Lion Heart (album)

Lion Heart
Studio album by Girls' Generation
Released August 19, 2015
Recorded 2015
Genre Bubblegum pop, electropop
Length 41:14
Language Korean
Label
Producer
Girls' Generation chronology
The Best
(2014)		 Lion Heart
(2015)
Singles from Lion Heart
  1. "Party"
    Released: July 7, 2015
  2. "Lion Heart"
    Released: August 18, 2015
  3. "You Think"
    Released: August 19, 2015

Lion Heart is the fifth Korean studio album by South Korean Girls' Generation. It marked their first album as an eight-member group since the departure of member Jessica in September 2014. Produced by Sean Alexander, Baby Dee Beats, Dsign Music, Kenzie, Teddy Riley, and The Underdogs, Lion Heart is musically an electropop and bubblegum pop album. The album was released in two parts throughout August 18 and 19, 2015 by S.M. Entertainment. Another version with a different cover titled You Think was released on August 26, 2015.

The album produced three singles. The lead single "Party" was released on July 7, 2015, and peaked atop the Gaon Digital Chart and at number ten on the Japan Hot 100. Follow-up singles "Lion Heart" and "You Think" were released on August 18 and 19, charting at number four and thirty on the Gaon Digital Chart, respectively. To promote the album, Girls' Generation appeared on several South Korean music programs, such as Music Bank, Show! Music Core, and Inkigayo, and performed songs from the album. The group eventually embarked on a concert tour named Girls' Generation's Phantasia, which commenced on November 21, 2015 in Seoul and visited East and Southeast Asia.

Lion Heart received mixed reviews from music critics, who opined that the album's styles were too generic and considered it a decline for the group's career compared to their previous albums. However, it was a commercial success in South Korea, peaking atop the Gaon Album Chart for two weeks and becoming the 13th best-selling album of 2015 in the country. The album also peaked atop the US Billboard World Albums Chart and charted at number 11 on the Japanese Oricon Albums Chart.

Background

South Korean girl group Girls' Generation had achieved success on the Asian music scene with hit singles such as "Gee" and "I Got a Boy" since their 2007 debut as a nine-piece girl group, consisting of members Taeyeon, Sunny, Tiffany, Hyoyeon, Yuri, Sooyoung, Yoona, Seohyun, and Jessica.[1][2] In September 2014, Jessica announced that she had been dismissed as a member of Girls' Generation by their parent company S.M. Entertainment due to her schedule conflict between the group's mutual music activities and her own fashion business Blanc & Eclare; the group continued as an eight-member group thereafter.[3] Girls' Generation subsequently announced their first release as an eight-member group–an EDM single titled "Catch Me If You Can" in March 2015.[4]

Composition

According to Slant Magazine's Anzhe Zhang, Lion Heart consists of primarily bubblegum pop songs.[5] Echoing Zhang's viewpoint, Chester Chin from Malaysian newspaper The Star wrote that the album was a collection of bubblegum pop tracks.[6] The album's opening track "Lion Heart" is a soul pop-influenced bubblegum pop song. It embraces a retro-styled sound and is instrumented by basslines and brass.[7] "Party" is detailed as an electropop and bubblegum pop song that is backed up by guitars, synthesizers and Auto-Tune.[8][9] Aside from the signature bubblegum pop sound, Lion Heart also ventures into other genres. "You Think" is characterized as an electropop and hip hop number featuring trap beats and horns in its composition.[5][10] "One Afternoon" draws influences from bossa nova and incorporates Spanish guitars,[5] while "Show Girls" is an electropop song that was originally recorded in Japanese for the group's 2014 greatest hits album The Best.[5][11] "Check" is a mild R&B track,[12] while "Sign" is described as a dark synthpop song,[12] and "Bump It" is a hybrid of various genres that incorporates hi-hat beats.[5]

Release and promotion

Girls' Generation performing at MBC's 2015 DMC Festival

On June 30, 2015, the group released music video previews of three then-forthcoming singles–"Party", "Lion Heart" and "You Think" as a promotional tool for their first Korean studio album as an eight-member group.[13] The album's details including its title Lion Heart, the release dates, the cover artwork and the tracklist were announced on August 12, 2015. The group's label S.M. Entertainment revealed that the album would be released throughout two days–the first six songs including the single "Lion Heart" would be made available on August 18, while the remaining six songs including the single "You Think" would be distributed on the following day;[14] Billboard described the release strategy as "atypical."[15] Another edition with a different cover titled You Think was also released on August 26, 2015.[16]

