Echo (EP)

Last updated

Echo
Jin Echo EP Cover.jpg
Digital cover
EP by
Jin
ReleasedMay 16, 2025
Genre Pop rock
Length20:26
Language
  • Korean
  • English
Label Big Hit
Producer
Jin chronology
Happy
(2024)
Echo
(2025)
Singles from Echo
  1. "Don't Say You Love Me"
    Released: May 16, 2025

Echo is the second extended play (EP) by South Korean singer Jin of BTS, released on May 16, 2025, through Big Hit Music. [1]

Contents

Background and release

Echo was announced on April 15, with Big Hit Music confirming that the album would contain seven tracks, including the lead single "Don't Say You Love Me" on April 17. [2] [3] The album features a guest appearance from Yena on the track "Loser".

In support of the album, Jin will embark on his first solo world tour RunSeokjin Ep. Tour. [4] [5]

Composition

Echo consists of seven tracks. It has been described as a pop rock album that delves into influences of "Eighties-style synth pop", country, and various sub-genres of rock, including Brit rock, pop punk, country rock, metal, and alternative rock. [6] [7] [8] Thematically, Echo was noted to be based on Jin's perspective on universal life experiences, with the record "capturing everyday emotions with warmth and sincerity". [9] In a track-by-track review on Billboard, Jeff Benjamin noted that the EP once again included rock as the genre that "shaped [Jin's] musical identity," but contained "deeper stories [compared to Happy] that can resonate on a more human level." [10]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 81/100 [11]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [12]
Clash 8/10 [7]
NME Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [6]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [8]

Echo generally received positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 81 based on four reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". [11] Writing for Clash , Maria Leticia Gomes positively described the album as introspective and cohesive, recognizing Jin's emotive delivery as its key strength. [7] Rolling Stone 's Rob Sheffield scored Echo three and a half out of five stars, labeling it as an "expansively romantic" album defined by "the confidence of a star who'd never been away". [8]

In a mixed review, Rhian Daly of NME praised the album for its emotive vocal delivery but commented on the inconsistent quality of its music, noting that "not everything works". [6]

Track listing

Echo track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Don't Say You Love Me"
  • Nathan Fertig
  • Wyatt Sanders
  • Sanders
  • Tiggs
3:00
2."Nothing Without Your Love"
2:56
3."Loser" (featuring Yena)
  • Ciara Muscat
  • Danke
  • Ghstloop
  • Jin
  • Jinli
  • Kang Eun Jeong
  • Liljune (153/Joombas)
  • Attard
  • Thomson
  • Graham
  • Pdogg
  • Ryan Bickley
  • Saeyoung (153/Joombas)
  • TRUE (153/Joombas)
  • Pdogg
  • Attard
  • Ghstloop
  • Arcades
2:35
4."Rope It"
  • Samama
  • Suh
  • Ghstloop
  • James Keys
  • Jin
  • Mun Yeo Reum
  • Oscar Bell
  • Pdogg
  • Saeyoung
  • sokodomo
  • TRUE
  • Pdogg
  • Ghstloop
  • Keys
2:45
5."With the Clouds" (구름과 떠나는 여행)
  • Noda
  • Pdogg
3:08
6."Background"
  • bay (153/Joombas)
  • Suh
  • Enrique Maza
  • Francis Karel
  • Jinli
  • Liv Miraldi
  • Martin Wave
  • Mia (153/Joombas)
  • Neil Ormandy
  • Saeyoung
  • Sean Fischer
  • TRUE
  • Hwang Yoo Bin (XYXX)
  • Fischer
  • Wave
  • Maza
2:55
7."To Me, Today" (오늘의 나에게)
  • Chalee (153/Joombas)
  • Cho Yun Kyoung
  • Danke
  • Suh
  • Ghstloop
  • jeanjinn jane
  • Ninos Hanna
  • Pdogg
  • sokodomo
  • William Segerdahl
  • Hwang
  • Pdogg
3:01
Total length:20:26

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal. [13]

