"Merry Christmas Ahead" (), also known as "Merry Christmas in Advance", is a song by South Korean singer-songwriter IU featuring

Thunder Thunder is the sound caused by lightning. Depending upon the distance from and nature of the lightning, it can range from a long, low rumble to a sudden, loud crack. The sudden increase in temperature and hence pressure caused by the lightning pr ...

. It is the sixth track on her third

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.

(EP), ''

Real Real may refer to: Currencies * Brazilian real (R$) * Central American Republic real * Mexican real * Portuguese real * Spanish real * Spanish colonial real Music Albums * ''Real'' (L'Arc-en-Ciel album) (2000) * ''Real'' (Bright album) (2010) ...

'', which was released on December 9, 2010. It entered the South Korean

Gaon Digital Chart The Circle Digital Chart, previously known as the Gaon Digital Chart, is the music industry standard record chart ranking the 200 most popular singles in South Korea. It provides rankings on a weekly, monthly, and yearly basis, which is based o ...

, peaking at number seven. In the following years, "Merry Christmas Ahead" became one of the most popular South Korean

Christmas song Christmas music comprises a variety of genres of music regularly performed or heard around the Christmas season. Music associated with Christmas may be purely instrumental, or, in the case of carols or songs, may employ lyrics whose subject ma ...

s, re-entering charts each year in December. It was listed among the most successful songs of the 2010s by the largest Korean

music streaming service A music streaming service is a type of streaming media service that focuses primarily on music, and sometimes other forms of digital audio content such as podcasts. These services are usually subscription-based services allowing users to stream d ...

Melon A melon is any of various plants of the family Cucurbitaceae with sweet, edible, and fleshy fruit. The word "melon" can refer to either the plant or specifically to the fruit. Botanically, a melon is a kind of berry, specifically a "pepo". The ...

. IU has performed it on television programs and has included it in the set list of several of her concert tours.

Background and release

South Korean singer-songwriter IU had been gaining popularity in 2010 with the release of her collaborative

hit single A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...

Nagging Nagging, in interpersonal communication, is repetitious behaviour in the form of pestering, hectoring, harassing, or otherwise continuously urging an individual to complete previously discussed requests or act on advice. The word is derived from th ...

" with

Lim Seul-ong Lim Seul-ong (Hangul: 임슬옹; born 11 May 1987), also known by the mononym Seulong, is a South Korean singer and actor. He debuted as a singer in 2008 as a member of the K-pop boyband 2AM. He made his acting debut in 2010 in the Korean dra ...

and her starring role in the South Korean

variety show Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical theatre, musical performances, sketch comedy, magic (illusion), magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is ...

Heroes Heroes or Héroes may refer to: * Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good Film * ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama * ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film Gaming * ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...

''. On December 2, 2010, IU announced that she would release her third

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.

(EP), ''

'', on December 9. The album peaked at number two on the

Circle Album Chart The Circle Album Chart, previously known as the Gaon Album Chart, is a record chart ranking the 100 most popular albums, extended plays and single albums in South Korea based on their pure sales. It is a part of the Circle Chart, previously know ...

(previously known as Gaon Album Chart) in the issue dated December 26, 2010 – January 1, 2011, and it has been retrospectively identified as the start of IU's rise to stardom, also thanks to the success of its lead single " Good Day". On December 2, it was also announced that

MBLAQ MBLAQ ( ko, 엠블랙, ja, エムブラック; an acronym for Music Boys Live in Absolute Quality) is a South Korean boy band created by South Korean singer Rain under J. Tune Camp. The group consists of Seungho, G.O, and Mir, and formerly L ...

's member

would feature on ''Real''s b-side track "Merry Christmas Ahead". Written by

Shinsadong Tiger Lee Ho-yang (born June 3, 1983), known professionally as Shinsadong Tiger, is a South Korean music producer and songwriter. Even after debuting in 2001 at the age of 18, he has worked many odd jobs to fund his music career. He has become a promi ...

, Choi Kyu-sung and Choi Gap-won, "Merry Christmas Ahead" is a

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

love song, written as a confession from IU to her fans. IU stated that the song originally didn't suit her taste, but she came to like it. She said it is a "special" project to her since it features Thunder and Shinsadong Tiger, who had been her friends since they were

trainees A trainee is commonly known as an individual taking part in a trainee program within an organization after having graduated from higher and technical courses. A trainee is an official employee of the firm that is being trained to the job they were ...

. IU said: "Sang-hyun ''

oppa Oppas (died after 712), also spelled Oppa, was a member of the Visigothic elite in the city of Toledo on the eve of the Muslim conquest of Hispania. He was a son of Egica and therefore a brother or half-brother of Wittiza. After the defeat of kin ...

'' (Thunder), Ho-yang ''oppa'' (Shinsadong Tiger) and I were together when the three of us were nothing, but the fact that the three of us got together and did something makes me proud".

