Talk About S

Talk About S
EP by Gain
Released October 5, 2012
(see release history)
Recorded 2012
Genre K-pop, dance, electronic
Length 18:57
Language Korean
Label LOEN Entertainment
Producer Jo Yeong-cheol, Lee Min-soo
Gain chronology
Step 2/4
(2010)		 Talk About S
(2012)		 Romantic Spring
(2013)
Singles from Talk About S
  1. "Bloom"
    Released: October 5, 2012
  2. "Nostalgia"
    Released: November 30, 2012
Music video
"Bloom" on YouTube
"Nostalgia" on YouTube

Talk About S (stylized as Talk about S.) is the second solo extended play (EP) by South Korean singer and actress Gain. It was released on October 5, 2012, and distributed by LOEN Entertainment. The album is a contrast to her solo debut EP due to its delightful and brighter sound, "more varied palette" yet still intacts "the pervasive seductiveness" which was first introduced in Step 2/4 (2010). As executive producer, Jo Yeong-Cheol and Lee Min-soo enlisted collaborators such as KZ and Yoon Jong-shin to create the EP, featuring a total of five tracks.

Upon its release, the album debuted at number one on the Gaon Weekly Albums Chart, making it the singer's first one to do so. With a total sales of about 10,000 copies, it remains her most successful and best-selling album to date, surpassing her previous EP Step 2/4.

Two singles were released from the EP, with its lead track ultimately becoming her most successful solo single to date. An unreleased track from the album, "Nostalgia", was available as a digital single on November 30, 2012.

Background

After the release of Brown Eyed Girls' digital single "The Original", it was announced that Gain would be releasing her second mini-album in October 2012, titled Talk About S. According to Gain during an interview with Nylon in February 2013, "S" could be referred to sex, sexual or even secret, therefore "S" is a combination of those interpretations as it is "the start point for so many other words". It was also revealed during the interview that she would go "further" in this mini-album as the album was prepared with an R-19 rating due to its sexy concept which received mixed reactions from netizens.[1]

Composition

Talk About S takes influence from dance-pop and electropop, while it also interpolates other genres, such as jazz in "The Gaze" (Hangul: 시선; RR: Siseon), which features singer-songwriter Yoon Jong-shin, whom is also a co-producer of the song. Aside from the executive producer Jo Yeong-cheol, frequent lyricist Kim Eana and producer Lee Min-soo, the album also features productions from Jeong Seok-won, Postino, KZ and Junjaman, whom had previously remixed Brown Eyed Girls' single "My Style". Lyrically, the album focuses on themes such as love, sex, and relationship.
"Tinkerbell"
A 26-second sample of the song's chorus, with electric guitar elements. The song was described as "an invitation to a midnight tryst" while featuring heavy synthesized elements.
"The Gaze"
A 22-second sample of the chorus of "The Gaze". The song is the only duet in Talk About S.
Problems playing these files? See media help.

The album opens with "Tinkerbell" (Hangul: 팅커벨; RR: Tingkeobel), an IDM track features a "damaged, half-deleted" Latin guitar while running through synthesized wobbly Low-frequency oscillation chords with many "violent jump cuts", blowing riffs and a four-bar break. The lyrics, using characters such as Tinkerbell and Peter Pan as metaphors, describes "a coy invite to a midnight tryst".[2] It also featured Gain's breathy, airy vocal style which was requested by the producer.[3] The second track "Tiredness" (Hangul: 그녀를 만나; RR: Geunyeoreul Manna; also translated as "Meet Her" in Korean) is a dance-pop with R&B influences with a melodic piano, keyboard and background riffs during the chorus.

The third and also lead track, "Bloom" (Hangul: 피어나; RR: Pieona) is described as a "delightful Madonna throwback" with a funky riff, while talking about a girl became a real woman through love.[2] It was also compared to IU's "Good Day" due to having the same composing team.[3] The fourth track on the album "The Gaze" which features Gain's breathy voice, is the album's only collaboration with a jazzy influence and laid-back feelings, described as "the lethargic, tender bedroom moment",[4] while the last track "Catch Me If You Can" is an upbeat dance-pop song with bright synths and horns.

Another track "Nostalgia" (Hangul: 노스텔지아; RR: Nosteljia), a cover of Yozoh's song which features Eric Mun of Shinhwa, the same rapper of the original track, is an acoustic pop song with a mellow melody which is reminiscent of K-pop during its previous decades.

