Reload (EP)

Reload is the fourth extended play (EP) by South Korean boy band NCT Dream, the third sub-unit of the South Korean boy group NCT. It was released on April 29, 2020, by SM Entertainment and distributed by Dreamus. It marked the group's last record as a six-member unit following the termination of the age-based graduation system that was operated in the group. The album contains five songs including the lead single "Ridin'". Musically, the album incorporates several genres including trap, pop, hip hop, R&B and EDM. A music video for the lead single "Ridin'" was released to accompany the album release.

Reload
Digital and Ridin' version cover.
EP by
NCT Dream
ReleasedApril 29, 2020 (2020-04-29)
Genre
Length17:03
Label
NCT Dream chronology
The Dream
(2019)		 Reload
(2020)
NCT chronology
Neo Zone
(2020)		 Reload
(2020)		 Awaken the World
(2020)
Singles from Reload
  1. "Ridin'"
    Released: April 29, 2020

Upon release, the album debuted at number one on South Korea's Gaon Album Chart and became the second best-selling album of April 2020. It also charted at number two on Japan's Oricon Albums Chart and appeared on the US World Albums chart at number 7. The band further topped the Billboard Emerging Artists Chart for the first time. In June 2020, the album was certified double platinum by the Korea Music Content Association (KMCA).

Reload received generally favourable reviews from music critics, who praised the band's experimentation with diverse genres without losing their signature style. In order to promote the record, NCT Dream appeared on several music programs of South Korea, such as Music Bank, Show! Music Core and Inkigayo, where they performed material from the album. The band also performed on the world's first paid online concert series Beyond LIVE.

Background and release

Following the release of Japanese compilation album The Dream, NCT Dream went on a concert tour, The Dream Show which began on January 26, 2020, in Japan.[1] On April 14, SM Entertainment announced the release of the band's upcoming extended play Reload with six current members Renjun, Jeno, Haechan, Jaemin, Chenle and Jisun, by posting a teaser photo on the band's official website.[2] It marked the group's last record as a six-member unit following the termination of the age-based graduation system that was operated in the group.[3][4][2] The label further stated that when the promotions for the new album concludes, and NCT member Mark will rejoin the Dream sub-unit to bring back the original line-up of seven members.[4][3] The band released a crew video and an album teaser photo on April 20 and 21.[5] A poster schedule was released on April 21, containing multiple dates for the sequential release of four sets of track videos, video cuts, poster images, photo teasers and music video teasers.[6] From April 22 to 27, the band released poster images and teaser videos for the album tracks through the band's official SNS accounts.[7][8][9][10] On April 28, the music video teaser for the lead single, "Ridin'" was released.[11] The album was released on April 29, 2020, in both CD and digital formats.[12][13][14] An accompanying music video for "Ridin" was uploaded to the label's official YouTube channel, in conjunction with the album release.[15] The visual depicts the band dancing and posing inside a neon-lit, graffiti-covered "industrial" building, surrounded by colourful polished bikes and cars, which goes in line with the song's title. They maintained their signature "energetic choreography" in the dance-heavy video.[16][17]

Composition

Reload opens with the lead single "Ridin'" which has lyrics written by Jeong Jeong-won and Rick Bridges, while produced solely by Moonshine.[13] "Ridin'" has been described as an urban trap and pop song featuring a heavy bassline and an intense beat.[18][17] The song is driven by bare instrumentals over an electronic rhythm and a distant siren.[19] Lyrically, the song detail the passion and ambition to reload a new path.[20] "Quiet Down" is an EDM and hip hop song featuring "buzzing" synth loop of industrial music style.[21][19] The chorus incorporates vocal harmonies and a heavy synth chord progression as opposed to the minimalist sound of the rap verses.[13][19] "7 Days" is an R&B song with pitch-shifting keyboard chords that derives from J-pop genre. The track also builds with lo-fi elements.[21][19] "Love Again" is a hybrid of R&B and hip hop genres with '90s elements and serves as a part of the band's "love" trilogy series.[21][13][19] Throughout the track, the group chant and sing in call and response over a "steady-dance beat." The song also features a high-end synth line and some DJ-esque scratching.[19] "Puzzle Piece" is an acoustic ballad featuring guitar strums and soft vocals.[13][19] The song is further instrumented by "palm slaps" and shifting rhythm. The track was compared to the musical style of Ed Sheeran.[19] It was co-written by band members Jeno and Jaemin, with Josh Cumbee and Andrew Allen serving as producers.[13]

