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| Ride West | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 16, 2004 | |||
| Recorded | 2003–2004 | |||
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| Length | 49:14 | |||
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| Baby V.O.X chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Ride West | ||||
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Ride West is the seventh studio album by South Korean girl group Baby V.O.X. It was released on April 16, 2004 by DR Music and EMI. It was the last album before the group officially disbanded and it has sold over 80,000 copies.
While preparing for their seventh album, Bungalow Music, which owns a number of hip-hop musicians, was monitoring MTV and Channel V to find Asian artists. This is when they became aware of Baby V.O.X., which had previously topped the charts in the Greater China region and was also popular in Hong Kong, Thailand, and Taiwan. Late last year, Bungalow Music sent a representative to Korea to observe Baby V.O.X. once again through the year-end music awards ceremony and SBS Inkigayo. After that, they proposed that Baby V.O.X. enter the US music market and sign a contract with DR Music, who will be in charge of producing the entire album. Jennifer Lopez participated in chorusing, marking the first time a world-class pop star had sung on a Korean artist's full-length album. The songs were sampled from songs recorded by hip-hop legend Tupac Shakur, with Baby V.O.X. rapping in response to Tupac Shakur raps, and Kim E-Z reflected this in the recording. Recording began in the winter of 2003 and all recording and music video filming was completed in January 2004. [1]
In April 2004, the group released their long-awaited seventh full-length album, "Ride West". The title song "Xcstasy" was rapped by Floss P, a rapper under Bungalow Music, and was scheduled to have its first stage on SBS Inkigayo on the 18th of the same month, but the day before the broadcast, the SBS review office announced that the broadcast was impossible with the title "Xcstasy", and the title had to be suddenly changed to "Fantasy". [2] "Xcstasy" promotions were only planned for two weeks due to rapper Floss P’s other album work, but Floss P showed his loyalty by postponing the album work for Baby V.O.X. promotions and performing the title song for a total of four weeks. [3] Starting in June, they promoted the follow-up song "Play Remix" featuring Jennifer Lopez, and were scheduled to hold a solo concert titled 'Red Saturday' at the Yeomju Gymnasium in Gwangju in July. The concert was supposed to be centered around songs from their 7th album, but [4] it was canceled due to legal disputes with Lee Ha-neul and damage to their image.
In August, they visited Japan to perform on stage at the eve of the ‘2004 Niigata-Seoul Industrial Tourism Cultural Exchange Exhibition’ held at the Nakaoka Welfare Hall in Japan, and held a press conference and mini live stage at the Holiday Hotel in Tokyo, and the Japanese media simultaneously reported on Baby Vox’s visit to Japan. [5] In November, they attended the closing ceremony performance of the ‘1st CAFAIR (East Asia Federation) Expo’ held in Nanning, China in front of Premier Wen Jiabao, and performed passionately on stage. Their participation in this event was at the request of CCTV officials who hosted the performance, and directly demonstrated Baby Vox’s popularity there. [6] Singer Rain and had a large-scale joint concert in Beijing, China starting in December. This concert was not an event-type event but a paid performance. It was the first time in two years since Baby Vox's solo concert in 2002 that a Korean singer received permission to perform, which is unusual. The organizers, Vnet midas and DR china, negotiated with the Chinese government for six months to host this concert, and were able to secure approval for the concert despite the complicated procedures. [7]
In April 2004, while preparing the album, a large Baby V.O.X. measuring 20m wide and 30m tall was built in front of the 10th hole, an island hole, at Bangkok CC, a prestigious golf course in Thailand. The organizers said that all of this was possible because of Baby V.O.X.'s immense popularity in Thailand. [8]
The music video cost close to 4 billion won to produce, including airlifting cars from Hong Kong and other places to feature the world's best racing cars.
Unlike previous albums produced by Korean composers, the group was produced by the US-based label Bungalow Music. Led by producers Floss P and Ond God, "Ride West" features tracks such as "Xcstasy", which samples unreleased rap tracks recorded by American rapper 2Pac, who died in 1996. The album also features tracks like "Play Remix", a rearrangement of Jennifer Lopez's hit "Play", and the R&B ballad "The First and Last". These tracks subtly blend Baby V.O.X.'s signature style with a hip-hop feel, demonstrating an upgraded musicality.
The title tracks "Xcstasy" and "Play Remix" are included in both English and Korean versions, marking the first album in Korean music history to feature both an English title track and music video.
In fact, "Ride West" was originally planned as a 6.5th album (special album), not a full-length album. DR Music revised the decision to 6.5th just before its release, but it was ultimately confirmed to be released as a full-length album. Originally intended as a special album, it contains only six original songs.
The album, aimed at global expansion, including the US, includes songs like "I'm Still Loving You", a hit in China, and the Japanese version of "Go", which was released in Japan. The final track, "Father & I", is from the soundtrack to the film Don't Tell Papa.
Notes
| Chart (2004) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| South Korean Albums (MIAK) [9] | 3 |
| Region | Sales |
|---|---|
| South Korea (MIAK) [10] | 32,863 |
| Region | Release date | Edition | Format | Distributor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Korea | April 16, 2004 | Original edition | CD | |
| United States | US edition | |||
