Overdrive (EP)

Overdrive
Digital cover
EP by I.M
Released	June 23, 2023
Genre	K-pop
Length	16:22
Language	Korean
Label	Sony Music Korea
I.M chronology
Duality (2021) Overdrive (2023) Off the Beat (2024)
Singles from Overdrive
"Overdrive" Released: June 23, 2023

Overdrive (also stylized in all caps) is the second extended play by the South Korean rapper I.M. It was released by Sony Music Korea on June 23, 2023. The EP contains six tracks, including the lead single of the same name.

Background and release

On May 17, Sony Music Korea unveiled I.M's new album Overdrive and opened official channels exclusively for I.M. ^[1] It will be his first album release after transferring to the new label. ^[2] On May 19, it was announced that Overdrive will be released on June 23, making it both a domestic and a worldwide simultaneous release. ^[3] On June 12, Sony Music Korea announced that there will be countdown live and special meeting time with global fans, to commemorate the release of Overdrive through I.M's YouTube channel, on the day of the release, as well as the released of the behind-the-scenes of the album's preparation process. ^[4] On June 30, I.M released a live film of the track "Habit". ^[5] On August 5 and 6, I.M held the Overdrive Showcase Tour in Seoul at Yes24 Live Hall. ^[6]

The physical EP was released in two standard versions; Metal and Blue, with the addition of jewel case version and POCA versions. ^[7]

Imagery

The cover image embodies the "trajectory of a car speeding through the middle of the night", along with the logo of Overdrive, while the intense color graphics caught the eye, which symbolizes the message of "to run without hesitation for the goal set by oneself at the highest speed". ^[8] It is also correlated with I.M's original musical identity, which was completely melted with the will to run "speed up". ^[4]

Composition

I.M took charge of writing the lyrics, composing, and producing all the songs, while incorporating various genres such as trap, deep soul, R&B, and jazz. ^[8]

Overdrive expressed the will to run without hesitation for the goal set by oneself in any situation with a new emergency. ^[9] If Duality captures the inner story, Overdrive gives the kind of impression that these emotions erupt outward. ^[10] It presented the journey of a relationship that blazes and heads towards a rather ruinous end but leaves behind a trail of burning embers. ^[11]

For the tracks, "Overdrive" is a track that fused the elements of hip hop and R&B which radiated an extremely cool vibe, complemented by the inclusion of sleek perspective play, ^[12] "Blame" is a track that makes a smooth progression from R&B to trap genre which belts out the pain for not being able to forget a love and trying to have that someone get over this guilt, "Dumb" is a track slew of R&B beats which reveals that love makes one act like a fool sometimes and makes one want to do everything possible for that someone, "Habit" is a R&B genre track which is associated with having that attachment with someone and how difficult it is to get out of it, "More" is a sultry track which conveys a sense of understanding and sheer demand of fulfillment of desire, and "Not Sorry" is a track that incorporates retro-jazz music which explains that one does not need to make an apology when follow one's heart and desire. ^[11]

Commercial performance

Overdrive placed at numbers six and nine on the Circle Album Chart, for the week of June 18 to 24, with 88,423 copies sold, ^[13] while number eight on the Circle Retail Album Chart, with 13,038 copies sold. ^[14]

It entered the Melon's "Hall of Fame", which displays honorable records of domestic and foreign artists, with their domestically released albums, joining its "Million Album", an album category which celebrates albums that have achieved one million streams or more within 24 hours of its release, with a record of 1,067,300 total streams, had been commemorated in the "Million Album of All Time". ^[15]

Track listing

Overdrive track listing

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Arrangement	Length
1.	"Overdrive"	I.M	I.M Wooki	Wooki	2:55
2.	"Blame"	I.M	I.M Long Drive The Need	Long Drive The Need	2:41
3.	"Dumb"	I.M	I.M Wooki	Wooki	2:54
4.	"Habit" (Saxophone by Kim Soo-hwan)	I.M	I.M Wooki Yoonseok	Wooki	3:04
5.	"More"	I.M	I.M Long Drive	Long Drive Devine Channel	2:27
6.	"Not Sorry"	I.M	I.M Wooki	Wooki	2:21
Total length:					16:22

Charts

Weekly chart Chart performance for Overdrive Chart (2023) Peak position Japanese Hot Albums ( Billboard Japan ) [16] 36 South Korean Albums (Circle) [13] 6

Monthly chart Chart performance for Overdrive Chart (2023) Peak position South Korean Albums (Circle) [17] 27

Certification and sales

Certification and sales for Overdrive

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
South Korea	—	129,863 [18]

Release history

Release history and formats for Overdrive

Region	Date	Format	Label
South Korea	June 23, 2023	CD digital download streaming	Sony Music Korea
Various		Digital download streaming