Promotion

A few hours prior to the album release, NCT Dream held a live session on Naver's V Live app to discuss the album.[18] On April 30, the band shared their first performance of "Ridin'" at 20:00 KST through their official YouTube channel, as a part of the video-exclusive content series "NCT DREAM The Stage".[22] The band promoted the album with performances of "Ridin'" and "Quiet Down" on various music shows, starting with KBS's Music Bank on May 1.[23] The band also promoted the songs on MBC's Show! Music Core[24] and SBS's Inkigayo.[20] In the second week of promotion, "Ridin'" won first place on Music Bank on May 8.[25] On May 10, the band performed songs from the album on "NCT Dream – Beyond the Dream Show", the third segment of Beyond LIVE, world's first paid online concert launched by SM Entertainment and Naver.[26][27][28][29][30][31] The group also appeared as guests on the May 5 episode of SBS Power FM Cultwo Show.[32]

Reception

Reviewing for South China Morning Post, Chris Gillett praised the band's ability to experiment with diverse sounds and favoured the band's musical direction. He wrote, "Reload shows NCT Dream giving themselves a bit of a reboot on their fourth mini-album, and it seems to have paid off."[19] Yoon Sang-geun of Star News described "Ridin'" as "energetic" and "dynamic", "7 days" as "refreshing" and "Puzzle Piece" as exuding warm emotions. Overall, Yoon said the album "showed the youth swap of NCT DREAM. The dynamic tempo adjustment and color in the visual beauty extracted freely made NCT DREAM more colorful. The sound and vocal lines also did not lose their trendiness, and provided a hopeful message and powerful military service without departing from the team chemistry pursued by the existing NCT."[15]

In South Korea, the album debuted at number one the Gaon Album Chart for the issue date of May 2, 2020.[33] The album sold 259,422 physical copies in two days of tracking and peaked at number two on the Gaon Monthly Album Chart for the month of April 2020.[34] In June 2020, the album received a double platinum certification from the Korea Music Content Association (KMCA), denoting 500,000 shipments.[35] The title track "Ridin'" reached number one on Korea's largest music site Melon, making it the first track released by an NCT unit to top the chart. All five songs from the EP peaked within the top 10 on Melon digital chart.[36] The album entered the US World Albums chart at number 7 for the issue date of May 7, 2020, with 2,000 equivalent album units. By doing so, the band topped the Billboard Emerging Artists Chart for the first time.[37] In Japan, the album debuted at number 36 on the Oricon Combined Albums Chart and peaked at number 3 in its second week.[38][39] It also debuted at number 7 on the Oricon Digital Album chart with 922 downloads.[40] It also debuted and peaked at number 11 on Billboard Japan's Hot Albums and at number 6 on Top Download Albums.[41][42] The album debuted at number 2 on the Oricon Albums Chart with 5,768 physical copies sold in its first week.[43] In addition, the album topped the iTunes album chart in 49 countries worldwide including the U.S. as well as topping China's largest music site QQ digital album sales chart.[44][45]

Track listing

Credits adapted from Naver

Reload[13]
No.TitleLyricsMusicArrangementLength
1."Ridin'"
  • Jonatan Gusmark (Moonshine)
  • Ludvig Evers (Moonshine)
  • Julien Maurice Moore
  • Jeremy "Tay" Jasper
  • Adrian McKinnon
  • Darius Martin
  • Hautboi Rich
  • Moonshine
3:21
2."Quiet Down"
  • Timothy "BOS" Bullock
  • Jeremy "Tay" Jasper
  • Sara Forsberg
  • Jordain Johnson
  • Zachary Chicoine
  • Timothy "BOS" Bullock
3:08
3."7 Days" (Korean: 내게 말해줘; RR: Naege Malhaejwo; lit. Tell Me)
  • Kang Eun-jung
  • Easthigh
  • minGtion
3:17
4."Love Again" (Korean: 사랑은 또다시; RR: Sarangeun Ttodasi)
  • Mike Daley
  • Mitchell Owens
  • Jeff Lewis
  • Micky Blue
  • Mike Daley
  • Mitchell Owens
3:30
5."Puzzle Piece" (Korean: 너의 자리; RR: Neoui Jari; lit. Your Place)
3:47
Total length:17:30

