''Perfume'' is the debut

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) by the South Korean boy band NCT DoJaeJung. It was released on April 17, 2023, by

SM Entertainment SM Entertainment Co., Ltd. () is a South Korean multinational entertainment agency. It is one of South Korea's largest entertainment companies where it was established in 1995 by record executive and record producer Lee Soo-man. The company ha ...

, alongside its lead single of the same name. It is NCT DoJaeJung's first release, following initial participation as members of NCT and its sub-unit NCT 127. Consisting of six romantic songs, it features participation from multiple songwriters and producers, including MZMC, Styalz Fuego,

LDN Noise LDN Noise (pronounced ''London Noise'') is a British songwriting and record production duo based in London, England. Consisting of songwriter Greg Bonnick and DJ Hayden Chapman, the duo has worked with artists such as Nathan Sykes, Nick Jonas ...

, and others. ''Perfume'' received positive reviews from critics, who praised NCT DoJaeJung's vocals and the songs' composition, citing its difference from NCT's usual hip hop and experimental music. The romantic theme of the EP was also noted by critics, which ''NME'' describes as "an indulgent tale of a torrid romance in six parts." It also earned commercial success both digitally and physically, selling 841,976 copies 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 ...

as of June 2, 2023, making it the best-selling debut album by an SM Entertainment act and the best-selling album by a K-pop sub-unit. It previously held the record for the highest first week sales for a sub-unit with a total of 672,374 units on the Hanteo Chart.

Background and release

On March 22, 2023, SM Entertainment announced that NCT DoJaeJung will debut with their first extended play. Promotions began on March 26, with teaser videos and photos released on the group's social media accounts. Three music films starring each member were released, namely: ''Passion'', ''Commitment'', and ''Intimacy'', for which the concept was based on

Robert Sternberg Robert J. Sternberg (born December 8, 1949) is an American psychologist and psychometrician. He is Professor of Human Development at Cornell University. Sternberg has a BA from Yale University and a PhD from Stanford University, under advisor ...

triangular theory of love The triangular theory of love is a theory of love developed by Robert Sternberg. In the context of interpersonal relationships, "the three components of love, according to the triangular theory, are an intimacy component, a passion component, and ...

. Snippets of the album's side tracks were also revealed through the music films. On April 17, 2023, ''Perfume'' was released digitally and physically worldwide.

Promotion

On April 16, 2023, a launch event and press conference were held at the Seoul Wave Art Center prior to the official release of the EP, where they performed "Strawberry Sunday" and "Dive", and unveiled the performance videos for "

Perfume Perfume (, ; french: parfum) is a mixture of fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds (fragrances), fixatives and solvents, usually in liquid form, used to give the human body, animals, food, objects, and living-spaces an agreeable scent. Th ...

" and "Kiss". Hosted by Johnny of NCT, it was also attended by numerous celebrities, including

Yeri Yeri may refer to: * Yeri, Cyprus * Yeri, Tajikistan *Yeri (singer) (born Kim Ye-rim, 1999), South Korean female singer, member of Red Velvet. *Yery Yeru or Eru (Ы ы; italics: ), usually called Y in modern Russian or Yery or Ery historic ...

and Seulgi of Red Velvet,

Taeyong Lee Tae-yong (; born July 1, 1995), known mononymously as Taeyong, is a South Korean rapper, singer, songwriter, and dancer. He is a member and leader of South Korean boy band NCT under SM Entertainment, having debuted in the group's first sub- ...

and Taeil of NCT,

Changmin Shim Chang-min (; born February 18, 1988), also known by his stage name Max Changmin () or simply as Max, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, actor, and a member of the pop duo TVXQ. Born and raised in Seoul, South Korea, Changmin was scou ...

TVXQ TVXQ (stylized as TVXQ!), an initialism for Tong Vfang Xien Qi (), is a South Korean male pop duo consisting of U-Know Yunho and Max Changmin. They are known as in Japanese releases, and are sometimes referred to as DBSK, an abbreviation of ...

Taeyeon Kim Tae-yeon (; born March 9, 1989), known mononymously as Taeyeon, is a South Korean singer. She debuted as a member of girl group Girls' Generation in August 2007, which went on to become one of the best-selling artists in South Korea and one ...

Girls' Generation Girls' Generation (), also known as SNSD, is a South Korean girl group formed by SM Entertainment. The group is composed of eight members: Taeyeon, Sunny, Tiffany, Hyoyeon, Yuri, Sooyoung, Yoona, and Seohyun. Originally a nine-piece ensembl ...

, and theater actress Kim So-hyun. Several South Korean representatives of high-end fashion magazines such as

Vogue Vogue may refer to: Business * ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine ** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine ** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine ** ''Vogue China'', ...

, Elle, and

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were also present at the event. A public exhibition was later held at the Seoul Wave Art Center, and three local pop-up stores were made available from April 18 to April 30. A large perfume bottle sculpture was also installed outside of SM Entertainment's headquarters in

Seongsu-dong Seongsu-dong is a '' dong'', or neighbourhood, of Seongdong-gu in Seoul, South Korea. It is further subdivided into Seongsu-dong 1-ga and Seongsu-dong 2-ga, and is served by Ddukseom Station and Seongsu Station on Seoul Subway Line 2 and by Seoul ...

, which emits a scent specifically created for NCT DoJaeJung. The lead single "Perfume" was initially set to be promoted in South Korean music shows, alongside the side track "Kiss", beginning from April 20, 2023. SM Entertainment later announced that promotional schedules have been postponed due to Jaehyun's health issues. The rescheduled promotions on music shows then began on April 27 and concluded on May 7. On June 24, 2023, NCT DoJaeJung held the EP's accompanying fan concert, titled "Scented Symphony: Perfume", at the

SM Mall of Asia Arena The SM Mall of Asia Arena, also known as the Mall of Asia Arena or the MoA Arena, is an indoor arena within the SM Mall of Asia complex, in Bay City, Pasay, Metro Manila, Philippines. It has a seating capacity of 15,000 for sporting events, an ...

