Delight (Baekhyun EP)

Delight is the second extended play by South Korean singer Baekhyun. It was released on May 25, 2020, by SM Entertainment,[3] and features seven tracks, including the lead single, "Candy".[4] The album is available in four versions: Cinnamon, Honey, Mint,[5] and Chemistry, which was released on June 29.[6]

Delight
EP by
Baekhyun
ReleasedMay 25, 2020 (2020-05-25)
Recorded2020
StudioSM Studios, Seoul, South Korea
Genre
Length23:45
LanguageKorean
Label
Baekhyun chronology
City Lights
(2019)		 Delight
(2020)
Singles from Delight
  1. "Candy"
    Released: May 25, 2020
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
IZM[1]
SCMP[2]

The album sold over 1,000,000 copies, making it the first South Korean soloist album to do so in 19 years, and one of the best-selling albums in South Korea.[7]

Background and release

Baekhyun debuted as a solo artist in July 2019, with City Lights, which was commercially successful and sold over half-a-million copies in 2019.[8] On April 22, 2020, it was reported that he was preparing for a second solo album and participated in various aspects of the production process.[9] SM Entertainment later confirmed the statement and announced the release of Baekhyun's second EP in late May.[10] On May 6, the album's title and release date were announced.[11]

SM Entertainment began releasing teasers and mood-sampler videos on May 12 through Exo's official social media accounts.[12] On May 13, the album's notable producers were revealed, consisting of South Korean producer Kenzie, and American producers Mike Daley, Omega Deez and Colde.[13]

The album and its title track's music video were released on May 25 at 6PM KST both digitally and physically. On May 29, the live video for "Love Again" was released on YouTube via the SM Station channel.[14]

Composition

In an interview with The Recording Academy, Baekhyun explained the main differences between Delight and his first solo album, City Lights:

"I wanted to take a step further and show a different side to fans. I wanted to incorporate more performance, which means a lot of choreography and thinking about the visuals on stage. I also tried to make this album a little brighter and fresher than City Lights, so visually and performance-wise it’s different."[15]

Delight features seven songs of different R&B subgenres. The title track "Candy" is described as a future R&B song with addictive synth instrumentation and a trendy melody. Lyrically, it expresses Baekhyun's colourful charms like various tastes of candy including, cinnamon, mint, strawberry and bubble gum.[16] It was written by songwriter Kenzie, while production was handled by Mike Daley, Mitchell Owens, DEEZA and Adrian McKinnon with additional arrangement by Yoo Yeong-jin.[17]

"R U Ridin'?" is an urban R&B hip hop song with a chill trap-based instrumentation and melody with love-whispering lyrics that make you feel like you're driving through the downtown of a city. The third track "Bungee" is a mid-tempo R&B song with a piano melody. The lyrics are a metaphor for falling in love and swimming in the sea. "Poppin'" is characterized as an urban R&B hip hop song, with lyrics expressing the overwhelming feelings of happiness that burst out while in love. "Underwater" is a dreamy mid-tempo R&B song with lyrics about the feeling of ones heart submerged in an ocean of sadness after losing someone they loved, while "Ghost" is described as an alternative R&B song featuring lyrics about comparing a lover to a ghost in order to endure the hardships of separation from them. The last song "Love Again" is a lyrical contemporary R&B song with lyrics about longing to love a partner once more at the end of a relationship.[18][19]

Promotion

An hour before the music video and album's release, Baekhyun appeared on a live broadcast through the Naver app V Live, where he promoted and discussed the album.[20] On June 3, Baekhyun won his first Show Champion trophy with "Candy", despite not attending nor performing at the show. Baekhyun had his first music show performance for the lead single on Music Bank, followed by his promotion on Inkigayo.[21] The song has since achieved a total of three trophies, tying with "UN Village" as his most winning title on such television music shows.

Commercial performance

On May 25, it was reported that the pre-order sales of Delight had surpassed 732,297, making it the most pre-ordered album by a soloist in South Korean history.[22] Shortly after its release, Delight claimed its number one iTunes position in 69 countries while sweeping various domestic album charts.[23] The EP achieved an "all-kill" on Melon, making Baekhyun the first solo artist and second artist overall to achieve such status in 2020.[24] Delight went on to debut at number one on Gaon Album Chart for the week of May 30, 2020, becoming his second chart-topper. It eventually became the top-selling album of May 2020 on Gaon Album Chart with a total of 660,000 sales. Upon the release of Chemistry version, the album spent a second week atop of the chart.

