Delight is the secondextended play by South Korean singerBaekhyun. It was released on May 25, 2020, bySM Entertainment,[3] and contains seven tracks, including the lead single, "Candy".[4] The EP is available in four versions:Cinnamon,Honey,Mint,[5] andChemistry, which was released on June 29.[6]
The album sold over 1,000,000 copies, making it the first album by a South Korean soloist to do so in 19 years, and one of thebest-selling albums in South Korea.[7]
Baekhyun debuted as a solo artist in July 2019, withCity Lights, which was commercially successful and sold over half-a-million copies in 2019.[8] On April 22, 2020, it was reported that he was preparing for a second solo album and participated in various aspects of the production process.[9] SM Entertainment later confirmed the statement and announced the release of Baekhyun's secondEP in late May.[10] On May 6, the album's title and release date were announced.[11]
SM Entertainment began releasing teasers and mood-sampler videos on May 12 through Exo's official social media accounts.[12] On May 13, the album's notable producers were revealed, consisting of South Korean producerKenzie, and American producers Mike Daley, Omega Deez and Colde.[13]
The album and its title track's music video were released on May 25 at 6PM KST both digitally and physically. On May 29, the live video for "Love Again" was released onYouTube via the SM Station channel.[14]
Delight features seven songs of different R&B subgenres. The title track "Candy" is described as afuture R&B song with addictive synth instrumentation and a trendy melody. Lyrically, it expresses Baekhyun's colourful charms like various tastes of candy including,cinnamon,mint,strawberry andbubble gum.[15] It was written by songwriterKenzie, while production was handled by Mike Daley, Mitchell Owens, DEEZA and Adrian McKinnon with additional arrangement by Yoo Yeong-jin.[16]
"I wanted to take a step further and show a different side to my fans. I wanted to incorporate more performance, which means a lot of choreography and thinking about the visuals on stage. I also tried to make this album a little brighter and fresher than City Lights."
—Baekhyun about the main difference between his albums.[17]
"R U Ridin'?" is an urban R&B hip hop song with a chilltrap-based instrumentation and melody with love-whispering lyrics that make you feel like you're driving through the downtown of a city. The third track "Bungee" is a mid-tempo R&B song with a piano melody. The lyrics are a metaphor for falling in love and swimming in the sea. "Poppin'" is characterized as an urban R&B hip hop song, with lyrics expressing the overwhelming feelings of happiness that burst out while in love. "Underwater" is a dreamy mid-tempo R&B song with lyrics about the feeling of ones heart submerged in an ocean of sadness after losing someone they loved, while "Ghost" is described as an alternative R&B song featuring lyrics about comparing a lover to a ghost in order to endure the hardships of separation from them. The last song "Love Again" is a lyrical contemporary R&B song with lyrics about longing to love a partner once more at the end of a relationship.[18][19]
An hour before the music video and album's release, Baekhyun appeared on a live broadcast through the Naver app V Live, where he promoted and discussed the album.[20] On June 3, Baekhyun won his firstShow Champion trophy with "Candy", despite not attending nor performing at the show. Baekhyun had his firstmusic show performance for the lead single onMusic Bank, followed by his promotion onInkigayo.[21] The song has since achieved a total of three trophies, tying with "UN Village" as his most winning title on such television music shows.
On May 25, 2020, Korean news media reported that pre-orders forDelight had reached 732,297 copies as of May 24, making it the most pre-ordered album by a solo artist in South Korean history.[22] Upon release, the album recorded the highest first week sales for a solo artist in Gaon chart history and debuted at number one on theAlbum Chart for the week 22 issue ending May 30.[23][24] It topped the monthly chart for May with a total of 660,826 copies sold.[25] Following the release of its Kit version on June 26,[26] the album returned to number one on the week 27 chart issue for the period ending July 4.[27]
In June,Delight surpassed 971,000 cumulative sales, making Baekhyun the first soloist to qualify for Triple Platinum certification from theKorea Music Copyright Association (KMCA).[28] On July 1, it was announced that the album had surpassed 1 million sales, making it the first album by a soloist in South Korea to do so sinceAnother Days (2001) byKim Gun-mo.[29]
Internationally, the album debuted at number five on theBillboard World Albums chart in the United States, giving Baekhyun his second top-five entry on the ranking.[30] In Japan, it charted at number 9 on theOricon Albums Chart.[31]
^엑소 백현, 두 번째 미니앨범 ‘Delight’ 25일 발매 [EXO Baekhyun to release the second mini album 'Delight' on the 25th [Official]].Sports Donga (in Korean). May 6, 2020. RetrievedMay 6, 2020 – viaNaver.