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, Philippines.

Composition and lyrics

The lead single "

" is described as an R&B electro pop song, consisting of rhythmic slab guitar, synth pad, boom bap rhythm sound, and groovy electric bass line. The members'

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

vocals are also highlighted in the song. The lyrics express mature and sensuous messages of "wanting to leave a scent to a significant other". The second track "Kiss" is a medium-tempo R&B song with a "dreamy atmosphere". The third track "Dive" is medium-tempo R&B with lyrics that describe one's feelings of deeply falling in love. The fourth track "Can We Go Back", which was first performed by NCT DoJaeJung at the

Seoul Olympic Stadium The Seoul Olympic Stadium (), also known as Jamsil Olympic Stadium (formerly romanised as ''Chamshil''), is a multi-purpose stadium in Seoul, South Korea. It is the main stadium built for the 1988 Summer Olympics and the 1986 Asian Games, 10th ...

for NCT 127's Neo City – The Link+ concerts in October 2022, is an R&B song composed of an acoustic guitar melody and portrays a person who wants to return to the past "out of suffering from a terrible aftermath of a breakup." The fifth track "Strawberry Sunday" is described as an upbeat R&B

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

song, composed of lyrics about the "excitement of being with a significant other." Lastly, the sixth track "Ordinary" is a

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

with the emotional portrayal of writing "honest feelings that cannot be conveyed to a loved one."

Critical reception

Kim Do-heon of ''Zenerate'' ranked ''Perfume'' at number 11 for their list of The 15 Best K-pop Albums of 2023. In a review for

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

, Carmen Chin rated the album three out of five stars, opining that although it was safer than expected for a group known for its "unabashed experimentation", the record still displayed "masterful storytelling and dulcet vocals".

Track listing

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Perfume''.

Studio

* SM LVYIN Studio – recording , mixing * SM Yellow Tail Studio – recording , engineered for mix * SM Ssam Studio – recording ,

digital editing Digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operate in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital media can be created, viewed, distributed, modified, listened to, and preserved on a digital ...

, engineered for mix * Sound Pool Studio – recording * Doobdoob Studio – recording , digital editing * SM Concert Hall Studio – mixing * SM Blue Ocean Studio – mixing * SM Big Shot Studio – mixing * SM Starlight Studio – mixing , engineered for mix * 821 Sound Mastering – mastering

Personnel

–

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

* Lee Sung-soo – production director, executive supervisor *

Tak Young-jun Tak Young-jun (; also spelled Tak Young-joon; born January 17, 1978) is a South Korean business executive and the current COO of SM Entertainment. He also serves as the CEO of SM Life Design Group and a representative director of SM Entertainmen ...

– executive supervisor * Yoo Young-jin – music and sound supervisor * NCT DoJaeJung – vocals , background vocals ** Doyoung – background vocals * Kim Su-min (153/Joombas) – lyrics * Park Lang (Verygoods) – lyrics * Ji Yu-ri (

JamFactory JamFactory is a not-for-profit arts organisation which includes training facilities, galleries and shops, located in Adelaide city centre, the West End precinct of Adelaide and on the Seppeltsfield (wine), Seppeltsfield Estate in the Barossa Val ...

) – lyrics *

Jo Yoon-kyung All artists under SM Entertainment are collectively known as the SM Town. Artists Recording artists ;SM Entertainment * Soloists ** BoA ** Kangta ** J-Min ** Taemin ** Taeyeon ** Yoona ** Hyoyeon ** Yuri ** Key ** Onew ** Chen ** U-Know Yu ...

– lyrics * Kang Eun-jeong – lyrics * MinGtion – lyrics, composition, keyboard, digital editing, arrangement , vocal directing * Brandon Arreaga – composition, background vocals * Colin Magalong – composition * Landon Sears – composition * Kaelyn Behr – composition * MZMC – composition, arrangement * Sevn Dayz – composition * Jeffrey The Kidd – composition * Greg Bonnick – composition * Hayden Chapman – composition * Jay Jay – composition, arrangement *

– arrangement * Lauren Faith – composition * JBach – composition *

Mishon Ratliff Mishon Tarique Ratliff (born February 3, 1993) is an American singer, dancer and actor.https://www.californiabirthindex.org/birth/mishon_tarique_ratliff_born_1993_22471722 Though he's been singing and performing on stage since the age of 6, he i ...

– composition * David Wilson (DWilly) – composition, arrangement * Adam Korbesmeyer – composition * Jerry Lang II – composition, arrangement * Lena Leon – composition * Jacqueline Young – composition * Ori Dulitzki – composition * Oiaisle – background vocals * Young Chance – vocal directing , digital editing * Seo Mi-rae (Butterfly) – vocal directing * Joo Chan-yang (Pollen) – vocal directing * Noh Min-ji – recording , engineered for mix * Lee Ji-hong – recording , mixing * Kang Eun-ji – recording , digital editing * Kwon Yoo-jin – recording , digital editing * Jeong Ho-jin – recording * Nam Goong-jin – mixing * Lee Min-gyu – mixing * Jeong Yu-ra – mixing, engineered for mix * Kim Cheol-soon – mixing * Woo Min-jeong – digital editing * Kwon Nam-woo – mastering

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Year-end charts

Sales and certifications

References

{{NCT (group) 2023 EPs Korean-language EPs 2020s Korean-language albums SM Entertainment EPs