In June, the album achieved a cumulative sales of over 971,000 (not counting the Kihno version), thus making Baekhyun the first solo artist to qualify for a Triple Platinum KMCA cerification. On July 1, it was announced that the album had surpassed 1 million sales, making it the first soloist album in South Korea to do since Another Days (2001) by Kim Gun-mo.[25]

The EP also attained international success by debuting at number five on the Billboard World Album Chart, becoming his second top-five entry. It also charted at number 6 on the Oricon Album Chart. In China, Delight reached a sales volume of 3 million Yuan on QQ Music on May 28, making it the first Korean album to be certified Triple Platinum this year.[26]

Track listing
No.TitleLyricsMusicArrangementLength
1."Candy"Kenzie
  • Mike Daley
  • Mitchell Owens
  • DEEZ
  • Adrian McKinnon
  • Mike Daley
  • Mitchell Owens
  • DEEZ
  • Yoo Yeong-jin
3:48
2."R U Ridin'?"Kenzie
  • Kenzie
  • Mike Daley
  • Mitchell Owens
  • Wilbart "Vedo" McCoy III
  • Mike Daley
  • Mitchell Owens
2:55
3."Bungee"jane
  • Isle
  • Royal Dive
  • Brian Cho
  • jane
  • Brian Cho
  • Royal Dive
3:27
4."Underwater" 
  • Kim Yeon-seo
  • minGtion
minGtion3:20
5."Poppin'"Kenzie
  • Jonathan Yip
  • Ray Romulus
  • Jeremy Reeves
  • Ray Charles McCullough II
  • August Rigo
The Stereotypes3:29
6."Ghost"
  • JQ
  • Mola (makeumine works)
  • Kang Eun-yu (makeumine works)
  • Klara Osk Eliasdottir
  • Alma Gudmundsdottir
  • Tony Ferrari
  • Larus Arnarson
  • Omega
  • Bram Inscore
  • Leo
  • Omega
  • Bram Inscore
3:25
7."Love Again"Colde
  • Colde
  • Stally
  • Colde
  • Stally
3:26
Total length:23:45

Charts

Weekly charts
Chart (2020) Peak
position
Japanese Albums (Oricon) 6
Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[27] 6
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[28] 23
South Korean Albums (Gaon)[29] 1
UK Digital Albums (OCC)[30] 11
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard) 13
US World Albums (Billboard) 5

Sales
Overall sales for Delight
Region Sales
China[31] 255,000
Japan[32] 10,964
South Korea[33] 1,018,617

Certifications
Certifications for Delight
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
South Korea (KMCA)[34] 3x Platinum 750,000*

*sales figures based on certification alone

Release history
Region Date Format Label
South Korea May 25, 2020
Various
  • Digital download
  • streaming
 SM Entertainment
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See also

