Melting (album)

Melting is the first studio album by South Korean girl group Mamamoo. It was released by RBW on February 26, 2016 and distributed by CJ E&M Music. It contains twelve songs, including the single "You're the Best", which was used to promote the album. The album was preceded by two additional singles, "I Miss You" and "Taller Than You".

Melting
Studio album by
Mamamoo
ReleasedFebruary 26, 2016 (2016-02-26)
Genre
Length45:44
LanguageKorean
Label
ProducerKim Do-hoon
Mamamoo chronology
Pink Funky
(2015)		 Melting
(2016)		 Memory
(2016)
Singles from Melting
  1. "Girl Crush"
    Released: September 15, 2015 (2015-09-15)
  2. "I Miss You"
    Released: January 29, 2016 (2016-01-29)
  3. "Taller Than You"
    Released: February 12, 2016 (2016-02-12)
  4. "You're the Best"
    Released: February 26, 2016 (2016-02-26)

Release and promotion

On January 29, 2016, Mamamoo released the single "I Miss You" from their upcoming studio album.[1][2] On February 2, the group's agency, RBW, confirmed the album's release date.[3] A second single, "Taller Than You", was released on February 12.[4] The full track list of the album was revealed on February 18, and the album was released on February 26, along with the single "You're the Best".[5][6] The song "Girl Crush" is from the soundtrack of the video game Innisia Nest, and was originally released as a single on September 16, 2015.[7] A music video for "You're the Best" was released in conjunction with the album; in the video, the members are vacationing in Thailand and fall in the love with the employee who checks them into the hotel. The site they filmed the "You're the best " MV is "The Eugenia Spa" in Bangkok, Thailand.[8][9]

On February 25, Mamamoo held a media showcase for the album at the Yes24 Move Hall in Seogyo-dong, Seoul, as well as a fan showcase at a concert hall in Paju, Gyeonggi Province.[10][11] They began promoting on music shows that same day with a performance on M! Countdown.[6] All three singles were performed on music shows, and their February 27 performance on Show! Music Core became the most viewed video on Naver TV Cast.[12] On March 6, the group won their first music show award on Inkigayo for "You're the Best".[13] They also won awards on Show Champion, M! Countdown, and Music Bank that same week.[14][15] On March 16, they performed at K-Pop Night Out at SXSW in Austin, Texas.[16][17]

Composition

The album was produced by RBW's CEO Kim Do-hoon, and all four Mamamoo members participated in songwriting.[6] "Taller Than You" is a hip hop song with a trap beat drop, written by Kim with lyrics co-written with Moonbyul, Solar, and Hwasa. The song is a comical rap battle inspired by the members' height difference of one centimeter.[4][18] "Words Don't Come Easy" is jazz-influenced song with a bossa nova melody written by Kim and Park Woo-sang, with additional lyrics writing by Esna.[19] "You're the Best" is a dance song with a "retro groove", with three key and tempo changes.[12] It was written by Kim, with lyrics by Moonbyul and Solar, and music by Duble Sidekick. "Friday Night", featuring Junggigo, is an uptempo R&B song written by Park, with additional lyrics by Moonbyul. "My Hometown" is a holiday-themed song with lyrics by Kim and Mamamoo, and music by Kim and Solar.[20] It was the first song with lyrics by all four members, and they said it was not easy to put their feelings into it.[6]

"Emotion" is a medium-tempo song written by Cosmic Sound and Cosmos, with lyrics by Moonbyul. "I Miss You" is an R&B ballad written by Cosmic Sound, Hwang Yoo-bin, and Moonbyul, with music by Kim. "Funky Boy" is upbeat, retro-inspired song with lyrics by Yoon Hye-joo and music by Daniel Palm and Ellen Berg Tollbom. "Recipe" was written by Park, Solar, and Hwasa, with additional lyrics by Moonbyul and music by Kim. "Cat Fight" was written by Lee Hoo-sang, with music co-composed by S2REN and additional lyrics by Hwang and Moonbyul. "Recipe" and "Cat Fight" are both retro style songs that fit into the doo-wop and swing genres.[18] "Just" is a "soulful" ballad written by Park, and "Girl Crush" is an upbeat song written by Park, with lyrics co-written by Jang Yoon-seo.