Charts
Chart (2020) Peak

position

Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[46] 39
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[43] 2
Japan Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[41] 11
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[47] 29
South Korean Album (Gaon)[33] 1
US World Albums (Billboard)[37] 7

Certifications
Certifications for Reload
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
South Korea (KMCA)[35] 2× Platinum 500,000*

*sales figures based on certification alone

Release history
Release formats for Reload
Region Date Format Distributor Ref.
Various April 29, 2020 Digital download SM Entertainment
[14]
South Korea
[13]
CD
[33]
gollark: It's victim-blaming.
gollark: That is a bad argument.
gollark: As a helper, I will use my blue name powers to MILDLY CRITICIZE anyone who does it.
gollark: No doxxing. Stalking bad, doxing especially bad.
gollark: <@!358508089563021317> should just not have doxxed anyone.

See also

References
  1. Jeong, An-ji (January 28, 2020). NCT DREAM, 日 첫 미니앨범 오리콘 위클리 앨범 차트 1위 [NCT DREAM, Japan's first mini-album Oricon Weekly album # 1]. Sports Chosun (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 1, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020 – via Naver.
  2. Lee, Seunghoon (April 14, 2020). NCT DREAM, 졸업無→'마크 포함' 7명 'NCT U'로 활동..29일 컴백 [공식] [NCT DREAM, no graduation → 7 people including'Mark' activity as'NCT U'.. Comeback on the 29th [Official]]. OSEN (in Korean). Archived from the original on June 23, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020 – via Naver.
  3. Heramn, Tamar (April 13, 2020). "NCT Dream Set New Album 'Reload,' Scrap Age-Based System With Return of Mark". Billboard. Archived from the original on April 14, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  4. Park, Soo-in (April 14, 2020). NCT DREAM, 새 앨범 활동 후 팀 체제 개편 "졸업없이 NCT U 형태로" [NCT DREAM reorganizes team system after new album activity 'in NCT U form without graduation']. Newsen (in Korean). Archived from the original on June 15, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020 – via Naver.
  5. Kim, Eun-Ae (April 14, 2020). NCT DREAM, 29일 오후 6시 새 앨범 공개..타이틀곡 'Ridin' 폭발적 에너지 예고[공식] [NCT DREAM unveils new album at 6 pm on the 29th.. Title song'Ridin' Announces Explosive Energy [Official]]. OSEN (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 1, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020 – via Naver.
  6. Yeon, Donghee (April 22, 2020). NCT DREAM, 새 앨범 'Reload' 스케줄 포스터 공개 [NCT DREAM unveils new album'Reload' poster]. Sports Donga (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 1, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020 – via Naver.
  7. Kyung, Jimin (April 22, 2020). NCT DREAM, 오늘(22일) '너의 자리' 트랙 비디오 공개..제노·재민 작사 참여 [공식] [NCT DREAM,'Your Place' track video released today (22th).. Participation in Jeno and Jaemin lyrics [Official]]. OSEN (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 1, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020 – via Naver.
  8. Park, Seo-yeon (April 23, 2020). NCT DREAM, 신곡 '내게 말해줘' 트랙비디오 공개..하이틴 감성 '풋풋 매력' [NCT DREAM releases new song 'Tell Me' track video.]. Herald Corporation (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 2, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020 – via Naver.
  9. Lee, Seung-rok (April 24, 2020). '사랑은 또다시'…NCT DREAM, 첫사랑 3부작 시리즈 대미 장식한다 ['Love is again'... NCT DREAM decorates the first love trilogy series]. My Daily (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 1, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020 – via Naver.
  10. Park, Soo-in (April 25, 2020). NCT DREAM 오늘(25일) 'Quiet Down' 트랙비디오 오픈 [NCT DREAM Today (25th)'Quiet Down' Track Video Open]. Newsen (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 1, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020 – via Naver.
