Aboutzu

Aboutzu
Digital cover
EP by Tzuyu
Released	September 6, 2024 (2024-09-06)
Recorded	2024
Studio	JYP Studios
Genre	Dance-pop [1]
Length	19:08
Language	Korean English
Label	JYP Republic
Singles from Aboutzu
"Run Away" Released: September 6, 2024

Aboutzu (stylized as abouTZU) is the debut extended play (EP) by Taiwanese singer Tzuyu of the girl group Twice. It was released on September 6, 2024, through JYP Entertainment and Republic Records. The EP contains six tracks, including the lead single "Run Away" and collaborations with Peniel of BtoB and rapper pH-1.

Background

In 2023, the decision was made that Tzuyu would debut as a soloist, with recording and production beginning in February 2024. ^[2] On August 2, 2024, JYP Entertainment released an opening trailer for Aboutzu to publicly announce Tzuyu's solo debut. ^[3] Throughout August and early September, various teasers and other promotional content were distributed in anticipation of the EP's release on September 6. The official music video for the lead single "Run Away" came out on the same day as the EP. ^{[4] [5]} In an interview with Rolling Stone , also published on September 6, Tzuyu explained that she has long had the desire to release her own album and that she hopes listeners will learn more about her true personality through her music. ^[6] Tzuyu was the third member of Twice to launch a solo music career, following Nayeon in 2022 and Jihyo in 2023. ^{[7] [8]}

Title

The title Aboutzu is a combination of the English word "about" and the first three letters of the singer's name Tzuyu, symbolizing that the EP reflects all aspects of herself. ^[9] The text "abouTZU" on the EP's cover art can also be read as "chouTZU" to represent her full name Chou Tzuyu.

Composition

The lead single "Run Away" is a synth-pop and disco-pop song composed by Andrea Rosario, Elsa Curran, Davin Kingston, and Johnny Simpson, with lyrics written by Park Jin-young. ^{[10] [11] [2]} Pyo Kyung-min of The Korea Times , reporting from a pre-release press conference, said that the song "features nostalgia-evoking piano melodies in the intro and a bold synth bass for the chorus, evoking a sound reminiscent of the late 2000s to mid-2010s". ^{[12] [8]} Next on the track list are collaborations with Peniel of BtoB in "Heartbreak in Heaven" and rapper pH-1 in "Lazy Baby", before the EP continues with the solo tracks "Losing Sleep" and "One Love". ^[13] Tzuyu wrote the lyrics for the final song "Fly", a ballad that tells her own story. ^{[12] [10] [11]}

Commercial performance

Pre-order sales of Aboutzu reportedly reached 467,500 copies worldwide. ^[14] In South Korea, the EP debuted at number 3 on the Circle Album Chart for the week ending September 7, with 284,844 copies sold. ^[15] In the United States, the EP debuted at number 19 on the Billboard 200 for the chart dated September 21, with 24,000 album-equivalent units, ^[16] including 22,000 physical album sales as reported by the music data tracking firm Luminate. ^[17]

Track listing

Aboutzu track listing

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Arrangement	Length
1.	"Run Away"	J.Y. Park "The Asiansoul"	Andrea Rosario Elsa Curran Davin Kingston Johnny Simpson	Kingston Simpson	3:18
2.	"Heartbreak in Heaven" (featuring Peniel of BtoB)	Tom Mann Nicole Blair Alex Stacey Peter Rycroft Peniel	Mann Blair Stacey Rycroft Peniel	Lostboy	3:33
3.	"Lazy Baby" (featuring pH-1)	Lee Yi-jin pH-1	Bobbi LaNea Taylor Folayan Omi Kunerede Mark Gozman Shayon Daniels Nicci Funicelli pH-1	Marky Style Daniels Funicelli	2:42
4.	"Losing Sleep"	Moon Yeo-reum (Jam Factory)	Jonny Hockings Maria Hazell Tre Jean-Marie	Jean-Marie	2:39
5.	"One Love"	Lee Seu-ran	Kamille Rick Parkhouse George Tizzard	Red Triangle	3:13
6.	"Fly"	Tzuyu	Daniel Durn Katrine Neya Klith Kim Woo-sang pdly	pdly Kim Durn Klith	3:43
Total length:					19:08