Singles

"Bloom"

"Bloom" was announced as the lead single for Talk About S after the album's track listing announcement. Written by Kim Eana and produced by Lee Min-soo, "Bloom" received positive reacts after its release. Its accompanied 6-minute long music video was released on October 5, 2012, featuring Gain performing a pole dancing.[5] The song became her first number-one on the Gaon Monthly Singles Chart. The song is Gain's best-selling single to date with almost two million digital copies, and also her co-highest charting single on the now-defunct Billboard Korea K-Pop Hot 100, peaking at number two (the other one being her next pre-release single "Fxxk U").

"Nostalgia"

A previously unreleased track, "Nostalgia" was released digitally as a thank-you gift to her fans on November 30, 2012, accompanied by a short music video, using the outtakes while filming the music video for "Bloom".[6] Upon release, "Nostalgia" debuted and peaked at number fourteen on Billboard Korea K-Pop Hot 100.

Promotion

To promote the album, various teasers were premiered online as a countdown prior to the actual release of Talk About S, also revealed the track listing of the album. The first teaser for "Tinkerbell" was released on September 25, 2012,[7] followed by "Catch Me If You Can" on September 26,[8] "Tiredness" on September 27,[9] "The Gaze" on September 28[10] and finally "Bloom" on October 4,[11] one day before the premiere of its full version.[5]

Gain made her first comeback stage on Music Bank (KBS) on October 5, 2012, the album's release date, followed by performances on Show! Music Core (MBC) and The Music Trend (SBS), performing the title track while the opening track "Tinkerbell" was performed only on the first and the third show. She then went on to appear in many television programs in order to promote the album, such as Strong Heart (SBS) and You Hee-yeol's Sketchbook (KBS).

On November 21, she performed both "Bloom" and "Tinkerbell", as well as "Tiredness" for the first time on Good Day Hope Concert. She then performed "The Gaze" for the first time on You Hee-yeol's Sketchbook with Yoon Jong-shin, which was notable for including the pole dancing during the album promotion and the tango routine as a reminiscence of her debut album, and also for a small incident during the performance when she caused the piano man to get a nose bleed.[12]

The promotion was wrapped up by her performances at 2012 Mnet Asian Music Awards (as part of the "Lady Mamalady" section with Sistar and Hyuna) and the 2nd Gaon Chart K-Pop Awards.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allkpop(mixed)[13]
Officially KMusic(favorable)[14]
SeoulBeats[15]
Hello K-Pop[16]
Pitchfork Media(positive)[2]

Upon its release, Talk About S received generally positive reviews from music critics. Jakob Dorof from Pitchfork Media called it "excellent" while praising Gain for using her solo career "to test the limits of both Korea’s mainstream music and morals". He also picked "Tinkerbell" as one of 20 songs on the essential list.[17] Jung Bae from Hello K-Pop, while describing the album as "stronger", stating that it doesn't "come close to matching the brilliance" of her debut EP. He described the album's title track as "irresistibly charming" and "genuine", while praising the performance of both Gain and Yoon Jong-shin on "The Gaze" and the "frenetic rhythm" of "Tinkerbell".[4] Samantha Her & Alona from KMusic stated that despite the album "does not live up to the fans’ expectations", it was "good enough to be kept", while praising both "Bloom" and "The Gaze" as stand-out tracks [14]

Allkpop gave a more mixed review on the album, stating that the album "falls flat" of its expectation, however choosing "The Gaze" as the album's stand-out pick and also praising her vocal ability.[13] On a somewhat more positive review of Seoulbeats, the EP "seems lacking in terms of cohesiveness", adding that it was "a lot more processing and vocal alteration", picking "Bloom" as the least favourite song of the writer.[15]

Track listing

※ Bolded tracks identify singles from the album.

