BTS’s V’s “FRI(END)S” Exceeds 530 Million Spotify Streams, Reinforcing His Global Standing as a K-Pop Solo Artist

BTS’s V’s solo track “FRI(END)S” has surpassed 530 million streams on Spotify, once again demonstrating his strong global presence as a K-Pop solo artist. Released while he was serving in the military on March 15, 2024, this song showcased his significant impact in the international music market. As a pop soul R&B track featuring a gentle melody and witty lyrics, “FRI(END)S” highlights V’s smooth and elegant vocal delivery, particularly in handling his low tones and falsetto. Upon release, it debuted at position 65 on the Billboard Hot 100, ranked third on Billboard Global (excluding the United States), and fifth on the Global 200 chart. It entered the UK’s official singles chart at number 13 and reached third place on the UK’s top chart, the Official Big Top 40, after just two days of tracking. “FRI(END)S” topped the Worldwide iTunes and European iTunes charts and became the first song released in 2024 to achieve number one on iTunes charts in 100 different countries. It was also selected as part of Amazon Music and Apple Music’s “Best K-Pop of 2024,” solidifying its status as a standout solo artist in the global music market. The music video generated significant attention as well. Shot in the UK, it showcases V’s outstanding acting skills by vividly portraying contrasting characters—both when alone and with a partner. After its release, the video held the top spot on YouTube World Trend’s Music category for 14 consecutive days and became the first K-Pop artist to reach number one on America’s Tidal Top Videos chart. “FRI(END)S” was also chosen as the background music for Season 3 of the popular American drama series “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” which aired in July. Meanwhile, in terms of brand reputation among all K-Pop idol groups, BLACKPINK and BTS occupied the highest ranks. According to a big data analysis conducted by the Korea Corporate Reputation Institute in August 2025, BLACKPINK ranked first with a brand reputation score of 6,943,448, BTS came in second at 6,169,542, and IVE was third at 5,193,674. Although BLACKPINK’s brand score dropped by 9.91% from 7,707,025 in July, it still maintained the highest reputation. Link analysis revealed that terms like “gathering,” “breaking through,” and “collaborating” appeared frequently, while keyword analysis identified “leaping,” “world tour,” and “BLINK” as the main associated terms. The positive rating for this brand was 92.27%. BTS’s score declined by 17.56% from 7,483,615 in July but still retained its second-place position. Among the top 30 idol group brands in August 2025, the order was BLACKPINK, BTS, IVE, Red Velvet, and SEVENTEEN. Compared to the previous month, big data related to idol group brands increased by 13.55%. Specifically, brand expansion grew by 34.22%, indicating a continued global spread among K-Pop idols.