''Youth in the Shade'' is the debut

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.

by South Korean boy group

Zerobaseone Zerobaseone (; stylized in all caps; abbreviated as ZB1) is a South Korean boy band formed through Mnet's reality competition ''Boys Planet'' in 2023. They are managed by WakeOne. The group is composed of nine members: Kim Ji-woong, Zhang Hao, ...

. It was released on July 10, 2023, by WakeOne and comprises six tracks, with "

In Bloom "In Bloom" is a song by American rock band Nirvana, written by vocalist and guitarist Kurt Cobain. It appears as the second track on the band's second album, ''Nevermind'', released by DGC Records in September 1991. The album version is the seco ...

" serving 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 ...

Background and release

Zerobaseone was formed through ''

Boys Planet ''Boys Planet'' () is an ongoing South Korean reality competition show created by Mnet. It premiered on Mnet on February 2, 2023 at 20:00 KST and airs every Thursday. From February 16, 2023, the show's airtime changed to 20:50 KST instead. O ...

'', a

reality competition Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

show, which aired from February 2 to April 20, 2023. The group's final members were announced on the show's finale, which was broadcast live on April 20. A spoiler film for the album, titled "Youth in the Shade", was uploaded on May 14 and a title poster was released on June 7. The first teaser for "In Bloom" was released on July 6 and an album sampler, with audio snippets of each song, was released on July 8. The second teaser for "In Bloom" was released on July 9. The single's music video, along with the full album was released on July 10. A press showcase in

Gwangjin District Gwangjin District (Gwangjin-gu) is one of the 25 wards (''gu'') of Seoul, South Korea. It is located on the north bank of the Han River, to the eastern end of Seoul. It was created from neighboring Seongdong District in 1995. Gwangjin District ...

was also held on the same day. The EP concept was centered around the theme of "the beauty of youth and the shadow behind it". It was released for pre-order on June 21, and is available in two artbook versions and nine digipack versions.

Composition

''Youth in the Shade'' consists of a total of 6 tracks. The opening track, "Back to Zerobase," is a

drum and bass Drum and bass (also written as drum & bass or drum'n'bass and commonly abbreviated as D&B, DnB, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub-ba ...

song that is meant to capture the initial emotions felt when a dream comes true, with the members expressing feelings of anticipation for the future and journey they face ahead. The second track and lead single, "

," is a drum and bass and synth-pop song that samples the main

riff A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or accompani ...

from the 1984 single "

Take On Me "Take On Me" is a song by the Norwegian synth-pop band A-ha. The original version, recorded in 1984 and released in October of that same year, was produced by Tony Mansfield and remixed by John Ratcliff. The 1985 international hit version was p ...

" from the Norwegian synth-pop band

a-ha A-ha (usually stylised as ''a-''h''a''; ) is a Norwegian synth-pop band formed in Oslo in 1982. Founded by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (guitars and vocals), Magne Furuholmen (keyboards, guitars and vocals), and Morten Harket (lead vocals), the band ...

. The lyrics describe the members having the courage to take their first meaningful step as a group, while being aware of an inevitable end, as they are determined to run to you. The third track, "New Kidz on the Block," is a

dance-pop Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...

song with elements of

UK garage UK garage, abbreviated as UKG, is a genre of electronic dance music which originated in England in the early to mid-1990s. The genre was most clearly inspired by garage house, but also incorporates elements from dance-pop, R&B, and jungle. It ...

2-step garage 2-step garage, or simply 2-step, is a genre of electronic music and a subgenre of UK garage.''A transcription of this article is availablhere as a PDF file.'' One of the primary characteristics of the 2-step sound – the term being coined to de ...

, and

deep house Deep house is a subgenre of house music that originated in the 1980s, initially fusing elements of Chicago house with the lush chords of 1980s jazz-funk and touches of soul music. Its origins are attributed to the early recordings of Larry Heard ( ...

that describes the group's determination to rise to the top. The fourth track, "And I," is a R&B pop song that captures the members secret admiration for someone through social media. The fifth track, "Our Season," is a pop song that discusses the members friendship and dreams, their excitement for the moments they will capture, and the memories they will make throughout their time as a group. The closing track, "Always," is a solo song designated to member Zhang Hao as a prize for placing first in the final ranking of ''Boys Planet''. It is an

alternative R&B Alternative R&B (also referred to as alt-R&B, indie R&B, hipster R&B, dark R&B, emo R&B and left-field R&B) is a term used by music journalists to describe a stylistic alternative to contemporary R&B that began in the mid 2000s and came to pro ...

song in which he expresses his appreciation and gratitude towards his fans, making a promise to always be with them.

Commercial performance

Preorders for the EP surpassed 780,000 copies in five days and 1.08 million copies in 13 days, breaking the record for the most pre-ordered K-pop debut album and becoming the first K-pop debut album to sell over a million copies. According to the Hanteo Chart, the album sold 1.24 million copies on its first day of release and 1,822,028 copies in its first week. The album was subsequently certified double million by the

Korea Music Content Association The Circle Chart (), previously known as the Gaon Music Chart or the Gaon Chart (), tabulates the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in South Korea. It is produced by the Korea Music Content Association and sponsored by South Korea's ...

(KMCA), setting a record as the first K-pop debut album to sell more than 2 million copies.

Track listing

Accolades

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Certifications and sales

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2023 debut EPs Korean-language EPs WakeOne EPs Genie Music EPs Stone Music Entertainment EPs