Reception
Mamamoo performing at K-Pop Night Out at SXSW in March 2016

Melting entered the Gaon Album Chart at number three, and peaked at number two the following week.[21][22] It also charted at number eight on the Billboard World Albums chart.[23] It was the sixth best selling album in South Korea during the month of February, selling 18,295 physical copies.[24] As of May 2016, it has sold more than 32,000 units.[25] "I Miss You" peaked at number seven on the Gaon Digital Chart the week of February 7, and "Taller Than You" peaked at number five the following week.[26][27] "You're the Best" topped the chart the week of February 28,[28] and "Friday Night", "Words Don't Come Easy", and "Emotion" also charted.[29] The music videos for "Taller Than You" and "You're the Best" were the fourth and seventh most viewed K-pop music videos worldwide during the month of February.[30]

Music critics gave the album generally positive reviews. Tamar Herman, writing for Billboard, said the album "brings a retro soul feel back to the K-pop world, heralding the Korean quartet's rise to the top ranks of the girl group hunger games".[18] She described it as an atypical K-pop album, which takes the "tunes of yesterday and gives them a modern feel". She commended the group for trying a different style with "Taller Than You" and said they pulled off the humorous lyrics to "pure perfection". About "You're The Best", she said it was Mamamoo's answer to "Lady Marmalade" and "makes the most of each members' distinct vocal colors". In conclusion, she said the group "simply shines in a way not seen by most K-pop girl groups".[18]

Fuse's Jeff Benjamin said "You're the Best" was possibly the group's best single and music video to date, and described the song as having a "throwback style" blended with "feel-good bubblegum pop". He also noted the group's vocal cohesion and "on-point harmonies", and said the music video showcased their "fun personalities".[9] After seeing Mamamoo's performance at the SXSW music festival, American singer-songwriter Siedah Garrett said she would love to work on the group's next project, and Hollywood actress Chloë Grace Moretz praised "Taller Than You" on Twitter after seeing a performance on Korean television.[13]

Track listing
No.TitleLyricsMusicArrangementLength
1."Taller Than You" (Korean: 1cm의 자존심; RR: 1cm-ui Jajunsim, lit. "Pride of 1cm")
Kim
  • Kim
  • Park Woo-sang
3:04
2."Words Don't Come Easy" (우리끼리; Urikkiri)
  • Kim
  • Park
Park3:56
3."You're the Best" (넌 is 뭔들; Neon is Mwondeul)
  • Kim
  • Moonbyul
  • Solar
Kim3:50
4."Friday Night" (금요일밤; Geumyoilbam) (featuring Junggigo)
  • Park
  • Moonbyul
ParkPark3:22
5."My Hometown" (고향이; Gohyang-i)
  • Kim
  • Solar
Kim3:21
6."Emotion"
  • Cosmic Sound
  • Cosmos
  • Moonbyul
  • Cosmic Sound
  • Cosmos
  • Cosmic Sound
  • Cosmos
  • Kang Min-hoon
3:27
7."I Miss You"
  • Cosmic Sound
  • Hwang Yoo-bin
  • Moonbyul
KimLee Hyeon-seung4:16
8."Funky Boy"Yoon Hye-joo
  • Daniel Palm
  • Ellen Berg Tollbom
Park3:35
9."Recipe" (나만의 Recipe; Naman-ui Recipe)
  • Solar
  • Hwasa
  • Moonbyul
  • Park
  • Kim
  • Park
  • Solar
  • Hwasa
  • Kim
  • Park
2:49
10."Cat Fight" (고양이; Goyang-i, lit. "Cat")
  • Hwang
  • Lee Hoo-sang
  • Moonbyul
  • Lee Hoo-sang
  • S2REN
Lee Hoo-sang3:26
11."Just"ParkParkPark3:41
12."Girl Crush"
  • Jang Yoon-seo
  • Park
ParkPark3:08
13."You're the Best" (Instrumental) 
  • Kim
  • Duble Sidekick
Kim3:49
Total length:45:44

