"Play" () is a song recorded by South Korean singer Yuju for her 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.

'' Rec.''. It was released as the lead single on January 18, 2022, by

Konnect Entertainment Konnect Entertainment (; stylized as KONNECT Entertainment) is an independent South Korean entertainment company founded on June 5, 2019 by Kang Daniel. The company is based in the Gangnam District of Seoul in South Korea. As of September 2021, ...

. The song was written by Yuju alongside Chancellor, Amelia Moore, and MZMC, composed by Yuju, Chancellor, and MZMC, and arranged by Pinkslip, Inverness, and MZMC.

Background and release

On January 3, 2022, Konnect Entertainment announced that Yuju will be making her solo debut with extended play '. The following day, the promotional schedule was released. On January 5, "Play" was announced as the lead single for the extended play, in the same announcement, Yuju was announced to have written the lyrics and composed the song. On January 12, the first teaser for the music video was released. On January 17, the second teaser for the music video was released. On January 18, the song along with the music video was released.

Composition

"Play" was written by Yuju alongside Chancellor, Amelia Moore, and MZMC, composed by Yuju, Chancellor, and MZMC, and arranged by Pinkslip, Inverness, and MZMC. Musically, the song is described as a medium-tempo emotional

dance pop Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...

song with lyrics about "the demise of a relationship". "Play" was composed in the key of

E minor E minor is a minor scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative major is G major and its parallel major is E major. The E natural minor scale is: : Changes needed ...

, with a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo ( Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (ofte ...

of 98 beats per minute.

Commercial performance

"Play" debuted at position 19 on South Korea's

Gaon Download Chart The Circle Chart (), previously known as the Gaon Music Chart or the Gaon Chart (), tabulates the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in South Korea. It is produced by the Korea Music Content Association and sponsored by South Korea's ...

in the chart issue dated January 16–22, 2022. The song also debuted at position 77 on the Gaon BGM Chart, in the chart issue dated January 16–22, 2022.

Promotion

Prior to the extended play's release, on January 18, 2022, Yuju held an online press conference to introduce the extended play and its song including "Play". Following the release of the extended play, she performed "Play" on three music programs on the first week:

KBS2 The Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) () is the national broadcaster of South Korea. Founded in February 1927, it is one of the leading South Korean television and radio broadcasters. KBS operates seven radio networks, ten television channels, a ...

's ''

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 ...

'' on January 21, MBC's '' Show! Music Core'' on January 22, and SBS's '' Inkigayo'' on January 23. On the second week of the song release, she performed on SBS MTV's '' The Show'' on January 25.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from

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". Th ...

. Studio * Vibe Music –

recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, r ...

* Klang Studio – mixing * 821 Sound Mastering – mastering Personnel * Yuju – vocals, lyrics,

composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography *Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include v ...

* Chancellor – lyrics, composition, recording producer * Amelia Moore – lyrics * MZMC – lyrics, composition, arrangement * Pinkslip – arrangement * Inverness – arrangement * KayOne – recording engineer * Koo Jong-pil – mixing * Kwon Nam-woo – mastering

Charts

Release history

References

{{Yuju 2022 songs Korean-language songs 2022 debut singles