| Lights | |
|---|---|
 Digital cover | |
| EP by | |
| Released | May 22, 2023 |
| Genre | K-pop |
| Length | 16:12 |
| Language | Korean |
| Label | |
| Singles from Lights | |
| |
Lights is the debutextended play by the South Korean rapperJoohoney. It was released byStarship Entertainment and distributed byKakao Entertainment on May 22, 2023. The EP contains six tracks, including the title track "Freedom".
On April 28, several South Korean news outlets reported that Joohoney will be releasing his first solo album for next month, which was later been confirmed by Starship Entertainment.[1] On April 30, Starship Entertainment released a logo video and an image which were posted on the official SNS channel ofMonsta X and were revealed to be the initials J and H for Joohoney. In this video, released along with the image, the two windows rotate with a cool sound and finally find a point of contact in the middle and intersect.[2] On May 1, he released a coming soon image, with the album titleLights and the release date of May 22.[3] On May 17, Joohoney revealed his documentary film titledTurn on the Lights which will show behind-the-scene footages of the album's overall production process.[4] On May 22, he held aRelease Talk Live to commemorate the release ofLights through Monsta X's official YouTube channel and communicated with his fans in real time.[5]
The physical EP was released in three standard versions, along with ajewel case version and a KiT version.[6]
Lights contains Joohoney's troubles and growth process, from the fierce past to the present, to find the true self, and the future he draws together with his fans.[7] This also shows his intensity, sorrow, and boyish beauty, which yearned for freedom, and gave a deep lingering effect.[8]
For its tracks, "Freedom" is an impressive song with a reversal composition that harmonizes the lyrical feeling of piano and strings with the strong atmosphere ofhip-hop, then "Hype Energy" is a hip-hop genre, composed entirely of rap, "Voice" is a song that expresses our own voice, "Evolution" melted down the message that true evolution can be achieved only when we look back on ourselves, "Monologue" is a song which contains reminiscences of the past, when he only pursued vague dreams before his dark debut, and "Don't Worry, Be Happy" is a tribute song for fans, appreciating the promises of the past, present, and future.[7]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Clash | 7/10[9] |
Abbie Aitken ofClash describedLights as an album that "represents Joohoney as an artist" and "conveys a sense of intimacy and personality that has not been seen before", while also adding that the entire album feels like he has hidden his "musicality", opting to showcase a "greater range both in terms of vocals and genre".[9]
| Critic/Publication | List | Rank | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Billboard | The 25 Best K-pop Albums of 2023 | 11 | [10] |
Lights placed at numbers six and twenty-nine on theCircle Album Chart, for the week of May 21 to 27, with 73,720 copies sold.[11] It also placed at number three and number one on the Hanteo Chart's Weekly Physical Record Chart, which recorded 78,134.66 index points (album sales of 69,056 copies) and Weekly Global Authentication Chart, respectively.[12]
"Freedom" charted at number 105 on theCircle Digital Chart, for the week of May 21 to 27, with 3,697,614 digital points.[13] This also became a hot topic or viral onTikTok, gathering a total of more than 20 million views.[14]
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Arrangement | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Freedom" |
|
|
| 3:31 |
| 2. | "Hype Energy" |
|
|
| 2:25 |
| 3. | "Voice" |
|
|
| 1:56 |
| 4. | "Evolution" |
|
|
| 2:16 |
| 5. | "Monologue" (feat.G.Soul) |
|
|
| 3:06 |
| 6. | "Don't Worry, Be Happy" |
|
|
| 2:55 |
| Total length: | 16:12 | ||||
Weekly chart[edit]
| Monthly chart[edit]
|
| Chart (2023) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| South Korea (Circle)[13] | 105 |
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| South Korea | — | 80,131[16] |
| Region | Date | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Korea | May 22, 2023 | ||
| Various |
|