"Severely" (; also translated as "Fiercely") is a song by
South Korean idol
An idol () refers to a type of celebrity working in the field of K-pop in fandom culture in South Korea, either as a member of a group or as a solo act. K-pop idols are characterized by the highly manufactured star system that they are produced by ...
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band
F.T. Island
F.T. Island ( ko, 에프티 아일랜드, or FT아일랜드, short for Five Treasure Island), is a South Korean rock band formed by FNC Entertainment in 2007. The band currently consists of main vocalist Lee Hong-gi, bassist Lee Jae-jin, and ...
. It was released on January 31, 2012, under
FNC Music
FNC Entertainment (; stands for "fish and cake") is a South Korean entertainment company established in 2006 by South Korean singer and record producer Han Seong-ho. The label operates as a record label, talent agency, music production company, ev ...
and serves as the
lead single
A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date.
Release s ...
of the band's fourth mini-album ''
Grown-Up''. A
rock ballad
A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner.J. M. Cu ...
, the song was written by Han Seong-ho, and composed by Kim Do-hun and Lee Sang-ho.
"Severely" peaked at number three on South Korea's national
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 ...
and the ''
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 ...
''
Korea K-Pop Hot 100
The K-pop Hot 100 is a music singles chart in South Korea, launched by '' Billboard'' in conjunction with ''Billboard'' Korea () on August 25, 2011. It is the second Asian ''Billboard'' chart after the Japan Hot 100. The chart used the same multi ...
, spending two consecutive weeks at its peak on both charts. The song earned F.T. Island three consecutive wins—dubbed a "Triple Crown"—on
JTBC
JTBC (shortened from ''Joongang Tongyang Broadcasting Company'' (; stylized as jtbc) is a South Korean nationwide pay television network. Its primary shareholder is JoongAng Holdings, with a 25% stake. It was launched on 1 December 2011. JTBC ...
's music television program ''
Music on Top
Music on Top (Korean: 뮤직온탑) is a South Korean music program broadcast on pay television network JTBC between 2011 and 2012. Hosted by Yoon Doo-joon of B2ST and actor Lee Hyun-woo, it aired live every Wednesday from Hoam Art Hall in Ju ...
'', in addition to two wins on
Mnet
M-Net (an abbreviation of Electronic Media Network) is a South African pay television channel established by Naspers in 1986. The channel broadcasts both local and international programming, including general entertainment, children's series, ...
's ''
M Countdown
''M Countdown'' () is a South Korean music program broadcast by Mnet. The show features appearances by popular music artists who also perform live on stage. It is broadcast from CJ E&M Center Studio in Sangam-dong, Mapo District, Seoul.
Bro ...
'' and one win on
Seoul Broadcasting System
Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS) () is one of the leading South Korean television and radio broadcasters. The broadcaster legally became known as SBS in March 2000, changing its corporate name from Seoul Broadcasting System (서울방송). Its f ...
's (SBS) ''
Inkigayo
''Inkigayo'' ( ko, 인기가요; English title: ''The Music Trend'', previously ''Popular Song'') is a South Korean music program broadcast by SBS. It airs live every Sunday. The show features some of the latest and most popular artists who p ...
''.
Composition
"Severely" is a slow-tempo
rock ballad
A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner.J. M. Cu ...
. The song was written by Han Seong-ho, composed by Kim Do-hun and Lee Sang-ho, and arranged by the latter; it was composed in the
key
Key or The Key may refer to:
Common meanings
* Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm
* Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock
* Key (map ...
of
E major
E major (or the key of E) is a major scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has four sharps. Its relative minor is C-sharp minor and its parallel minor is E minor. Its enharmonic equivalent, ...
using
common time
The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...
with a tempo of 71
beats per minute
Beat, beats or beating may refer to:
Common uses
* Patrol, or beat, a group of personnel assigned to monitor a specific area
** Beat (police), the territory that a police officer patrols
** Gay beat, an area frequented by gay men
* Battery ( ...
.
Release and promotion
![Kim Seolhyun at a fansigning event for](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/Kim_Seolhyun_at_a_fansigning_event_for_%22Red_Motion%22_at_Gimpo_Airport%2C_October_2013_03.jpg)
On January 27, 2012, F.T. Island released a music video teaser for "Severely". The full music video was released on January 31, 2012, which starred lead vocalist
Lee Hong-gi
Lee Hong-gi (; born March 2, 1990), also known mononymously as Hongki, is a South Korean singer, actor, and media personality. He is best known as the front man of rock band F.T. Island. In 2015, Lee debuted as a solo artist with the release ...
and
AOA member
Kim Seol-hyun
Kim Seol-hyun (born January 3, 1995), better known by her mononym Seolhyun, is a South Korean singer and actress. She is a former member of the South Korean girl group AOA and she has starred in television dramas ''Orange Marmalade'' (2015), ' ...
