"Play" is a song by South Korean singer

Chungha Kim Chung-ha (, born Kim Chan-mi []; February 9, 1996), known mononym, mononymously as Chungha (stylized as CHUNG HA), is a South Korean Pop music, pop singer, dancer and choreographer signed under MNH Entertainment. She finished fourth in Mn ...

, which features

Changmo Ku Chang-mo (Hangul: 구창모; born May 31, 1994), known mononymously as Changmo (창모; stylized in all caps), is a South Korean rapper and producer. He released his debut album ''M O T O W N'' on March 18, 2016. In October 2016 he joined D ...

. The song was released on July 6, 2020, by

MNH Entertainment MNH Entertainment (Korean: 엠앤에이치엔터테인먼트) is a privately held multinational entertainment group and talent agency based in Seoul. Founded in November 2014 by Lee Ju-seop, a former manager at JYP Entertainment. The company was f ...

and Stone Music as the second single from her first Korean-language studio album '' Querencia.'' The single was later repackaged into a

maxi single A maxi single or maxi-single (sometimes abbreviated to MCD or CDM) is a music single release with more than the usual two tracks of an A-side song and a B-side song. The first maxi singles Mungo Jerry's first single, "In the Summertime" was the ...

, which consists of the two pre-released singles, together with " Stay Tonight" peaked at number 7 on the

Gaon Album Chart The Circle Album Chart, previously known as the Gaon Album Chart, is a record chart ranking the 100 most popular albums, extended plays and single albums in South Korea based on their Record sales, pure sales. It is a part of the Circle Chart, pr ...

with 12,613 sales.

Background and promotion

On June 21, 2020, Chungha released an ad image titled "PRE-RELEASE SINGLE #2". According to the image, photo teasers, a concept clip, concept images, track list, an online cover image, and a music video teaser would be revealed on June 24 – July 3. On the July 1, the official cover of the single was revealed. The music video teasers were released on July 1 and 2.

Composition and lyrics

"Play" was written and produced by VINCENZO, Any Masingga, Fuxxy and Anna Timgren and

. It runs for three minutes and nineteen seconds. The song is a Latin pop with various elements of reggaeton arranged in each section. The guitar sound at the verse is scattered off the beat with an iconic reggae rhythm, warms the space with an acoustic guitar sound and a synthesizer sound that unfolds instantly from the pre-chorus, then a brass section and dembow rhythm with the climax chorus light a heart to everyone with a feast of rhythm.". Stone Music said that "Play" continues the voice of the deep night expressed by the previous single "Stay Tonight", it contains the story of a more beautiful hot afternoon than the night which blurred the boundary between day and night. After a secret and private moment, the lyrics were filled with bold and striking words like the angle of the midsummer sun. Starting with Remedy, Changmo's rap which presented a new narrative combining the title of Chung Ha's singles was perfectly harmonized to complete a picture as if drawing a pupil.

Critical reception

Writing for ''

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 ...

'', Taylor Glasby ranked "Play" number 28 on their list of 40 Best K-pop songs of 2020 – commenting, "Latin influences turn the energy right up on this summer banger, perfect for Chung Ha who thrives within big performances, and the music video provides a bold frame for her multifaceted abilities."

Music video and promotion

The music video was released on July 6, 2020, and in the music video for the track, Chungha steps into the shoes of a matador to bullfight against a bright red sports car. She can be seen waving a red cloth around and grooving through choreography with her dancers. As a pre-release single, Chungha promoted for only a week.

Track listing

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the description of the "Play" music video. * Lyrics – VINCENZO, Fuxxy, Any Masingga, Anna Timgren, 창모 * Composition – VINCENZO, Fuxxy, Any Masingga, Anna Timgren, 창모 * Arranged – VINCENZO, Fuxxy * Drum Performed – VINCENZO * Synthesizer Performed – Fuxxy * Bass Performed – VINCENZO * Keyboard Performed – Fuxxy * Guitar Performed – 영 * Background Vocals – 김연서 * Recording Engineer – 정은경, 김지현 at Ingrid Studio, CHANGMO at Neo Deokso * Mixing Engineer – 윤원권 at Studio DDeepKick * Mastering Engineer – 박정언 at Honey Butter Studio

Accolades

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Yearly charts

Release history

References

{{Chungha 2020 songs 2020 singles Chungha songs MNH Entertainment singles Korean-language songs