Neverland (U-KISS album)

NEVERLAND
Studio album by U-KISS
Released

September 1, 2011 (South Korea)[1]


2012 (Philippines)
Recorded 2011
Genre K-pop, R&B, electropop
Length 47:18
Label NH Media, Neowiz Internet, Windmill Media
WMCD-0066
Producer Ryan Jhun
U-KISS chronology

Brand New Kiss
(2011)		 Neverland
(2011)		 A Shared Dream
(2012)
Singles from Neverland
  1. "Someday"
    Released: August 26, 2011
  2. "Neverland"
    Released: September 1, 2011

Neverland is the second full-length studio album by South Korean boy band U-KISS, released on September 1, 2011. It is the first album to feature new members Hoon and AJ. The album's lead single single, "Someday", was released digitally August 26, 2011. The album's second single, "Neverland", was released on September 1, 2011, on Mnet along with the rest of the album.[2] The album was released in the Philippines in 2012 under Universal Records (Philippines).

Background and development

On July 11, 2011, U-KISS announced they would return to South Korea in September, following time spent promoting in Japan, to release a full-length album.[3] The group worked with the best sound engineers in both Korea and Japan, and under an American producer, using top-notch facilities in Osaka, Japan.[4][5] The music video for "Neverland" was revealed on September 1, 2011, along with the official release of the album and a live performance.[6]

The album has a total of thirteen tracks which were mostly composed and recorded in South Korea and Japan.[6] "Someday" was composed by Denzil "DR" Remedios, who has composed for Super Junior, and Ryan Jhun, who has composed for SHINee and f(x). Just after the release, U-KISS became the second most-searched topic on Korean sites, Naver and Nate.[7] Someday, is a medium-tempo track inspired by British pop accompanied by steady piano rhythm and layered synthesized sounds.[8]

The second single, "Neverland", was released on September 1 along with the other tracks from the album.[4] "NEVERLAND", in contrast to the autotune trend, the vocals were recorded one by one. It was written by JD Reli],[9] produced by conductor Ryan Jhun as well as Adam Kapit, and Korean lyrics were written by Misfit.[10]

"Neverland", is an electropop song.[11] Songs encompassed with synthpop elements include "Baby Don't Cry", "Obsession", "Tell Me Y", "On the Floor" and "Top That".[11] However, the album is dominated mostly by ballads. One of these is "Someday". Another ballad track included in the album is "Take Me Away" which is a duet by the lead singers, Kevin Woo and Hoon.[11] Other tracks present are "Love of a Friend" and "Story of April" which is a duet between Soohyun and Brave Girl's Eunyoung.[11] Aside from that, one acoustic song is also attached in the album, a U-KISS-Paran duet entitled "We'll Meet Again".[11]

Music Video

The official music video for "Neverland" was released on August 31, 2011, and a dance-only version was released September 25. It was directed by Kim Eun-yoo for 12 Rounds Production.[12] The video starts with DJ Itae flipping a red disc. As DJ Itae plays the disc, a silhouette image of U-KISS is shown along with the snow that falls into them. The beat starts with Kevin's singing his part accompanied by a heavily-choreographed routine. Lee Kiseop comes singing next, changing his clothes from all-black suit to a suit with snowy-white fur. Kim Eli sings next as the group appears dancing in a white-furred suit. Hoon and AJ come next singing their parts as the dance steps are being emphasized. Shin Dongho buzzes his lines next as he runs his hands into his face as he ends his part. Soohyun then supplements the video singing as diminutive snows fall into him. Kevin then comes stretching his arm while singing, whereas Soohyun opens for the chorus. The chorus of the song shows choreography ranging from dark to lighter video shots, which then ends to the members falling into the ground while AJ raps another stanza. The members then standing one-by-one as Kevin lift-offs his second stanza. Kiseop appears next singing with a black-violet colored hair as choreography shots continue with Kevin. Hoon starts his line with "Hey" as the members jump in a slow-motion shot. Eli, Kiseop and Dongho sing respectively while they dance to the beat. Hoon and Kevin sing the second refrain while Soohyun opens the second chorus. Suring the bridge of the song, U-KISS-shaped ice becomes rapidly thicker while Dongho is shown first rapping in an area with ice stalactites, followed by AJ and Eli. U-KISS then wearing an all-white suits dancing a heavily-choreograph routine with complex hand and feet gestures in a dance floor filled with water. Soohyun then gives the highest note in the song, then the bridge of the song continues. It then goes on to the chorus showing dance moves. The video ends with U-KISS forming a triangular position with Eli at the front, while "U-KISS NEVERLAND" appears on the top. [13]

Promotion

The video for the song "Neverland" reached a total of 730,000 views just within 72 hours of release and reached a total of 1,000,000 views within the next two days.[14][15] Promotional television appearances were done in early September.[16][17][18]