Musicians

  • Jin – vocals
  • Pdogg – vocal arrangement (all tracks); drum programming, keyboards, programming (tracks 2–7); guitar (2, 3), bass (2), synthesizer (3)
  • Wyatt Sanders – background vocals, bass, keyboards, vocal arrangement (track 1)
  • Tiggs – guitar, programming, vocal arrangement (track 1)
  • Nathan Fertig – background vocals (track 1)
  • James Keys – background vocals (tracks 2, 3, 5–7), guitar (4)
  • Shin Min – strings conductor (tracks 2, 5)
  • Yung String – violin (tracks 2, 5)
  • Matt Thomson – bass, drum programming, guitar, keyboards, programming (tracks 2, 3)
  • Max Graham – bass, drum programming, guitar, keyboards, programming (tracks 2, 3)
  • Matt Attard – drum programming, keyboards, programming (tracks 2, 3); bass, guitar (2)
  • Ben Samama – background vocals (track 2)
  • Full8loom – background vocals (track 3)
  • Ghstloop – drum programming, keyboards, programming (track 4)
  • Oscar Bell – background vocals (track 4)
  • Xin Qiao – background vocals (track 4)
  • Noogi Park – bass (tracks 4–7)
  • Ryu In-hyeok – guitar (track 4)
  • Young – guitar (tracks 5–7)
  • Yojiro Noda – bass, guitar, keyboards, programming (track 5)

Technical

  • Chris Gehringermastering
  • Mark "Spike" Stentmixing (tracks 1, 3, 4)
  • James F. Reynolds – mixing (track 2)
  • Manny Marroquin – mixing (track 5)
  • Yang Ga – mixing (tracks 6, 7)
  • Pdogg – engineering, sound editing
  • Wyatt Sanders – engineering (track 1)
  • James Keys – engineering (tracks 2, 3, 5–7)
  • Matt Thomson – engineering (tracks 2, 3)
  • Kim Kyung-tae – engineering (tracks 2, 5)
  • Oh Hyun-seok – engineering (tracks 2, 5)
  • Matt Attard – engineering (track 2)
  • Max Graham – engineering (track 2)
  • Full8loom – engineering (track 3)
  • Oscar Bell – engineering (track 4)
  • Ghstloop – engineering (tracks 5–7), sound editing (2–7)
  • Young – engineering (tracks 5–7)
  • Yojiro Noda – engineering (track 5)
  • Kieran Beadrmore – mixing assistance (tracks 1, 3, 4)
  • Matt Wolach – mixing assistance (tracks 1, 3, 4)
  • James Cunningham – mixing assistance (track 2)
  • Ben Rugg – mixing assistance (track 5)
  • Chris Galland – mixing assistance (track 5)

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for Echo
RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Japan (RIAJ) [39] Gold100,000^
South Korea (KMCA) [40] 2× Platinum500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. Ramachandran, Naman (April 15, 2025). "BTS' Jin Sets Second Solo Album 'Echo'". Variety.
  2. Kaufman, Gil (April 15, 2025). "BTS' Jin Prepping Second Solo Album, 'Echo'". Billboard.
  3. "How many songs will BTS' Jin's 'ECHO' have? BIGHIT Music unveils tracklist of the idol's second solo album". MSN. April 17, 2025.
  4. "BTS' Jin hits the road this June with first solo fan tour, '#Run Seokjin_Ep.'". Yahoo. April 17, 2025.
  5. Kreps, Daniel (April 17, 2025). "BTS' Jin Announces First-Ever Solo Tour". Billboard.
  6. 1 2 3 Daly, Rhian (May 16, 2025). "Jin – 'Echo' review: BTS star plays to his emotional strengths". NME . Archived from the original on May 17, 2025. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
  7. 1 2 3 Gomes, Maria Leticia (May 16, 2025). "Jin – Echo". Clash . Archived from the original on May 17, 2025. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
  8. 1 2 3 Sheffield, Rob (May 16, 2025). "Jin's Rock-Star Dreams Are Big and Bold on 'Echo'". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on May 17, 2025. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
  9. Dailey, Hannah (May 16, 2025). "JIN of BTS Reverberates on New Solo EP 'Echo': Stream It Now". Billboard . Archived from the original on May 17, 2025. Retrieved May 17, 2025.
  10. Benjamin, Jeff (May 19, 2025). "Every Song From Jin's Second Solo Album 'Echo,' Ranked". Billboard. Retrieved May 27, 2025.
  11. 1 2 "Echo [EP] by Jin Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic . Archived from the original on June 12, 2025. Retrieved August 2, 2025.
  12. Yeung, Neil. "Echo – Jin". AllMusic . Retrieved July 25, 2025.
  13. "Echo / Jin / Credits". Tidal. May 16, 2025. Retrieved June 3, 2025.
  14. "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 26 May 2025". The ARIA Report. No. 1838. Australian Recording Industry Association. May 26, 2025. p. 6.
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  28. "OLiS - oficjalna lista sprzedaży - albumy" (in Polish). OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Note: Change the date to 16.05.2025–22.05.2025 under "zmień zakres od–do:". Retrieved May 29, 2025.
  29. "Top 200 Álbuns Semana 21 de 2025" (PDF) (in European Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. p. 2. Retrieved May 28, 2025.
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