Sorry, Sorry

This article is about Super Junior's album. For the English-language song, see Idha Övelius. For the Korean-language song, see Sorry, Sorry (Super Junior song).
Sorry, Sorry

Sorry, Sorry Version A cover
Studio album by Super Junior
Released 12 March 2009
(See Release history)
Recorded July 2008 — February 2009 at SM Studios in Seoul, South Korea
Genre K-pop, R&B, dance, electronica
Language Korean
Label SM Entertainment
Producer Soo-Man Lee
Super Junior chronology

Don't Don
(2007)		 Sorry, Sorry
(2009)		 Bonamana
(2010)
Singles from Sorry, Sorry
  1. "Sorry, Sorry"
    Released: March 3, 2009
  2. "It's You"
    Released: May 11, 2009
Music video
"Sorry, Sorry" on YouTube
"It's You" on YouTube

Sorry, Sorry is the third studio album by South Korean boy band Super Junior, released on March 12, 2009 in South Korea.[1] Sorry, Sorry was a critically and commercially successful hit in Asia, becoming 2009's best-selling Korean-language album in South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, China, and the Philippines.[2][3] In less than a week after pre-orders were announced, over 150,000 copies were pre-ordered.[4] According to South Korea's Hanteo Charts, it debuted at 1st on the charts with almost 30,000 copies sold on the first day.[5] Sorry, Sorry won a Disk Daesang (Album of the Year) at the 2009 Golden Disk Awards.

Sorry, Sorry became the last album of the group to feature members Han Geng and Kibum.

Recording and production

In July 2008, Super Junior announced the initial preparations for Sorry, Sorry.[6] In November 2008, Kyuhyun wrote in his fancafe stating that he was preparing for the third album "bit by bit".[7] During a press conference in January 2009 for a Super Show encore concert in Seoul, Kang-in stated that the album will be in a style that will make the audience see a different side of Super Junior.[8] He further commented that while their second album Don't Don did well in 2007, activities promoting the album were lacking due to the activities of different subgroups. Therefore, there will be a concentrated effort to increase promotional activities in order to make Sorry, Sorry more successful.[9] On March 2, SM announced the official release date to be on March 12, 2009.[1]

An image teaser of the album was released on March 4, 2009[10] and a video teaser of the album was released on March 6.[11] "Sorry, Sorry" was released as a digital single through various Korean MP3 sites on March 9.[11]

The album's second promotional single "It's You" was revealed on May 11, 2009. After only five hours of release, the single became the #1 song on Cyworld's Music Charts.[12] A repackaged version of Sorry, Sorry, with four new bonus tracks which included "It's You", was released on May 14, 2009.[13]

Music

Sorry, Sorry contains primarily pop music, with the album having a more mature approach in style in comparison to previous Super Junior albums. It contains more R&B-styled pop songs with lyrics that represent the evolution of "boys to men."[14] Songs are less cheerful; melodic instruments play a huge part in most of the songs, showing maturity. Rap is also less presented in this album, having a majority of the songs dominated by R&B and harmonious vocals. Super Junior explained that this album is more strongly affiliated with Super Junior's own musical style unlike their previous albums, in which their music had been test-productions for various markets.[15] The album shows its strong influence from contemporary dance and R&B. It draws from bubblegum pop to a lesser degree, unlike their previous albums.

The title song "Sorry, Sorry" was written by Yoo Young-jin, who wrote "Don't Don," the title track of Super Junior's second album Don't Don. Yoo reportedly wanted create a song which is both equally fun and easy to listen.[16] The song is a "polished and trendy" dance song, with influences of American funk and contemporary R&B, stimulated with a heavy electronic beat that is the genre of "urban minimal funky", a new style that the group has never tried before. Nick Bass, who has worked with international stars like Usher and Justin Timberlake, choreographed the dance for "Sorry, Sorry" with assistant staff Trent Dickens, showing the single's strong musical prominence.[17] The second promotional single "It's You" was written by E-Tribe, famous for creating hits such as "Gee" and Lee Hyori's "U-Go-Girl".[13] "It's You" similarly draws influences from electronic beats; however, it keeps a heavier emphasis on contemporary R&B.

