Beautiful (EP)
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Beautiful is the debut extended play by American singer and rapper Amber, who is a member of South Korean girl group f(x). The EP was released on February 13, 2015 by S.M. Entertainment.
Background and release
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S.M Entertainment announced the solo debut of Amber on November 30, 2014, revealing that the album is set to be released in February 2015.[1] She is the second after SHINee's Jonghyun to debut as a solo artist among S.M. Entertainment's artists in the year, and the first f(x) member to make their solo debut.[2]
It was revealed that the EP was written and composed by Amber, including the lead single, "Shake That Brass", which features Girls' Generation member Taeyeon.[3] In the February 12 broadcast of SBS Power FM's 'Cultwo Show', Amber revealed that she personally asked the singer if she wanted to be featured in the song.[4]
The music video of 'Shake That Brass' also gained attention for the number of celebrities that were featured in it. Besides Taeyeon, her fellow Girls' Generation member Hyoyeon was also featured, along with Jackson of Got7, Park Joon-hyung of g.o.d, Jia & Min of Miss A, Ellin of Crayon Pop, Brad of Busker Busker, Woori of Rainbow, Aron of NU'EST, Rome of C-Clown, model Irene Kim and comedian Ahn Young-mi.[5]
Days after its release, Beautiful topped Hanteo's overall daily albums chart and also ranked second on the real-time chart. Its music video, which was released the same day as the album's release, also managed to get 1 million hits on YouTube within a day.[6] The album also debuted at #2 on Billboard's World Albums chart, and #19 on Heatseekers Albums. Jeff Benjamin of Billboard K-Town notes that it is a testament to the singer's large international fan base. "Shake That Brass" also debuted at #4 on Billboard's World Digital Songs chart, making it the highest debut of the week.[7]
Composition
The lead single "Shake That Brass", which featured labelmate Taeyeon, has a strong hip-hop beat mixed with playful brass instrumentation.[8] The song was co-composed and co-written by Amber. The EP also includes the tracks, "Love Run" and "Heights".
"Beautiful" was pre-released on February 9, and also had a lyric video which contained childhood photos of Amber uploaded on S.M Entertainment's official YouTube channel on the same day.[9] The song is an acoustic ballad, and its lyrics, written 3 years before its release, tells the story of the hardships the rapper faced as she achieved her dreams of becoming an entertainer.[10]
The last track, "I Just Wanna", is the English version of "Goodbye Summer", a song by f(x), which was included in the group's second studio album, Pink Tape. The song was composed by Amber and Gen Neo of music producer team NoizeBank.[11] Amber used her original English lyrics on the track, with Eric Nam featuring on guest vocals.[12]
Promotions
On February 13, 2015, Beautiful was released digitally in South Korea and globally. Amber made her debut stage on Music Bank on the same day and performed two songs, "Beautiful" and "Shake That Brass" with Red Velvet's Wendy filling in for Taeyeon's parts.[7] The singer also performed the song with fellow f(x) member Luna on Show Champion, M! Countdown, Music Bank, Show! Music Core and Inkigayo.[13]
Track listing
Credits are adapted from Naver.[14]
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Arrangement | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Beautiful" |
| Amber J. Liu |
| 2:57 |
| 2. | "Shake That Brass" (featuring Taeyeon of Girls' Generation) |
|
|
| 3:13 |
| 3. | "Love Run" |
|
|
| 4:08 |
| 4. | "Heights" |
|
|
| 3:43 |
| 5. | "I Just Wanna" (featuring Eric Nam) | Amber J. Liu |
| Genneo | 3:13 |
| Total length: | 17:14 | ||||
Charts
| Chart (2015) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| South Korea (Gaon)[15] | 2 |
| US Billboard World Albums[16] | 2 |
| US Heatseekers (Billboard)[16] | 19 |
References
- ^ "SM Entertainment confirms f(x)'s Amber is to make a solo debut". SBS PopAsia. November 30, 2014. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
- ^ "SM Entertainment reportedly gearing up for a series of solo releases from its idol groups starting January 2015". Venture Capital Post. December 4, 2014. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
- ^ Jeon, Su-mi (February 6, 2015). "f(x)′s Amber Announces ′Shake that Brass′ as Title Song Feat. SNSD′s Taeyeon". enewsWorld. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
- ^ Kim, Shin Hye (February 12, 2015). "f(x)′s Amber Personally Asked SNSD′s Taeyeon to Feature in Her New Song". Mwave. Retrieved March 2, 2015.
- ^ Benjamin, Jeff (February 13, 2015). "Amber's 'Shake That Brass' Video Basically Features Every K-Pop Star Ever". Billboard. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
- ^ "f(x)'s Amber tops daily 'Hanteo' chart with solo debut album 'Beautiful'". Allkpop. February 17, 2015. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
- ^ a b Benjamin, Jeff (February 19, 2015). "Amber's 'Beautiful' Solo Debut Swoops Into World, Heatseekers Albums Charts". Billboard. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
- ^ Lee, Woo-young (February 13, 2015). "Amber unveils first solo album". The Korea Herald. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
- ^ Yoon Sang-Guen (February 9, 2015). "'f(x)Amber' Begins Solo Activity with [Beautiful]…Releases Lyric Video". Star News. Translated by Cho Ah-Ra. Retrieved February 25, 2015.
- ^ Lee, Ji-young (February 25, 2015). "[Video] f(x)'s Amber Shares Her Scars from Past in 'Beautiful' MV". enewsWorld. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
- ^ "[Album and MV Review] Amber - 'Beautiful'". Allkpop. February 13, 2015. Retrieved March 3, 2015.
- ^ Ahn, Woorim (February 25, 2015). "It's Time For f(x) To Show Its Friendship". BNT News. Retrieved March 7, 2015.
- ^ "The 1st Mini Album 'Beautiful': Music" (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved May 21, 2015.
- ^ "Gaon Album Chart: Week 9, 2015". Gaon Music Chart. Archived from the original on March 3, 2015.
{{cite web}}:|archive-date=/|archive-url=timestamp mismatch; March 2, 2015 suggested (help) - ^ a b Benjamin, Jeff (February 19, 2015). "Amber's 'Beautiful' Solo Debut Swoops Into World, Heatseekers Albums Charts". Billboard. Retrieved May 21, 2015.