G.R.8.U

"G.R.8.U"
Single by VIXX
from the album Jekyll (Repackage)
Released July 31, 2013
Format CD, digital download
Recorded 2013
Genre K-pop, Dance-pop, Pop
Length 3:30
Label Jellyfish Entertainment
Writer(s) Kim Eana
Producer(s) Hyuk Shin, DK, Ross Lara, Todd Wright
VIXX Korean singles chronology
"hyde"
(2013)		 "G.R.8.U"
(2013)		 "Voodoo Doll"
(2013)

"G.R.8.U" or "You.Are.Im.pressive" (Hangul: 대.다.나.다.너; RR: Dae.da.na.da.neo) is a song recorded by South Korean idol group VIXX. It is released in both CD and Digital single format on July 31, 2013 through Jellyfish Entertainment. The song served as the lead single from the repackaged version of VIXX's first mini album Hyde. G.R.8.U" was written by veteran songwriter Kim Eana and produced by Hyuk Shin, DK, Ross Lara & Todd Wright.

The song's music video was directed by Hong Won Ki of ZanyBros, who also directed their previous music videos, "Super Hero" and "Rock Ur Body".

Background and release

On July 25, VIXX released a video teaser for "G.R.8.U/You.Are.Im.pressive" on their official YouTube channel. The 30 second clip featured their new song however, the entire clip was put in reverse, so the song was unrecognizable over the duration of the teaser.[1][2]

On July 30, the official music video for "G.R.8.U" was uploaded on VIXX's YouTube channel.[3][4]

Composition and theme

"G.R.8.U" is the title track of VIXX's first repackaged album Jekyll. The song is a light-hearted and upbeat pop song, the complete opposite of "Hyde." It's perfect for the summer season while lyrically still retaining a link to the Jekyll and Hyde concept of the original album. The song was written by established lyricist Kim Eana, who also wrote VIXX's previous singles "Hyde" and "On and On". The theme of the lyrics conveys the members' recollection of a past relationship. It was composed by renowned composer Hyuk Shin, DK and American producers Ross Lara & Todd Wright. The song begins "Nae modeun geol wanbyeokhi haejesikyeobeorin neo" - You have completely disarmed me.

Promotions

Live Performances

VIXX performed their first comeback stage for "G.R.8.U" on August 1 on Mnet's M! Countdown, this was followed up by additional performances on other music programs such as KBS's Music Bank, MBC's Show! Music Core, SBS's Inkigayo and MBC Music's Show Champion.

They wrapped up promotion of this single on September 8 with their final goodbye stage on Inkigayo.

Music video

Background

For the MV, the summertime feel of the song is perfectly translated to the music video. The video opens with some scenes from the "Hyde" MV before zooming out to a white room where the VIXX members are making a mess. The second part of the MV features the boys as paper cutouts singing along with cutout backgrounds. The last part of the music video shows the boys - wearing a checkerboard pattern motif - dancing against a cloud background. Choreographed by leader N, the dance is clean, crisp and plays with the beats of the song.

The opening scene of the video - where the VIXX members appear to be trashing a white room - is in reverse, yet the band members lip synching was still perfectly in sync with the song. It was later revealed through an episode[5] of VIXX's YouTube series, VIXX TV that the members filmed the opening scene of the MV lip syncing to the reversed version of their song. That is, they memorized their lyrics backwards to achieve the effect of perfect synchronization for the finished product. They filmed the scene in one take and to perfect it, they practiced for three hours and went through it more than 20 times before the actual filming.[6]

Credits and personnel

Charts

Chart Peak
position
South Korea (Gaon Singles Chart)[7] 14
South Korea (Gaon Monthly Singles chart)[8] 192
South Korea (Gaon Streaming Singles chart)[9] 61
South Korea (Gaon Download Singles chart)[10] 13

Release history

Country Date Format Label
Worldwide July 31, 2013 CD, Digital download Jellyfish Entertainment
South Korea

References

  1. ↑ "VIXX get creative with their teaser for 'You're Impressive'". Allkpop. 25 July 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  2. ↑ "VIXX Impress Us With A Unique Teaser For 'You're Impressive'". Kpopstarz. 28 July 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  3. ↑ "VIXX Releases "G.R.8.U" Music Video". Soompi. 30 July 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  4. ↑ "VIXX Give Us A Look At Their Softer Sides With 'G.R.8.U'". Kpopstarz. 31 July 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  5. ↑ 빅스(VIXX) VIXX TV ep.60 (빅스티비 예순번째 이야기)
  6. ↑ "VIXX Rewinds Back to Jekyll with "You’re.Im.Pres.Sive"". Seoulbeats. 1 August 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  7. ↑ "South Korean Gaon Chart: Overall singles – July 25, 2013 to August 3, 2013". Gaon Chart. Korea Music Content Industry Association. 25 July 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  8. ↑ "South Korean Gaon Chart: Overall singles – July 2013". Gaon Chart. Korea Music Content Industry Association. 1 August 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  9. ↑ "South Korean Gaon Chart: Online streaming – July 25, 2013 to August 3, 2013". Gaon Chart. Korea Music Content Industry Association. 25 July 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  10. ↑ "South Korean Gaon Chart: Online download – July 25, 2013 to August 3, 2013". Gaon Chart. Korea Music Content Industry Association. 25 July 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2014.

External links