, a trainee of FNC Music at the time, as his love interest. The music video begins with Lee in a church where he mourns the death of his love interest. After exiting the building, he returns to the past and is given a second chance at saving the woman's life at the cost of his own.
Beginning on February 2, 2012, F.T. Island initiated promotions for ''
Grown-Up'' by performing "Severely" and "We Hope to Become Lovers" on
Mnet
M-Net (an abbreviation of Electronic Media Network) is a South African pay television channel established by Naspers in 1986. The channel broadcasts both local and international programming, including general entertainment, children's series, ...
's music television program ''
M! Countdown
''M Countdown'' () is a South Korean music program broadcast by Mnet. The show features appearances by popular music artists who also perform live on stage. It is broadcast from CJ E&M Center Studio in Sangam-dong, Mapo District, Seoul.
Bro ...
''. The band also performed the songs the following days on
Korean Broadcasting System
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 (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 ...
'',
Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation
Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC; ) is one of the leading South Korean television and radio broadcasters. ''Munhwa'' is the Sino-Korean word for "culture". Its flagship terrestrial television station MBC TV broadcasts as channel 11.
Es ...
's (MBC) ''
Show! Music Core
''Show! Music Core'' (), or simply ''Music Core'' is a South Korean music television program broadcast by MBC. It airs live every Saturday at 15:30 (KST). The show features some of the latest and most popular artists who perform live on stage. ...
'' and
SBS's ''
Inkigayo
''Inkigayo'' ( ko, 인기가요; English title: ''The Music Trend'', previously ''Popular Song'') is a South Korean music program broadcast by SBS. It airs live every Sunday. The show features some of the latest and most popular artists who p ...
''. On February 9, "Severely" earned its first K-Chart win on ''M! Countdown''. F.T. Island won a second time on February 23. They won
JTBC
JTBC (shortened from ''Joongang Tongyang Broadcasting Company'' (; stylized as jtbc) is a South Korean nationwide pay television network. Its primary shareholder is JoongAng Holdings, with a 25% stake. It was launched on 1 December 2011. JTBC ...
's ''
Music on Top
Music on Top (Korean: 뮤직온탑) is a South Korean music program broadcast on pay television network JTBC between 2011 and 2012. Hosted by Yoon Doo-joon of B2ST and actor Lee Hyun-woo, it aired live every Wednesday from Hoam Art Hall in Ju ...
'' on February 15, February 22, and February 29, the latter of which earned them a Triple Crown for their third consecutive win on the show. On February 26, the band won ''Inkigayos'' Mutizen. F.T. Island's final promotional performance was held on ''Inkigayo'' on March 18, 2012.
Chart performance
With one eligible charting day, "Severely" entered at number 76 on South Korea's national monthly
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 ...
for January. On the chart dated January 29 – February 4, 2012, it debuted at number four on the weekly Gaon Digital Chart, shifting 334,140
downloads
In computer networks, download means to ''receive'' data from a remote system, typically a server such as a web server, an FTP server, an email server, or other similar system. This contrasts with uploading, where data is ''sent to'' a remote ...
and 827,392 streams within its first week of release. The song rose to its peak at number three the following week, where it remained for two consecutive frames before descending to number eight.
For the month of February, the song ranked at number three. By the end of the year, "Severely" was the 24th most-downloaded song with 2,291,448 units and the 81st most-streamed song with 15,206,652 streams domestically. It ranked number 65 on the year-end Gaon Digital Chart.
On the ''
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 ...
''
Korea K-Pop Hot 100
The K-pop Hot 100 is a music singles chart in South Korea, launched by '' Billboard'' in conjunction with ''Billboard'' Korea () on August 25, 2011. It is the second Asian ''Billboard'' chart after the Japan Hot 100. The chart used the same multi ...
, "Severely" debuted at number 35. On its second week, the song rose to number four. It peaked at number three the following week, where it remained for two consecutive weeks before falling to number ten.
On the year-end chart, "Severely" ranked at number 39.
Chart history
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Severely (Song)
2012 singles
2012 songs
F.T. Island songs
FNC Entertainment singles
Korean-language songs
Kakao M singles
Rock ballads