City Lights (EP)

City Lights is the debut extended play by South Korean singer Baekhyun. It was released on July 10, 2019 by SM Entertainment. The album features six tracks, including the lead single "UN Village".[4]

City Lights
EP by
Baekhyun
ReleasedJuly 10, 2019 (2019-07-10)
Recorded2019
StudioSM Studios, Seoul, South Korea
Genre
Length21:37
LanguageKorean
Label
Producer
Baekhyun chronology
City Lights
(2019)		 Delight
(2020)
Singles from City Lights
  1. "UN Village"
    Released: July 10, 2019
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
IZM[1]
Rolling Stone India[2]
SCMP[3]

Background and release

On June 10, 2019, it was announced that Baekhyun will debut as a solo artist in July.[5] At midnight on June 20, the album's title and release date were announced. SM Entertainment began releasing teasers on July 2 through Exo's official social media accounts.[6] Additionally, Baekhyun posted a teaser for his debut through a vlog on his official YouTube channel.

The album and its title track's music video were released on July 10 at 6PM KST both digitally and physically. On July 12, a live session video of "UN Village" was released.[7] A third version of the album was released on July 19.[8]

Composition and production

City Lights has six songs which feature R&B, hip hip hop and pop genres. The album's title track "UN Village" is a romantic R&B love song that combines groovy beats and string sound with sensational lyrics about a romantic moment a couple share under the moonlight of UN Village hill.[9]

Various world-renowned music producer Darkchild, The Stereotypes, Cha Cha Malone, LDN Noise have participated in the album.[10] Korean rapper Beenzino[11] was featured in the side track "Stay Up!", a dreamy R&B song with lyrics that draw attention by mentioning special nights with his loved one in sexy narrative.

The third track "Betcha" is a hip hop R&B with urban beats song with lyrics that tells a story about a cute yet confident attitude of a man who is confident that the other person is destined for love.[12] "Ice Queen" is characterized as an R&B song with a sophisticated beat and a catchy melody with lyrics about winning the girls' cold heart with his warm one. "Diamond" is described as an R&B ballad with impressive major and minor melodies with the lyrics that compare love for lovers to a solidly glowing diamond.[13] The last song "Psycho" is an electronic pop that expresses the inner selves of a man lost among confused emotions.[14]

Promotion

Before the music video and album's release, Baekhyun held a private showcase in Seoul Arts Center where he performed the lead single "UN Village" for the first time for the media.[15][16][17] Two hours after the release, he appeared on a live broadcast through the Naver app V Live where he talked about the process of the album and performed "UN Village", "Betcha" and "Ice Queen".[18][19] On July 11, Baekhyun uploaded a vlog titled "UN Village behind clip" through his Youtube channel where he revealed parts of the filming process for his music video.[20]

Baekhyun started performing "UN Village" on South Korean music programs from July 12 on Music Bank.[21] The song has since achieved a total of three trophies. On the same day, he performed "UN Village" on You Hee-yeol's Sketchbook.[22]

Reception

City Lights received generally positive reviews from critics. Tamar Hermann of Billboard opined that Baekhyun's "expressive vocals relay a wide array of emotions". She added that by frequently layering different recordings atop of one another, "the wide range of Baekhyun's tone and artistic style" was revealed.[23] Riddhi Chakraborty of Rolling Stone India stated that "Baekhyun's penchant for romantic ballads is forgotten as he makes a complete immersion into dark and heady R&B". She concluded that by releasing City Lights, Baekhyun "has proven that he understands exactly what kind of artist he is and what he's capable of, therefore he's unafraid to be seen in a brand new light".[24]

Commercial performance

On July 9, it was reported that the pre-order sales of City Lights reached 401,545 copies in eight days.[25] Shortly after its release, the EP topped over 67 countries' iTunes charts.[26] City Lights went went on to debut atop the Gaon Album Chart for the week ending on July 13, becoming his first chart-topper.[27] The EP became the top-selling album of July 2019 on Gaon Album Chart with a total of 508,321 sales.[28] It eventually sold over 576,029 copies, which made it the best-selling solo album in South Korea since Hestory (2003) by Kim Gun-mo, until it was surpassed by Baekhyun's second EP Delight the following year.[29]

The EP also attained international success by debuting at number four on the Billboard World Albums Chart, becoming his first top-five entry on the chart. City Lights sold 1,000 copies in the United States according to Nielsen Music, despite less than two full days of sales for the Billboard week's charts.[30] In France, City Lights peaked at number 20 on the French Digital Albums Chart. The EP also debuted at 8 on the Billboard Japan Hot Albums Chart and number 31 on the Australian Digital Album Chart, making it his first album to chart in both countries.

