The track featured the vocals of Yesung after he was discharged from his mandatory military service on May 4, 2015, and it's also served as the first single without the vocals of Sungmin and Shindong who were serving their mandatory military service at that time. The single charted at number 21 on the national chart Gaon Digital Chart and sold over 150,000 digital download on said Chart.[1]
In Japan, "Devil" was released as a double A-side single titled "Devil / Magic" on January 6, 2016. It peaked at number two on the Oricon Singles Chart and sold over 65,000 copies.
Background and release
Following the release of their commercially successful seventh studio album Mamacita the following year, Super Junior embarked on their sixth overall tour Super Show 6 from September 19, 2014, to July 12, 2015, for encore concerts in Seoul.[2][3]
Super Junior members during Devil press conference on July 15
On July 8, SM Entertainment announced that Super Junior will have a comeback by releasing special album Devil on July 16 to commemorate the group's 10th anniversary.[4] "Devil" was announced as the lead single on July 9, with American production team The Stereotypes collaborating with SM's in-house songwriter-producer Kenzie.[5]
The Japanese version of the song was released on January 6, 2016 along with "Magic", the single from the repackage album of Devil (Magic).[6] The song is included in the band's Japanese compilation album, Star. The single went to sell over 65,800 physical copies.[7]
"Devil" is described as funk rock song with a trendy melody produced by American production team, The Stereotypes, and SM Entertainment's resident songwriter, Kenzie. Both of them also co-wrote the song with Micah Powell.[9] The song marked the departure of Yoo Young-jin who wrote the group's title track since their debut.[10] The lyrics illustrates a candid confession of a man who is madly in love.[11]
During the press conference, Leeteuk introduced "Devil" as a different song from SJ Funky songs, while Eunhyuk said the song has both dark side and bright side, and allowed the group to show various charms through this release.[12]
"Devil" was then re-released in Japanese version along with "Magic", the lead single from the Devil repackage album, Magic on January 11, 2016.[13]
Critical reception
Billboard columnist Jeff Benjamin praised the release of "Devil" and considered it the band's best release since "Mr. Simple" back in 2011.[14][15]
Music video
During the group's encore concert, Super Show 6 in Seoul on July 11, 2015, band leader Leeteuk announced to the fans that the music video for "Devil" will be the first-ever music video by SM Entertainment that is classified 19+. Leeteuk explained the change from the usual family-friendly songs citing the fans' grew up together with the band in the last 10 years. At the same concert, Leeteuk also went to explain that the band hoped that "Devil" would replace "Sorry, Sorry" as the band's signature track.[16] The performance of "Devil" was crafted by choreographer Tony Testa and SM's performance director, BeatBurger.[17] The music video was officially released on YouTube on July 15, 2015.[18]
↑ Jo, In-woo (July 12, 2015). [리뷰] 슈퍼주니어, "우리는 여러분의 영원한 소년들"…'슈퍼쇼6 앙코르'[Super Junior, "We Are Your Eternal Boys"...'Super Show 6 Encore']. Newsis (in Korean). Seoul. Archived from the original on March 3, 2025. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
↑ Kwon, Soo-bin (July 9, 2015). 슈퍼주니어, 앙코르 콘서트서 'Devil' 등 신곡 무대 최초 공개[Super Junior unveils new songs including 'Devil' for the first time at encore concert]. News1 (in Korean). Seoul. Archived from the original on March 3, 2025. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
↑ "Devil/Magic". Avex Trax (in Japanese). January 6, 2016. Archived from the original on December 4, 2023. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
↑ Kim, Chung-jo (March 31, 2015). 김재중·성민·최진혁, 31일 비공개 현역 입대[Kim Jae-joong, Sung-min, and Choi Jin-hyuk enlisted in active duty on the 31st]. Sports Donga (in Korean). Archived from the original on March 3, 2025. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
↑ Kwon, Soo-bin (July 16, 2015). 아이돌 그룹 하고 싶다면 슈퍼주니어처럼(종합)[If you want to be in an idol group, like Super Junior (comprehensive)]. News1 (in Korean). Seoul. Archived from the original on March 3, 2025. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
↑ 슈퍼주니어, 콘서트에서 신곡 'Devil' 공개[Super Junior unveils new song 'Devil' at concert]. YTN (in Korean). July 10, 2015. Archived from the original on March 3, 2025. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
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