"White" (stylized "WHITE") is a song by South Korean
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
CNBLUE
CNBLUE ( ko, 씨엔블루) is a South Korean pop rock band formed in 2009. The band consists of Jung Yong-hwa (leader, main vocals, guitar, keyboard, rap), Kang Min-hyuk ( drums), and Lee Jung-shin ( bass). First bassist Kwon Kwang-jin left t ...
. It was released on April 8, 2015, as their ninth single under
Warner Music Japan
Warner Music Group's labels include the following.
Flagship labels
*Atlantic Records
* Elektra Records
*Parlophone Records
* Warner Records
Atlantic Records Group
* 1st & 15th Entertainment
* All Money In
* Artist Partners Group
* Asylum ...
and 12th single overall in Japan. The song was conceived by guitarist
Lee Jong-hyun
Lee Jong-hyun (born May 15, 1990) is a South Korean musician, singer-songwriter and actor. He was the former lead guitarist and vocalist of South Korean rock band CNBLUE. He made his acting debut in an omnibus movie '' Acoustic'' in 2010, fol ...
in midst of the CNBLUE 2014 Arena Tour "Wave" concerts. The song was written by band members Lee Jong-hyun and
Jung Yong-hwa
Jung Yong-hwa (; ; born June 22, 1989) is a South Korean singer, musician and actor. He is the leader, lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the rock band CNBLUE. Jung made his television debut in '' You're Beautiful'' (2009), and has since st ...
, in addition to miwa. Portraying a message of hope, "White" combines the band's rock style and infuses a
synthesizer to create a sound distinctive from the band's previous work.
The single was released in four editions: Regular Edition, Limited Editions A and B, and a fan club-only Boice Limited Edition. "White" debuted on the weekly
Oricon Singles Chart at number four and has sold over 28,000 copies since its release. The band embarked on the CNBLUE Spring Live 2015 "White" arena tour, where they held three concerts in
Osaka
is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...
and
Kanagawa
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-densest at . Its geographic area of makes it fifth-smallest. Kanagaw ...
. The final show of the tour was recorded, spawning a live DVD and Blu-ray release in August 2015. "White" was included on the band's sixth Japanese studio album ''
Colors
Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associa ...
''.
Background
After the release of
CNBLUE
CNBLUE ( ko, 씨엔블루) is a South Korean pop rock band formed in 2009. The band consists of Jung Yong-hwa (leader, main vocals, guitar, keyboard, rap), Kang Min-hyuk ( drums), and Lee Jung-shin ( bass). First bassist Kwon Kwang-jin left t ...
's fifth Japanese studio album ''
Wave
In physics, mathematics, and related fields, a wave is a propagating dynamic disturbance (change from equilibrium) of one or more quantities. Waves can be periodic, in which case those quantities oscillate repeatedly about an equilibrium (re ...
'' in September 2014, band member
Lee Jong-hyun
Lee Jong-hyun (born May 15, 1990) is a South Korean musician, singer-songwriter and actor. He was the former lead guitarist and vocalist of South Korean rock band CNBLUE. He made his acting debut in an omnibus movie '' Acoustic'' in 2010, fol ...
began forming ideas of releasing a single that slightly deviated from the band's music. He consulted his bandmates regarding the notion, but he "didn't think very seriously about it". He felt that it was a natural progression as a musician. He began working on the song during the CNBLUE 2014 Arena Tour "Wave" concerts and continued to work on the song during the 2014 FNC Kingdom in Japan: Starlight concerts, among various other opportunities.
In creating the composition, he wanted to avoid making more sad songs and set out to make a "fun" song for live performances.
He first began by playing a full phrase
In syntax and grammar, a phrase is a group of words or singular word acting as a grammatical unit. For instance, the English expression "the very happy squirrel" is a noun phrase which contains the adjective phrase "very happy". Phrases can consi ...
on a guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...
before implementing different arrangements on a computer.[ "White" was announced as CNBLUE's ninth single on March 7, 2015, with a release date of April 8.]
Composition
"White" was written by band members Lee Jong-hyun
Lee Jong-hyun (born May 15, 1990) is a South Korean musician, singer-songwriter and actor. He was the former lead guitarist and vocalist of South Korean rock band CNBLUE. He made his acting debut in an omnibus movie '' Acoustic'' in 2010, fol ...
and Jung Yong-hwa
Jung Yong-hwa (; ; born June 22, 1989) is a South Korean singer, musician and actor. He is the leader, lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the rock band CNBLUE. Jung made his television debut in '' You're Beautiful'' (2009), and has since st ...
, with additional songwriting by miwa. The song was composed by Lee Jong-hyun, Ryo, and Go Jin-young, and arranged by Tomozaku Miura and Jun "Silky Voice" Inoue. It is an uptempo electronic rock
Electronic rock is a music genre that involves a combination of rock music and electronic music, featuring instruments typically found within both genres. It originates from the late 1960s, when rock bands began incorporating electronic instrum ...
song that incorporates a synthesizer;[ the lyrics deliver a "positive message about leading one's life, like trying to fill a blank map".][ In an interview with ]Excite Japan
Excite is an American web portal operated by IAC that provides a variety of outsourced content including news and weather, a metasearch engine, and a user homepage. In the United States, the main Excite homepage had long been a personal start p ...
