''2009, Year of Us'' is the third

extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

(EP) by South Korean boy group

Shinee Shinee ( ; ; ; stylized as SHINee) is a South Korean boy band formed by SM Entertainment in 2008. The group consists of four members: Onew, Key (entertainer), Key, Choi Min-ho, Minho, and Taemin. Originally a five-piece band, Jonghyun died on ...

. It consists of six tracks and it incorporates

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

and

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

music genres. The digital version of the album was released on October 19, 2009, with a physical release on October 22. The title track, " Ring Ding Dong", was released on October 14, 2009, through various music sites.

Songs

The EP contains six songs, including the title track "Ring Ding Dong", which is an afro-electro song that combines the beat of African congo drums with the sound of an electro synthesizer. It is the work of

Yoo Young-jin Yoo Young-jin is a South Korean singer-songwriter, record producer and vocal trainer formerly 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' Generatio ...

. The lyrics of the song describe the situation of unconsciously falling in love with someone. The phrase "ring ding dong", which is repeated numerous times throughout the song, is a cartoon-like expression for a bell ringing in someone's head at the very moment of falling in love. In an interview with Big Communications representative Jung Young-jin, it was revealed that because of its catchy hooks and repetitive nature, "Ring Ding Dong" was named the number one banned song before college entrance exams in South Korea. In addition, the album contains songs of various genres such as "JoJo", a

eurodance Eurodance (sometimes referred to as Euro-NRG) is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s in Europe. It combines many elements of Hip-hop, rap, techno and Eurodisco. This genre of music is heavily influenced by the use ...

song composed by Kenzie, and the

swingbeat New jack swing, new jack, or swingbeat is a fusion genre of the rhythms and production techniques of hip hop and dance-pop, and the urban contemporary sound of R&B. Spearheaded by producers Teddy Riley, Bernard Belle, Jimmy Jam and Terry L ...

song "Shinee Girl". The EP also features

Onew Lee Jin-ki (; Korean pronunciation: Help:IPA/Korean, .dʑin.ki born December 14, 1989), better known by his stage name Onew, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, and actor. Born in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi-do, Onew was discovered at the 2006 ...

's first solo song, "The Name I Loved", a ballad song based on alternative rock featuring veteran singer

Kim Yeon-woo Kim Hak-chul, better known by his stage name Kim Yeon-woo (; born July 22, 1971) is a South Korean male singer, vocal coach, and professor at Seoul Art College ( :ko:서울종합예술학교). Nicknamed God of Vocals, he is well known for his b ...

Luna Luna commonly refers to: * Earth's Moon, named "Luna" in Latin, Spanish and other languages * Luna (goddess) In Sabine and ancient Roman religion and myth, Luna is the divine embodiment of the Moon (Latin ''Lūna'' ). She is often presented as t ...

f(x) F, or f, is the sixth letter of the Latin alphabet and many modern alphabets influenced by it, including the modern English alphabet and the alphabets of all other modern western European languages. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounc ...

also makes an appearance on the hip-hop song "Get Down" with Key and

Minho Minho or Miño may refer to: People * Miño (surname) * Choi Min-ho, South Korean singer and actor known mononymously as Minho Places * Minho (river) or Miño, in Portugal and Spain Jamaica * Rio Minho, a river Portugal * Minho Province ...

Release and reception

''2009, Year of Us'' was Shinee's first release after a five month long absence from the K-pop scene. It was their third EP, with their last being ''

Romeo Romeo Montague () is the male protagonist of William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. The son of Characters in Romeo and Juliet#Lord Montague, Lord Montague and his wife, Characters in Romeo and Juliet#Lady Montague, Lady Montague, he ...

'' in May 2009, and was supposed to show a new style for the group as well as the vocal talent of the members. The digital version of the EP was released on October 19, 2009,샤이니, 19일 세번째 앨범 발표 ("SHINee, Third Mini-album Released on 19th")
. ''Yonhap News''. October 8, 2009. Retrieved October 7, 2009. with a physical release on October 22. Before its release the album recorded 60,000 pre-orders. The lead single, "Ring Ding Dong", was released digitally on October 14 and charted atop of several Korean music charts and gained popularity all over Asia. It was written by

. The group had their debut performance of the song on October 16, on KBS' ''

Music Bank ''Music Bank'' () is a South Korean music program which airs every Friday at 17:15 KST on KBS2. the show is also broadcast in more than a hundred countries through KBS World. Episodes are filmed at the KBS New Wing Open Hall in Yeouido-dong, Ye ...

''.

Misha Gabriel Misha Gabriel (born May 13, 1987), also known as Misha Gabriel Hamilton, is an American dancer, choreographer, and actor. He is known for dancing mainly in the shows of Janet Jackson and Michael Jackson, and for his role as Eddy in '' Step Up Re ...

, who previously worked on the group's song "

Amigo Amigo(s) (Portuguese and Spanish for ''male friend'') may refer to: People * Carlos Amigo Vallejo (1934–2022), Spanish Roman Catholic archbishop emeritus of Seville Places Facilities * Amigos School, a bilingual primary school in Cambridge, M ...

" in 2008, also choreographed "Ring Ding Dong". The music video was shot in early October on a set in

Namyangju Namyangju (; ) is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. To the east is Gapyeong County, to the west is Guri, and to the north is Pocheon. Namyangju was originally a southern part of Yangju-gun, but was separated into Namyangju-gun in April ...

Gyeonggi Province Gyeonggi Province (, ) is the most populous province in South Korea. Seoul, the nation's largest city and capital, is in the heart of the area but has been separately administered as a provincial-level ''special city'' since 1946. Incheon, ...

, and was directed by Cho Soo-hyun. "JoJo" was promoted alongside "Ring Ding Dong" as the second promotional track from the album. The EP was released in Japan on January 20, 2010, with an alternative cover and a bonus DVD. The release peaked at number 40 on the weekly

Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics Statistics (from German language, German: ', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that ...

chart, charting for three weeks.

Track listing

Charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control Shinee EPs SM Entertainment EPs Avex Taiwan EPs 2009 EPs Korean-language EPs 2000s Korean-language albums