"Ring Ding Dong" is a song recorded by South Korean boy band
Shinee
Shinee ( ; ko, 샤이니, Syaini; ja, シャイニー, Shainī; stylized as SHINee) is a South Korean boy band formed by SM Entertainment in 2008. The group's musical impact in their native country has earned them numerous accolades and th ...
as the lead single for their 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. , ''
2009, Year of Us''. It was released on October 14, 2009 through
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 ...
. Penned by
Yoo Young-jin
Yoo Young-jin is a South Korean singer-songwriter, record producer and vocal trainer under SM Entertainment. He has produced and written songs for H.O.T., S.E.S, BoA, Shinhwa, TVXQ, CSJH The Grace, Super Junior, Girls' Generation, Shinee, ...
, "Ring Ding Dong" is known for its repetitive, catchy hook.
Background and release
"Ring Ding Dong" served as the lead single for Shinee's third EP, ''2009, Year of Us''. It was released on October 14, 2009, five days ahead of the EP's digital release.
The music video was directed by Cho Soo-hyun and was shot in early October in
Namyangju
Namyangju () is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. To the east is Gapyeong County, to the west is Guri City, and to the north is Pocheon City. Namyangju-si was originally a southern part of Yangju-gun, but was separated into Namyangju-gu ...
. It premiered on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
on October 16.
Misha Gabriel, who had previously worked with the group on "Amigo", provided the choreography, alongside Nick Bass. Shinee began their promotions at
KBS' ''
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 October 16. On November 3, member
Jonghyun was diagnosed with
swine flu
Swine influenza is an infection caused by any of several types of swine influenza viruses. Swine influenza virus (SIV) or swine-origin influenza virus (S-OIV) refers to any strain of the influenza family of viruses that is endemic in pigs. As ...
and had to take a break from promotions.
Onew
Lee Jin-ki (; born December 14, 1989), better known by his stage name Onew, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, actor and host. Born in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi-do, Onew was discovered at the 2006 SM Academy Casting and signed a contract with S ...
later contracted the disease on November 7, followed by
Taemin
Lee Tae-min (born July 18, 1993), better known mononymously as Taemin, is a South Korean singer, actor and dancer. He debuted as a member of the boy band Shinee in May 2008 and the supergroup SuperM in 2019, both under SM Entertainment, and ...
on November 26.
Super Junior's
Yesung
Kim Kang-hoon (born Kim Jong-woon; August 24, 1984), better known by his stage name Yesung is a South Korean singer, songwriter, actor, radio personality and television presenter. He debuted in 2005 as a member of Super Junior and its subgroup ...
and
Leeteuk
Park Jeong-su (born July 1, 1983), known professionally as Leeteuk (), is a South Korean singer, songwriter, presenter, radio personality and actor. He debuted as the leader of the boy band Super Junior in November 2005 and since then has part ...
filled in for the missing members in various performances.
Composition
Written and produced by longtime SM songwriter Yoo Young-jin, "Ring Ding Dong" was a departure from Shinee's established
contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B (or simply R&B) is a popular music genre that combines rhythm and blues with elements of pop, soul, funk, hip hop, and electronic music.
The genre features a distinctive record production style, drum machine-backed rhy ...
sound. Yoo later admitted, "they probably never imagined they’d receive a song in this style".
"Ring Ding Dong" is an afro-electric song with a melody driven by African
bongo drums
Bongos ( es, bongó) are an Afro-Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of small open bottomed hand drums of different sizes. They are struck with both hands, most commonly in an eight-stroke pattern called ''martillo'' (hammer). The ...
and electro
synths.
The beat has been described as "tense and rubbery electro-house".
It is "high-powered", "heavily produced" and "rhythmically dense".
Sometimes characterised as "futuristic R&B", it also features "heavily
auto-tuned vocals" and "
Euro-pop production". The lyrics describe the process of falling in love with someone without realising. The refrain "ring ding dong", which is repeated throughout the song, cartoonishly expresses the moment of falling in love as though a bell is ringing in the head.
Tom Breihan of ''
Stereogum'' likened this to "nonsensical English baby-talk".
Critical reception
"Ring Ding Dong" has received mixed reviews from music critics, with some believing that the song hasn't aged well. ''
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 ...
'' reporter Rhian Daly acknowledged that the song "might feel more of its time now than some of the rest of their songs", but nevertheless praised its "adventurous, experimental spirit". Likewise, writing for ''
Dazed
''Dazed'' (''Dazed & Confused'' until February 2014) is a bi-monthly British style magazine founded in 1991. It covers music, fashion, film, art, and literature. Dazed is published by Dazed Media, an independent media group known for producing ...
'', Taylor Glasby described it as "unarguably a product of its musically outré time".
She went on to add, "the melody's power to ingrain, however, hasn't dimmed".
Tom Breihan of ''Stereogum'' viewed the song more positively, calling it "a pretty perfect introduction" to
K-pop. He argued, "Nobody in Europe or America is using those Euro-club tropes better than the producers in Seoul are doing right now".
It has been criticised for the repetitiveness of the lyrics.
"Ring Ding Dong" has gained a reputation for being so catchy, it distracts students from their studies. It has been voted the number one banned song by college entrance exam takers on several occasions. In 2020, the lyrics to "Ring Ding Dong" were featured in an exhibition at the
National Hangeul Museum
The National Hangeul Museum () was established in 2014 in the Yongsan District of Seoul (South Korea) near the National Museum of Korea. Occupying over , it showcases the cultural and political context, linguistic structure and evolution of the Ko ...
in Seoul titled "Korean Pop Lyrics – Melodies of Life".
Commercial performance
"Ring Ding Dong" was a commercial success, topping various music charts in South Korea. It continued to chart for several months after its release, entering at number 85 on the inaugural edition of the
Gaon Digital Chart, newly established in 2010. "Ring Ding Dong" was the most viewed video on YouTube in South Korea for the month of October 2009. It peaked at number 16 on ''
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 ...
on the chart issue dated January 7, 2012, and stayed on the chart for nine weeks. As of December 2017, "Ring Ding Dong" has sold 38,000 downloads in the US, making it Shinee's second best-selling single in the country.
Accolades
Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''
2009, Year of Us''.
Recording
* Recorded and mixed at SM Boomingsystem
* Mastered at Sonic Korea
Personnel
* Shinee – vocals, background vocals
* Yoo Young-jin – lyrics, composition, arrangement, directing, background vocals, recording, mixing
* Cheon Hoon – mastering
Release history
References
{{Shinee
2009 singles
2009 songs
Korean-language songs
Shinee songs
SM Entertainment singles
Songs written by Yoo Young-jin