Serving. Still winning.
BTS’s V has added two more RIANZ (Recording Industry Association of New Zealand) Gold certifications while on active military duty — ‘FRI(END)S’ and ‘Winter Ahead (with Park Hyo-shin)’ both crossing the threshold. Combined with his earlier certifications for ‘Love Me Again’ and ‘Slow Dancing,’ V now holds Gold status in New Zealand for four songs total.
Let that sink in. Four Gold-certified tracks. Zero promotions during military service.
‘FRI(END)S’ — the quiet overachiever
A pop soul R&B single built around V’s signature vocal tone and a quietly addictive melody, ‘FRI(END)S’ had no physical album release behind it — yet still debuted at #65 on the Billboard Hot 100. It then topped iTunes charts in 100 countries simultaneously, becoming the first song released in 2024 to achieve that milestone. The music video spent 14 consecutive days at #1 on YouTube’s World Trending Music chart and also topped the US Tidal Top Video chart. All of this with no active promotions.
‘Winter Ahead’ — a holiday chart force
Released while V was already in service, the collaboration with Park Hyo-shin still managed to crack the Billboard Hot 100 — and went further, hitting #1 on the Holiday Digital Song Sales chart and landing on the Holiday Top 100.
That last achievement is part of a bigger story. With ‘Christmas Tree,’ ‘White Christmas,’ and ‘Winter Ahead’ all charting on the Billboard Holiday Top 100, V becomes the first K-pop artist ever to place three songs on that chart. He also holds the rare distinction of topping the Holiday Digital Song Sales chart with every single one of them.
Most artists need to be present to make noise. V is rewriting that rulebook entirely.