In 2012, JB and Jinyoung originally debuted as JJ Project under JYP Entertainment with the upbeat hip-hop single "Bounce". Two years later the duo returned as part of the boy group Got7. Verse 2 is the duo's first album after five years. The album contains eight tracks of various genres from pop and alternative rock to hip-hop, adopting lyrical but bright-toned melodies. In addition, Jinyoung and JB added their own solo songs "The Day" and "Fade Away" as a hidden track that can only be heard on the CD. According to the duo, they wrote lyrics based on their anxieties going through life in their 20s. The duo also held a photography exhibition to commemorate the release of the new album, which is composed of photographs they have taken, own essays, and unlisted photographs that can be viewed only at the exhibition. The lead track of the album, "Tomorrow, Today", is co-written by the duo and Park Jin-young, the founder of the label and the duo's producer. It features coming-of-age stories of the two in a more laid-back style and its lyrics are more personal and intimate than the duo's previous efforts. The song features a gentle, percussive rhythm and harmonious melodies and its lyrics highlight the difficulty of making decisions about the future while being tied to the present. The accompanying music video to the song is in line with the song's message and shows JB and Jinyoung traveling in an old car and it closes with the two reading books such as J.D. Salinger’s "The Catcher in the Rye", which is a quintessential book for rebellious youth.
Commercial performance
The album was a commercial success in South Korea and charted at number two of the Gaon Album Chart and sold over 116,000 album copies. In the United States, Verse 2 charted at number two on the BillboardWorld Albums chart, marking it the biggest-selling K-pop album in America for the week ending August 3, 2017. According to Nielsen Music it sold 1,000 copies. The album also charted at number nine on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart, which makes it only the seventh K-pop album to enter the Top 10 of Heatseekers in 2017. Its title song, "Tomorrow, Today" charted at number nine on the World Digital Song Sales chart and was the week's fifth best-selling K-pop song in America. It's also a new peak for the duo on the chart, who only charted with "Bounce" back in 2012, which debuted at number fourteen.
