End Theory | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | November 16, 2021 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 39:36 | |||
Language | Korean | |||
Label | C9 | |||
Younha chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from End Theory | ||||
| ||||
End Theory:Final Edition cover | ||||
End Theory is the sixth studio album by South Korean singer Younha. It was released on November 16,2021,through C9 Entertainment. It consists of eleven tracks,including the lead single "Stardust". [2] [3] The reissue version of the album,titled End Theory:Final Edition,was released on March 30,2022. [4] [5]
The lead single "Event Horizon" from the reissue End Theory:Final Edition emerged as a major commercial success in South Korea topping the Circle Digital Chart in November 2022 and achieving a PAK on several music charts. [6] [7] [8]
End Theory contains stories about different kinds of "end", [9] like the end of the Earth,of a relationship,or of the universe, [10] and conveys the singer's messages through metaphors related to the cosmos. [11] It took eleven months to complete it, [12] as Younha started working on it at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. [10] In an interview with Esquire Korea,the singer explained that she thought of using the end as a theme when she started thinking she needed to make an album to comfort people who couldn't meet and were waiting for it to end,"like singing a song about peace when war breaks out. To do that,you need to know what's at the end. [...] There should always be hope." [10]
Younha wrote the lyrics,and sometimes the music,for most of the 11 songs; [13] among them,the selection of the title track fell on pop ballad "Stardust",as she thought it showed the preciousness and the importance of the process from a beginning to an end better than the others. [12] The song,which talks about the precious beings met on planet Earth [9] [14] and what true love is, [15] was composed by her best friend and member of composition team Urban Zakapa Kwon Sun-il,with Younha penning the lyrics,and started from the question "What kind of useful person am I?" [16] "P.R.R.W." stands for Process,Result and Reason Why. [17]
Aside from Younha and Kwon,the producing team includes Jewno and James Son;the latter joined after appealing,through Kwon,to participate,leading Younha to ask him for a demo out of curiosity. [18] The collaboration with Sarah Kang on "Tik-Tok" was born at the suggestion of Younha after seeing an acoustic live performance of Kang playing the guitar outdoors,and they worked on the song through video calls. [19] The Korean title,which translates to "6 years and 230 days",refers to the days left to the destruction of the Earth. [10]
On March 30,2022,End Theory was repackaged as End Theory:Final Edition adding three additional songs,"C/2022YH","Event Horizon" and "Black Hole",based on rock music. [10] "C/2022YH",whose Korean title means "comet",is a pop rock fast tempo song with a 16-bit piano riff; [20] "Event Horizon" is the name of the outer boundary of a black hole,a completely uncharted territory that Younha compared to a breakup,when no one knows what will happen next; [10] "Black Hole" is a future bass pop song where she tells a black hole she will never forget the moment it was a star. [20] Younha took charge of the lyrics and composition of all three songs. [20]
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
IZM | [1] |
Son Gi-ho from IZM gave the album 4 out of 5 stars;he called it "intense" from the first track,stating:"All the songs in the album are sincere to capture both the person who rescued her and the music," and concluding "The light reached after countless attempts and failures gives Younha a chance to grow on her own and becomes a medium in the name of hope that will unite her and the public again. In that way,a solid galaxy that will not be shaken by any adversity is born." [1]
Art Insight wrote:"Younha's End Theory doesn't erase the existence of sadness and failure from life,but looks straight ahead. [...] It contains confidence for tomorrow and gives support and comfort with a trustworthy message of 'I will be by your side'." [21]
End Theory was featured on Time's list of the best K-pop songs and albums of 2021, [22] [23] while Billboard chose "Stardust" as the 13th best K-pop song of 2021 for its simplicity made of "simple,beautiful chord progression that grows naturally within the song's orchestral production." [24]
Organization | Year | Category | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
Korean Music Awards | 2023 | Song of the Year (Daesang) (for "Event Horizon") | Won | [25] |
Best Pop Song (for "Event Horizon") | Won |
Song | Program | Date | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
"Event Horizon" | Inkigayo | November 27,2022 | [26] |
December 4,2022 | [27] | ||
December 11,2022 | [28] | ||
Music Bank | December 23,2022 | [29] |
No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Arrangement | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "P.R.R.W." |
|
| Jewno | 3:14 |
2. | "Big Picture" (나는 계획이 있다) |
|
| Jewno | 3:20 |
3. | "Oort Cloud" (오르트구름) | Danke (Lalala Studio) |
| Jewno | 3:26 |
4. | "Wish" (물의 여행) | Danke |
| Jewno | 2:54 |
5. | "How U Doing" (잘 지내) | Younha | Younha | Jewno | 4:05 |
6. | "Highlight" (반짝, 빛을 내) |
|
| Jewno | 3:29 |
7. | "Tik-Tok" (6년 230일) | Younha | Sarah Kang |
| 3:28 |
8. | "Truly" | Younha | Younha | Jewno | 3:35 |
9. | "Stardust" (별의 조각) | Younha | Kwon Sun-il | Jewno | 3:50 |
10. | "Here" (하나의 달) | Younha |
|
| 4:41 |
11. | "Savior" |
| James Son | Shaun | 3:34 |
Total length: | 39:36 |
No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Arrangement | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Oort Cloud" (오르트구름) | 3:26 | |||
2. | "C/2022YH" (살별) | Younha |
| Jewno | 3:15 |
3. | "Wish" (물의 여행) | 2:54 | |||
4. | "Highlight" (반짝, 빛을 내) | 3:29 | |||
5. | "Tik-Tok" (6년 230일) | 3:28 | |||
6. | "P.R.R.W." | 3:14 | |||
7. | "Big Picture" (나는 계획이 있다) | 3:20 | |||
8. | "Truly" | 3:35 | |||
9. | "Stardust" (별의 조각) | 3:50 | |||
10. | "Here" (하나의 달) | 4:41 | |||
11. | "Event Horizon" (사건의 지평선) | Younha |
|
| 5:00 |
12. | "Black Hole" | Younha |
|
| 3:08 |
13. | "Savior" | 3:34 | |||
14. | "How U Doing" (잘 지내) | 4:05 | |||
Total length: | 50:59 |
Weekly charts
| Monthly charts
|
Girls on Top is the fifth Korean studio album by South Korean recording artist BoA, released through SM Entertainment on June 23, 2005. A repackage of the album, titled Moto, was released on August 17, 2005. The record saw a continuation of BoA's image change that began with her prior album My Name (2004); Girls on Top sought to portray a "mature and self-confident" image with themes expressing female empowerment. In Japan, a special edition of the album including a DVD was released by Avex Trax on March 26, 2008.
