"The Astronaut" is a song by South Korean singer Jin of BTS released on October 28, 2022, as his debut solo single. The song was co-written by: Jin; British rock band Coldplay, who previously collaborated with BTS on "My Universe"; Norwegian DJ Kygo, who produced the track with Bill Rahko; and Chris Martin's son Moses Martin. The song is about Jin's affection for and relationship with his fans. It explores themes of connection and love through the use of a recurring cosmic motif favored by both the band and singer, as evidenced in other songs they have written.
Described as "a gift to fans", it was released ahead of Jin's enlistment, which occurred shortly afterwards. The single is available digitally and in CD format. An accompanying music video portrays the singer as an alien astronaut who accidentally crash-lands on Earth and must eventually choose between staying with his found family or returning to his home planet.
Background and release
On October 15, 2022, during BTS' Yet to Come in Busan free concert, Jin revealed that he would be the next band member after J-Hope, to release an official solo work. Addressing the audience, he said "It's not a huge album or anything, it's just a single. I was able to work together with someone that I'd always really liked, so I'll be releasing a new song." The following day, Big Hit Music posted a notice confirming BTS would be moving ahead with plans to fulfill their mandatory military service and that Jin would be the first member to enlist following the completion of promotions for his solo release. Several articles subsequently published by Korean news media reported that the song was gifted to Jin by Coldplay and would be released at the end of the month, despite Big Hit not having provided any details about the single at the time. Initial statements from the label in response to all the speculation neither confirmed nor denied the reports, with the company only saying that details would be provided at a later date—it eventually confirmed the month-end date to Newsen and YTN.
Big Hit officially announced the single via Weverse on October 18, and said it is meant to be a "gift" to Jin's fans, ARMY. A promotion schedule outlining the rollout for the single, titled "The Astronaut", was published later that same day. Image previews of the physical single's contents, posted by the label shortly before the preorder period began, appeared to "leak" credited personnel on the track, including Max Martin, Kygo, Chris Martin, Moses Martin, and James Keys. The single's official poster, shared the next day, confirmed that the song was a collaboration between Jin and Coldplay—both artists were listed as co-writers on the graphic. The singer had developed a close friendship with the band following their working together on the "My Universe" single, and the song was borne from subsequent discussions between both artists about the former "having to leave for a while" due to his enlistment, and him missing his bandmates and fans during that time.
The first of three sets of concept photos was released on October 23. Titled "Outlander", the images showed Jin "standing amid green shrubbery" surrounded by planet-shaped props while "holding a large Jupiter-like sphere" then "posing against a starry blue background". The second set of concept photos—titled "Lunar Eclipse"—was posted the next day and featured Jin styled with his hair brushed back, in all black, wearing a leather jacket and "classic white Converse hi-tops", which Uproxx described as "giv[ing] off a simple, modern look to your ordinary greaser." A music video teaser followed on October 26.
Jin designed a character called Wootteo (우떠), and a line of Wootteo merch as part of the promotions. A Wootteo’s Instagram was created to host updates throughout the promotion period, and behind-the-scenes photos and short clips from the preparations of the single and music video.
Format
"The Astronaut" is available digitally and as a CD single. Two versions of the CD were released. Both include a photobook, lyric card, postcard, stickers, a photo card, and a poster. A Target-exclusive edition was also released. The pre-order period for the CD opened on October 19, 2022.