U-KISS promoted the Neverland album on tour in six different countries in Asia.[19]

Track listing

Official Tracklist
No. TitleLyricsMusic Length
1. "Intro"     0:56
2. "Neverland"  MisfitAdam Kapit, Ryan Jhun, JD Relic 3:35
3. "Baby Don't Cry"  Kim Ji-hyang, GR8MOON (Rap)Ryan Jhun, Jay Deasel, JD Relic 3:12
4. "Someday"  MisfitDenzil "iDR" Remedios, Ryan Jhun 4:00
5. "Take Me Away" (Hoon & Kevin Woo)David D.A. Doman and Kim Ji-hyangDavid D.A Doman 3:33
6. "On The Floor"  Taewan aka C-LuvTaewan aka C-Luv, Stay Tuned 3:31
7. "친구의 사랑" (Love Of A Friend)June, AJ (Rap)Park Seong-su, JaBong from S2 Revolution 4:04
8. "4월 이야기 feat. 은영 of 브레이브걸스" (Story Of April) (Soohyun)SWINSWIN 3:26
9. "Obsession" (AJ & Lee Kiseop)AJSWIN, AJ, Lee Kiseop 3:47
10. "TOP THAT"  Kim Ji-hyang, AJ (Rap)Ryan Jhun, Antwann Frost, JD Relic 3:07
11. "Tell Me Y" (Dongho & Eli Kim) (feat. SWIN)AJ, Taewan aka C-Luv, Je Yu YoungTaewan aka C-Luv, Je Yu Young 3:14
12. "다시 만나요" (We'll Meet Again) (with Paran)Won Sang-wooWon Sang-woo 6:53
13. "Someday" (Instrumental)   4:00
Total length:
 47:18

Chart performance

The first single, "Someday" entered the Gaon Chart on August 21 after selling 1,629,879 digital downloads from August 21 to August 28. It climbed six spots in its second week on the chart from its debut at number 140. "Neverland" entered the chart at number 50 for garnering a total of 6,151,934 digital downloads and streams from August 28 to September 3, 2011. [20] It peaked at number 37.[21] On September 12, "Someday" entered the Billboard Korea K-Pop Hot 100 at number 100 while "Neverland" occupied the number 58 position, the latter also placing as the tenth "Biggest Jumper" in the chart on the said week.[22]

Sales

Chart Sales
Gaon physical sales 22,000+

Album personnel

Credits for the album are as follows:[23]

Recording

Producers and composers

Guitar

References

  1. ↑ AllKpop.com http://www.allkpop.com/2011/08/u-kiss-to-release-comeback-mv-teaser-new-song-this-week Retrieved August 25, 2011
  2. ↑ "AllKpop.com: U-KISS releases second album, “NEVERLAND”".
  3. ↑ "U-KISS to Come Back in September with 2nd Full Album".
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "유키스, 25일 정규2집 티저 발표.. "남성미 업그레이드"".
  5. ↑ "U-KISS Releases Their MV Teaser for Neverland".
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "유키스, 오는 9월 정규2집으로 컴백! 국내외 실력파 프로듀서 참여".
  7. ↑ "U-KISS Rank 2nd in Trending topic".
  8. ↑ "U-KISS releases Some Day".
  9. ↑ ""JD Relic's Trip to Korea, Meets up with U-KISS".
  10. ↑ "New Albums and Singles Preview 2011 August Week 4".
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 "U-KISS Official Website- Album Info".
  12. ↑ "Ukiss_Neverland MV". 12 Rounds Production for NH Media. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  13. ↑ "U-KISS reveals MV for “NEVERLAND”".
  14. ↑ "유키스 신곡 M/V, 5일만에 유튜브 조회수 '100만'".
  15. ↑ "The music video of U Kiss’ new song exceeds one million views in five days".
  16. ↑ "U-KISS Official Website: Schedule". Retrieved September 7, 2011.
  17. ↑ "U-KISS makes their comeback on ‘M! Countdown’!".
  18. ↑ "U-KISS made their comeback on Music Core.".
  19. ↑ "유키스, 해외 팬들 러브콜 쇄도! 9일간 15000km ‘대장정’ 돌입".
  20. ↑ "2011년 37주차 Digital Chart". Gaon (in Korean). Archived from the original on 14 February 2015. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  21. ↑ "2011년 38주차 Digital Chart". Gaon (in Korean). Archived from the original on 14 February 2015. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  22. ↑ Billboard USA: Biggest Jumper, Korea Kpop Hot 100 http://www.billboard.com/artist/1496506/u-kiss/chart?f=1175 Retrieved September 13, 2011.
  23. ↑ U-KISS Official Website: Album Info http://u-kiss.co.kr/album_info.html Retrieved September 2, 2011.

External links