TVXQ members U-Know and Micky wrote the rap and performed it in "Heartquake" and actress Lee Yeon-hee's vocals are also featured in "Club No.1."[18]

Promotion and reception

The year prior to the album's release was seen as a hiatus year for Super Junior, although sub-unit groups Super Junior-M and Super Junior-Happy had been promoting in both China and Korea for most of 2008. Although members of the group were popular on various Korean variety shows,[15] they were falling behind musically, and the group felt that they should be judged on their musical merits before anything else.[15] Through this album, Super Junior hoped that it would give the group a stronger musical impression in the media, confirming a style that is strictly Super Junior's own style of music.[15] As soon as "Sorry, Sorry" was released via MP3 websites, it topped every music chart, confirming the single's popularity. Super Junior explained that "Sorry, Sorry" was not chosen because of popularity, but because they see the song as their own style.[15]

Super Junior's first comeback performance was on March 13 with the performance of "Sorry, Sorry" and "Why I Like You" on KBS's Music Bank.[19] That following weekend, they performed the same two songs on MBC's Show! Music Core and SBS's Popular Songs, and have been performing "Sorry, Sorry" on the same three programs every weekend until July 2009. "Sorry, Sorry" achieved its first recognition as the #1 song of KBS's Music Bank monthly pop chart on March 27 after only two weeks in the charts.[20] The single won again for the April pop chart,[21] and was the #1 song in its weekly pop chart for the first two weeks of May.[22] In addition to other recognitions, the song won the Mutizen Song award on Popular Songs for three consecutive weeks (Triple Crown)[23] and it also became a song of the week on Mnet's M! Countdown on April 9 and April 23, although Super Junior was not present at the program to receive their awards.[24] "It's You", however, only received two recognitions during its promotional period.

Outside of Korea, Sorry, Sorry was heavily promoted in other Asian communities. Fifty-one subway trains in Taipei were covered with Sorry, Sorry advertisements from April 17 through May 7 to promote the Taiwan release of Sorry, Sorry, which was released on April 17. Amongst one of the trains was the "Super Junior Train", in which the train was entirely covered with Super Junior posters.[25] Taiwan also released an exclusive CD and DVD version of the album on August 14. Sorry, Sorry and its eponymous single was a huge hit in Taiwan, topping all available album and singles chart in the country. It debuted at #2 in Taiwan G-music's Combo chart, #1 in the International chart[26] and #1 in Five Music's Korean chart.[27]

On May 1, Super Junior performed "Sorry, Sorry" and "Why I Like You" for the first time overseas in Beijing, China for Jackie Chan's Bird's Nest concert,[28] simultaneously promoting the Mainland China version of the album's release. Starting June 1, Mnet's sister channel in Japan aired Super Junior documentaries and live performances weekly for seven months.[29] Sorry, Sorry also peaked at #1 on Thailand's international pop charts within two weeks after its release.[30] The album topped Thailand's Channel V Asian Chart for eight consecutive weeks, setting a new record for the chart.[31] Released in the Philippines on September 4, the album topped album charts of Music One that same weekend, outselling albums by Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson.[3] It became the first #1 K-pop in the country, entering the Odyssey album chart one week after its release, and stayed in the charts for over ten consecutive weeks and eventually reached Gold status three months after its release in the country, selling 7,500 units.[32] Both "Sorry, Sorry" and "It's You" became Arirang's Best 10 K-pop songs as #1 and #6 respectively.

