' is the seventh mini-album by South Korean

pop-rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, ear ...

idol Idol or Idols may refer to: Religion and philosophy * Cult image, a neutral term for a man-made object that is worshipped or venerated for the deity, spirit or demon that it embodies or represents * Murti, a point of focus for devotion or medit ...

band

CNBLUE CNBLUE ( ko, 씨엔블루) is a South Korean pop rock band formed in 2009. The band consists of Jung Yong-hwa (leader, main vocals, guitar, keyboard, rap), Kang Min-hyuk ( drums), and Lee Jung-shin ( bass). First bassist Kwon Kwang-jin left t ...

. It was released on March 20, 2017, under

FNC Entertainment FNC Entertainment (; stands for "fish and cake") is a South Korean entertainment company established in 2006 by South Korean singer and record producer Han Seong-ho. The label operates as a record label, talent agency, music production company, ev ...

and distributed by

LOEN Entertainment Kakao M (; formerly Seoul Records, YBM Seoul Records and LOEN Entertainment) was a South Korean entertainment company established by Min Yeong-bin in 1978. It is currently one of the largest co-publisher companies in South Korea. The company op ...

. It was also the last Korean release to feature Jonghyun, who left the group in August 2019. Following a series of photo and video teasers, ' and its lead single " Between Us" were concurrently released. CNBLUE began promoting the record through music chart programs across various television networks by performing the single and other album tracks. The mini-album peaked at number two on South Korea's national Gaon Album Chart, selling over 47,000 copies since its release. The quartet is set to embark on the 2017 CNBLUE Live: Between Us concert tour, a series of shows to take place throughout Asia.

Background

On February 14, 2016, it was announced that CNBLUE was scheduled to release an album the following month. A tentative release date of March 20 was initially reported, but a definitive date had not yet been confirmed. The release date was later confirmed. The title ' signifies "the story of 'emotions' CNBLUE has felt over the seven years since debut, the varied temperatures of one's feelings in life were welded into music." Recording and mixing for the mini-album took place in

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...

at the FNC Entertainment Studio; it was mastered at the JFS Mastering Studio.

Music structure

record, CNBLUE reimplements components of

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electroa ...

into ' as it previously did in its second studio album '' 2gether'' (2015). The mini-album explores the themes of "encounters, love, memories, and reality" in its lyrics. " Between Us" is a pop-rock song which conveys the "ambiguous and confusing feelings" leading up to start of a relationship. A pop number accompanied with "brassy funk", "It's You" describes the feelings a man experiences as a result of falling in love. The band showcases a more conventional sound in "Calling You", which sees the narrator "directly approach his love interest". "When I Was Young" is an

electronic rock Electronic rock is a music genre that involves a combination of rock music and electronic music, featuring instruments typically found within both genres. It originates from the late 1960s, when rock bands began incorporating electronic instrum ...

track which delves into reminiscence of the innocence of childhood. A second song harping on CNBLUE's roots, "Manito" an acoustic track which deals with the grief of "

unrequited love Unrequited love or one-sided love is love that is not openly reciprocated or understood as such by the beloved. The beloved may not be aware of the admirer's deep and pure affection, or may consciously reject it. The Merriam Webster Online Dict ...

". Previously included in the band's Japanese album '' Euphoria'', "Royal Rumble" is a "polyrhythmic electronic-acoustic hybrid".

Artwork concept and packaging

' was released in two editions: version A and special. The former comes encased in a sleeve case and hard cover, while the latter is in a paper

slipcase A slipcase is a five-sided box, usually made of high-quality cardboard, into which binders, books or book sets are ''slipped'' for protection, leaving the spine exposed. Special editions of books are often slipcased for a stylish appearance when ...

. They include a 72-page and 24-page booklet, respectively; both include one random postcard and photocard

selfie A selfie () is a self-portrait photograph, typically taken with a digital camera or smartphone, which may be held in the hand or supported by a selfie stick. Selfies are often shared on social media, via social networking services such as ...

, as well as a poster. Released on March 27, the artwork for the special edition of ' was designed by Argentinean graphic designer

Pilar Zeta Pilar Zeta is an Argentine multimedia artist, graphic designer, and creative director currently residing in the United States. She is best known for her surrealist album covers, mystical-futurism artwork and long-time partnership with British r ...

. Revolving around the concept of "confusion and omplication, the cover art depicts portals between a surreal "magical world" filled with stars and

pyramid A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilat ...

s, and a colorful door which "represents the infinite possibilities that there are in the field". It also shows a male figure viewing the door into the other world. The portals indicate how "that contrast opens, this, relationship in between these two worlds". Zeta cited " Between Us" as a vital inspiration for the album artwork.

