''Fantasia X'' (stylized as ''FANTASIA X'') is the eighth

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

by the South Korean boy group

Monsta X Monsta X (; stylized as MONSTA X) is a South Korean boy group formed through the reality survival program ''No.Mercy'' under Starship Entertainment. The group is currently composed of six members: Shownu, Minhyuk, Kihyun, Hyungwon, Joohoney ...

. It was released by

Starship Entertainment Starship Entertainment () is a South Korean entertainment company founded in 2008 and became an independent subsidiary of Kakao Entertainment in 2013. They had been recognized for their contributions to the Hallyu Wave, being home to several ...

and distributed by

Kakao M 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 ...

on May 26, 2020. It had seven tracks, with "Fantasia" as the title track.

Background and release

This was Monsta X's first comeback without

Wonho Won-ho is a Korean masculine given name. Its meaning differs based on the hanja used to write each syllable of the name. There are 35 hanja with the reading "won" and 49 hanja with the reading " ho" on the South Korean government's official list o ...

, as he left the group on October 31, 2019. It was initially set to be released on May 11 but was postponed to May 26, so that

Shownu Son Hyun-woo (, born June 18, 1992), better known by his stage name Shownu, is a South Korean singer and dancer. He is the leader of the South Korean boy group Monsta X, which debuted under Starship Entertainment, through Mnet's survival show ...

could recover from his back pain. The EP was released in four versions.

Critical reception

Taylor Glasby of '' Clash'' described ''Fantasia X'' as "a distillation of Monsta X's many parts. Light, breezy pop ('Beautiful Night') nestles beside sensual, bassy funk ('It Ain't Over'), the record's middle section reinforced by the commanding brass and EDM of 'Chaotic' and a thumping party track – 'Zone'". "Stand Up" is "a confession of pain experienced but also a rallying cry to prevail" and "beneath its bouncy, trop-house beats" is a song that "reflects the band's journey through dark places to emerge on the other side". The title track "Fantasia" won the song of the week on '' The Show''.

Listicles

Commercial Performance

The album is certified Platinum in South Korea and has sold 271,263 units as of 2020. The album peaked at number 2 on the weekly Gaon Album Chart, and at number 5 on '' Billboards World Albums chart. The title track "Fantasia" peaked at number 117 on the weekly Gaon Digital Chart and on the weekly ''Billboard''

World Digital Song Sales The World Digital Song Sales chart (formerly World Digital Songs) is a weekly record chart compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published by ''Billboard'' magazine. Established in 2010—with the issue dated January 23—as one of 21 genre-specific so ...

chart at number 11. The track "Stand Up" also appeared on the ''Billboard'' World Digital Song Sales chart at number 25. It did not appear on the weekly Gaon Digital Chart, though it appeared on its component Gaon Download Chart at number 102, alongside the other five songs on the EP, with "Flow" at 99, "Zone" at 104, "Beautiful Night" at 106, "Chaotic" at 112, and "It Ain't Over" at 115.

Background and release

Critical reception

Listicles

Commercial Performance

Track listing

Charts

Album

Weekly charts

Monthly chart

Year-end chart

Songs

Weekly charts

Certification and sales

Accolades

Awards and nominations

Release history

See also

Notes

References