Making his debut with BIGBANG in 2006, Taeyang established himself as a veteran artist in the K-pop industry. Known for his distinctive vocals and captivating stage presence, his solo career has also been marked by numerous нιт songs loved by fans and admired by younger idols, including “Wedding Dress,” “Ringa Linga,” “Eyes, Nose, Lips,” and “Wнιтe Night.”
Meanwhile, BTS as a group, and Jimin in particular, have long expressed their admiration for Taeyang and BIGBANG. Jimin and Jungkook have been spotted singing along to their senior’s familiar melo∂ιєs on several occasions, including Taeyang’s нιт song “Eyes, Nose, Lips.”
Surprisingly, in 2023, Taeyang announced his collaboration with Jimin through the release of the single “VIBE,” catching the K-pop community off guard. While Jimin was finally fulfilling his dream of standing alongside his idol, Taeyang revealed that the younger artist’s involvement had helped him break a personal rule he had maintained for more than a decade, opening up new possibilities for his music projects in the next chapter of his career.
Before this collaboration, Taeyang had gone approximately six years without releasing new solo music, following his last solo comeback in 2017. Throughout his solo career, he had also rarely collaborated with artists outside YG Entertainment. The singer himself once openly explained his approach, saying, “I don’t normally collaborate based on work, it has to happen naturally”.
With his return through “VIBE,” however, things were entirely different. He was paired with a younger artist who had, in fact, been his fan for many years.
Taeyang revealed that “VIBE” had been composed by producer Teddy Park around two years earlier. Teddy was also the one who suggested Jimin as a suitable artist for the collaboration. Throughout that time, Taeyang had considered inviting Jimin to join the track but had not found the right opportunity to reach out to his junior. The turning point came when the two met at j-hope’s listening party. Their encounter gave them the chance to speak directly and discuss the possibility of working together.
Working with Jimin helped Taeyang move beyond a boundary he had set for himself for years: collaborating with idols outside his own agency. The experience also turned out to be an entirely enjoyable one for him.
Taeyang shared that working with Jimin had made him more open to future collaborations. “There will be an album in the future,” he joked. “And I am looking forward to collaborating with other artists in my next project.”
Taeyang also revealed a surprising twist in how their collaboration came about. The song he had initially planned to introduce to Jimin was actually a different track. “VIBE” was still unfinished, but Teddy called Taeyang and advised him that it would be a better choice for both him and Jimin. Ultimately, through their musical chemistry, Taeyang and Jimin developed a close bond and breathed new life into the unfinished song.
Taeyang also acknowledged that returning to the industry at a time when K-pop was filled with fourth-generation artists came with considerable pressure. However, Jimin’s enthusiasm and their experience working together gave him renewed motivation to make his comeback and present a new side of himself in the next chapter of his career.
Taeyang’s decision to step outside his comfort zone proved highly successful, with “VIBE” achieving impressive results on major international music charts.
The song debuted at No. 76 on the Billboard Hot 100, marking the first solo entries on the chart for both artists. It also reached No. 9 on Billboard’s Global Excl. U.S. chart, topped the Worldwide iTunes Song Chart, and debuted on the U.K.’s Official Singles Chart and Australia’s ARIA Singles Chart. During its first week on the Billboard Hot 100, “VIBE” recorded approximately 4.2 million official streams and 20,000 downloads in the United States.
The success of “VIBE” not only demonstrated the appeal of a collaboration between two artists from different generations but also marked a significant turning point in both Taeyang’s and Jimin’s careers!
