Songfacts®:

• "The Astronaut" is a bilingual pop song where Jin sings of his love for his fans. Throughout the dreamy tune, he uses a cosmic motif to speak of his affection for and relationship with Army (BTS' official fanbase).
  
  "I wrote the lyrics," Jin said in a video. "I expressed how I feel about Army who made me who I am as the Jin of BTS. The lyrics are also about me, who flows aimlessly, and you, who find Army. I'm thankful and affectionate for Army who made me shine everywhere."
• Jin wrote "The Astronaut" with Coldplay and Moses Martin, the son of their singer Chris Martin. As well as co-penning the song, Coldplay also play on it.
  
  Back in mid-2022, Jin called Martin and told him he had to leave BTS at the end of the year to serve in the Korean military for their mandatory enlistment. "I need a song that says goodbye to everybody for a little while, and tells them that I love them," Jin told him. So, Martin agreed they'd do a song together.
• This isn't Coldplay's first voyage into the BTSverse; Chris Martin & Co previously collaborated with Jin and his BTS bandmates on the mega-hit "My Universe." That song, along with the rest of the British group's 2021 album Music of the Spheres, uses similar space metaphors to explore human experiences.
• Norwegian DJ Kygo and frequent Coldplay collaborator Bill Rahko produced the track.
• Jin released "The Astronaut" on October 28, 2022, as his first solo single away from BTS. He joined Coldplay on stage the same day during their concert at the Estadio River Plate Stadium in Buenos Aires to give the song its live debut.
• The music video portrays Jin as an alien astronaut who accidentally crash-lands on Earth. At first he is determined to return to his home planet, but he eventually chooses to stay with his loved ones (representing Army).
  
  Chris Martin makes a brief appearance as a news presenter.
• "The Astronaut" sold over 700,000 copies in South Korea on its release day, breaking the record for the highest first-day sales for a single by a soloist in Hanteo chart history. It surpassed the previous record-holder, Lisa, who sold over 330,000 copies of "Lalisa" on its opening day.
• Coldplay performed the song on the February 4, 2023, episode of Saturday Night Live. They also rendered a mash-up of "Human Heart" and "Fix You."