Fiction and Fact is the firststudio album by South Korean boy bandBeast. It was released on May 17, 2011, byCube Entertainment and contains 10 songs, including the singles "On Rainy Days" and "Fiction".[1][2] The album peaked at number one on theGaon Album Chart[3] and was the fifth best-selling album of 2011 in South Korea, selling over 142,000 copies by the end of the year.[4][5]
On May 9, 2011,Cube Entertainment announced on its website that Beast would release their first studio album on May 17, 2011. The label said the album had the dramatic structure of a novel and would showcase "luxurious" musical arrangements.[1][8]
Fiction and Fact includes 10 songs which range from emotional ballads to fast dance tracks.[9]
The album's pre-release single, “On Rainy Days", is a guitar-backed ballad about heartbreak that the group reportedly actually recorded on a rainy day.[10] A company representative said, "While Beast was singing this song, all the members were emotional and shed tears", adding, "The recording was stopped several times due to continuous tears".[11] The song was written and produced by Choi Gyu-seong ofBlack Eyed Pilseung.[12]
The lead single "Fiction" was written and produced by Choi Gyu-seong andShinsadong Tiger, the latter of whom previously wrote the Beast singles "Bad Girl" and "Shock".[12][13] "Fiction" is a dance song that combines "addictive piano riffs" with the melody of a ballad.[9] It tells the story of a man who can't accept a break-up so he writes a novel to continue his love story alone.[14]
Album track "Freeze" was co-written and co-arranged by Beast memberYong Jun-hyung alongside Shinsadong Tiger.[15]
On May 12, 2011, “On Rainy Days" was released as a digital single.[11] On May 17,Fiction and Fact was released in physical and digital forms, followed by a music video for the album's lead single "Fiction".[2] The video, which was dubbed a "music drama", features actressPark Bo-young playing the former lover of Beast memberYong Jun-hyung.[16]
Beast began promotions forFiction and Fact on May 19 onMnet‘sM Countdown, where they performed "On Rainy Days" and "Fiction". In order to capture the feelings of these two very different songs, theM Countdown staff prepared two different stage sets. For the performance of "On Rainy Days", they built an atmosphere simulating rain, while they created an unrealistic, dreamlike stage for "Fiction".[17]
A week later, on May 26, Beast won their first first-place award for "Fiction" onM Countdown and subsequently won first place for the show's June 2 and June 9 episodes.[18] They also won first place on KBSMusic Bank's May 27 episode for "On Rainy Days", while "Fiction" won first place on the show's June 3 and June 10 episodes.[citation needed] Their title track also won first place on SBSInkigayo's June 5 and June 12 episodes.
Beast ended their Korean promotions forFiction or Fact on June 19 on SBSInkigayo in order to promote their second Japanese single, "Bad Girl", in Japan.[19]
Fiction and Fact entered theGaon Album Chart at the number four spot,[20] peaking two weeks later at number one.[3] It was the chart's number one album of May 2011, with 90,000 copies sold,[21] and the fifth best-selling album of 2011 in South Korea.[4] As of the end of 2013,Fiction and Fact has sold 164,264 copies.[22]
On July 14, 2011, Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (MOGEF) placed a ban on "On Rainy Days" because it “contained content that’s harmful to youth”. The agency cited the line "I think I'm drunk, I should stop drinking" as possibly encouraging young listeners to drink.[27] In response to the ban, memberYang Yoseob posted on his Twitter, "I think I'm going to start singing children songs. I need Tylenol" then added, "This is just too much. Sigh... we can't perform with this song, agh".
