Face is the debut studio album by South Korean singer Jimin of BTS. Released on March 24, 2023, through Big Hit Music, it is primarily a pop, hip-hop, and R&B record, with Pdogg, Ghstloop, and Evan responsible for production. Comprising five songs, all co-written by Jimin, and one instrumental, the album was heavily inspired by the emotional impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Jimin as a person and performer and addresses "themes of loneliness, wrestling with oneself, and finding freedom". Two singles were released in support of Face: the lead single "Set Me Free Pt. 2" and the US Billboard Hot 100 number-one single "Like Crazy".
Domestically, Face broke sales records on its opening day, selling over 1 million copies, and in its first week, surpassing 1.45 million sales, making Jimin the first solo artist in Hanteo Chart history to do so; the album subsequently debuted at number one on the Circle Album Chart. It topped the Oricon Albums and Digital Albums charts, and Billboard Japans Hot Albums chart in Japan. Jimin is the first solo artist to debut at number one on both Oricon album charts in 2023. Face debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200, becoming the highest-charting album by a South Korean solo artist in Billboard chart history. It also reached the top ten in Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Lithuania, New Zealand, Poland, and Switzerland.
Background and release During the COVID-19 pandemic, Jimin experienced self-doubt about himself and his purpose as an artist, which caused him to struggle emotionally. After opening up to his BTS bandmates during their Permission to Dance on Stage tour in Las Vegas about what he was going through, thinking he was the only one, they encouraged him to try translating his thoughts and feelings into music, which served as the catalyst for him to begin actively working on his solo album. Upon returning to Korea, Jimin met up with producers from his label and work on the project commenced in early 2022. Advice from his bandmates helped the singer during production, influencing decisions about the direction the album would eventually take, which he stated was "reassuring" for him. Per an interview with Nikkei Asia, the "deep dilemmas about music" that Jimin faced throughout the creative process made him realize how much he relied on his bandmates for certain things and enabled him "to completely resolve and move on from all those feelings of being lost."
Korean media outlets first began reporting on Jimin's official solo debut in January 2023. In a livestream on February 10, Jimin confirmed that he had been working on an album and that it would be released in March. The next day, Star News reported that the singer would appear on various South Korean music programs in promotion of the album and perform two songs. Big Hit Music officially announced the album via a Weverse notice on February 21. A 35-second video "featuring ambient music and a series of water droplets spinning out ripples on the surface of water that eventually form the album's title" followed shortly afterwards. A promotion schedule for the album's rollout was shared on February 22, and the preorder period opened later that same day.
The tracklist was unveiled first, on February 23, 2023. The album comprises six tracks. Jimin is credited as a co-writer on five of them, while BTS bandmate RM is credited on three: "Face-Off" and both the Korean and English versions of "Like Crazy". A short video featuring behind-the-scenes footage of Jimin during the creative process of the album was uploaded to YouTube shortly afterwards. Big Hit released a black and white "mood" photo, of Jimin in a mostly empty room—a few pieces of furniture to the forefront are draped in white cloth that covers the entire floor—with his back to the camera as if about to leave, his silhouette illuminated by light from the doorway, on March 7. Two sets of concept photos followed on March 9 and 10 respectively. The "Hardware" version photos featured the singer dressed in a black leather jacket staring directly into the camera, followed by closeups of his face decorated with silver spikes and studs on his brow and cheekbones and a lip piercing on his lower lip, then "seemingly shirtless" with the spikes cascading down the side of his neck and across his collarbone. The "Software" version photos visually contrasted the former, with Jimin presenting a more "natural and pure aura", now dressed in white and seated on a white couch in the room from the mood photo. The accompanying closeup shots revealed a smattering of scars on the right side of his face.
Singles "Set Me Free Pt. 2" was released ahead of the album, on March 17, 2023. Its title bears an intentional similarity to "Set Me Free" by BTS bandmate Suga, from his 2020 mixtape D-2, though neither song is actually connected to the other. In an interview with Consequence, published the day of the single's release, Jimin stated that "we weren't trying to divide part one or part two. But since it turns out my song talks about freedom and moving forward, and SUGA's song talks about some of the stories that come before, I thought it would be good to come after that." The song was chosen as the first single off Face due to its intensity and Jimin's wanting to make his solo debut "in an impactful way". Accordingly, the accompanying music video focuses heavily on the performance aspect of the song and its "really intense vibe". In the video, directed by Oui Kim, Jimin acts as the "commanding centerpiece in an elaborate choreography routine" that sees him "mov[ing] across the screen with a mob of dancers, who all perform in unison as the room flashes in waves of light". The singer described the song as having "the energy of a ray of light coming into the darkness... If I had to say specific colors, I'd say black and white." It entered the UK Singles Chart at number 30, becoming the highest-charting debut single by a Korean solo artist in the history of the chart; Jimin surpassed the record previously set by bandmate J-Hope who debuted at number 37 with "On the Street".
