"Four Seasons" (Korean: 사계; RR: sagye) is a song recorded by South Korean singer Taeyeon as the lead single for her second studio album Purpose (2019). Written by Kenzie, whom also co-produced the song with Afshin Salmani, Andrew Allen and Josh Cumbee, the reggae-tinged ballad was released as a digital single on March 24, 2019 by SM Entertainment and Dreamus, with an accompanying music video released two days prior to its digital release.[1] Both the song and the B-side track "Blue" were later included as bonus tracks in the Korean release of Purpose, listed as the eleventh and twelfth track, accordingly.
Upon its release, "Four Seasons" received positive reviews from music critics for solidifying the singer's growth as a "full-time" vocalist.[2] The song achieved great commercial success, earning Taeyeon her fifth chart-topper as a lead artist (sixth overall) on the Gaon Digital Chart for two weeks and to date, her longest charting performance on the chart. It eventually became her first single to received a Platinum certificate by KMCA for achieving over 100,000,000 streaming units in November 2019, only six months after its release.[3] The singer eventually promoted both songs during her concert "’s…one" on March 28.
Background and release
On March 17, 2019, Taeyeon was announced to be releasing a digital single titled "Four Seasons" with its b-side track "Blue".[4] The song is described as a ballad with an instrumental structure that is centered on acoustic guitars. It compares the ups and downs of love to the four seasons.[5] The music video for "Four Seasons" was released on March 22, two day before the single album.[6] Taeyeon later filmed a live performance of the song from her concert "’s…one", which was released on March 28. [7]
Chart performance
"Four Seasons" debuted at number one on South Korea's Gaon Digital Chart for the chart issue dated March 24 – March 30, 2019.[8] It was the best-performing single of March 2019 on the Gaon Digital Chart.[9] It claimed the number one spot on the BillboardK-Pop Hot 100 for two consecutive weeks[10] and reached number 6 on the BillboardWorld Digital Songs chart.[11]
