"Perfume" is a song recorded by South Korean boy band

NCT DoJaeJung NCT DoJaeJung (; stylized in all caps) is the fifth sub-unit of the South Korean boy band NCT (group), NCT, formed and managed by SM Entertainment. The group consists of three members: Doyoung (singer), Doyoung, Jaehyun (singer), Jaehyun, and Ju ...

for their 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) of the same name. Composed by

Styalz Fuego Kaelyn Behr, known professionally as Styalz Fuego, is an Australian music producer, songwriter, vocalist and artist based in Melbourne. Styalz is renowned for his diverse production and songwriting, and most known for his eclectic take on hip-h ...

, MZMC, Brandon Arreaga, Colin Magalong, Landon Sears, and Kaelyn Behr, with lyrics written by Kim Su-min, the song 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 ...

. An accompanying music video was released on the same date. "Perfume" is described as an R&B

electropop Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a re ...

song that expresses mature and sensuous messages of "wanting to leave a scent to a significant other". "Perfume" received positive reviews from music critics and became a commercial success. It debuted at number four on the Circle Digital Chart, making NCT DoJaeJung the fastest NCT sub-unit to earn a top-five single in South Korea. It also debuted at number one on Circle Download Chart and Circle BGM Chart. Remixes by Jafunk, and Bronze and Jason Lee, titled ''iScreaM Vol.24: Perfume Remixes'', were released on July 13.

Background and composition

"Perfume" was composed by Brandon Arreaga, Colin Magalong, Landon Sears, Kaelyn Behr, and MZMC, with the lattermost also producing the song alongside

. It marks MZMC's first production under SM Entertainment following his hiatus from the company in 2020. "Perfume" is an R&B

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 and harmonies are also highlighted in the song. The lyrics, which were written by Kim Su-min, describe the "desire to leave one's scent to their loved one so they would not be forgotten."

Music video

The music video for "Perfume" was released on April 17, 2023, alongside the single and album release. It was filmed in

Bangkok, Thailand 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 population ...

and featured the members dancing in outdoor vibrant sets, as well as the interiors and exteriors of a mansion. The first part of the music video is set in daylight, with the members wearing light-colored outfits, while the latter shows the members in darker and sexier outfits in the nighttime. One section also features them riding in a red 1960 Chevrolet Impala convertible and taking mugshots. The music video also stars a woman, shown to be gifted a set of perfumes by the members.

Critical reception

On ''

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 ...

''s midyear list of the best K-pop songs of 2023, Ivana E. Morales wrote that the song "a luxurious, aural throwback to the ’90s, swimming in gorgeous vocals and enthralling transitions, making it an elegant detour" and called it "one of the greatest K-pop gifts from this year so far".

Accolades

Track listing

* Digital download and streaming (''iScreaM Vol.24: Perfume Remixes'') # "Perfume" (Jafunk remix) – 2:48 # "Perfume" (Bronze & Jason Lee remix) – 3:11

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Credits and personnel

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

Studio

* SM LVYIN Studio – recording * SM Yellow Tail Studio – recording * SM Concert Hall – mixing * 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 *

– vocals, background vocals * Kim Su-min (153/Joombas) – lyrics * Brandon Arreaga – composition, background vocals * Colin Magalong – composition * Landon Sears – composition *

–

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

, composition,

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...

* MZMC – producer, composition, arrangement * Young Chance – vocal directing * Noh Min-ji – recording * Lee Ji-hong – recording * Woo Min-jeong –

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 ...

* Nam Koong-jin – mixing * Kwon Nam-woo – mastering

Release history

References

{{NCT (group) 2023 songs 2023 singles Songs in Korean SM Entertainment singles