References

1. Jang, Seul-gi (May 17, 2023). 몬스타엑스 아이엠, 새 앨범 타이틀 'OVERDRIVE'…솔로 활동 시동 [MONSTA X I.M, new album title 'OVERDRIVE'... starting a solo career]. Raon Newspaper (in Korean). Retrieved June 13, 2023.
2. Kim, Won-hee (May 4, 2023). [단독]몬스타엑스 아이엠, 6월 이적 후 첫 컴백 확정 [[Exclusive] MONSTA X I.M confirms first comeback after transferring in June]. Sports Kyunghyang (in Korean). Retrieved June 13, 2023– via Naver.
3. Park, Soo-in (May 19, 2023). 몬스타엑스 아이엠 솔로앨범, 6월23일 전세계 동시 공개 [MONSTA X I.M solo album to be released worldwide on June 23rd]. Newsen (in Korean). Retrieved June 13, 2023– via Naver.
4. Choi, Song-hee (June 12, 2023). 아이엠 '오버드라이브' 23일 발매…카운트 라이브 예고 [IM 'Overdrive' released on the 23rd... count live preview]. Aju Economy (in Korean). Retrieved June 13, 2023.
5. Kang, Bo-ra (July 3, 2023). 몬스타엑스 아이엠, 'Habit' 라이브 필름 공개 [Monsta X I.M, 'Habit' live film released]. Single List (in Korean). Retrieved July 3, 2023.
6. Jeon, Jae-kyung (July 12, 2023). 몬스타엑스 아이엠, 첫 솔로 쇼케이스 투어 8월 개최 [Monsta X I.M to hold first solo showcase tour in August]. Newsis (in Korean). Retrieved July 12, 2023– via Naver.
7. Hwang, Mi-hyun (June 12, 2023). 아이엠, 솔로 앨범 콘셉트 포토 공개 '치명+와일드' [I.M, solo album concept photo release 'Fatal + Wild']. news 1 (in Korean). Retrieved June 13, 2023– via Naver.
8. Hwang, Mi-hyun (June 13, 2023). 아이엠, 솔로 신보 커버 공개 "내면의 감정 솔직하게 담아" [I.M, solo new album cover release "Honest expression of inner feelings"]. news 1 (in Korean). Retrieved June 13, 2023– via Naver.
9. Kim, Na-young (June 22, 2023). 몬스타엑스 아이엠의 'OVERDRIVE' #새 출발 #전곡 프로듀싱 [MONSTA X I.M's 'OVERDRIVE' #New start #All song production]. MK Sports (in Korean). Retrieved June 22, 2023– via Naver.
10. Choi, Song-hee (June 24, 2023). [종합] "아이엠의 온전한 향기"…변화와 도전 담은 '오버 드라이브' [[Comprehensive] "The perfect scent of I.M"... 'Overdrive' with change and challenge]. Aju Economy (in Korean). Retrieved June 24, 2023.
11. Iyengar, Nandini (June 26, 2023). "MONSTA X's I.M blazes into a new challenge with 'Overdrive' – Album Review". Bollywood Hungama . Retrieved June 27, 2023.
12. Bhanarkar, Rujula (June 25, 2023). "I'm satisfied with the album and I'm proud of it: MONSTA X's Changkyun dishes on his solo release OVERDRIVE". Sportskeeda. Retrieved June 26, 2023.
13. "Week 25 of 2023 Album Chart". Circle Chart (in Korean). June 18–24, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
14. Kim, Sung-hee (June 26, 2023). 에이티즈, 299,970장 판매 기록하며 써클차트 25주차 리테일앨범주간차트 1위, 세븐틴·강다니엘·에이티즈 TOP5 [ATEEZ sold 299,970 copies and topped the Retail Album Weekly Chart for the 25th week of the Circle Chart, Seventeen, Kang Daniel, and ATEEZ TOP5]. Top Star News (in Korean). Retrieved July 1, 2023.
15. 멜론 명예의 전당 - I.M (아이엠) [OVERDRIVE] [Melon Hall of Fame - I.M [OVERDRIVE]]. Melon (in Korean). Retrieved July 4, 2023.
16. "Billboard Japan Hot Albums – Week of August 30, 2023". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved August 30, 2023.
17. "June 2023 Album Chart". Circle Chart (in Korean). Retrieved July 7, 2023.
18. Cumulative sales for Overdrive (POCA + CD):
    • "Week 25 of 2023 Album Chart". Circle Chart (in Korean). June 18–24, 2023. Archived from the original on June 29, 2023. Retrieved June 29, 2023.
    • "Week 26 of 2023 Album Chart". Circle Chart (in Korean). June 25 – July 1, 2023. Archived from the original on July 6, 2023. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
    • "June 2023 Album Chart". Circle Chart (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 8, 2022. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
    • "Week 27 of 2023 Album Chart". Circle Chart (in Korean). July 2–8, 2023. Archived from the original on July 13, 2023. Retrieved July 13, 2023.
    • "Week 28 of 2023 Album Chart". Circle Chart (in Korean). July 9–15, 2023. Archived from the original on July 22, 2023. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
    • "Week 29 of 2023 Album Chart". Circle Chart (in Korean). July 16–22, 2023. Archived from the original on July 27, 2023. Retrieved July 27, 2023.
    • "Week 31 of 2023 Album Chart". Circle Chart (in Korean). July 30 – August 5, 2023. Archived from the original on August 10, 2023. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
    • "Week 32 of 2023 Album Chart". Circle Chart (in Korean). August 6–12, 2023. Archived from the original on August 17, 2023. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
    • "Week 33 of 2023 Album Chart". Circle Chart (in Korean). August 13–19, 2023. Retrieved August 24, 2023.
    • "Week 34 of 2023 Album Chart". Circle Chart (in Korean). August 20–26, 2023. Retrieved August 31, 2023.