Chart performance

The song debuted at number 24 on the weekly

Circle Digital Chart The Circle Digital Chart, previously known as the Gaon Digital Chart, is the music industry standard record chart ranking the 200 most popular singles in South Korea. It provides rankings on a weekly, monthly, and yearly basis, which is based on ...

(previously known as Gaon Digital Chart) in the issue dated December 12–18, 2010, and peaked at number 7 in the chart issue dated December 19–25, 2010. It debuted at number 10 on the monthly Circle Digital Chart in December 2010. Since its release, it has re-entered the chart every December (except for 2012 and 2015), charting at number 61 in 2011, number 70 in 2013, number 23 in 2014, number 35 in 2016, number 55 in 2017, number 60 in 2018, number 49 in 2019, number 29 in 2020, number 32 in 2021, and number 42 in 2022, and number 44 in 2023. Twelve years after its release, it debuted at number 22 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

South Korea Songs South Korea Songs is a music record chart in South Korea, compiled by ''Billboard'' since May 2022. The chart is updated every Tuesday on ''Billboard''s website. It is part of ''Billboard''s Hits of the World chart collection, ranking the top 25 ...

in the chart issue dated December 31, 2022.

Live performances

IU first sang "Merry Christmas Ahead" at MBC's ''Concert for Beautiful People'' (), aired on December 18, 2010. After receiving several requests from fans, she performed it on the South Korean music show ''

M Countdown ''M Countdown'' () is a South Korean music program broadcast by Mnet. The show features appearances by popular music artists who also perform live on stage. It is broadcast from CJ E&M Center Studio in Sangam-dong, Mapo District, Seoul. Bro ...

'' on December 23, 2010. It was part of the set list of the singer's 24 Steps: One, Two, Three, Four tour (2016–2017), Palette tour (2017), and Dlwlrma tour (2018–2019).

Legacy

"Merry Christmas Ahead" has become one of the most popular South Korean

s. Jung Byeong-geun of ''The Fact'' wrote that it has been "reigning as the strongest Korean carol ever" since it was released. The song has been nicknamed a "Christmas Zombie" since it manages to re-enter charts each year, despite the declining popularity of Christmas songs in South Korea. It has been compared to

Busker Busker Busker Busker () is a South Korean indie band who rose to fame through their runner-up performance in the South Korean music audition television program ''Superstar K3'' on Mnet. The band consists of guitarist and vocalist Jang Beom-june, bas ...

's "

Cherry Blossom Ending "Cherry Blossom Ending" () is a song by South Korean indie band Busker Busker, from their debut studio album ''Busker Busker 1st Album''. The song was written by band member and was released on March 29, 2012 by CJ E&M Music. The song is well kn ...

" for its seasonal appeal and longevity on charts. Its acronym, (), has been used as an alternative way to wish a "

Merry Christmas The Christmas season or the festive season (also known in some countries as the holiday season or the holidays) is an annually recurring period recognized in many Western and other countries that is generally considered to run from late November ...

". The song placed at number 18 on the list of the top 100 songs of the 2010s by

streams A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream ...

and digital downloads released by the largest Korean

. It was the only Korean song to be featured on DJ

Park Myung-soo Park Myung-soo (born August 27, 1970) is a South Korean DJ, comedian, MC, singer, and songwriter who debuted on television in 1993, appearing on MBC. He co-hosted the top-rated comic variety programme ''Infinite Challenge'' and also hosted t ...

's list of the top five carol songs, ranking third. ''Insight'' placed it on its list of IU's 14 most famous songs, released in occasion of her 10th debut anniversary. "Merry Christmas Ahead" has also been covered by multiple artists, including

Laboum Laboum (; stylized as LABOUM) is a South Korean girl group currently under Interpark Music Plus. They debuted in 2014 under NH Media and Nega Network's joint venture Global H. Their name is taken from the French term meaning "The Party". Hist ...

Kim Se-jeong Kim Se-jeong (; born August 28, 1996), known mononymously as Sejeong, is a South Korean singer and actress. She finished second in Mnet's girl group survival show ''Produce 101'', becoming a member of the project girl group I.O.I. She was also ...

Yoo Jae-seok Yoo Jae-suk (; or ; born on 14 August 1972) is a South Korean comedian, host and television personality. He has hosted several variety television shows in South Korea, including ''Infinite Challenge'', '' Running Man'', '' Happy Together, and ...

, and

Stray Kids Stray Kids (; often abbreviated as SKZ) is a South Korean boy band formed by JYP Entertainment through the 2017 reality show of the same name. The group is composed of eight members: Bang Chan, Lee Know, Changbin, Hyunjin, Han, Felix, Seungmin ...

Background and release

Chart performance

Live performances

Legacy

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Sales

Notes

References