References
  1. Lee Hong-hyun. "백현 'Delight – The 2nd Mini Album'(2020)". IZM (in Korean). Retrieved June 8, 2020.
  2. Chris Gillett. "Baekhyun's 'Delight' album review: EXO star's 2nd solo effort is standard K-pop fare". SCMP. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  3. 엑소 백현, 두 번째 미니앨범 ‘Delight’ 25일 발매 [EXO Baekhyun to release the second mini album 'Delight' on the 25th [Official]]. Sports Donga (in Korean). May 6, 2020. Retrieved May 6, 2020 – via Naver.
  4. Kim, Min-ji (May 12, 2020). '25일 컴백' 엑소 백현, 타이틀곡은 '캔디'…트렌디한 멜로디 ['25 Day Comeback 'EXO Baekhyun, Title song' Candy '… Trendy melody]. TV Report (in Korean). Retrieved May 12, 2020 – via Naver.
  5. "백현 - DELIGHT (2ND 미니앨범) [커버3종_CINNAMON VER. / HONEY VER. / MINT VER.]". Synnara (in Korean). May 6, 2020. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  6. "BAEK HYUN - Mini Album Vol.2 [Delight] (Chemisty Ver.)". Ktown4u (in Korean). June 15, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2020.
  7. "엑소 백현, 그룹 이어 솔로도 '밀리언셀러' 등극…서태지 이후 20년만". Naver. July 1, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  8. Moon, Wan-sik (May 6, 2020). [단독] 엑소 백현, 솔로로 5월 가요계 컴백..10개월만에 또 역대급 기록 쓸까 [EXO Baekhyun releases his second mini album 'Delight' on May 25]. Star News (in Korean). Retrieved May 12, 2020 – via Naver.
  9. Kim, Eun-Ae (April 22, 2020). [단독] 엑소 백현, 솔로로 5월 가요계 컴백..10개월만에 또 역대급 기록 쓸까 [[Exclusive] EXO Baekhyun, Solo May comeback comeback .. Will I write another record in 10 months]. OSEN (in Korean). Retrieved May 9, 2020 – via Naver.
  10. "엑소 백현, 솔로로 5월 가요계 컴백..10개월만에 또 역대급 기록 쓸까". Naver (in Korean). April 22, 2020. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  11. Yoon, Ki-baek (May 6, 2020). 백현, 25일 솔로 컴백… "역대급 솔로가 온다" [Baekhyun, solo comeback on the 25th… "An all-time solo is coming"]. Edaily (in Korean). Retrieved May 9, 2020 – via Naver.
  12. Hong, Hyemin (May 12, 2020). 엑소 백현, 달콤한 ‘캔디’ 선물 [EXO Baekhyun, a sweet 'candy' gift]. Hankook Ilbo (in Korean). Retrieved May 12, 2020 – via Naver.
  13. Jeong, Hee-yeon (May 13, 2020). 엑소 백현 ‘Delight’, 글로벌 히트메이커 대거 참여 [EXO Baekhyun 'Delight', participated in the global hit maker]. Sports Donga (in Korean). Retrieved May 13, 2020 – via Naver.
  14. "엑소 백현, 새 앨범 수록곡 'Love Again' 라이브 비디오 29일 공개". entertain.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved 2020-06-03.
  15. "Baekhyun On His Sweet Single "Candy" & 'Delight'". GRAMMY.com. 2020-05-29. Retrieved 2020-08-05.
  16. "'25일 컴백' 엑소 백현, 타이틀곡은 '캔디'…트렌디한 멜로디". TV Report (in Korean). May 12, 2020. Retrieved May 20, 2020 – via Naver.
  17. "Try the TIDAL Web Player". listen.tidal.com. Retrieved 2020-08-05.
  18. "엑소 백현, 새 앨범 'Delight' 하이라이트 메들리 영상 오늘 밤 12시 공개". Chosun (in Korean). May 21, 2020. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  19. "'컴백 D-5' 엑소 백현, 웰메이드 R&B로 돌아온다". Chosun (in Korean). May 20, 2020. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  20. "백현 "타이틀곡 'Candy', 도전이었던 곡..모든 부분의 디테일을 살리려 해"[V LIVE]". entertain.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved 2020-06-05.
  21. "엑소 백현, 'Candy' 컴백 무대..5일 '뮤직뱅크' 첫 방송". entertain.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved 2020-06-03.
  22. "엑소 백현, 두 번째 미니앨범 선주문량 73만장 돌파…자체 최고 기록". Naver (in Korean). May 25, 2020. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
  23. "엑소 백현, 새 앨범 'Delight' 초동 70만장 돌파". entertain.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved 2020-06-03.
  24. "Kpop tuần qua: BlackPink lộ ngày tái xuất, Baekhyun khuynh đảo đường đua với 'Candy', sub unit của Red Velvet dời ngày debut, Oh My Girl vượt mặt thành tích BTS". SaoStar.vn (in Vietnamese). 2020-06-01. Retrieved 2020-06-04.
  25. Herman, Tamar. "EXO's Baekhyun's 'Delight' Makes South Korean History With Over 1 Million Copies Sold". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-07-01.
  26. "EXO BAEKHYUN's new Album 'Delights sales gather over 3 million yuan in China's QQ Music!". www.smentertainment.com. 2020-05-29. Retrieved 2020-06-03.
  27. "Billboard Japan Hot Albums | Charts". Billboard JAPAN (in Japanese). Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  28. "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  29. "Gaon Album Chart – Week 22, 2020". Gaon Chart (in Korean). Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  30. "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  31. Delight sales:
  32. Delight sales:
  33. Delight sales:
  34. "South Korean album certifications – Baekhyun – Delight - The 2nd Album" (in Korean). Korea Music Content Association (KMCA).
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