Release and promotion

On March 13, launching films for each member, as well as a poster for the lead single " Between Us", were released. The following day, "#On" photos of the group and each individual member were unveiled. This was subsequently followed by "#Off" images the day after. A music video teaser for "Between Us" was uploaded on March 16, followed by a highlight medley on the following day. On March 18, a band performance trailer for the lead single was released. Lyric posters of

Jung Yong-hwa Jung Yong-hwa (; ; born June 22, 1989) is a South Korean singer, musician and actor. He is the leader, lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the rock band CNBLUE. Jung made his television debut in '' You're Beautiful'' (2009), and has since st ...

and

Kang Min-hyuk Kang Min-hyuk (; born June 28, 1991) is a South Korean musician, singer-songwriter, and actor. He is the drummer of South Korean rock band CNBLUE. Career 2009–present: CNBLUE Kang became a member of CNBLUE in 2009. The group debuted in Jap ...

were released on

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

websites that same day, as well as lyric posters of

Lee Jong-hyun Lee Jong-hyun (born May 15, 1990) is a South Korean musician, singer-songwriter and actor. He was the former lead guitarist and vocalist of South Korean rock band CNBLUE. He made his acting debut in an omnibus movie '' Acoustic'' in 2010, fol ...

and

Lee Jung-shin Lee Jung-shin (; born September 15, 1991) is a South Korean musician, singer, rapper, and actor. He is the bassist of South Korean rock band CNBLUE, which debuted in January 2010 in South Korea. Life and career Early life and career beginning ...

the subsequent day. ' and the music video for "Between Us" was simultaneously released on March 20. On March 23, CNBLUE began promoting "Between Us" by performing the song on weekly music chart shows. In addition to the lead single, the band also performed "It's You" on

Mnet M-Net (an abbreviation of Electronic Media Network) is a South African pay television channel established by Naspers in 1986. The channel broadcasts both local and international programming, including general entertainment, children's series, ...

's '' M Countdown'' and Korean Broadcasting System's (KBS) ''

Music Bank Music Bank may refer to: * ''Music Bank'' (TV program), a South Korean music program by KBS **''Music Bank World Tour The ''Music Bank'' World Tour is a worldwide live concert tour of South Korean music show '' Music Bank'' by the Korean Broa ...

'', and "When I Was Young" Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation's (MBC) '' Show! Music Core'' and Seoul Broadcasting System's (SBS) '' Inkigayo''. CNBLUE also performed on SBS MTV's '' The Show'' and

MBC Music MBC M (formerly MBC Music) () is a South Korean specialty television channel owned by MBC Plus Media. The cable channel primarily broadcasts programming related to music. The channel opened on February 1, 2012, with a new music program '' Sho ...

's '' Show Champion''. In order to promote the record, the band will embark on the 2017 CNBLUE Live: Between Us concert tour. It is the band's first tour since promoting '' 2gether'' through the 2015 CNBLUE Live: Come Together tour. The initial pair of shows will take place between June 3–4 at the

SK Olympic Handball Gymnasium SK Olympic Handball Gymnasium () is an indoor sporting arena located at the Olympic Park in Bangi-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul, South Korea. The arena was built from September 1984 to April 1986. History It was known as the Olympic Fencing Gymnasi ...

. From July to September, CNBLUE will make stops in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

, Jakarta,

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

, and

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...

Critical reception

Writing for online magazine '' IZM'', Jung Min-jae rated ' three out of five stars, noting that CNBLUE's musical progress had developed rapidly upon the band " vertakingthe helm". He observed that the quartet "produce much slicker materials in terms of melody progression, sound structure, and performance" and the "melodies, arrangements, vocals, and instrumentals fit together to a tee", asserting that the band is "now entering the stage of building its own realm". However, he expressed that CNBLUE's mini-albums "tend to have similar tinges", citing the repetitiveness of the "composing styles and themes of title-tracks, as well as repetition of patterned b-sides give listeners a feeling of

déjà vu ''Déjà vu'' ( , ; "already seen") is a French loanword for the phenomenon of feeling as though one has lived through the present situation before.Schnider, Armin. (2008). ''The Confabulating Mind: How the Brain Creates Reality''. Oxford Univers ...

