Heroine (Sunmi song)

"Heroine" (Korean: 주인공; RR: Juingong, literally Protagonist) is a song recorded by South Korean singer Sunmi. It was released on January 18, 2018, by Makeus Entertainment and The Black Label and distributed by LOEN Entertainment, with its music video premiering the same day.

"Heroine"
Single by Sunmi
ReleasedJanuary 18, 2018
Genre
Label
Songwriter(s)
  • Teddy
  • Sunmi
Producer(s)
Sunmi singles chronology
"Gashina"
(2017)		 "Heroine"
(2018)		 "Siren"
(2018)
Music video
"Heroine" on YouTube

Following the success of her third solo release "Gashina", which articulated a cynical attitude in the aftermath of a breakup, Sunmi conceptualized "Heroine" as a prequel narrative to it. She drew inspiration from the Adrian Lyne film 9½ Weeks (1986), expressing a "show must go on" sentiment as the protagonist deals with a turbulent relationship.

Background and release

On December 18, 2017, it was revealed that the singer was preparing for a comeback with the goal to release a new song in January 2018 with no further details.[1] On January 2, an image teaser was released revealing the name as "Heroine" and the producer as The Black Label, marking her second collaboration with the YG-owned label after "Gashina". The release date was set to January 18 at 6 P.M. KST.[2] A day after, a short clip was released titled as a "prequel" to the official music video.[3] On January 3, a full schedule was released, revealing the dates for image and video teasers, starting on January 4.[4]

The song was released on January 18, 2018, through several music portals, including MelOn in South Korea.

Composition

The song was written by Sunmi and Teddy Park, and produced by Teddy alongside 24.[1] Musically, the song is noted for its Britpop and tropical house influences.

Music video

The first music video teaser was released on January 15, and shows the singer descending from a car to then show a close-up of her face.[5] A second teaser titled "Scene #2" was released a day later, and shows the singer running and dancing at the same place as the first teaser.[6] The official music video was released on January 18.

The music video was directed by the group Lumpens.[7]

Commercial performance

The song debuted at number 6 on the Gaon Digital Chart, on the chart issue dating January 14-20, 2018, topping the componing Download Chart.[8][9] In its second week, the song reach a new peak at number 2.[10]

The song also debuted at number 3 on the US World Digital Song Sales with 2,000 downloads sold.[11]

Controversy

There are concerns that the song has plagiarized Cheryl's debut solo single "Fight for This Love", which was released in 2009.[12] Sunmi's agency said that they were investigating the issue.[13] It later concluded with stating, "We unequivocally reveal that ‘Heroine’ is 100 percent an original creative work with absolutely no reference to the song that has been named in the controversy."[14]

Charts

Accolades
Year-end lists
Critic/Publication List Rank Ref.
Billboard The 20 Best K-pop Songs of 2018: Critics' Picks 10 [17]
PAPER PAPER's Top 20 K-Pop Songs of 2018 3 [18]
The Young Folks The 20 Best K-Pop Singles of 2018 1 [19]
Decade-end lists
Critic/Publication List Rank Ref.
Billboard The 100 Greatest K-Pop Songs of the 2010s 28 [20]

Awards and nominations
Year Award Category Result Ref.
2019
33rd Golden Disc Awards
 Digital Daesang Nominated [21]
8th Gaon Chart Music Awards
 Song of the Year – January Nominated [22]

Music program awards
Program Date
M Countdown (Mnet) January 25, 2018
Music Core (MBC) January 27, 2018
Inkigayo (SBS) January 28, 2018
February 4, 2018
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gollark: What if you simply do not comply with POSIX?
gollark: GTech™ C compiler makes `unsigned short`s precisely 22 bits, nowadays.
gollark: `stdint.h`, isn't it?
gollark: I am okay with visible indentation whitespace, but NOT generalized whitespace.

References
  1. 이어간다(공식입장), 선미, 내년 1월 컴백…대세 행보 (2017-12-18). "선미, 내년 1월 컴백…대세 행보 이어간다(공식입장)". 서울경제 (in Korean). Retrieved 2018-01-17.
  2. "SUNMI Credit Release". Twitter. January 1, 2018. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  3. "Scene 0 Prequel". Twitter. January 2, 2018. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  4. "SUNMI 'Plan Poster'". Twitter. January 3, 2018. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  5. "SUNMI 'MV Teaser'". Twitter. January 15, 2018. Retrieved January 18, 2017.
  6. "SUNMI 'Scene #02'". Twitter. January 16, 2018. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
  7. "Lumpens- Works". lumpens.com. Retrieved 12 September 2018.
  8. "2018년 04주차 Digital Chart" (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
  9. "국내 대표 음악 차트 가온차트!". gaonchart.co.kr. Retrieved 2018-01-25.
  10. "국내 대표 음악 차트 가온차트!". gaonchart.co.kr. Retrieved 2018-02-02.
  11. "Sunmi Earns Best U.S. Sales Week Yet With 'Heroine' Single". Billboard. 2 January 2018.
  12. Herman, Tamar (19 January 2018). "The Show Goes On With Sunmi's 'Gashina' Sequel 'Heroine' Despite Plagiarism Concerns". Billboard. Eldridge Industries. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  13. Park, Ju-young (19 January 2018). "[Trending] #Sunmi #Teddy #Heroine #plagiarism". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  14. J. K (19 January 2018). "The Black Label Responds To Accusations Of Plagiarism In Sunmi's "Heroine"". Soompi. Rakuten. Retrieved 9 May 2018.
  15. "BILLBOARD KOREA K-POP 100". Retrieved 2018-02-03.
  16. "2018년 Digital Chart" [Digital Chart – 2018] (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. Retrieved July 11, 2020.
  17. "The 20 Best K-pop Songs of 2018: Critics' Picks". Billboard. December 17, 2018. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
  18. Benjamin, Jeff (December 21, 2018). "PAPER's Top 20 K-Pop Songs of 2018". PAPER. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  19. De La Rosa, Mansanares (December 27, 2018). "The 20 Best K-Pop Singles of 2018". The Young Folks. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
  20. Billboard Staff (November 25, 2019). "The 100 Greatest K-Pop Songs of the 2010s: Staff List". Billboard. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
  21. 제34회 골든디스크어워즈 with 틱톡 후보자 _ [34th Golden Disk Awards with TikTok Nominees] (in Korean). Golden Disc Awards. December 5, 2019. Archived from the original on December 6, 2019. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
  22. Whitney, Kayla (January 9, 2019). "8th Gaon Chart Music Awards Nominees and categories". AXS. Archived from the original on July 8, 2019. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
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