Sherlock (EP)

Sherlock
EP by Shinee
Released	March 21, 2012 (2012-03-21) (South Korea)
Recorded	January - March 2012
Genre	Pop, R&B, Dance, Electronic
Length	25:37
Language	Korean
Label	SM Entertainment
Producer	Lee Soo Man (executive)
Shinee chronology
The First (2012) Sherlock (2012) Dream Girl – The Misconceptions of You (2013)
Singles from Sherlock
"Sherlock (Clue + Note)" Released: March 19, 2012

"Sherlock" is the fourth EP of South Korean boy group Shinee. The physical CD was released on March 21, 2012 in South Korea, but the album was made available online worldwide on March 19, 2012. According to statistics released by Gaon, Shinee’s fourth mini-album Sherlock sold 135,370 copies in the month of March, setting the record for most album sales in March 2012. The title song "Sherlock (Clue + Note)" topped the weekly download chart for 5 weeks and digital chart, various music charts as well.^[1] On March 27, 2012, Sherlock placed 10th on the Billboard Weekly Heatseekers Albums and 5th on the Billboard Weekly World Albums charts respectively.^[2]

Background

The album consists of seven songs. The lead single and title song "Sherlock (Clue + Note)" is a hybrid remix; the two songs that were remixed for "Sherlock (Clue + Note)" are "Clue" and "Note".^[3] The dance in the "Sherlock" music video was choreographed by Tony Testa.^[4]

The lyrics to "Honesty" are written by Jonghyun and Minho, to give thanks to their fans. The lyrics to "Alarm Clock" are written by Jonghyun and Minho, about wishing to wake up from a nightmare of past break-up.^[5] The album also includes "Stranger", the main theme song for Strangers6, a Korea-China-Japan joint drama, composed by Korean songwriter Kenzie.^[6] The song was first released in Japanese, as a bonus track of their debut Japanese album The First.^[7][8]

Promotion and reception

After a year and six months after the release of Hello, Shinee finally made a comeback with the announcement of their fourth mini-album, Sherlock. SM Entertainment stated that this comeback would be "world-class level with the best quality music, performances, and style" while "the album will contains songs of various genres with the members’ upgraded singing abilities and unique vocals".^[9]

The digital version of Sherlock was released online on March 19, 2012.^[10] The physical copy of the Sherlock album was released on March 21, 2012 in South Korea.^[11] On March 22, 2012 Shinee's music video for their title song "Sherlock" was released on SM Entertainment's YouTube channel.^[12] Hours later Shinee made their return on Mnet's M! Countdown where they performed "Stranger" and "Sherlock".^[3]

"Sherlock" peaked at number 3 on Billboard's K-Pop Hot 100, and the other songs on the album also charted.^[13]

Tracklist

Credits adapted from the official homepage.^[14]

Charts