". He felt that the record was "quite an uneventful series of listens" in spite of its quality. '' Billboard'' magazine columnist Tamar Herman labeled it "one of NBLUE'smost innovative album in years". With its "genre-blending tracks", she noted that the record was able to "showcase the group's ability to combine rock music with K-pop's experiment nature". ' earned the band a nomination for the Golden Disc Album Award at the

32nd Golden Disc Awards The 32nd Golden Disc Awards ceremony was held on January 10–11, 2018. The JTBC network broadcast the show from the Korea International Exhibition Center (KINTEX) in Ilsan. It is the second consecutive year that the show was hosted at the venue ...

Commercial performance

On the chart dated March 19–25, 2017, ' debuted at number three on South Korea's national Gaon Album Chart. In its second week, the mini-album rose to its peak at number two. By the end of 2017, it sold 53,559 copies domestically. The mini-album ranked at number eight on '' Billboard'' magazine's World Albums Chart. In Japan, the mini-album debuted at number 33 on the weekly Oricon Albums Chart, selling 2,972 copies in its first week. It spent a second consecutive week at its peak, selling an additional 2,549 copies. It has sold 7,408 copies in the country since its release.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desc ...

. *

– background vocals **

–

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure. Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

lyricist A lyricist is a songwriter who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's incom ...

, composer,

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

– drums **

– guitar, lyricist, composer, arranger **

– bass, lyricist, composer * Bae Hun-jik – recording engineer * Choi Eun-jeong – artist management * Choi Jin-ho – arranger * Choi Yu-jin – contents planning, marketing * Choi Yun-jin – A&R, publishing * Han Seong-ho – executive producer * Han Seung-hoon – producer, composer * Hong Ji-su – artist management * Im Ji-yeon – A&R, media planning * Jang Ae-ri – media planning * Jang Bit-na – assistant stylist * Jeon Geun-hwa – background vocals * Jo Se-hee – arranger,

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

* Jo Seong-wan – supervisor * Jung Bo-yeong – makeup * Jung Eun-bi – international business * Jung Eun-gyeong – customer relationship management * Jung Go-eun – customer relationship management * Jung Jae-pil – guitar * Jung Yu-jin – customer relationship management * Justin Reinstein – lyricist, composer, arranger * Kang Jong-hyeok – artist management * Kim Chang-rak – producer, composer, arranger * Kim Hang-a – design * Kim Hye-rim – artist management * Kim I-na – lyricist * Kim Jae-ho – A&R * Kim Jae-yang – producer * Kim Ji-hye – contents planning, marketing * Kim Ji-yu – customer relationship management * Kim Ji-yun – design * Kim Na-yeon – visual communication * Kim Seong-han – contents planning, marketing * Kim Tae-hyeok – artist management * Kim Yeong-seon – contents planning, marketing * Kim Yong-seup – media planning * Kim Yong-won – artist management * Kim Yu-jin – customer relationship management, design * Ko Jin-young – composer, arranger, bass * Kwon Nam-woo – mastering engineer * Kwon Woo-mi – A&R * Lee Ga-yeong – international business * Lee Hae-yeong – publishing * Lee Hye-yeong – stylist * Lee Ji-yeong – media planning * Lee Jeong-woo – bass * Lee Seung-ho – artist management * Lee Yu-jin –

mixing engineer A mixing engineer (or simply mix engineer) is responsible for combining ("mixing") different sonic elements of an auditory piece into a complete rendition (also known as "final mix" or "mixdown"), whether in music, film, or any other content of a ...

* Lin Won – international business * Ma Se-bin – international business * miwa – lyricist * Mok Jeong-wook – photography * No Hyeong-gyu – artist management * Noriyuki Inoue (Jizue) – arranger * Oh Ji-eun – customer relationship management * Park Jeong-min – recording engineer, mixing engineer * Park Mi-hyeong – hair * Park Sang-hyeon – artist management *

– art direction, design * Pyo Jin-hee – customer relationship management * Ryu Min-a – MCs * Seo Seok-bin – visual communication * Seon Se-mi – contents planning, marketing * Seong Jong-jin – artist management * Seong Sang-hyeon – international business * Song Yun-ho – MCs * Shim Hye-jin – contents planning, marketing * Woo Hyeon-sik – artist management * Yang Hee-won – artist management * Yeo Hwan-gu – artist management * Yoo Seong-yeong – international business * Yoo Sun-ho – media planning * Yoon Hye-jin – design * Yoon Je-yun – artist management

Charts

Sales

Release history

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:7ºcn 2017 EPs Albums produced by Jung Yong-hwa CNBLUE EPs FNC Entertainment EPs Korean-language EPs Kakao M EPs Pop rock EPs