Rookie (EP)

Rookie is the fourth extended play by South Korean girl group Red Velvet. It was released on February 1, 2017, by SM Entertainment. The album contains six tracks, including its lead single of the same name.

Rookie
Digital International and SeulGi version cover
EP by
Red Velvet
ReleasedFebruary 1, 2017
Recorded2016
Genre
Length22:42
LanguageKorean
Label
Red Velvet chronology
Russian Roulette
(2016)		 Rookie
(2017)		 The Red Summer
(2017)
Singles from Rookie
  1. "Rookie"
    Released: February 1, 2017
Alternative artwork
Digital Korean artwork[2]

The mini-album was a commercial success, topping the Gaon Album Chart and Billboard's World Albums.

Background and release

On January 20, 2017, an SM Entertainment representative revealed that Red Velvet is planning on making a comeback in February.[3] Four days later, the first batch of teasers were released through SM Entertainment's official website and their official Instagram account, with the release date shown on one of the photos.

The members briefly discussed their upcoming album which is revealed to be an extended play on the Naver app V Live.[4][5]

The album was released in two formats physically-one being CD and another being Kihno kit. Each format has five different versions of album cover, each features a different member.

Composition

Billboard described the title track "Rookie" as a "pop-funk single that draws on Red Velvet's unconventional musicality to combine low-key sing-speaking and synth beats before blasting into the saccharine hook of a chorus". The song was composed by Jamil 'Digi' Chammas, Leven Kali, Sara Forsberg, Karl Powell, Harrison Johnson, Russell Steedle, MZMC, Otha 'Vakseen' Davis III and Tay Jasper with lyrics by Jo Yoon-kyung and was produced by The Colleagues.[6]

"Little Little" is an R&B pop song written by Gifty Dankwah & Bruce Fielder and was penned by JQ, Jo Min-yang of Makeumine Works and Park Sung-hee of Jam Factory. "Happily Ever After" is a pop dance track composed by Sebastian Lundberg, Fredrik Haggstam, Johan Gustafsson, Courtney Woolsey and Deez with lyrics by Song Carrot of Jam Factory. "Talk to Me" is a mid-tempo song composed by Kervens Mazile, Annalise Morelli, Alina Smith & Mats Ymell and was penned by Lee Seu-ran of Jam Factory. "Body Talk" is an R&B pop song written by Sebastian Lundberg, Fredrik Haggstam, Johan Gustafsson & Ylva.Dimberg with lyrics by Misfit & Jo Yoon-kyung. The last track "마지막 사랑 (Last Love)" is a solo by member Wendy with arrangement by Don Spike. It is a remake of a romantic ballad by Eco from their third album which was released in 1999.[7]

Promotion

Hours before the music video and album's release, the group appeared on a live broadcast through the Naver app 'V Live' where they promoted and discussed the album. The group performed the song for the first time on KBS' Music Bank on February 3, 2017[8] and also appeared on Show! Music Core, Inkigayo and performed on The Show, Show Champion and M Countdown the following week. The group also appeared on the Arirang show After School Club on February 7.

Reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
IZM[9]
The Star8/10[10]

Billboard called the title track "Rookie" a "quirky, funk-driven dance track with an unforgettable earworm of a hook".[11] While The Star's Chester Chin thought that "Rookie" was the album's weakest track, he praised the rest of the album and noted that the group has finally found the perfect balance between their 'Red' and 'Velvet' sound, something he believed the group had been struggling with. He commented that it was the right mix of "saccharine and sophisticated" with its fun pop numbers and heartfelt ballads.[10] According to The Korea Herald, Red Velvet's songs are known for being "weird at first, but addictive later" and "Rookie" is not an exception.[12] Idolator chose it as the best k-pop song of the first quarter of the year.[13] In 2017, Billboard put "Body Talk" at #10 on their '40 Best K-Pop Deep Cuts of the Decade So Far' list.[14]

Rookie entered atop the Gaon Album Chart on the chart issue dated January 20 - February 4, 2017.[15] The title track also charted at No. 4 on the Gaon Singles Chart and rose to No. 3 a week later. [16] The other five tracks in the album also charted. The album topped Billboard's World Albums Chart and charted at No. 21 on its Heatseekers Album Chart.[17] The group won their first music show trophy on The Show on February 7 and later won on Show Champion, M Countdown, Music Bank and Inkigayo for two consecutive weeks.[12]