Track listing

Credits adapted through Spotify.[31]

No.TitleLyricsMusicArrangementLength
1."UN Village"LIØN
  • LIØN
  • dress
dress3:55
2."Stay Up" (featuring Beenzino)
  • JQ
  • Park Ji-hee
  • Beenzino
Cha Cha Malone3:27
3."Betcha"Kenzie
The Stereotypes3:21
4."Ice Queen"BAYLEE
  • Greg Bonnik
  • Hayden Chapman
  • Bobii Lewis
  • Adrian McKinnon
LDN Noise3:35
5."Diamond"ColdeDarkchildDarkchild3:57
6."Psycho" (bonus track)Seo Ji-eum (Jam Factory)
Zayson3:25
Total length:21:41

Charts

Weekly charts
Chart (2019) Peak
position
Australian Digital Albums (ARIA)[32] 18
French Digital Albums (SNEP)[33] 20
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[34] 14
Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[35] 8
Lithuanian Albums (AGATA)[36] 93
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[37] 15
South Korean Albums (Gaon)[27] 1
UK Digital Albums (OCC)[38] 52
US Digital Albums (Billboard)[39] 21
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[40] 4
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[41] 9
US World Albums (Billboard)[42] 4

Year-end charts
Chart (2019) Position
South Korean Albums (Gaon)[43] 6

Accolades
Year-end lists
Critic/Publication List Rank Ref.
Billboard The 25 Best K-Pop Albums of 2019 12 [44]
Reddit K-Pop Best Album Cover Art 2019 5 [45]
Idology Korea 2019: Album Of The Year 19 [46]
Awards and nominations
Year Organization Award Nominated work Result Ref
2020 Golden Disc Awards Disc Bonsang City Lights Won [47]
Disc Daesang Nominated
Gaon Chart Music Awards Album of the Year - 3rd Quarter Nominated

Sales
Region Sales
South Korea[48] 580,326
China[49] 300,000
Japan[50] 8,000
United States[30] 4,000

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
South Korea (KMCA)[51] 2× Platinum 500,000*

*sales figures based on certification alone

Release history
Region Date Format Label
South Korea July 10, 2019
Various
  • Digital download
  • streaming
 SM Entertainment
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See also

