"Untitled, 2014" () is a song recorded by South Korean singer-rapper
G-Dragon
Kwon Ji-yong (; born August 18, 1988), also known by his stage name G-Dragon (지드래곤), is a South Korean rapper, singer-songwriter, record producer, entrepreneur and fashion designer, known as the " King of K-pop". G-Dragon is the recipi ...
, serving as the lead single for his second extended play and self-titled ''
Kwon Ji Yong
''Kwon Ji Yong'' () is the second extended play (EP) by South Korean singer-songwriter and rapper G-Dragon, released digitally on June 8, 2017 by YG Entertainment. The EP was his first release in four years, following his second studio album '' Cou ...
'' (2017). It was written by G-Dragon, who also co-produced the song with
Choice37
Robin Cho, better known as Choice37, is a Korean-American record producer, songwriter, and DJ based in South Korea. He joined YG Entertainment as a producer in 2009, and has since produced songs for K-pop artists including Big Bang, Blackpink, G-D ...
and
Sunwoo Jung-a
Sunwoo Jung-a (Hangul: 선우정아, born May 11, 1985), is a South Korean musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer who has worked with numerous Korean artists including IU, Suran (singer), GD & TOP, 2NE1, Lee Haeri, Lee Hi, and San E
...
. "Untitled, 2014" was a chart-topper in South Korea's
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 ...
, where it finished 2017 as one of the best-performing songs of the year.
Background and composition
G-Dragon
toured
''Toured (A Live Album)'' was a live album by Huntington Beach pop punk band Big Drill Car. The concert was recorded live at New York's CBGB's on September 3, 1991, at the beginning of a nineteen-week tour known as ''The Batch World Tour'', in su ...
extensively from 2015 to 2016 with his band
Big Bang
The Big Bang event is a physical theory that describes how the universe expanded from an initial state of high density and temperature. Various cosmological models of the Big Bang explain the evolution of the observable universe from the ...
to promote their third Korean album
''Made'' (2016),
106">05106] After promotional activities wrapped up, G-Dragon began preparing for his comeback, having been almost four years since his last solo release. The single "Bullshit" was set to serve as the lead single to precede the release of his second
Kwon Ji Yong, self-titled EP. However, after a controversy involving his fellow BigBang member, T.O.P, G-Dragon serviced "Untitled, 2014" to radio instead. Though he's primarily a rapper, "Untitled, 2014" features G-Dragon only singing over a "single piano accompaniment".
The song was composed 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 ...
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, ...
, with a moderate
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 (often ...
of 80
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 ( ...
.
Described as an "evocative, simple piano ballad" by
''Billboard'', the single is said to showcase G-Dragon at his "most vulnerable".
''Hype Beast'' calls it a "heart-wrenching ballad". Without any percussion or beat, Jeff Benjamin of
''Fuse'' compares the song to
Adele
Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (, ; born 5 May 1988), professionally known by the mononym Adele, is an English singer and songwriter. After graduating in arts from the BRIT School in 2006, Adele signed a reco ...
's "
Someone like You" for its simplicity.
Lyrically, the single is "a letter to a past lover", with G-Dragon "apologizing for his past actions, asking for forgiveness and the chance to see his ex again even if it's just one more time or in his dreams."
Critical reception
Taylor Glasby of ''
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 ...
'' called the song "beautiful", "emotionally charged" and "a raw emotion that cracks at the edges", and wrote that, even though G-Dragon "clearly enjoys creating the spectacle when it comes to his music", he "loses nothing when stripped of it".
Tamar Herman of ''Billboard'' noted that "Untitled, 2014" "presents the simplest, most honest version" of himself that the artist "has ever put forward".
Erica Russel from the website ''
PopCrush
Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wi ...
'' highlighted that his "delicate yet powerful vocals shimmer on the sparse" ballad. In a positive review, Douglas Markowitz of ''
Miami New Times
The ''Miami New Times'' is a newspaper published in Miami, Florida, United States, and distributed every Thursday. It primarily serves the Miami area and is headquartered in Miami's Wynwood Art District.
Overview
It was acquired by Village Voic ...
'' stated that "
ter years in the game, all it takes for this mega-star to soar above the competition is piano and vocal."
Commercial performance
"Untitled, 2014" debuted atop South Korean music charts, a feat that, since the
Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism
South Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) is a central government agency responsible for the areas of tourism, culture, art, religion, and sports. It has two vice ministers, three assistant ministers, one commission, and ...
changed the regulation of the charts in February of the year, has only been achieved before by
IU. Later in the week, the single reached a "
perfect all-kill
Perfect All-Kill () or PAK is a music chart achievement in South Korea where a song simultaneously reaches number one on the real-time, daily, and weekly components of #iChart, iChart, a music chart ranking aggregator operated by the South Korea ...
", topping all major music charts simultaneously, as well as placing first on the daily and weekly charts.
Even though it was released with only three days left in the tracking week, "Untitled, 2014" debuted at number one in the
Gaon Digital,
and Download charts, with 218,500 copies sold. In the streaming chart, the track debuted at number 10 with over 4 million streams. In the second week, the single fell to number two in the Digital chart but rose to the first position in the Streaming chart, with 7,406,802 audio streams. Additionally, "Untitled, 2014" topped the Gaon BGM Chart for three consecutive weeks. For the month of June, "Untitled, 2014" topped Gaon's Digital, BGM and Download Monthly Charts with 555,587 copies sold.
By the end of 2017, "Untitled, 2014" was the 16th best-performing song of the year in his home country,
with 1,476 million downloads
and over 74 million streams in South Korea.
Music video
On June 8, 2017, YG Entertainment released the music video of "Untitled, 2014", which features G-Dragon himself singing in it. The music video was originally planned to be filmed within 2 days using different sets and various shots. However, it was shot it in a single take, and filming was finished in less than an hour.
The music video gained over 1 million views in just 4 hours after release, and in 24 hours it reached over 5.6 million views on YouTube.
On August 10, 2019 the music video surpassed 100 million views on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, 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 ...
.
Accolades
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Sales
References
{{G-Dragon
G-Dragon songs
Gaon Digital Chart number-one singles
Korean-language songs
2017 singles
2017 songs
YG Entertainment singles
Songs written by G-Dragon