Charts

Other Charted songs
Title Year Peak chart positions
KOR
[38]		 KOR
Hot
[39]
"Friday Night" (금요일밤)
(feat. Junggigo)		 2016 52*
"Words Don't Come Easy" (우리끼리) 84
"Emotion" 91
"Hometown" (고향이) 115
"Funky Boy" 116
"Recipe" (나만의) 123
"Just" 124
"Cat Fight" (고양이) 128

Awards
Year Award Category Recipient
2016 Gaon Chart Music Awards Song of the Year (February) "You're the Best"
2017 Golden Disc Awards Digital Bonsang

Music programs
Program Song Date
The Show (SBS MTV) "You're the Best" March 15, 2016
Show Champion (MBC Music) March 9, 2016
March 16, 2016
M Countdown (Mnet) March 10, 2016
Music Bank (KBS) March 11, 2016
March 18, 2016
Inkigayo (SBS) March 6, 2016
March 13, 2016

Accolades
Decade-end lists
Publication Accolade Work Rank / Year Ref.
Billboard The 25 Greatest K-Pop Albums of the 2010s: Staff List Melting
7
[40]
The 100 Greatest K-Pop Songs of the 2010s "You're the Best"
32
[41]
gollark: Quite possibly.
gollark: So what other months is this month then?
gollark: Yes, I suppose month multiplexing *could* be done?
gollark: Not really. As I said, there are 12 months and unfathomably vast amounts of causes.
gollark: It also doesn't, in my opinion, encourage good problem solving methodology, due to verbosity and a poor type system.

References
  1. Yi, Hajin Lily (June 10, 2016). "[Kpopo Spotlight] MAMAMOO to return with a FULL ALBUM this February". Korea Daily. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
  2. Ahn, Woorim (January 29, 2016). "MAMAMOO Sweeps Korean Music Charts with Its Pre-Single 'I Miss You'". BNT News. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
  3. Ahn, Woorim (February 2, 2016). "MAMAMOO to Release Its First Official Album on February 26". BNT News. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
  4. Shin, Kim Young (February 12, 2016). "MAMAMOO Tops Music Charts with Its Pre-Single". BNT News. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
  5. Kim Dong-Joo (February 17, 2016). "MAMAMOO reveals their new track list". StarN News. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
  6. Chung Joo-won (February 26, 2016). "MAMAMOO can sing, knows its true colors". Yonhap News Agency. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
  7. "이니시아 네스트 Innisia Nest (Original Game Soundtrack) – Single by MAMAMOO on iTunes". iTunes. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
  8. Ahn Sung-mi (February 17, 2016). "Mamamoo films music video in Thailand". K-Pop Herald. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
  9. Benjamin, Jeff (February 29, 2016). "MAMAMOO Get Funky, Funny With 'You're the Best'". Fuse. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
  10. Lee Jun-Hyeun (May 13, 2016). "[Photo] MAMAMOO @ their comeback showcase in Seoul". StarN News. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
  11. Jo He-rim (May 8, 2016). "[V Report] Park Hae-jin meets fans in Myeong-dong". K-Pop Herald. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
  12. Kim Dong-Joo (February 28, 2016). "MAMAMOO successfully finishes their comeback performances". StarN News. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
  13. Kim Jae-heun (March 21, 2016). "MAMAMOO wants to collaborate with Jay Z". The Korea Times. Retrieved June 11, 2016.
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  15. Jeong Byung-ki (March 19, 2016). "Mamamoo climbs high on chart". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
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