So Hot

"So Hot"
From left: Yeeun, Yubin, Sohee, Sunye, Sunmi
Single by Wonder Girls
from the album The 3rd Project
B-side	"This Time" "You're Out" "Tell Me (Rap Ver.)"
Released	May 22, 2008 (Digital) June 3, 2008 (Maxi single)
Format	Maxi single, digital download
Recorded	2008
Genre	K-pop, dance-pop
Length	3:03
Label	JYP Entertainment
Writer(s)	Park Jin-Young
Producer(s)	Park Jin-Young
Wonder Girls singles chronology
"Tell Me" (2007) "So Hot" (2008) "Nobody" (2008)

So Hot (The 3rd Project) is the second maxi-single by South Korean girl group, Wonder Girls. It was initially released on May 22, 2008 with the song "So Hot." Afterwards, the maxi-single was released on June 3, 2008. The single became an instant hit and quickly hit #1 on various online and offline charts.

Background

In order to promote the single, JYP Entertainment first released teaser pictures of each member in May 2008, showing the Wonder Girls in their new "sexy image". Starting with Ye-eun, pictures were released on 5 consecutive days, ending with Ahn Sohee's pictures. Following the pictures, "So Hot" was previewed on their website. During this time, there were rumours that past member Hyuna would be returning to the group; JYP Entertainment confirmed that this was not the case.^[1]

Release and promotions

"So Hot" was first given a digital release on May 22, 2008; the song topped online charts in the next few days.^[2][3] The full single was released on June 3, 2008, given the subtitle The 3rd Project. In addition to the title track, the single also contained new songs "This Time" and "You're Out" as well as the rap version of "Tell Me", which was unreleased until this point.

The Wonder Girls began their comeback performances on May 31, 2008 on MBC's Music Core, performing "So Hot" and "This Time". The members sported a brand new mature look, wearing leopard print outfits; future performances showcased varying outfits based around the print. A music video was produced for the song, showing the girls in various situations, with men instantly falling in love with them. "So Hot" became an instant hit and was the number one song on MBC's show Music Core and on SBS's Inkigayo for three consecutive weeks. Due to vocal chord problems, Kim Yubin lipsynched her parts, as per her doctor's orders,^[3] until the end of July 2008.

North American release

JYP Entertainment stated in June 2009 that "So Hot" would be the third English single for the group, after "Tell Me".^[4] On May 15, 2010, they released their second American single "2 Different Tears" (also known as 2DT), which includes "So Hot" on the tracklist.^[5]

Chart performance

The single charted at number three on South Korea's monthly album chart, selling 31,840 copies.^[6] By September 2008, the single had sold 49,499 copies.^{[7][lower-alpha 1]}

Track listing

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
1.	"So Hot"	J.Y. Park "The Asiansoul"	J.Y. Park "The Asiansoul" & Hong Ji Sang	3:03
2.	"This Time"	Hong Ji Sang	Hong Ji Sang	4:38
3.	"You're Out"	J.Y. Park "The Asiansoul" & Hong Ji Sang	J.Y. Park "The Asiansoul" & Hong Ji Sang	3:12
4.	"Tell Me (Rap Ver.)"	J.Y. Park "The Asiansoul", Mitchell John Dixon	J.Y. Park "The Asiansoul", Mitchell John Dixon, Woo Seok Rhee "Rainstone"	3:37
Total length:				14:36

Notes

1. Prior to the establishment of the Gaon Chart in 2010, previous data was complied by the Music Industry Association Korea until it disbanded in 2008.

References

1. Kim, Hyeong-u (2008-05-21). 원더걸스 전 멤버 현아,복귀 (in Korean). Paran. Retrieved 2008-05-25.
2. "원더걸스 'So Hot', 온라인 3관왕" (in Korean). Retrieved 2008-05-29.
3. "Wonder Girls’ Yu-bin Suffers Vocal Cord Injury". KBS World. 2008-05-28. Retrieved 2008-06-10.
4. (Korean) Kim, Hyeong-wu. 원더걸스 미국 데뷔 성공 가능성 얼마나 될까 (What are the Wonder Girls' Chances of Succeeding in American Debut?). Joins.com/Newsen. June 5, 2009. Retrieved June 5, 2009.
5. "iTunes - Music - 2 Different Tears by Wonder Girls". iTunes Store. Retrieved February 18, 2015.
6. 2008. 6 월 - 가요음반 판매량 [June 2008 Album Sales] (in Korean). Recording Industry Association Korea. Archived from the original on July 18, 2008. Retrieved February 18, 2015.
7. 2008년 9월 가요순위건 [September 2008 Album Sales] (in Korean). Recording Industry Association Korea. Archived from the original on February 21, 2009. Retrieved February 18, 2015.