  11. Shim, Eon-Kyung (April 28, 2020). '컴백 D-1' NCT DREAM, 'Ridin MV 티저 공개..청춘들의 거친 매력 [Oh!쎈 컷] ['Comeback D-1' NCT DREAM,'Ridin' MV teaser released..Rough charm of youth [Oh!쎈 cut]]. OSEN (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 2, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020 – via Naver.
  12. Jim, Min-kyung (April 29, 2020). NCT DREAM, 오늘(29일) 새 앨범 'Reload' 발매..'청춘 스웨그' 전파 [NCT DREAM releases new album'Reload' today (29th)..'Youth Swag' spread]. OSEN (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 3, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020 – via Naver.
  13. "Reload" (in Korean). Melon. April 29, 2020. Archived from the original on July 2, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  14. "Reload – EP by NCT DREAM". Apple Music. April 29, 2020. Archived from the original on June 2, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  15. Yoon, Sang-geun (April 29, 2020). NCT DREAM 트렌디 힙합 청춘 스웨그 'Ridin[6시★살롱] [NCT DREAM Trendy Hip-Hop Youth Swag'Ridin' [6am★Salon]]. Star News (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 1, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020 – via Naver.
  16. Rowley, Glenn (April 29, 2020). "NCT Dream Unveil High-Octane 'Ridin' Video and 'Reload' EP: Stream & Watch Now". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 2, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  17. Chakraborty, Riddhi (April 29, 2020). "Watch NCT Dream's Neon-Drenched Video for 'Ridin". Rolling Stone India. Archived from the original on July 3, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  18. Yoon, So-yeon (April 29, 2020). "NCT Dream sells 500,000 in preorders of its new EP". Korea JoongAng Daily. Archived from the original on July 1, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  19. Gillett, Chris (May 4, 2020). "NCT Dream's 'Reload' album review: Ridin' back to K-pop basics for boyband subunit". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on July 2, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  20. Park, Seo-yeon (May 3, 2020). "'인기가요' NCT DREAM, 강렬한 에너지+열정 담은 'Ridin으로 컴백" ['Inkigayo' NCT DREAM, comeback with'Ridin' with intense energy + passion]. Herald Corporation (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 1, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020 – via Naver.
  21. Kim, Eun-ae (April 29, 2020). NCT DREAM이 정의한 '청춘 스웨그', 열정으로 가득찬 강렬 질주..'Ridin' '[퇴근길 신곡]. OSEN (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 1, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020 – via Naver.
  22. Kim, Eun-ae (April 27, 2020). 'NCT DREAM 신곡 'Ridin' ' 무대 4월 30일 오후 8시 최초 공개..트렌디한 힙합[공식] [NCT DREAM new song'Ridin' stage first released on April 30th at 8pm.. Trendy hip-hop [Official]]. OSEN (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 3, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020 – via Naver.
  23. Kim, Eun-ae (May 1, 2020). '1위질주' NCT DREAM, 오늘 '뮤직뱅크' 첫 TV 컴백무대..2곡 선사[공식] ['No.1 runner' NCT DREAM, today's'Music Bank' first TV comeback stage..2 songs presented [Official]]. OSEN (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 2, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020 – via Naver.
  24. Kang, Min-kyung (May 2, 2020). '음악중심' NCT DREAM, Ridin' 청춘들의 열정 스웨그 [별별TV] ['Music Core' NCT DREAM,'Ridin' Youth's Passion Swag [Star TV]]. Star News (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 1, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020 – via Naver.
  25. Park, Soo-in (May 8, 2020). '뮤직뱅크' NCT DREAM, 오마이걸 꺾고 1위 "상상도 못했는데‥" ['Music Bank' NCT DREAM, 1st place after defeating Oh My Girl "I couldn't even imagine…"]. Newsen (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 3, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020 – via Naver.
  26. Bae, Hyo-Joo (May 5, 2020). NCT DREAM, 온라인 유료 콘서트 'Beyond LIVE' 세번째 주인공(공식) [NCT DREAM, the third protagonist of the online paid concert 'Beyond LIVE' (official)]. Newsen (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 1, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020 – via Naver.