Go Youn-ha, known mononymously as Younha, is a South Korean singer-songwriter and record producer. She began her career in 2004 in Japan, where she was nicknamed the "Oricon Comet" for her success on the Japanese music chart. In 2006, she debuted in South Korea, where she is regarded as one of the country's best singer-songwriters.
"Sunset Glow" is a song recorded by South Korean singer Lee Moon-sae. It was released on September 15, 1988, as a single for his fifth studio album Standing Under the Shade of a Roadside Tree. The lyrics and music were composed by Lee Young-hoon.
Give It to Me is the second and final studio album by South Korean girl group Sistar. The album was released on June 11, 2013, by Starship Entertainment and distributed by LOEN Entertainment, with the song of the same title used as the promotional song. The album contains 11 songs.
"Growl" is a song recorded by South Korean–Chinese boy band Exo, released on August 5, 2013, for the repackaged edition of their first studio album XOXO. It was released in both Korean and Chinese versions by their label SM Entertainment. The song is known as Exo's breakthrough single, with over two million downloads in South Korea.
Play is the debut studio album by South Korean brother-sister duo, AKMU, and their first release since winning K-pop Star 2 in 2012. It was released through YG Entertainment on April 7, 2014.
"Ringa Linga" is a song recorded by South Korean singer Taeyang. It was released as a digital single on November 8, 2013, through YG Entertainment. Later, it became the first single to be released from his second studio album Rise (2014). It was written and composed by Big Bang bandmate G-Dragon and Shockbit.
Touch N Move is the second extended play by South Korean girl group Sistar. It was released on July 21, 2014, by Starship Entertainment and distributed by Loen Entertainment. It features the lead single "Touch My Body".
The Misconceptions of Us is the third studio album released by South Korean boy band Shinee. It consists of two parts, Dream Girl – The Misconceptions of You and the second Why So Serious? – The Misconceptions of Me, that were later collected together as The Misconceptions of Us under SM Entertainment and distributed by KT Music.
"Call Me Baby" is a song recorded by South Korean–Chinese boy band Exo, as the lead single of their second studio album Exodus. It was released on March 27, 2015, through SM Entertainment, in both Korean and Chinese.
"Peek-a-Boo" is a song recorded by South Korean girl group Red Velvet for their second studio album, Perfect Velvet (2017). An up-tempo dance-pop track with tropical house elements, it was written by Kenzie, Ellen Berg Tollbom, Cazzi Opeia, and duo Moonshine, while production was handled by the latter contributor. The song was released in conjunction with its parental album on November 17, 2017, through SM Entertainment. It was later re-recorded in Japanese for the group's second Japanese extended play Sappy, which was released on May 29, 2019.
"Spark" is a song recorded by South Korean singer Taeyeon for her second studio album Purpose. It was released on October 28, 2019, as the album's lead single by SM Entertainment on October 28, 2019. The song was written by Kenzie, and composed by Kenzie, Anne Judith Wik and Ronny Svendsen. It was described as an alternative soul pop song incorporating intense melody with emotions and Taeyeon's overwhelming vocals and the lyrics contains various metaphors that expresses her identity.
"Missing You" is a song by South Korean girl group 2NE1, released on November 21, 2013 by YG Entertainment. The song was produced and written entirely by long-time producer and collaborator Teddy. Commercially, "Missing You" debuted at number one on the Gaon Digital Chart and sold over 1 million digital units by the end of 2014.
"Loco" is a song recorded by South Korean girl group Itzy for their first Korean studio album Crazy in Love. It was released as the lead single on September 24, 2021, by JYP Entertainment. An English version was also included in the album. The lyrics were written by Star Wars (Galactika), and the music was composed by Star Wars (Galactika), Atenna (Galactika), and Woo Bin (Galactika), and arranged by Team Galactika. The English version was written by Star Wars (Galactika) and Sophia Pae.
"Strawberry Moon" is a song by South Korean singer-songwriter IU. It was released on October 19, 2021, through EDAM Entertainment via Kakao M. "Strawberry Moon" was both written and composed by IU, with additional composition credits by Jonghoon Lee and Lee Chae-gyu.
Maverick is the third single album by South Korean boy group The Boyz. It was released on November 1, 2021 through Cre.Ker Entertainment. The single album consists of three tracks, including the lead single "Maverick".
Rescue is a studio album released by South Korean singer Younha. It was released on December 27, 2017, through Loen Entertainment. It consists of eleven tracks, including the lead single "Rescue".
"INVU" is a song recorded by South Korean singer Taeyeon for her third studio album of the same name. It was released as the lead single by SM Entertainment on February 14, 2022. "INVU" was written by Jinli (Full8loom), composed by Peter Wallevik, Daniel Davidsen, Rachel Furner, and Jess Morgan, and arranged by PhD.