Sparkling Night

Sparkling Night (stylized SPARKLING NIGHT) is the debut Japanese-language solo studio album by South Korean guitarist and CNBLUE member Lee Jong-hyun. It was released on July 27, 2016, under Warner Music Japan.

Sparkling Night
Regular Edition cover
Studio album by
Lee Jong-hyun
ReleasedJuly 27, 2016 (2016-07-27)
Recorded2014–2016
Length38:21
LanguageJapanese
LabelWarner Music Japan
Lee Jong-hyun chronology
Sparkling Night
(2016)		 Metropolis
(2018)
Singles from Sparkling Night
  1. "Moonlight Swing"
    Released: July 13, 2016

Background and development

Two years prior to the release of the album, Lee composed a blues song; his bandmates encouraged him to utilize the song for his solo album.[1] In expressing his desire to release music independent from CNBLUE, Lee expected to collaborate with a different band instead of releasing a solo album.[2] He worked with several composers in order to include a multitude of sounds which deviated from CNBLUE's music.[3] Lee asked bandmate Jung Yong-hwa to compose a song for the album, which did not come to fruition due to Jung's filming schedule.[1]

The lead single for Sparklight Night was determined by the record label via voting between two songs; "Moonlight Swing" was ultimately selected.[1][2]

Music structure

Dealing with eternal love, "Moonlight Swing" is a swing music song which incorporates elements of big band and emits a "fairy tale-like" atmosphere.[1][2][3] Initially a song about remaining "pure and honest like Peter Pan", Lee made the decision to change "Moonlight Swing" into a love song in order to create a more relatable track.[4]

Release and promotion

Sparkling Night was announced as Lee's debut Japanese-language studio album on June 8, 2016, with a release date of July 27.[5] Upon the announcement of the album, a "special" website was introduced where further information would be revealed.[5] A 20-second preview of the music video for "Moonlight Swing" was uploaded on Lee's Instagram account on June 17, 2016; the full music video was uploaded on Warner Music Japan's YouTube channel three days later.[6] On June 22, the record label also uploaded an album digest.[7] A teaser for the lyric video for "Smile" was published on July 11 prior to its full release three days later.[8] "Moonlight Swing" was made available at digital retailers on July 13.[9]

Sparkling Night was released on July 27 in three editions: Regular Edition; Limited Edition with bonus DVD content that includes the music video and making of "Moonlight Swing"; and Boice Limited Edition that includes a set of Lee and guitar pin badges.[5]

Lee embarked on the 1st Solo Concert in Japan "Welcome to Sparkling Night" tour, his first series of solo concerts. The first two concerts took place from August 9–10 at the Osaka International Convention Center in Osaka, followed by a concert on August 13 at the Nagoya Congress Center in Aichi, and two final concerts from August 17–18 at the Tokyo International Forum in Tokyo.[10][11]

Commercial performance

On the chart dated August 8, 2016, Sparkling Night debuted at number seven on the weekly Oricon Albums Chart, selling 12,583 copies in its first week.[12] On the same issue date, it debuted at number nine on Billboard Japan magazine's Hot Albums.[13] It has sold 13,529 copies in the country since its release.[14]

Track listing
Track listing[15]
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Shine Drop"Lee Jong-hyun, LillaMagnus Funemyr3:38
2."Pina Colada"Lee Jong-hyun, HasegawaAlexander Holmgren, Andreas Stone Johansson, Jeff Franzel3:39
3."Moonlight Swing"Lee Jong-hyun, miwaJosef Melin, Christofer Erixon4:22
4."Smile"Lee Jong-hyun, Hajime WatanabeWarren Meyers, Mike Peters, Jenna Donnelly, Jamie Sellers, Airto Edmundo Nicolaas3:51
5."I Just Need a..."Lee Jong-hyunLee Jong-hyun3:56
6."I Love You"Yutaka OzakiYutaka Ozaki5:28
7."Nothing"Lee Jong-hyunLee Jong-hyun3:36
8."Hate You"Lee Jong-hyunLee Jong-hyun3:03
9."Call Me"Lee Jong-hyun, HasegawaSteven Lee, Andreas Carlsson, Fredrik Hult, Andreas Öberg3:08
10."Show Me More"Lee Jong-hyunLee Jong-hyun3:40
Total length:38:21
Limited Edition – bonus DVD content
No.TitleLength
1."Moonlight Swing" (music video) 
2."Moonlight Swing" (making movie) 

Charts
Chart (2016) Peak
position
Billboard Japan Hot Albums[13] 9
Oricon Albums Chart[12] 7
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References
  1. イ・ジョンヒョン (from CNBLUE). Hanryu Pia. Japan: PIA Corporation. August 2016.
  2. "Lee Jong-hyun from CNBLUE". Hanako. Japan: Magazine House. August 2016.
  3. "Steady Culture File: Interview 1". Steady. Japan: Takarajimasha. August 2016.
  4. Goto, Ryoko (August 2016). "Star Gravure: Special Interview". Haru Hana. Japan.
  5. イ・ジョンヒョン（from CNBLUE）、ソロアルバム「SPARKLING NIGHT」7/27発売. Musicman-NET (in Japanese). F.B.Communications, Magnet Company. June 8, 2016. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
  6. イ・ジョンヒョン（from CNBLUE） 自身のInstagramでソロ楽曲のMV解禁. Excite (in Japanese). Excite Japan Company. June 17, 2016. Retrieved June 17, 2016.
  7. 7/27発売イ・ジョンヒョン（from CNBLUE）1st AL「SPARKLING NIGHT」収録曲全曲ダイジェスト公開！. CNBLUE Official Website (in Japanese). FNC Music Japan. June 22, 2016. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
  8. 1stソロアルバム『SPARKLING NIGHT』収録曲「Smile」Lyric movie先行Teaser公開！（イ・ジョンヒョン） (in Japanese). Warner Music Japan. July 12, 2016. Retrieved July 22, 2016.
  9. リード曲「Moonlight Swing」、7月13日より配信スタート！iTunesではアルバム予約開始！（イ・ジョンヒョン） (in Japanese). Warner Music Japan. July 12, 2016. Retrieved July 22, 2016.
  10. イ・ジョンヒョン(from CNBLUE)、ソロアルバムヴィジュアル一挙公開＆東名阪でソロコンサート今夏開催. Musicman-NET (in Japanese). F.B.Communications, Magnet Company. June 15, 2016. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
  11. イ・ジョンヒョン（from CNBLUE） ソロアルバムのヴィジュアルを公開、ソロライブ3公演も開催. Excite (in Japanese). Excite Japan Company. June 15, 2016. Retrieved June 15, 2016.
  12. オリコン週間 CDアルバムランキング 2016年07月25日～2016年07月31日. Oricon Style (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
  13. "Billboard Japan Hot 100". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Hankyu Hanshin Holdings. Retrieved August 3, 2016.
  14. オリコンランキング情報サービス「you大樹」　－CD・ブルーレイ・DVD・書籍・コミック－. Oricon Style (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved August 19, 2016.
  15. Sparkling Night (liner notes). Lee Jong-hyun. Warner Music Japan. 2016. 1050381364.CS1 maint: others (link)
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