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"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 the ...
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, f ...
, "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-gun ...
. It premiered on
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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'' 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 o ...
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 ...
later contracted the disease on November 7, followed by Taemin on November 26.
Super Junior Super Junior (; stylized in all caps), also known as SJ or SuJu, is a South Korean boy band formed by Lee Soo-man, the founder of SM Entertainment in 2005. They are also dubbed by the media as the "King of Hallyu Wave" due to their prominent ...
'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 subgroups ...
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 par ...
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 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 A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and f ...
. 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 ''
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'' 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. ''
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'' 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 ''
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'', 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 K-pop (), short for Korean popular music, is a form of popular music originating in South Korea as part of South Korean culture. It includes styles and genres from around the world, such as pop, hip hop, R&B, experimental, rock, jazz, go ...
. 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 K ...
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 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 ...
, 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 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 ...
''
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