blue", "For Us", "Slow Dancing (Piano Ver.)".

Songs
The album opens with "Rainy Days", an alternative pop and R&B track. Abbie Aitken of Clash described it as a lo-fi mix founded on YouTube, writing, "the realism of the artificial rain, the soft jazz, and a curious phone alert swiftly followed by the sound of typing all add to a feeling of coziness and familiarity." The second track "Blue" is an old school R&B song that starts out with a simple guitar, then quickly transgresses into a combination of a drum and "gliding vocals." Third track, "Love Me Again" is another R&B song, revolves around discussing the feeling of missing loved ones and the struggles of letting them go after a heartbreak. Followed with "Slow Dancing", a 1970s romantic soul sound with a simple jazz rhythm. Its lyrics were described as a "typical love story" where "one lover pining over another singing words such as 'it shouldn't feel like this, hurts too much already." The closing track, "For Us" was picked as the most interesting track on the EP by Rhian Daly of NME, praising its production and "pitched-up vocal" writing, "its synth pads and bright piano immediately reminiscent of soft-focus '70s live performances."

Critical reception
At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized score out of 100 to ratings from publications, Layover received an average score of 82 based on four reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".

Rhian Daly of NME wrote that "V's compatibility with his chosen palette makes magic, the record instantly oozing sophistication." while highlighting the tracks "For Us" and "Love Me Again". Consequence's Mary Siroky called the album "a perfect addition to the autumn album canon, particularly for anyone else out there who loves to turn on a sad album and just yearn." Clash's Abbie Aitken said that Layover "truly showcase his personal identity, his natural being, and his unique tastes", while appreciating the cohesiveness of the album.

Promotion
On August 10, 2023, the official music video for the track "Love Me Again" was released. The official music video for the track "Rainy Days" was released the following day. The music video for the focus track "Slow Dancing" was released along with the album on September 8. The music video for "Blue" was released on September 13. "For Us" was the last video released on September 15. V later promoted the album on numerous music shows.

Commercial performance
According to Hanteo Chart, one of the biggest music sales trackers in South Korea, Layover sold over 1.67 million copies on its opening day, setting a new record for the highest first-day sales by any solo K-pop artist in chart history. By the end of its first week, the album's sales tallied 2,101,974 copies, marking the first time that any solo artist's album surpassed the 2-million-sales milestone in its opening week. Layover earned the highest debut-week sales by a solo K-pop album, breaking the record previously set by bandmate Jimin with Face (1.45 million copies), and the 10th highest first week total among all Korean albums, making it the bestselling solo debut in South Korean history.

In Japan, Layover debuted at number two on the Billboard Japan Hot Albums chart issue dated September 13, 2023, with 238,057 physical copies and 6,773 digital copies sold during the period dated September 4–10. It was the best-selling digital album and second best-selling physical album of its release week on the component Download Albums and Top Album Sales charts respectively. Layover also debuted at number two on the corresponding issue of the Oricon Albums Chart, for the same tracking period, topping the component Digital Albums Chart as well.

Layover debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 in the United States, with 100,000 equivalent album units earned in its first week (ending September 14, 2023). This figure comprised 88,000 pure sales; 9,000 streaming equivalent albums (12.95 million on-demand official streams); and 3,000 track equivalent albums. With this, V tied with bandmates Jimin and Suga as the highest-charting Korean solo artists in Billboard chart history.

According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI)'s Global Music Report for 2023, Layover was the tenth best-selling album worldwide, having sold 2.2 million units.