Following the release of the album, Girls' Generation appeared on several South Korean music programs including KBS's Music Bank, MBC's Show! Music Core, and SBS' Inkigayo to promote the album, performing "Lion Heart" and "You Think".[17] Throughout August 18–25, the group also participated and interacted with viewers through a series of mobile video live stream on Naver’s mobile application "V".[18] The group also embarked on a concert tour titled Girls' Generation's Phantasia, which kicked off on November 21, 2015 at the Olympic Gymnastics Arena in Seoul, and continued on to Japan, Thailand, Indonesia and Taiwan, respectively.[19]

Singles

"Party"
The electropop and bubblegum pop song "Party" was released as the album's lead single.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

"Party" was released as the lead single from Lion Heart; it was released for digital purchase by S.M. Entertainment on July 7, 2015.[20][21] The physical CD single was released on July 8.[22] A music video song was released in conjunction with the release of the single.[23] "Party" was a commercial success in South Korea, debuting atop the Gaon Digital Chart on the chart issue dated July 5–11, 2015, selling 256,390 digital units within its first week of release.[24] As of December 2015, "Party" has sold over 843,843 digital units in South Korea, becoming the 58th best-selling single of 2015.[25] "Party" additionally peaked at number 10 on the Japan Hot 100 and number 4 on the Billboard World Digital Songs.[26]

"Lion Heart" was serviced as the album's second single; its music video was released on August 18, 2015.[7] "You Think" served as the album's third single, and its music video was released the day following the release of "Lion Heart".[10] "Lion Heart" was added to Korean Broadcasting System's "K-Pop Connection" radio playlist on August 21,[27] while "You Think" impacted KBS radio on August 23.[28] Both songs charted on the Gaon Digital Chart, peaking at numbers 4 and 30, respectively.[29]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Slant Magazine[5]
Neo Music Community[12]
The Star[6]6/10

Upon its release, Lion Heart garnered mixed reviews from music critics. Slant Magazine's Anzhe Zhang wrote that the album was released to "quash" the suspicions that Girls' Generation was declining after the departure of member Jessica in September 2014. However, she added: "while [the album]'s great for omnivorous die-hard fans, it ultimately feels a little more than scatter-brained."[5] Chester Chin writing for Malaysian newspaper The Star praised the release of singles "Party", "Lion Heart" and "You Think" as "a promising start." Nevertheless, he disapproved of the rest of the album, dubbing it a "relatively tame offering" for "[traversing] way too quickly into filler territory" and criticized the songs "Green Light" and "Paradise" for being too "generic."[6] Kim To-hon from South Korean web portal Neo Music Community was slightly more positive towards the album, calling it "elegant" and appreciated the album's musical styles even though he felt that it was a decline compared to the group's previous albums as a nine-piece group.[12]

The album was a commercial success in South Korea. It debuted atop the Gaon Album Chart on the chart issue dated August 18–22, 2015, and remained on the top spot for a further week.[30][31] Two weeks after its debut chart appearance, it dropped 35 positions, charting at number 36.[32] Lion Heart was the best-selling album of August 2015 in South Korea, selling 131,228 physical copies.[33] Overall, the album was the 13th best-selling album of 2015 in the country, with accumulated sales standing at 145,044 copies.[34] The album also charted at number 11 on the Japanese Oricon Albums Chart on the chart issue dated August 31, 2015.[35] Lion Heart additionally peaked atop the Billboard World Albums chart, becoming the group's second number one following their 2013 album I Got a Boy.[36]