Shortly after Super Junior began their promotions on "It's You", the group began preparing for their second Asia-wide tour in the summer of 2009. The tour was officially announced on June 3, 2009, almost three months after the release of Sorry, Sorry. The tour included songs from their previous albums and kicked off with three shows in Seoul, South Korea from July 17 to 19.[33]

Sales and impact

In just days, 150,000 copies of Sorry, Sorry were pre-ordered.[4] The album debuted at #1 on the Hanteo Daily Charts, with approximately 30,000 copies sold, making it the biggest opening day for the group.[5] By the end of the week, 36,000 copies have been sold through Hanteo, debuting at #2 on the Hanteo Weekly charts, selling only 4,000 copies less than Seo Taiji's single, which was released on March 10.[34] Sorry, Sorry debuted at #2 on Hottracks Gayo Best 5 on the second week of March and jumped to #1 on the third week.[35] As of May 15, 2009, over 215,000 units have been sold, being the first Korean-language album to do so in 2009.[36]

Sorry, Sorry and both of its singles topped all of Taiwan's yearly, monthly, weekly, and daily Korean charts, thus becoming the best-selling Korean-language and international album in the country.[2] Its long stay as #1 in Thailand's music charts broke records, and was also certified as a best-selling album. Super Junior was awarded with 'Best Selling Album' at the South Korea's Gaon's 2009 Top 100 albums chart. SM Entertainment announced on December 12, 2009 that the album sold 250,683 copies.[37]

Surprisingly, the album made an appearance on the 99th rank of South Korea's Gaon's 2010 Top 100 albums chart, selling 14,581 copies.[38]

The album currently sold a total of 270,152 copies by 2011.

Track listing

Version A and B
No. TitleLyricsMusicTranslation Length
1. "Sorry, Sorry"  Youngjin YooYoungjin Yoo  3:52
2. "니가 좋은 이유 (Why I like you)"  SHIROJimmy Burney, Steven Lee, Sean Alexander, Pascal "Claps"The Reasons Why I Like You (Why I like you) 3:45
3. "마주치지 말자 (Let's not...)" (Super Junior-K.R.Y)Hwanhee, Junyoung JoHwanheeLet's Not Run Into Each Other (Let's not...) 3:40
4. "앤젤라 (Angela)"  Jungbae KimKenzie  3:21
5. "Reset"  Changhak ParkMartin Sutton, Shridhar Ashokkumar Solanki  3:43
6. "Monster[lower-alpha 1]"  KenzieRemee, Timothy Kellett, Robin Anthony Taylor-Firth, Peter Biker  3:48
7. "What if[lower-alpha 2]"  Yunjung KwonSean Syed Hosein, Dane Anthony Deviller, Jorgen Kjell Elofsson, Adrew G Goldmark  3:26
8. "이별... 넌 쉽니 (Heartquake)" (feat TVXQ's U-Know & Micky)Junyoung Jo, July, U-Know, MickyJunyoung JoSaying Goodbye... Is It Easy For You (Heartquake) 4:07
9. "Club No.1" (feat Lee Yeon-hee)Gapwon ChoiGabe Lopez, Angela Peel  3:09
10. "Happy Together"  Lee Jae MyoungLee Jae Myoung  3:34
11. "죽어있는 것 (Dead at Heart)"  Changhyun ParkChanghyun ParkDead Thing (Dead at heart) 4:09
12. "Shining Star"  Youngsuk YooYoungsuk Yoo  3:25

Bonus tracks

Version C and D
No. TitleLyricsMusicTranslation Length
2. "그녀는 위험해 (She Wants It)[lower-alpha 3]"  Younghu KimGabe Lopez, JV, Rebel, Sean AlexanderShe's Dangerous (She Wants It) 3:55
3. "너라고 (It's You)[lower-alpha 3]"  E-TribeE-TribeIt's You (It's You) 3:51
4. "사랑이 죽는 병 (Love Disease)[lower-alpha 3]"  WheesungJimmy Burney, Sean Alexander, Pascal "Claps"Dying Love (Love Disease) 3:30
5. "첫번째 이야기 (Love U More)[lower-alpha 3]"  Ryeowook, SungminRyeowookThe First Story (Love U More) 3:08
17. "Sorry, Sorry[lower-alpha 4]" (Japanese version) Youngjin Yoo  3:52