On August 25, 2011, Cube Entertainment filed a lawsuit against the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, requesting that they nullify the ban on the song.[28] A Cube representative stated "The lyrics did not intend to glamorize drinking nor encourage it. The song is not about drinking at all, but rather a love story." They continued, "Considering the fact that the MOGEF has failed to ban other songs that contain strong lyrical content talking directly about topics that are more harmful to the youth, Beast's ban is a violation of equality."[29] On September 8, 2011, the Seoul Administrative Court suspended the MOGEF's ban, ruling that it should reverse its decision to designate the song as harmful to youths.[30][31] The court ruled in favour of Cube Entertainment, stating that the lyrics alone do not encourage drinking or smoking amongst youths.[32]
On April 15, 2017, An independent Thai rapper has been accused of plagiarizing BEAST's “Fiction” in one of his latest and most popular tracks. Thai rapper, SOLOIST, released a song titled “Just Married” as part of his newest mixtape and it has been drawing a lot of criticism from the K-Pop community.[33] In response to all the criticism from netizens, SOLOIST posted up a new statement on his Facebook saying that he had contacted Cube Entertainment and was granted permission to use the "Fiction" instrumental track.[34]
^ab"비스트 컴백,새 앨범 발매에 관하여" [Beast's comeback, about the release of new album] (in Korean). Cube Entertainment. May 9, 2011. Archived fromthe original on May 10, 2011. RetrievedMay 23, 2011.
^ab"비스트 정규 1집 '픽션 앤 팩트' 공개 동시 반응 폭발!" [Public reaction is explosive to Beast's first studio album 'Fiction and Fact'].BNT News (in Korean). May 17, 2011. RetrievedMay 11, 2021.
^"소녀시대 '더 보이즈' 2011 앨범판매 톱" [Girls' Generation's 'The Boys' is top seller of 2011].E Daily (in Korean). February 14, 2012.Archived from the original on May 11, 2021. RetrievedMay 11, 2021.
^"비스트, 가온K팝어워드 올해의가수상..2분기음반 1위" [Beast wins Artist of the Year at Gaon K-pop Awards...number one album of the 2nd quarter].Star News (in Korean). February 22, 2012.Archived from the original on May 11, 2021. RetrievedMay 11, 2021.
^"비스트, 1집 타이틀곡 '픽션' 트랙리스트 공개" [Beast reveals track list, including title track 'Fiction', for new album].Star News (in Korean). May 11, 2011. RetrievedMay 11, 2021.
^ab"비스트, 부드럽게 변했다..신곡 '픽션' 들어보니" [Beast takes a soft turn...listening to new song 'Fiction'].Star News (in Korean). May 17, 2011. RetrievedMay 11, 2021.
^"비스트, 발라드곡 '비가 오는 날엔' 깜짝 선공개" [Beast puts out surprise pre-release song 'On Rainy Days'].E Daily (in Korean). May 12, 2011. RetrievedMay 11, 2021.
^ab"비스트 '비가 오는 날엔' 녹음하며 멤버 전원 눈물바다" [While recording "On Rainy Days" Beast members shed a sea of tears].Newsen (in Korean). May 11, 2011.Archived from the original on June 9, 2012. RetrievedMay 23, 2011.
^ab"新대세 작곡팀들 급부상..흥미진진 음원차트" [New generation of songwriting teams on the rise...exciting music chart].OSEN (in Korean). September 10, 2014. RetrievedMay 11, 2021.
^"신사동호랭이 "'픽션'올해의 노래 선정..만감 교차"(인터뷰)" [Shinsadong Tiger's "Fiction" is song of the year..."a thousand emotions" (Interview)].Star News (in Korean). December 31, 2011. RetrievedMay 11, 2021.
^"[VOD] 비스트, '픽션' 뮤비 공개…용준형·박보영 '애절한 눈물 연기' 화제" [Beast's 'Fiction" music video is released...Yong Jun-hyung and Park Bo-young's 'sad tears' grab public attention].News Inside (in Korean). May 17, 2011. RetrievedMay 12, 2021.
^"'1위' 비스트, "타이틀곡 잘못 정했나 걱정" 이색고민 토로" ['1st place' BEAST, "Worried we chose the wrong title track" expresses unusual concern].Nate (in Korean). June 1, 2011. RetrievedJune 18, 2011.