Personnel

Credits adapted from album liner notes. ^[18]

Musicians Tzuyu – lead vocals Sophia Pae – background vocals Johnny Simpson – piano, keyboard, programming (track 1) Davin Kingston – piano, keyboard (track 1) Peniel – featured vocals (track 2) Lostboy – keyboards, programming, guitars, bass, drums (track 2) Marky Style – instrumentation (track 3) Shayon Daniels – instrumentation (track 3) Nicci Funicelli – instrumentation (track 3) pH-1 – featured vocals, background vocals (track 3) Tre Jean-Marie – drums, bass, programming, synthesizer (track 4) George Tizzard – guitar, drums, keyboard (track 5) Rick Parkhouse – bass, programming, piano (track 5) pdly – programming (track 6) Kim Woo-sang – programming, piano (track 6) Shiry – guitar (track 6)

Technical Sophia Pae – vocal directing for Tzuyu Lee Kyung-won – digital editing (track 1) Seo Eun-il – recording (track 1) Im Chan-mi – recording (track 1) Lee Tae-seop – mixing (track 1) Kwon Nam-woo – mastering Shin Bong-won – Dolby Atmos mixing Park Nam-joon – digital editing (tracks 4–6), Dolby Atmos mixing assistance Lee Seon-yu – vocal directing for Peniel (track 2) Gu Hye-jin – digital editing (track 2), recording for Tzuyu (tracks 2, 4–5) Kim Dong-il – recording for Peniel (track 2) Park Eun-jeong – mixing (track 2) Im Chan-mi – recording (tracks 1, 4, 6) Lee Sang-yeop – digital editing, recording for Tzuyu (tracks 3, 5) pH-1 – recording for pH-1 (track 3) Choi Hye-jin – mixing (track 3) Eom Se-hee – mixing (track 4) Im Hong-jin – mixing (tracks 5–6)

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for Aboutzu Chart (2024) Peak position Hungarian Physical Albums (MAHASZ) [19] 23 Japanese Albums (Oricon) [20] 3 Japanese Combined Albums (Oricon) [21] 4 Japanese Hot Albums ( Billboard Japan ) [22] 45 South Korean Albums (Circle) [15] 3 UK Album Downloads (OCC) [23] 18 UK Albums Sales (OCC) [24] 56 UK Independent Album Breakers (OCC) [25] 16 US Billboard 200 [26] 19 US World Albums ( Billboard ) [27] 1

Monthly charts Monthly chart performance for Aboutzu Chart (2024) Peak position Japanese Albums (Oricon) [28] 18 South Korean Albums (Circle) [29] 4 Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for Aboutzu Chart (2024) Position South Korean Albums (Circle) [30] 66

Certifications

Certifications for Aboutzu

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
South Korea (KMCA) [31]	Platinum	250,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release history for Aboutzu

Region	Date	Format	Label
Various	September 6, 2024	CD vinyl LP digital download streaming	JYP Republic

