The Chinese fans of BTS's V have shown their robust fan power by supporting his upcoming solo album. V's largest Chinese fan club, 'Baidu V Bar', announced on June 10 that it raised 1 million yuan (approximately $157,000) within a mere 54 minutes of launching its fundraising for V's first solo album, also known as 'VOLO (V SOLO)'. Within the first five minutes, the fan club managed to raise 600,000 yuan (roughly $94,000).

The hashtag 'VOLO' quickly became a hot trending topic on Weibo, with more than 380,000 mentions, fueling the palpable fervor for V.

V, who has been voted the "most popular idol in China", has built a superstar fandom in China, earning him the nickname, 'Prince of the Continent'. With his godlike visuals, that align with the aesthetic preferences of Chinese fans, combined with his impressive vocals and stage performance, V is enjoying the pinnacle of K-pop popularity.

Despite BTS not formally operating in China, 'Baidu V Bar' is thriving with over 1.82 million active followers, ranking first in terms of follower count, posts, and page views among all the group's fan bases.

The fan club's strong fan power and economic prowess are evident in their birthday fundraisers and collective album purchases. In 2021, they set a new record in K-pop by raising nearly $4 million within a minute for V's birthday. Within 15 hours, the club raised $1.6 million (6 million yuan), marking their status as the top economic power in the fandom.

According to the South China Morning Post (SCMP), V's Chinese fans purchased approximately 170,000 copies of BTS's 'Proof' on the first day of its release last year, despite the government's restrictions on Korean Wave. This amounted to a whopping $3.6 million, with the final purchase count reaching 167,065 copies, roughly equal to $4 million.

In 2020, they set a record for the highest collective purchase by a K-pop individual fandom by purchasing 230,000 copies of 'MAP OF THE SOUL: 7'. This purchase, worth $6.5 million, became a significant driving force behind BTS's album sales. Baidu V Bar not only secured the top spot in K-pop album collective purchases for three consecutive years but also swept the second and third spots. Their total collective purchase amount has reached nearly $23 million.

As Chinese fans who have strongly contributed to the group's album sales, expectations are high that they will generously support V's solo album, drawing keen attention.

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