"I'm a Loner" (; ''Oetoriya'') is a song by South Korean

pop-rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...

idol Idol or Idols may refer to: Religion and philosophy * Cult image, a human-made object that is venerated or worshipped for the deity, spirit or daemon that it embodies or represents * Murti, a devotional image of a deity or saint used during puja ...

band

CNBLUE CNBLUE () is a South Korean pop rock band formed in 2009. The band consists of Jung Yong-hwa (leader, main vocals, guitar, keyboard, rapping, rap), Kang Min-hyuk (drum kit, drums), and Lee Jung-shin (bass guitar, bass). First bassist Kwon Kwang- ...

. It is the debut and

lead single A lead single (or first 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. A similar term, "debut ...

to the band's first mini-album ''

Bluetory ''Bluetory'' is the Korean debut mini-album by South Korean pop-rock idol band CNBLUE. It was released on January 14, 2010, under FNC Music and distributed by Mnet Media. After being signed to the record label, the quartet was sent to Japan, wh ...

''. Written by Han Seong-ho and Amen, the funk-rock track was released 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 company operates as a record label, talent agency, music production company, ...

on January 14, 2010. Upon its release, CNBLUE achieved immediate commercial success; the song earned the band its first two music show wins on

Korean Broadcasting System The Korean Broadcasting System (KBS; ) is the public broadcasting, national broadcaster of South Korea. Founded in 1927, it is one of the leading South Korean television and radio broadcasters under the government of South Korea. The KBS ope ...

's (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 ...

'' and

Seoul Broadcasting System Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS; ) is one of the leading Television in South Korea, South Korean television and radio broadcasters. The broadcaster legally became known as SBS in March 2000, changing its corporate name from Seoul Broadcasting ...

's (SBS) ''

Inkigayo ''Inkigayo'' (; 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 perform on stage. ...

''. Unprecedented at the time, CNBLUE held the record for shortest period between debuting and earning a music show win for four and a half years. The song also peaked at number two on the

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 on ...

. The composers Kim Do-hoon and Lee Sang-ho faced a lawsuit filed by

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

band Ynot? two months after the release of "I'm a Loner". The band accused the two of plagiarizing one of its songs; a judge would later dismiss the charges.

Composition

"I'm a Loner" is classified as a funk-rock track. The song was written by Han Seong-ho and Amen, and composed and arranged by Kim Do-hoon and Lee Sang-ho; it is composed in the key of

D minor D minor is a minor scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has one flat. Its relative major is F major and its parallel major is D major. The D natural minor scale is: Changes needed ...

using

common time A time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, and measure signature) is an indication in music notation that specifies how many note values of a particular type fit into each measure ( bar). The time signature indicates the ...

with a tempo of 105

beats per minute Beat, beats, or beating may refer to: Common uses * Assault, inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact * Battery (crime), a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact * Battery (tort), a civil wrong in common law of in ...

. Writing for Newsen, reporter Cha Yeon described the track as a "modern funk-rock song" with an "addictive" and "strong"

melody A melody (), also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combination of Pitch (music), pitch and rhythm, while more figurativel ...

. She noted that the guitar riffs and

chord progression In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural, or simply changes) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from ...

produced a "refined charm", which offered an alternative to the hook songs of other idol groups at the time.

Release and promotion

"I'm a Loner" was made available on

online music store A digital music store is a business that sells digital audio files of music recordings over the Internet. Customers gain ownership of a license to use the files, in contrast to a music streaming service, where they listen to recordings withou ...

s on January 14, 2010. The following day, CNBLUE began promoting the song by performing it on weekly music chart shows, beginning with KBS' ''

'' and following with SBS' ''

''. On the January 29 broadcast of ''Music Bank'', "I'm a Loner" ranked number one on the program's music chart and earned the band its first music show win. CNBLUE won the Mutizen Song award on ''Inkigayo'' two days later, the band's second and final win. At the time, CNBLUE's win two weeks into its debut was unprecedented. It held the record for shortest amount of time to win a music show award from debut until Winner won its first music show with "Empty" on August 17, 2014, five days into its debut.

Commercial performance

On the chart dated January 10–16, 2010, "I'm a Loner" debuted at number five on the

. The following week, it rose to its peak at number two. "I'm a Loner" ranked at number 31 on the 2010 Comprehensive Digital Top 100 chart. By the end of the year, it was the eighth best-selling song in South Korea with 2,959,800 digital downloads and ranked at number ten on the Streaming Chart for accumulating 27,564,498

streams A stream is a continuous body of surface water flowing within the bed and banks of a channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to by a variety of local or regional names. Long, large stream ...

Plagiarism lawsuit

In March 2010,

band Ynot? filed a civil lawsuit against Kim Do-hoon and Lee Sang-ho. In "I'm a Loner", the band accused the songwriters of plagiarizing "Bluebird" from its mini-album ''GreenApple'' (2008); Ynot? reportedly asked for in compensation. Kim and Lee denied the accusations and stated, "only one bar... is similar, but the chord progression is different, the intro part is not at all similar and main chorus melody 'Alone, alone' is completely different." Rock musician

Shin Hae-chul Shin Hae-chul (; May 6, 1968 – October 27, 2014) was a South Korean singer-songwriter and the frontman, vocalist of rock band N.EX.T. He was a record producer known for being a pioneer of Korean experimental rock music. He was referred to by ...

wrote a scathing post in response to the plagiarism accusations, saying, "If the song is not plagiarism, plagiarism will disappear in the world." He continued by criticizing the idol band, stating, "If CNBLUE is an indie band, a fly is a bird. If it's a real band, I will retire." In April 2011, a court found in favor of the songwriters and dismissed the charges of plagiarism.

Charts

Weekly

Year-end

Cover versions

"I'm a Loner" was covered by R&B singer

Kim Bum-soo Kim Bum-soo or Kim Beom-soo () is a Korean name consisting of the family name Kim and the given name Bum-soo, and may refer to: * Kim Bum-soo (singer) (born 1979), South Korean singer * Kim Beom-soo (businessman) Kim Beom-soo (; born March 8 ...

on the July 10, 2011 broadcast of MBC's singing competition program '' I Am a Singer''. His version debuted and peaked at number 22 on the

dated July 10–16, 2011. It went on to sell 632,941 digital downloads by the end of the year.

Musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

actor Kang Dong-ho covered the song, which was re-titled to "I'm a Loner (A Train to the World)", on the March 6, 2016 episode of ''

King of Mask Singer ''The King of Mask Singer'' () is a South Korean singing competition program presented by Kim Sung-joo, with introductions by voice actor . It airs on MBC on Sunday, starting from April 5, 2015 as a part of MBC's '' Sunday Night'' programming ...

''.

Charts

Weekly

Year-end

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:I'm A Loner 2010 debut singles 2010 songs CNBLUE songs FNC Entertainment singles Funk rock songs Songs in Korean