Countdown (Exo album)

Last updated
Countdown
CountdownEXO.png
Digital and Blu-ray edition cover
Studio album by
Exo
ReleasedJanuary 31, 2018 (2018-01-31)
Recorded2015–2017
Studio SM (Seoul)
Genre J-pop
Length36:11
Language
  • Japanese
  • English
Label
Exo chronology
Universe
(2017)
Countdown
(2018)
Don't Mess Up My Tempo
(2018)
Singles from Countdown
  1. "Love Me Right ~romantic universe~"
    Released: November 4, 2015
  2. "Lightsaber"
    Released: December 17, 2015
  3. "Coming Over"
    Released: December 7, 2016
  4. "Electric Kiss"
    Released: January 31, 2018

Countdown is the first Japanese-language studio album (fifth overall) by South Korean boy band Exo. It was released by Avex Trax and SM Entertainment Japan on January 31, 2018. [1] The album contains previously released Japanese tracks along with four new songs, including the lead song "Electric Kiss". [2]

Contents

Release

On November 4, 2017, Exo was announced to be releasing their first Japanese studio album on January 24, 2018. [3] Ahead of the release of the music video for "Electric Kiss", Exo shared individual member teaser clips from November 18 to November 25 for their upcoming Japanese album. [4] The release was later postponed to January 31, 2018. [5] Member Lay is heard in the six previously released songs but did not participate in recording for the new songs due to conflicts with his promotional schedules in China.

Promotion

Exo performed "Electric Kiss" for the first time on January 26, 2018 on the Japanese morning TV show Sukkiri. [6] On January 27 and 28, Exo added "Electric Kiss" and "Cosmic Railway" to the set list of their tour Exo Planet #4 – The ElyXion in Saitama and Osaka.

Commercial performance

The album debuted atop the Oricon Weekly Album Chart, making Exo the first international group to have their first single and full album in Japan reach number one on Oricon's weekly chart. [7] [8] Countdown also continued in first place on Oricon's daily album chart for three consecutive days after its release, marking first place four times in total during the first week.

According to Oricon, Exo's album recorded an estimated 89,000 units in sales within the first week of release. [9]

On February 9, 2018, the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) announced that Countdown had sold over 100,000 copies and received a gold certification. The album reached the benchmark within only ten days of its release on January 31, 2018. [10]

Track listing

Countdown track listing
No.TitleLyricsMusicArrangementLength
1."Electric Kiss" Junji Ishiwatari
InnerV8 Musiq3:27
2."Coming Over"Amon Hayashi (Digz Inc.)
  • Andreas Öberg
  • Darren "Baby Dee Beats" Smith
  • Drew Ryan Scott
  • Sean Alexander (Avenue 52)
Avenue 523:22
3."Love Me Right ~romantic universe~"
  • iDR
  • Nermin Harambašić
  • Ryan S. Jhun
  • Courtney Woolsey
  • Peter Tambakis
  • Jarah Lafayette Gibson
3:26
4."Lightsaber"
LDN Noise3:05
5."Tactix"Kami Kaoru
  • Hanif Sabzevari (Hitmanic)
  • Daniel Kim
Hitmanic3:43
6."Into My World"Sara Sakurai (T's Music)
  • Joonathan Kettunen
  • Daniel Kim
Joonathan Kettunen3:43
7."Lovin' You Mo'"Amon Hayashi (Digz Inc.)
  • KAY
  • Sean Alexander (Avenue 52)
  • Darren "Baby Dee Beats" Smith
Avenue 523:44
8."Drop That"
Maria Marcus3:36
9."Run This"Amon Hayashi (Digz Inc.)
  • Mark Alvin Thompson
  • David Anthony Eames
David Anthony Eames3:23
10."Cosmic Railway"Sara Sakurai (T's Music)Steven Lee4:38
Total length:36:11

Charts

Weekly chart performance for Countdown
Chart (2018)Peak
position
French Download Albums (SNEP) [11] 126
Japanese Albums (Oricon) [12] 1
Japan Hot Albums ( Billboard Japan ) [13] 1
US World Albums (Billboard) [14] 4
Year-end chart performance for Countdown
Chart (2018)Position
Japanese Albums (Oricon) [15] 31

Certifications

Certifications for Countdown
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Japan (RIAJ) [16] Gold123,489 [17]

Release history

Release history and formats for Countdown
RegionDateFormatLabel
JapanJanuary 31, 2018
Various

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