Track listing

Credits adapted from Naver

Rookie
No.TitleLyricsMusicArrangementLength
1."Rookie"
  • Jamil "Digi" Chammas
  • Leven Kali
  • Sara Forsberg
  • Karl "KP" Powell (The Colleagues)
  • Harrison Johnson (The Colleagues)
  • MZMC
  • Otha "Vakseen" Davis III
  • Jeremy "Tay" Jasper
  • The Colleagues
  • Jamil "Digi" Chammas
3:17
2."Little Little"
3:59
3."Happily Ever After"
  • Sebastian Lundberg (Trinity Music)
  • Fredrik Häggstam (Trinity Music)
  • Johan Gustafsson (Trinity Music)
  • Courtney Woolsey
  • Deez
3:21
4."Talk to Me"
  • Kervens Mazile
  • LYRE
  • Mats Ymell
3:32
5."Body Talk"
  • Sebastian Lundberg (Trinity Music)
  • Fredrik Häggstam (Trinity Music)
  • Johan Gustafsson (Trinity Music)
  • Ylva Dimberg (The Kennel)
  • Trinity Music
  • Ylva Dimberg (The Kennel)
3:39
6."Last Love" (Korean: 마지막 사랑; RR: Majimak Sarang) (Wendy solo)
  • John Hyunkyu Lee
  • Park Geun-tae
4:54
Total length:22:46

Charts

Accolades

Annual music awards
Year Award show Category Nominated work Result
2017 Melon Music Awards Best Song Award Rookie (song) Longlisted
2018 Gaon Chart Music Awards Song of the Month (February 2017) Nominated

Music program awards
Song Program Date
"Rookie"
The Show (SBS MTV) February 7, 2017
Show Champion (MBC Music) February 8, 2017
M Countdown (Mnet) February 9, 2017
Music Bank (KBS) February 10, 2017
Inkigayo (SBS) February 12, 2017
Show Champion (MBC Music) February 15, 2017
M Countdown (Mnet) February 16, 2017
Music Bank (KBS) February 17, 2017
Inkigayo (SBS) February 19, 2017

Release history
Region Date Format Label Ref.
South Korea February 1, 2017
[20]
Various Digital download SM Entertainment [21]
gollark: As planned.
gollark: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Newton%27s_flaming_laser_sword
gollark: Roughly.
gollark: Newton's flaming laser sword is great, I agree.
gollark: Not that "reality" is well-defined.

References
  1. "Rookie - The 4th Mini Album". www.melon.com.
  2. "Rookie - The 4th Mini Album". www.melon.com.
  3. Yoon, Sang-geun (January 20, 2017). "레드벨벳이 돌아온다..SM "2월 컴백 확정"(공식입장)". Newsen (in Korean). Star News. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  4. Seon, Mi-kyung (January 24, 2017). "레드벨벳, '루키'로 2월1일 컴백 확정..오늘밤 '작전타임' V라이브". Chosun (in Korean). Osen. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  5. Kim, Su-jeong (January 24, 2017). "레드벨벳 "팀워크, 지금보다 더 좋을 수 없다"(V앱)". Ilgan Sports (in Korean). Star News. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  6. Herman, Tamar (January 31, 2017). "Red Velvet Discovers Pop Wonderland in 'Rookie' Music Video: Watch". Billboard. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
  7. lee, Ha-na (January 31, 2017). "'컴백' 레드벨벳, 오늘(31일) 밤 12시 신곡 'Rookie' 음원·뮤직비디오 동시 공개". Seoul Kyungje (in Korean). Osen. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
  8. "레드벨벳, 2월 3일 '뮤직뱅크'서 신곡 '루키' 최초 공개". The Herald (in Korean). January 26, 2017. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
  9. Lee, Ki-seon (February 2017). "Rookie". IZM (in Korean). Retrieved February 25, 2017.
  10. Chin, Chester (February 23, 2017). "Review: Rookie by Red Velvet". The Star. Star Media Group Berhad. Retrieved February 25, 2017.
  11. Benjamin, Jeff (February 7, 2017). "Red Velvet Earns Second No. 1 on World Albums With 'Rookie'". Billboard. Retrieved February 25, 2017.
  12. "Red Velvet's song is once again 'weird at first, addictive later'". The Korea Herald. February 20, 2017. Retrieved February 25, 2017.
  13. "From Red Velvet To BTS, The Best K-Pop Songs Of Q1". Idolator. April 17, 2017. Retrieved August 12, 2017.
  14. "The 40 Best K-Pop Deep Cuts of the Decade So Far: Critics' Picks". Billboard. December 1, 2017. Retrieved December 2, 2017.
  15. "국내 대표 음악 차트 가온차트!". gaonchart.co.kr. Retrieved 2017-02-09.
  16. "2017년 05주차 Digital Chart". gaonchart.co.kr. Retrieved February 25, 2017.
  17. "World Albums - FEBRUARY 18, 2017". Billboard. February 8, 2017. Retrieved February 8, 2017.
  18. "CDアルバムランキング - 2017年02月13日付". Retrieved February 25, 2017.
  19. South Korea's Monthly Gaon Albums Chart (in Korean) Originally from Gaon Music Chart (February 2017). Retrieved on August 12, 2017.
  20. "Rookie – The 4th Mini Album by Red Velvet". Melon. Retrieved February 2, 2017.
  21. "Rookie – The 4th Mini Album by Red Velvet". iTunes Store. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
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