Track listing

No. TitleLyricsMusic Length
1. "Lion Heart"  Jam Factory, Joy FactorySean Alexander, Darren "Baby Dee Beats" Smith, Claudia Brant 3:44
2. "You Think"  Brandon Sammons (Massive Muzik), Sara ForsbergSara Forsberg, Dante Jones, Ryan Jhun, Denzil "iDR" Remedios 3:09
3. "Party"  Jo Yun-gyeongAlbi Albertsson, Chris Young, Shin Agnes 3:13
4. "One Afternoon" (어떤 오후)Hwang Hyun (MonoTree), Shin AgnesHwang Hyun (MonoTree), Shin Agnes 3:35
5. "Show Girls" (Korean version)MaflyRicky Hanley, Paul Drew, Greig Watts, Pete Barringer, Joe Killington, Katerina Bramley 3:39
6. "Fire Alarm"  KenzieKenzie, Trinity Music 3:11
7. "Talk Talk"  Cho Yoon-kyungMental Audio, Ylva Dimberg 3:23
8. "Green Light"  MaflyThe Underdogs, Mike Daley, Andrew Hey, Britany Burton, Rodnae "Chikk" Bell 2:52
9. "Paradise"  U.F.O (Jam Factory), MaflyNermin Harambašić, Courtney Woolsey, Charite Viken, Erik Fjeld, Saima Mian 3:50
10. "Check"  MaflyTeddy Riley, Lee Hyun-seung, Dominique Rodriguez, Daniel "Obi" Klein, Engelina Larsen 3:26
11. "Sign"  Kim Bu-minHitchhiker 3:17
12. "Bump It" (예감)Cho Yoon-kyungAnne Judith Wik, Ronny Svendsen, Uwe Fahrenkrog-Petersen, Greg Fizgerald 3:48
Total length:
 41:14

Charts

Chart (2015) Peak
position
Japan (Oricon)[35] 11
South Korea (Gaon Album Chart)[30] 1
US World Albums Chart (Billboard)[36] 1
US Heatseekers Albums Chart (Billboard)[37] 7

Year-end chart

Chart (2015) Position
South Korea (Gaon Album Chart)[34] 13

Release history

Country Date Edition Format Label
South Korea[38] August 18, 2015 Lion Heart part 1 Digital download S.M. Entertainment
August 19, 2015 Lion Heart part 2
Worldwide[39] Standard
South Korea[40][41] August 20, 2015 CD
August 26, 2015 You Think edition
Taiwan[42] March 18, 2016 Standard CD + DVD Universal Music Taiwan