References
  1. Lee Hong-hyun. "백현 'City Lights – The 1st Mini Album' (2019)". IZM (in Korean). Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  2. Chakraborty, Riddhi (July 17, 2019). "Review: EXO's Baekhyun Embraces Dark R&B Immersion On 'City Lights'". Rolling Stone India. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
  3. Gillett, Chris. "Baekhyun's 'City Lights' album review: the EXO singer's solo EP hits all the right notes". South China Morning Post. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
  4. 엑소 백현, 데뷔 첫 솔로 앨범…7월 10일 발매 – OBS경인TV [Exo's Baekhyun debut solo album...Release on July 10] (in Korean). OBS News. 2019-06-20. Retrieved 2019-06-21.
  5. Benjamin, Jeff (2019-06-10). "EXO's Baekhyun Set to Release Debut Solo Album". Billboard. Retrieved 2019-06-21.
  6. 엑소 백현, 첫 솔로앨범 타이틀곡은 'UN Village'..로맨틱 러브송 [공식] [Exo Baekhyun, the first solo album single 'UN Village' .. Romantic Love Song [Official]]. Naver (in Korean). 2019-07-02. Retrieved 2019-07-02.
  7. EXO (2019-07-11), BAEKHYUN 백현 'UN Village' Live Session, retrieved 2019-07-12
  8. 백현. "백현 (Baek Hyun) - 미니앨범 1집 : City Lights [스마트 뮤직 앨범(키노앨범)]". YES24 (in Korean). Retrieved 2019-07-13.
  9. "EXO Baekhyun releases teaser for solo album". m.koreatimes.co.kr. 2019-07-02. Retrieved 2019-07-03.
  10. "백현, 첫 솔로 앨범 'City Lights' 기대되는 믿듣 라인업". n.news.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved 2019-07-04.
  11. 빈지노, 엑소 백현 첫 솔로앨범 수록곡 피처링 지원사격(공식). Naver (in Korean). 2019-07-04. Retrieved 2019-07-06.
  12. "엑소 백현, 첫 솔로앨범 하이라이트 메들리 공개..웰메이드 음악 기대". n.news.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved 2019-07-08.
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  14. "'솔로 데뷔 D-2' 엑소 백현, 'City Lights' 하이라이트 메들리 공개". n.news.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved 2019-07-08.
  15. "엑소 백현, 10일 솔로 데뷔 쇼케이스 개최..전 세계 생중계[공식]". entertain.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved 2019-07-03.
  16. "[포토] 엑소 백현 '사랑해요'". n.news.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved 2019-07-10.
  17. "[T포토] 백현 '강렬'". n.news.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved 2019-07-10.
  18. "'시티 라이츠 쇼케이스' 솔로 데뷔 백현, "엑소 멤버들, 내게 '신박하다'더라"(V앱 종합)". n.news.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved 2019-07-10.
  19. "백현 "솔로 가수 변신, 굉장히 떨렸는데 팬들 보니까 편안해" [V라이브]". n.news.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved 2019-07-10.
  20. 백현 Baekhyun (2019-07-11), 백현이의 브이로그 (UN Village Behind Clip), retrieved 2019-07-12
  21. "[인싸뮤직] 다음 주 컴백 예고, 몽환적 분위기의 하성운·감미로운 세레나데 백현". 뉴스인사이드 (in Korean). 2019-07-06. Retrieved 2019-07-06.
  22. "'스케치북' 엑소 백현 "무대 위에 있을 때 가장 행복 '천상 직업'..사랑 돌려드리고파"". entertain.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved 2020-06-04.
  23. "EXO's Baekhyun Releases 'City Lights' Album: Watch the Smooth Music Video for 'UN Village'". Billboard. 2019-07-10. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
  24. "Review: EXO's Baekhyun Embraces Dark R&B Immersion On 'City Lights' -". 2019-07-17. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
  25. 엑소 백현, 솔로 앨범 선주문량 40만장 찍었다 (공식) [Exo's Baekhyun, debut solo album pre-oders surpass 400,000 (official)]. Naver (in Korean). 2019-07-09. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  26. Jember, Portal (2020-05-27). "Baru Rilis, Baekhyun EXO Pecahkan Banyak Rekor dengan Mini Albumnya, Delight - Portal Jember". portaljember.pikiran-rakyat.com (in Indonesian). Retrieved 2020-06-03.
  27. "Gaon Album Chart – Week 28, 2019". Gaon Chart (in Korean). Retrieved July 18, 2019.
  28. "2019년 7월 Album Chart". gaonchart.co.kr. Retrieved 2020-08-05.
  29. "2003 K-pop Album Sales Volume". RIAK (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2009-02-28. Retrieved 2020-04-25.
  30. "EXO's Chanyeol & Sehun Make Top 10 Debut on World, Heatseekers Albums Charts as EXO-SC". Billboard. August 1, 2019. Retrieved 2019-08-03.
  31. "Baekhyun – City Lights". July 10, 2019. Retrieved July 10, 2019 – via Spotify.
  32. "ARIA Australian Top 50 Digital Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. July 15, 2019. Retrieved July 13, 2019.
  33. "Top Albums Téléchargés". Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. July 12, 2019. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  34. "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 2019-07-22" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
  35. "Billboard Japan Hot Albums". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved July 17, 2019.
  36. "Savaitės klausomiausi (TOP 100)" (in Lithuanian). AGATA. July 12, 2019. Retrieved December 2, 2019.
  37. "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
  38. "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  39. "Baekhyun Chart History (Digital Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  40. "Baekhyun Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  41. "Baekhyun Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  42. "Baekhyun Chart History (World Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  43. "2019년 Album Chart". Gaon. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
  44. "The 25 Best K-pop Albums of 2019: Critics' Picks". Billboard. December 31, 2019. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
  45. "annualkpopawards/2019 - kpop". reddit. Retrieved 2020-01-23.
  46. "결산 2019 : 올해의 음반". Idology. Retrieved 2020-02-24.
  47. Yoo Jung-na (January 5, 2020). "[2020 골든디스크]방탄소년단, 음원+음반 대상 동시 석권…"공정한 2020년 기대"(종합)" [[2020 Golden Disc] Bulletproof Boy Scouts to Dominate Music + Music Records "Fair 2020 expectations" (general)]. Sports Chosun (in Korean). Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  48. Cumulative sales for City Lights (CD+SMC):
  49. Cumulative sales for City Lights:
  50. "Oricon Weekly Album Chart" (in Korean). July 30, 2019. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
  51. "South Korean album certifications – Baekhyun – City Lights" (in Korean). Korea Music Content Association (KMCA). Retrieved June 4, 2020.
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