  27. Gong, Mina (May 5, 2020). NCT DREAM, 10일 '비욘드 라이브' 출격..전 세계 팬 만난다[공식] [NCT DREAM launches'Beyond Live' on the 10th..Meet fans from all over the world [Official]]. Star News (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 1, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020 – via Naver.
  28. Park, So-young (May 5, 2020). NCT DREAM, 온라인 유료 콘서트 'Beyond LIVE' 출격..전세계 들썩 [공식] [NCT DREAM launches online paid concert'Beyond LIVE'.. [Official]]. OSEN (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 1, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020 – via Naver.
  29. Woo, Bin (May 5, 2020). "NCT DREAM, 'Beyond LIVE' 세 번째 주자 "5월 10일 생중계"" [NCT DREAM,'Beyond LIVE' third runner "Live on May 10"]. Ten Asia (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 1, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020 – via Naver.
  30. Sun, Mi-kyung (April 21, 2020). SuperM, 26일 '비욘드 라이브' 스트리밍 서비스 첫 공연 주자..특급 라인업 예고 [SuperM, the first performer of 'Beyond Live' streaming service on the 26th ..]. OSEN (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 3, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020 – via Naver.
  31. Jeon, A-ram (April 27, 2020). SuperM, 세계 최초 온라인 전용 콘서트 첫 선…109개국 지구촌 팬 '들썩' [SuperM debuts world's first online dedicated concert… 109 countries global'fans']. Xports News (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 2, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020 – via Naver.
  32. Park, Jung-min (May 5, 2020). "'컬투쇼' NCT드림, 입담도 재장전했나 #Reload #애교배틀 #목격담 (종합)" ['Curl to Show' NCT Dream, Re-Implementation Reloaded #Reload #Aegyo Battle #Sightseeing (Comprehensive)]. Newsen (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 1, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020 – via Naver.
  33. "2020년 18주차 Album Chart". Gaon Music Chart. Archived from the original on June 11, 2020. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  34. "2020년 04월 Album Chart" 2020년 04월 Album Chart [April 2020 – Gaon Album Chart]. Gaon Music Chart. Archived from the original on May 31, 2020. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
  35. "South Korean album certifications – NCT Dream – Reload" (in Korean). Korea Music Content Association (KMCA). Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  36. "'9개월만 컴백' NCT DREAM, 차트 정상+줄세우기 성공 [오늘의 1위②]". n.news.naver.com. Archived from the original on 2020-07-02. Retrieved 2020-04-30.
  37. "NCT Dream Tops Emerging Artists Chart". Billboard. 2020-05-07. Archived from the original on 2020-05-11. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
  38. "2020年04月27日～2020年05月03日 オリコン週間 合算アルバムランキング 31～40位". ORICON NEWS. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
  39. "2020年05月04日～2020年05月10日 オリコン週間 合算アルバムランキング". ORICON NEWS. Archived from the original on 2020-05-19. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  40. "オリコン週間 デジタルアルバムランキング 2020年04月27日～2020年05月03日". ORICON NEWS. Archived from the original on 2020-05-08. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
  41. "Billboard Japan Hot Albums | Charts". Billboard JAPAN (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2020-06-09. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
  42. "Billboard Japan Top Download Albums | Charts". Billboard JAPAN (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2020-06-15. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
  43. "2020年05月04日～2020年05月10日 オリコン週間 アルバムランキング". ORICON NEWS. Archived from the original on 2020-05-13. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  44. "NCT 드림, 세계 49개 지역 아이튠즈 앨범 1위". n.news.naver.com. Archived from the original on 2020-07-01. Retrieved 2020-04-30.
  45. "[DA:차트] NCT DREAM 'Reload' 아이튠즈 美 포함 전 세계 49개 지역 1위". n.news.naver.com. Archived from the original on 2020-07-01. Retrieved 2020-04-30.
  46. "Top 40 album DVD és válogatáslemez-lista – 2020. 31. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  47. "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.