BTS’s RM And Se So Neon’s So Yoon—A Timeline Of Their Friendship

It has been in the works since 2017!

So Yoonthe lead singer of the rock duo Se So Neonrecently announced a collaboration with BTS‘s RM. The pair teamed up for “Smoke Sprite.” the title track of So Yoon’s new album Episode 1: Love.

Some fans had already suspected that the two artists might collaborate when So Yoon shared a picture of RM at Se So Neon’s studio in December.

But the beginning of this iconic friendship actually goes way back. Se So Neon debuted in 2017, and that same year, RM recommended their song “The Wave” during a live broadcast!

Then in 2019, So Yoon met RM and the rest of the BTS members for the first time during Korean Music Awards. She presented them with the “Song of the Year” award.

Later she shared that experience on a talk show, explaining that though she was very excited inside, she had to keep her calm on the outside to maintain her persona.

I attended the ceremony as a presenter. Just like in the scene in the drama Boys Over Flowersthe door opened, and the members of BTS walked out on stage…Then my heart started pounding like crazy. Since I’m a rock musician, I should always be cool, you know…I couldn’t let others know I was excited, I was trying to remain calm.

—So Yoon, Radio Star

RM continued to show support for So Yoon and Se So Neon’s music, recommending their songs on social media. He even went to see Se So Neon’s performance during the 2022 Seoul Jazz Festival and shared pictures on his Instagram.

| @rkive/Instagram

These little interactions finally came to fruition as “Smoke Sprite.” In a recent interview, So Yoon shared that she and RM met naturally without any prior arrangements, talked about music, and also listened to each other’s albums. The duo wrote the lyrics of “Smoke Sprite” and built the chorus together. “It is no exaggeration to say we truly made the song together,” So Yoon concluded.

| @sleeep__sheeep/Instagram

In a way, all those past interactions led up to this new song, and it would be interesting to see what these two talented artists finally cooked up together.

BTS