"Like Crazy" was released alongside the album, as its second single, on March 24. The song's accompanying music video, also directed by Kim, was inspired by the 2011 film Like Crazy. Jimin is seen sitting alone in a kitchen before being dragged by an unseen hand into a club setting where he drinks and parties with other clubgoers, sings the song in the club's bathroom, and stands in a long hallway with a dark, mud-like goo cascading down the walls. At the end of the video, he returns to the kitchen alone, with one hand covered in the goo, which he smears across the camera. "Deep House" and "UK Garage" remixes of the single were released on March 26. "Like Crazy" debuted at number eight on the UK Singles Chart, surpassing the record set by "Set Me Free" a week prior to become the highest-debuting single by a Korean solo artist in OCC chart history; he is the only member of BTS to enter the top-10.
Promotion Jimin guested on the March 23 episode of the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon for an interview following Faces release. The following day, he appeared on the Hybe Labels channel on Melon Station on March 24 to discuss the album and other topics with fans; part one of the episode aired an hour after the album came out, while part two aired on March 25. He also participated in an "Ask Me Anything" segment on Melon Spotlight; the platform additionally published exclusive photos from the event. Later that night, Jimin appeared on the Tonight Show again, as the episode's musical guest, and gave the US television premiere performance of "Like Crazy".
Music and lyrics
Thematically, Face "delv[es] into Jimin's story of fronting his true self and making a new leap forward as an artist". As evidenced in the promotion schedule graphic, which contained notes such as "Circle of Resonance" and "Reflection of vulnerable minds and unexposed wounds", the album depicts the spectrum of emotions he experienced over the past few years during the pandemic. Musically, it spans a variety of genres, including pop, hip-hop, and R&B.
The first track, "Face-Off", is an "intense, rebellious" trap-soul song about "finding resilience after feelings of doubt and disappointment" that "has a lot of anger". It opens with a melody reminiscent of carnival music, which holds no specific significance for the song itself, but was decided upon during the production process after the producers suggested to Jimin that it "would be kind of paradoxical or ironic" to start the song in "stark contrast to the rest of those vibes". "Interlude: Dive", a "dreamy" instrumental that features sounds of water and of Jimin talking on stage, follows next. The singer felt "it would be nice to have something in-between" to bridge "Face-Off" and "Like Crazy" on the tracklist so the interlude was created. The sounds of "panting for air" and running heard on the track are of Jimin himself running around, which he recorded using his phone, as he wanted "to give this feeling that I was lost and wandering". The third track, "Like Crazy", is a synth-pop song inspired by the 2011 film of the same name—one of Jimin's favorite movies—which he first discovered through a mashup video on YouTube. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Jimin stated that the film suddenly to came mind during discussions about the album's main track as he felt "it would fit well with the kind of song [we wanted to make]", so he rewatched it and then included "different points of inspiration" into the lyrics. The singer further explained that while the song has "a feeling of dreamy intoxication" and "feels happy...there's also loneliness behind it", with lines like "I'd rather be lost in the lights/ I'm outta my mind" and "I wanna stay in this dream/ Don't save me." Excerpts from the film's dialogue, of "whispers from fraught lovers", can be heard at the song's beginning and end.
Track four, "Alone", is a "melancholic R&B" pop ballad sung in Jimin's lower register, that provides a glimpse into his pandemic experience. "Full of doubts, frustrations, and fear" and conveying bitter isolation, the song employs "vocal effects to underscore its depictions of emotional short-circuiting". "Set Me Free Pt. 2" recounts Jimin's "resolution to free himself from various emotions hidden deep inside him"—pain, sorrow, emptiness—with "assertive" lyrics about "freedom and moving forward". The song, which also showcases the singer rapping for the first time, expresses "[the ideas of] determination, passion, and overcoming". It features "big horns"; a choir whose recording Jimin flew to the United States to oversee; a "serious", "punchy", "snapping hip-hop" beat; and Auto-tuned vocals. The album closes out with the English version of "Like Crazy".
Critical reception
Face received critical acclaim upon release, with critics agreeing that Jimin had succeeded at setting himself apart creatively and stylistically from previous works, especially those under BTS. Minor criticism was directed towards the use of Auto-Tune on the record's lead single, as well as the overall brevity of the project. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 84 based on five reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".