, Lee Jong-hyun articulated, "Light has three primary colors, but doesn't light become white by combining different colors? However, by combining various colors, it becomes black, too. So, keeping that in mind, isn't everyone turning dark when overthinking lately? So, 'let's be the light!', that is the theme."[ "White" steers from the band's typical musical style. Bassist Lee Jung-shin sensed an "exceptional transformation", noting a change in ambiance from Lee Jong-hyun's previous work. Drummer ]Kang Min-hyuk
Kang Min-hyuk (; born June 28, 1991) is a South Korean musician, singer-songwriter, and actor. He is the drummer of South Korean rock band CNBLUE.
Career 2009–present: CNBLUE
Kang became a member of CNBLUE in 2009. The group debuted in Jap ...
said that he was "surprised" that Lee Jong-hyun "challenged new things". Both members cited Lee Jong-hyun's history of writing ballads as source of their astonishment for the new sound. Vocalist Jung Yong-hwa observed the change as well, finding that the repetitious synthesizer was "quite appealing". Lee Jong-hyun expressed that he did not intend to surprise his listeners with the song, but described that the feeling came naturally afterward.[
The single was accompanied by two coupling tracks. "Stay Sober" was written by Jung Yong-hwa, who also composed the song alongside Hong In-ho. It was arranged by Park Hyun-woo and Kim Jae-yang, with an additional guitar and bass provided by Lee Tae-wook and Go Jin-young, respectively. "Irony" was written by Lee Jong-hyun and Ryo, with the music being composed by the former. It was arranged by Park Hyun-woo and Ryo, with additional guitar and bass provided by Jung Jae-pil and Go Jin-young, respectively.][
]
Release and promotion
A 30-second preview of the music video for "White" was uploaded on Warner Music Japan
Warner Music Group's labels include the following.
Flagship labels
*Atlantic Records
* Elektra Records
*Parlophone Records
* Warner Records
Atlantic Records Group
* 1st & 15th Entertainment
* All Money In
* Artist Partners Group
* Asylum ...
's 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 ...
channel on March 13, 2015. The full music video was uploaded on March 20. It is set in a cafe that exudes an "exotic atmosphere". The band is joined by an unidentified elderly man who plays a character referred to as White Man. The quintet make up Team White and they perform together throughout the video.[
"White" was released on April 8, 2015, in four editions: Regular Edition; Limited Edition A with bonus DVD content that includes multi-angle performance footage of "Ring", " Go Your Way", and "Lonely Night" from the CNBLUE 2014 Arena Tour "Wave" concert that took place at the ]Osaka-jō Hall
is a multi-purpose arena located in the Kyōbashi area of Osaka, Japan. The hall opened in 1983 and can seat up to 16,000 people. Built on a site area of 36,351 square meters, part of its form uses stone walls, modeled after those of the Cast ...
, the music video for the single, and a special feature; Limited Edition B with bonus DVD content that includes performance footage of "Ryu Can Do It", " In My Head", "Wake Up", and "Coffee Shop" from the first half of the band's set at the 2014 Summer Sonic Festival
The , also known as Supersonic, is an annual two- or three-day rock festival held at the same time in Osaka and Chiba, Japan. The majority of the bands playing in Osaka the first day go to Chiba the following day and vice versa. The line-up co ...
; and Boice Limited Edition with bonus DVD content that includes performance footage of "I'm Sorry", " Lady", and " Can't Stop" from the second half of the band's set at the 2014 Summer Sonic Festival.
CNBLUE was a guest on Tokyo Broadcasting System Television
JORX-DTV, branded as is the flagship station of the Japan News Network (JNN), owned-and-operated by , a subsidiary of JNN's owner, TBS Holdings. It operates in the Kantō region and broadcasts its content nationally through TBS-JNN Network ...
's (TBS) variety show ''Ōsama no Brunch'' (; ''King's Brunch'') on the April 11 broadcast in order to promote "White". The band embarked on the CNBLUE Spring Live 2015 "White" arena tour concerts on April 22 in Osaka
is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...
at the Osaka-jō Hall and from April 24–25 in Kanagawa
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Kanagawa Prefecture is the second-most populous prefecture of Japan at 9,221,129 (1 April 2022) and third-densest at . Its geographic area of makes it fifth-smallest. Kanagaw ...
at the Yokohama Arena
is an indoor arena located in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The capacity of the arena is 17,000 and was opened in 1989. The arena was modeled after US sports venue Madison Square Garden in New York City. It is a five-minute walk from the ...
. The final show of the tour was recorded and aired on TBS on June 14. On July 10, Warner Music Japan published a video digest of the ''Spring Live 2015 "White" @Yokohama Arena'' DVD and Blu-ray. It was released on August 5.
Chart performance
"White" sold 19,859 copies in its first day of release and ranked number two on the daily Oricon Singles Chart. On the issue dated April 20, 2015, the single debuted at number four on the weekly Oricon Singles Chart, selling 25,999 copies in its first week. On the same issue date, the song debuted at number five on the '' Billboard'' Japan Hot 100. On the monthly Oricon Singles Chart dated between April 6 through May 3, the single sold 28,871 copies. The single remained on the Oricon chart for five weeks.
On the issue dated August 17, 2015, CNBLUE's ''Spring Live 2015 "White" @Yokohama Arena'' video release debuted at number three on the weekly Oricon DVD Chart and at number 13 on the Oricon Blu-ray Chart.
Track listing
Charts
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:White (Cnblue Song)
2015 singles
2015 songs
CNBLUE songs
Electronic rock songs
Japanese-language songs
Songs written by Jung Yong-hwa
Songs written by Lee Jong-hyun
Warner Music Japan singles