^Kim, Min-ji (May 12, 2020).'25일 컴백' 엑소 백현, 타이틀곡은 '캔디'…트렌디한 멜로디 ['25 Day Comeback 'EXO Baekhyun, Title song' Candy '… Trendy melody].TV Report (in Korean). RetrievedMay 12, 2020 – viaNaver.
^Kim, Eun-Ae (April 22, 2020).[단독] 엑소 백현, 솔로로 5월 가요계 컴백..10개월만에 또 역대급 기록 쓸까 [[Exclusive] EXO Baekhyun, Solo May comeback comeback .. Will I write another record in 10 months].OSEN (in Korean). RetrievedMay 9, 2020 – viaNaver.
^Yoon, Ki-baek (May 6, 2020).백현, 25일 솔로 컴백… "역대급 솔로가 온다" [Baekhyun, solo comeback on the 25th… "An all-time solo is coming"].Edaily (in Korean). RetrievedMay 9, 2020 – viaNaver.
^Jeong, Hee-yeon (May 13, 2020).엑소 백현 ‘Delight’, 글로벌 히트메이커 대거 참여 [EXO Baekhyun 'Delight', participated in the global hit maker].Sports Donga (in Korean). RetrievedMay 13, 2020 – viaNaver.
^Kim, Na-young (May 25, 2020).엑소 백현, 두 번째 미니앨범 선주문량 73만장 돌파…자체 최고 기록 [EXO's Baekhyun, 2nd mini album over 730,000 pre-orders…His own best record].MK Sports (in Korean).Archived from the original on July 19, 2021. RetrievedJuly 23, 2021 – via Naver.
^Lee, Jung-ho (June 4, 2020).백현·전미도, 22주차 가온차트서 나란히 2관왕 [Baekhyun and Jeon Mi-do won two awards side by side on the Gaon Chart in the 22nd week.].Star News (in Korean).Archived from the original on July 23, 2021. RetrievedJuly 23, 2021 – via Naver.
^Park, Seo-hyun (June 4, 2020).엑소 백현, 가온차트 사상 솔로 앨범 최다 판매량 기록‥역대급 행보(공식) [(Official) EXO's Baekhyun records the highest sales of a solo album in Gaon Chart history.].Herald Pop (in Korean).Archived from the original on July 23, 2021. RetrievedJuly 23, 2021 – via Naver.
^Ham, Nay-an (June 11, 2020).[DA:차트] 아이유X방탄 슈가, '에잇' 5월 가온차트 3관왕 차지 [[DA: Chart] IU X BTS Suga, "Eight" wins three Gaon Chart titles in May].Sports Donga (in Korean).Archived from the original on July 23, 2021. RetrievedJuly 23, 2021 – via Naver.
^Ham, Nay-an (June 29, 2020).[DA:차트] 세븐틴 '헹가래', 가온차트 26주차 리테일 앨범차트 1위 [[DA: Chart] Seventeen's "Hengarae", topped the 26th week of Gaon Chart's Retail Album Chart].Sports Donga (in Korean).Archived from the original on July 23, 2021. RetrievedJuly 23, 2021 – via Naver.
^Park, Se-yeon (July 7, 2020).세븐틴 '헹가래' 가온차트 6월 리테일 앨범차트 1위 [Seventeen's "Hengarae" topped Gaon Chart's June Retail Album Chart].Maeil Economic Daily (in Korean).Archived from the original on July 23, 2021. RetrievedJuly 23, 2021 – via Naver.
2020년 Album Chart.Gaon Music Chart (in Korean).Archived from the original on January 8, 2021. RetrievedJuly 23, 2021.
(See #87)2020년 7월 Album Chart [July 2020 Album Chart].Gaon Music Chart (in Korean).Archived from the original on September 1, 2020. RetrievedJuly 21, 2021.
(See #88)2020년 3월 Album Chart [March 2021 Album Chart].Gaon Music Chart (in Korean).Archived from the original on April 8, 2021. RetrievedJuly 23, 2021.
^Oh, Bo-ram (December 5, 2020)."방탄소년단, '멜론뮤직어워드' 2년 연속 대상 부문 싹쓸이" [BTS Sweeps the Grand Prize at the Melon Music Awards for the Second Year in a Row].Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). Seoul.Archived from the original on January 16, 2021. RetrievedJune 14, 2024.
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