Charts

Album Chart

Country Chart Peak
position
South Korea Gaon Monthly Chart
1
Taiwan G-Music Combo Chart
2
G-Music J-pop Chart
1
G-Music International Chart
1
Japan Oricon Weekly Albums Chart
33
Thailand Channel V Asian TOP 50 Year End 2009[39]
1

Release history

Version Region Date Distributing label Format
A South Korea March 12, 2009 SM Entertainment CD
Thailand April 9, 2009 GMM Grammy
Taiwan April 17, 2009 Avex Taiwan[40]
Hong Kong April 23, 2009 Avex Asia
China May 2009 Sky Music
B South Korea March 12, 2009 SM Entertainment
CD
Thailand April 9, 2009 GMM Grammy
Taiwan April 17, 2009 Avex Taiwan[41]
Hong Kong April 23, 2009 Avex Asia
China May 2009 Sky Music
C South Korea May 14, 2009 SM Entertainment CD
Hong Kong May 18, 2009 Avex Asia
Taiwan June 19, 2009 Avex Taiwan[42]
Philippines September 4, 2009 Universal Records
– Japan July 15, 2009 Rhythm Zone CD+DVD
D Taiwan August 14, 2009 Avex Taiwan[43]
Hong Kong August 14, 2009 Avex Asia

Notes

  1. ↑ Remake of the song "Just Like That", released by German girl-group Monrose on their 2007 studio album Strictly Physical
  2. ↑ Remake of the song of the same title, released by Philippine singer Nina for her 2003 studio album Smile
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Version C bonus track
  4. ↑ Japanese edition bonus track

