BTS' RM releases solo single written while riding a bicycle

The breezy track, released on June 7, features RM rapping and singing in Korean and English. Photo: Reuters

K-pop mega boy band BTS' leader RM has released a self-written song, Bicycle, based on his love of riding his bike around Seoul.

The breezy track, released on Monday (June 7), features RM rapping and singing in Korean and English. It is his first solo track since 2018's chart-topping Mono.

In a post on the band's blog, the 26-year-old said he had always wanted to write a song about bicycles, adding that he "literally wrote the lyrics while riding (his) bicycle".

"My heart always flutters when I ride a bicycle, but whenever I place my two feet on the pedals, I also always feel a bit sad. Maybe it's because there are many things I miss... I, too, don't quite know the reason."

He also said that he felt free when riding a bike, adding: "Perhaps it's because I don't have a driver's licence yet, so I've never driven a car before.

"I wanted to transfer that hazy scenery, which always remained out of reach as I rode my bicycle ever since my trainee days, to a song. Those sad but exciting, slightly cold but also warm feelings."

RM has had a hand in writing BTS' hits, including the latest smash Butter. He collaborated with jazz singer-songwriter John Eun for Bicycle.

The release is part of the eighth anniversary celebrations of the group's debut in June 2013. – The Straits Times/Asia News Network