References

1. Webster, Abby (September 10, 2024). "TWICE's Tzuyu on cold feet before solo debut: 'I wondered whether I could really pull this off'". NME . Retrieved September 12, 2024.
2. Frances, Lai (September 6, 2024). "Twice's Tzuyu Lights Up When She Talks AboutTZU". Uproxx . Archived from the original on September 7, 2024. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
3. Ha, Yu-mi (August 2, 2024). "Twice Tzuyu to Make Solo Debut with AbouTzu, following Nayeon and Jihyo". K-en News. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
4. Ha, Yu-mi (August 5, 2024). "Twice Tzuyu to Debut Solo with abouTzu on September 6 [Timeline]". K-en News. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
5. Ziwei, Puah (September 6, 2024). "Twice's Tzuyu makes solo debut with alluring new single, 'Run Away'". NME . Retrieved September 6, 2024.
6. Kim, Jae-ha (September 6, 2024). "Tzuyu Is Ready for Her Solo Moment". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on September 6, 2024. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
7. Kim, Min-young (August 2, 2024). "Twice's Tzuyu to become third member to embark on solo career". Korea JoongAng Daily . Retrieved September 6, 2024.
8. Pyo, Kyung-min (September 5, 2024). "Twice's Tzuyu unveils deeper, mature side with solo debut album abouTzu". The Korea Times . Retrieved September 6, 2024.
9. Kim, Jae-heun (September 5, 2024). "Twice's Tzuyu reveals new, mature side in solo debut". The Korea Herald . Archived from the original on September 6, 2024. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
10. Fell, Nicole (September 6, 2024). "Twice's Tzuyu on Her Passion for Releasing a Solo Album and Her Advice to Aspiring K-Pop Idols". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on September 7, 2024. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
11. Munson, Olivia (September 6, 2024). "Tzuyu of TWICE on her debut solo album: 'I wanted to showcase my bold side'". USA Today . Archived from the original on September 7, 2024. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
12. Yoon, So-yeon (September 5, 2024). "Twice's Tzuyu aims to shed maknae image with solo debut album abouTzu". Korea JoongAng Daily . Archived from the original on September 9, 2024. Retrieved September 6, 2024.
13. Ha, Yu-mi (August 12, 2024). "TWICE Tzuyu to Make Solo Debut with 'Run Away' Penned by JYP's Park Jin-young and Top Global Songwriters". hankooki.com (in Korean). Archived from the original on September 9, 2024. Retrieved September 7, 2024.
14. Park, Seo-hyun (September 9, 2024). "'솔로 데뷔' 쯔위, 트와이스X원스 응원 속 첫주 음방 성료" ['Solo debut' Tzuyu successfully completes first week of music shows amidst support from Twice and Once]. Herald Pop (in Korean). Retrieved September 12, 2024.
15. "Circle Album Chart – Week 36 of 2024". Circle Chart (in Korean). Retrieved September 12, 2024.
16. Zellner, Xander (September 17, 2024). "Rich Homie Quan, Fred again.. & Tzuyu: Billboard 200 Chart Movers". Billboard . Retrieved September 19, 2024.
17. Caulfied, Keith (September 19, 2024). "David Gilmour Scores First No. 1 on Billboard's Top Album Sales Chart With 'Luck and Strange'". Billboard . Archived from the original on September 19, 2024. Retrieved September 20, 2024.
18. Tzuyu (2024). Aboutzu (liner notes). JYP Entertainment.
19. "Album Top 40 slágerlista (fizikai hanghordozók) – 2024. 39. hét". MAHASZ . Retrieved October 2, 2024.
20. "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 2024-10-14" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved October 9, 2024.
21. "Oricon Top 50 Combined Albums: 2024-10-14" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on October 10, 2024. Retrieved October 10, 2024.
22. "Billboard Japan Hot Albums – Week of September 11, 2024". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved September 11, 2024.
23. "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 14, 2024.
24. "Official Albums Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company . Retrieved September 14, 2024.
25. "Official Independent Album Breakers Chart Top 20". Official Charts Company . Retrieved September 14, 2024.
26. "Billboard 200: Week of September 21, 2024". Billboard . Retrieved September 17, 2024.
27. "World Albums: Week of September 21, 2024". Billboard . Retrieved September 17, 2024.
28. "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 2024-10" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on November 13, 2024. Retrieved November 13, 2024.
29. "Circle Album Chart – September 2024". Circle Chart (in Korean). Retrieved October 10, 2024.
30. "Album Chart – 2024". Circle Chart (in Korean). Retrieved January 11, 2025.
31. "South Korean album certifications – Tzuyu – Aboutzu" (in Korean). Korea Music Content Association (KMCA). Retrieved November 7, 2024.