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Super Junior release third album on March 12 after 1 year and 6 month hiatus". Newsen (in Korean). 2009-03-02. Retrieved 2009-03-02.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Japan/Korea charts TOP 100". KKBOX (in Chinese). Retrieved 2009-09-05.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Supr Junior "Sorry, Sorry" album zooms to #1!". Universal Records Blog. 2009-09-09. p. 1. Retrieved 2009-09-09.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Over 150,000 copies pre-ordered for Super Junior's third album". Asia E (in Korean). 2009-03-10. Retrieved 2009-03-10.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Super Junior's third album sells 30,000 on the first day!". Mydaily (in Korean). 2009-03-14. Retrieved 2009-03-14.
  6. ↑ "Super Junior to release third album in 2009". Xici (in Chinese). 2008-07-19. Retrieved 2008-08-21.
  7. ↑ "Daum 카페". Cafe.daum.net. Retrieved 2010-06-04.
  8. ↑ "Super Junior, "A different side of SuJu"". Asia E (in Korean). 2009-01-04. Retrieved 2009-01-06.
  9. ↑ "Super Junior to concentrate in album in 2009". My Daily (in Korean). 2009-01-04. Retrieved 2009-01-06.
  10. ↑ "After 1 year and 6 months, SuJu releases third album 'Sorry, Sorry'". Newsen (in Korean). 2009-03-04. Retrieved 2009-03-04.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 "Super Junior's third album "Sorry, Sorry" full song to be released on the 9th". Newsen (in Korean). 2009-03-06. Retrieved 2009-03-06.
  12. ↑ "Cyworld Charts". Cyworld (in Korean). 2009-05-11. Retrieved 2009-05-11.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Super Junior releases repackaged album in May". SPN (in Korean). 2009-04-30. Retrieved 2009-04-30.
  14. ↑ "Super Junior comes back with new image after 18 months". Newsen. 2009-03-04. Retrieved 2009-03-14.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 "Super Junior: "Judge before listening, it hurts!" Part 1". Asia E (in Korean). 2009-03-10. Retrieved 2009-03-10.
  16. ↑ Kang, Myoung-seok (11 June 2010). "Record producer Yoo Young-jin - Part 2". 10 Asia. Retrieved 20 May 2012.
  17. ↑ "Famous choreographers work with Super Junior's third album, "Sorry, Sorry"". Newsen (in Korean). 2009-03-05. Retrieved 2009-03-05.
  18. ↑ "Lee Yeon-hee and TVXQ is featured in Super Junior's third album". Moneytoday (in Korean). 2009-03-09. Retrieved 2009-03-09.
  19. ↑ "Super Junior comes back with "Sorry, Sorry" after 18 months". SPN. 2009-03-13. Retrieved 2009-03-14.
  20. ↑ "Super Junior wins No. 1 on Music Bank in just two weeks after comeback". JK News (in Korean). 2009-03-27. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
  21. ↑ "Super Junior wins No. 1 on Music Bank for April". Newsen (in Korean). 2009-04-24. Retrieved 2009-04-24.
  22. ↑ "Super Junior wins No. 1 again on weekly Music Bank chart". Newsen. 2009-05-08. Retrieved 2009-05-11.
  23. ↑ "Super Junior's "Sorry, Sorry" becomes Mutizen song for three consecutive weeks"". Osen (in Korean). 2009-04-12. Retrieved 2009-04-13.
  24. ↑ "Super Junior vs. Davichi for No.1". Mnet (in Korean). 2009-04-09. Retrieved 2009-04-15.
  25. ↑ "'Super Junior Train' in Taiwan". Asia E (in Korean). 2009-04-15. Retrieved 2009-04-15.
  26. ↑ "G-Music Charts". G-music (in Chinese). Retrieved 2009-04-26.
  27. ↑ "Super Junior's Sorry, Sorry is #1 in Korea, Thailand, and Taiwan". Isplus (in Korean). 2009-04-28. Retrieved 2009-04-28.
  28. ↑ "Jackie Chan to Sing in Bird Nest". Crienglish. 2009-04-01. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
  29. ↑ "Super Junior Mnet for seven months". Mnet Japan (in Japanese). 2009-04-25. Retrieved 2009-04-26.
  30. ↑ "Super Junior also has high popularity overseas". Sina (in Chinese). 2009-04-26. Retrieved 2009-04-26.
  31. ↑ "Super Junior's new single tops Thailand's chart for eight consecutive weeks". Sina (in Chinese). 2009-06-12. Retrieved 2009-06-13.
  32. ↑ "‘Sorry, Sorry’ leads 2009's K-pop album sales in RP". Manila Bulletin. 2010-01-11. Retrieved 2011-09-08.
  33. ↑ Lee Mi-hye (2009-06-03). "Super Junior to hold 2nd Asia tour". Newsen (in Korean). p. 1. Retrieved 2009-06-03.
  34. ↑ "Hanteo Charts". Hanteo (in Korean). Retrieved 2009-03-15.
  35. ↑ "Hottracks Gayo Best 5". Hottracks (in Korean). Retrieved 2009-03-24.
  36. ↑ "Super Junior becomes the first artist to sell over 200,000 copies of 2009". Asia Economy (in Korean). 2009-05-18. Retrieved 2009-05-18.
  37. ↑ "슈퍼주니어 신나라-핫트랙스 집계 올해 앨범판매 1위 등극 - 손에 잡히는 뉴스 눈에 보이는 뉴스 - 뉴스엔". Newsen.com. 2009-12-08. Retrieved 2012-03-10.
  38. ↑ ":: 가온차트와 함께하세요 ::". Gaonchart.co.kr. Retrieved 2012-03-10.
  39. ↑ Kim, Lynn (6 January 2010). "Super Junior tops year-end music charts in Asia". 10 Asia. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
  40. ↑ "Sorry, Sorry Taiwan Version A (CD) album info". Avex Taiwan (in Chinese). 17 April 2009. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
  41. ↑ "Sorry, Sorry Taiwan Version B (CD) album info". Avex Taiwan (in Chinese). 17 April 2009. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
  42. ↑ "Sorry, Sorry Taiwan Version C (CD) album info". Avex Taiwan (in Chinese). 19 June 2009. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
  43. ↑ "Sorry, Sorry Taiwan Version D (CD+DVD) album info". Avex Taiwan (in Chinese). 14 August 2009. Retrieved 13 June 2012.

External links

Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Mirotic by TVXQ		 Golden Disk Awards for Disk Daesang (Album of the Year)
2009 		Succeeded by
Oh! by Girls' Generation