CD/Digital download[18]
No. TitleLyricsMusic Length
1. "Tinkerbell" (팅커벨; Tingkeobel)Kim EanaJeong Seok-won 3:15
2. "Tiredness" (그녀를 만나; Geunyeoreul Manna)Kim EanaKZ 3:32
3. "Bloom" (피어나; Pieona)Kim EanaLee Min-soo 3:48
4. "The Gaze" (시선; Siseon, featuring Yoon Jong-shin)Yoon Jong-shinYoon Jong-shin, Postino 4:49
5. "Catch Me If You Can"  D'DayJunjaman, KZ 3:33
Total length:
 18:57
Notes
Digital download only[19]
No. TitleLyricsMusic Length
1. "Nostalgia" (노스텔지아; Nosteljia, featuring Eric Mun of Shinhwa)Bang Seung-chulKim Do-hyun 4:24
2. "Nostalgia (Instrumental)"   Kim Do-hyun 4:24
Total length:
 8:48

Charts

Chart (2012) Peak
position		 Sales
South Korean Gaon Weekly Albums Chart[20] 1
South Korean Gaon Monthly Albums Chart[22] 9

Awards and nominations

Annual music awards

Year Award Category Recipient Result
2012 2nd Gaon Chart K-Pop Awards Song of the Year – October "Bloom" Won
14th Mnet Asian Music Awards Artist of the Year Gain Nominated
Best Female Artist Nominated
Best Music Video "Bloom" Nominated
Style in Music Gain Won
22nd Seoul Music Awards Bonsang (Main Prize) "Bloom" Nominated
Popularity Award Gain Nominated
2013 10th Korean Music Awards Best Pop Song "Bloom" Nominated

Music program awards

Song Program Date
"Bloom" M! Countdown (Mnet) October 18, 2012[23]

Release history

Region Date Format Label
South Korea October 5, 2012 CD, digital download LOEN Entertainment
Worldwide[18] Digital download

References

  1. ↑ "R19+ Photos & Interview Together With Ga In". February 2013. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 "Pitchfork: 20 Essential K-Pop Songs". February 2013. Retrieved March 17, 2015.
  3. 1 2 http://www.allkpop.com/article/2012/10/ga-in-reveals-story-behind-talk-about-s
  4. 1 2 http://www.hellokpop.com/news/quick-reviews-navi-glen-check-and-ga-in/
  5. 1 2 1theK (October 5, 2012). "Gain(가인) _ Bloom(피어나) MV" (YouTube).
  6. ↑ 1theK (November 29, 2012). "Gain(가인) _ Nostalgia(노스텔지아) (Feat. Eric) MV" (YouTube).
  7. ↑ 1theK (September 25, 2012). "Gain(가인) _ TinkerBell(팅커벨) (Teaser)" (YouTube).
  8. ↑ 1theK (September 26, 2012). "Gain(가인) _ Catch me if you can (Teaser)" (YouTube).
  9. ↑ 1theK (September 27, 2012). "Gain(가인) _ Tiredness(그녀를 만나) (Teaser)" (YouTube).
  10. ↑ 1theK (September 28, 2012). "Gain(가인) _ The Gaze(시선) (Teaser)" (YouTube).
  11. ↑ 1theK (October 4, 2012). "Gain(가인) _ Bloom(피어나) (Teaser)" (YouTube).
  12. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0e9HDhS7Mo
  13. 1 2 "[Review] Ga In 'Talk About S'". Allkpop. Retrieved October 17, 2012.
  14. 1 2 Samantha Her & Alona (November 20, 2012). "Kmusic Review: Ga In’s 2nd Solo Mini Album "Talk About S"". Retrieved November 28, 2013.
  15. 1 2 "Ga In has some secrets to tell". October 6, 2012. Retrieved November 28, 2014.
  16. ↑ Jung Bae (October 14, 2012). "Quick Reviews: Navi, Glen Check, and Ga-in". Retrieved November 28, 2013.
  17. ↑ http://pitchfork.com/features/starter/9475-20-essential-k-pop-songs/1/
  18. 1 2 "iTunes - Music - Talk About S by Gain". iTunes Store. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
  19. ↑ "iTunes - Music - 노스텔지아 (Nostalgia) - Single by Ga In". iTunes Store. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  20. ↑ "South Korean Gaon Chart: Album – The 41st Week of 2010". Gaon Chart. Korea Music Content Industry Association. Retrieved April 8, 2015.
  21. ↑ Sales references for Talk About S:
  22. ↑ "South Korean Gaon Chart: Album – October 2012". Gaon Chart. Korea Music Content Industry Association. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  23. ↑ "Gain Wins First Place on Mnet "M! Countdown" with "Bloom"". KpopStarz. 18 October 2012. Retrieved 10 April 2015.

External links

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