References

  1. ↑ Rothman, Lily (November 4, 2013). "Who is Girls' Generation, the Group that Beat Bieber for Video of the Year?". Time. Time Inc. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
  2. ↑ Cho, Jaeki (November 13, 2011). "Girls' Generation Talk Fame, K-Pop, and World Domination". Complex. Complex Media. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
  3. ↑ S. Kwaak, Jeyup (September 30, 2014). "K-Pop Earthquake: Girls’ Generation Member Jessica Jung Ousted". Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
  4. ↑ Benjamin, Jeff (March 23, 2015). "Girls' Generation Announce First New Music Without Jessica". Billboard (Prometheus Global Media). Retrieved April 22, 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Zhang, Anzhe (August 19, 2015). "Girls' Generation: Lion Heart | Album Review". Slant Magazine. Retrieved March 31, 2016.
  6. 1 2 3 Chini, Chester (October 21, 2015). "Review: Lion Heart by Girls' Generation". The Star (Star Media Group Berhad). Retrieved March 31, 2016.
  7. 1 2 Benjamin, Jeff (August 18, 2015). "Girls' Generation Drop Sassy, Soul Pop-Inspired Single 'Lion Heart'". Billboard (Prometheus Global Media). Retrieved April 22, 2016.
  8. ↑ "title=Girls’ Generation’s ‘Party’ tops music charts in Asia". The Malay Mail (Redberry Group). July 8, 2015. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
  9. ↑ Benjamin, Jeff (June 30, 2015). "Girls' Generation Tease 3 New Singles for the Summer". Billboard (Prometheus Global Media). Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  10. 1 2 Benjamin, Jeff (August 18, 2015). "Girls' Generation Showcase Their Mature & Sexy Dancer Sides in 'You Think' Video". Billboard (Prometheus Global Media). Retrieved April 22, 2016.
  11. ↑ The Best (CD liner notes) (in Japanese). Girls' Generation. EMI Records Japan. 2014.
  12. 1 2 3 4 "Lion Heart" (in Korean). IZM. Neo Music Community. August 2015. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
  13. ↑ Benjamin, Jeff (June 30, 2015). "Girls' Generation Tease 3 New Singles for the Summer". Billboard (Prometheus Global Media). Retrieved April 22, 2016.
  14. ↑ Park Sojung (August 11, 2015). "Girls' Generation to release 5th album". Yonhap News. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
  15. ↑ Benjamin, Jeff (August 12, 2015). "Girls' Generation Reveal Retro 'Lion Heart' Album Cover, Unconventional Release Strategy". Billboard (Prometheus Global Media). Retrieved August 15, 2015.
  16. ↑ Park Ah Reum (August 11, 2015). "SNSD Undergoes Dramatic Transformation for ′Lion Heart′". Mnet. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
  17. ↑ Ahn Sung-mi (August 18, 2015). "[V Report Plus] Girls’ Generation to go live for 8 days". The Korea Herald (Herald Media Inc.). Retrieved September 16, 2015.
  18. ↑ Ko Ji-seon (August 24, 2015). "[V Report Plus] Final episode of Girls’ Generation’s show to feature bowling tournament". The Korea Herald (Herald Media Inc.). Retrieved September 16, 2015.
  19. ↑ "Review: Girls' Generation's 'Phantasia'". Korea Economic Daily (in Korean) (Economic Daily Media). November 23, 2015. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  20. ↑ "Party – Girls' Generation" (in Korean). Melon. LOEN Entertainment. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  21. ↑ "Party – Single". iTunes Store (US). Apple Inc. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  22. ↑ Ko Ji-seon (July 8, 2015). "SNSD’s ‘Party’ sweeps Asian music charts". The Korea Herald (Herald Media Inc). Retrieved July 14, 2015.
  23. ↑ "Girls' Generation & K-pop hits Koh Samui beaches". Bangkok Post (The Post Publishing). July 8, 2015. Retrieved April 22, 2016.
  24. ↑ "Download Chart: 2015.07.05 – 2015.07.11" (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. Archived from the original on July 16, 2015.
  25. ↑ "Gaon Download Chart of 2015 (Year-End)" (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
  26. ↑ Benjamin, Jeff (August 12, 2015). "Girls' Generation Reveal Retro 'Lion Heart' Album Cover, Unconventional Release Strategy". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved August 13, 2015.
  27. ↑ "Play List/Entertainment/Program". KBS International Radio. Korean Broadcasting System. August 21, 2015. Retrieved April 22, 2016.
  28. ↑ "Play List/Entertainment/Program". KBS International Radio. Korean Broadcasting System. August 23, 2015. Retrieved April 22, 2016.
  29. ↑ "Gaon Digital Chart" (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. Archived from the original on April 27, 2015.
  30. 1 2 "Gaon Album Chart: August 16–22, 2015" (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. Archived from the original on August 27, 2015.
  31. ↑ "Gaon Album Chart: August 23–29, 2015" (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. Retrieved April 22, 2016.
  32. ↑ "Gaon Album Chart: August 30–September 5, 2015" (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. Retrieved April 22, 2016.
  33. ↑ "Gaon Album Chart: August 2015" (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. Retrieved April 22, 2016.
  34. 1 2 "Gaon Album Chart: 2015" (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. Retrieved April 22, 2016.
  35. 1 2 "Oricon Weekly Album Chart". Oricon Style Magazine (in Japanese). Oricon. August 17–23, 2015. Archived from the original on August 26, 2015. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
  36. 1 2 "World Albums Chart: September 5, 2015". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
  37. ↑ "Heatseekers Albums Chart: September 5, 2015". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved August 25, 2015.
  38. ↑ "Girls' Generation Discography" (in Korean). S.M. Entertainment. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  39. ↑ "Lion Heart – The 5th Album by Girls' Generation". iTunes Store. Apple Inc. Retrieved April 23, 2016.
  40. ↑ "Girls' Generation – 5th Album / Lion Heart" (in Korean). Less Music. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
  41. ↑ "Girls' Generation 5th Album 'You Think' Version" (in Korean). Lees Music. Retrieved August 22, 2015.
  42. ↑ "Lion Heart by Girls' Generation" (in Chinese). Universal Music Taiwan. Archived from the original on April 23, 2016.

External links

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