Universe: The Black Hall | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | February 12, 2020 | |||
Recorded | 2019–2020 | |||
Genre | K-pop | |||
Length | 37:06 | |||
Language | Korean | |||
Label | ||||
Pentagon chronology | ||||
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Pentagon studio album chronology | ||||
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Alternative cover | ||||
Singles from Universe:The Black Hall | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Dr. 베베(Dr. BeBe)" on YouTube |
Universe:The Black Hall is the first studio album and debut major Korean release by South Korean boy group Pentagon. It was released on February 12,2020,by Cube Entertainment and distributed by Kakao M and U-Cube. [1] The album marks their longest gap between their previous extended plays since the ninth mini album Sum(me:r) released in July last year. [2] The group continue to promote as eight as Cube states Yan An did not participate in Pentagon's first full album promotions. [3]
The album contains eleven tracks with the lead single "Dr. Bebe" composed by member Hui with Nathan and Yunji. [4] The album features member Jinho,Hui,Wooseok,Kino,Yeo One,Hongseok,Shin Won,and Yuto who participated in the album process.
It was revealed in GQ Korea's February 2020 interview with Pentagon that the title song for their upcoming studio album has been confirmed. Member Kino states that the song is produced by Hui and it is a concept that Pentagon has never done before.
Leader Hui stated the reason why it's "black hall" and not "black hole" is because it means it is the space in which Universe (fandom name) and Pentagon walk hand in hand together. According to member Kino,the album is the culmination of all their previous works and it also represents a new start for them. [5] Three months prior to its release,Hui written and thrown away 5 songs,and finished 9 songs which were not included,but 3 songs were included in the album. [5] During the group's album showcase,Wooseok revealed that his lower back hurts during practicing for the title song,but is in the midst of recovery. [6]
On January 30,Cube shared the time schedule for the group upcoming comeback as "Pentagon's 1st Full Album [UNIVERSE :THE BLACK HALL]", [7] which the group revealed their group image on February 4 and 5, [8] [9] and followed with audio snippet on February 6. [10] On February 10,Cube released the music video teaser for title track "Dr. Bebe". [11]
The album was released through several music portals,including MelOn,iTunes,and Spotify. [12] [13] [14]
The title song "Dr. Bebe" is an electronic genre based on hip-hop rhythm. The song contains four themes 'Love,Fall,Hurt and Crazy' it is talking about repeated 'bridle of love' that everyone falls in love with,breaks up,get hurts,goes crazy and loves again. "Asteroid" is an up-tempo pop genre with synth-pluck sound,groovy drumbeats and unique synth line added to the song's ambience. The medium tempo "Shower of Rain" based on the hip-hop genre with easily with lyrics and lyrical melody portrays a man crying in the rain to hide the tears flowing from the heartbreak. "Die For You" contains a love story that happened after he was abandoned by his ex-lover. [12] The song is composed by member Kino with an inspiration of Harley Quinn from the movie Suicide Squad . [15] [16] "Talk" is a sensual R&B ballad song featuring the stories of old lovers who don't dare to know each other's hearts. Member Jinho and Wooseok participated in the writing. "The Black Hall" is an EDM dance song made through a collaboration between Hui and duo Flow Blow who together produce "Never" and "energetic" in 2016. "Worship U" is a trendy and energetic medium tempo synth-pop that tells a story of a man whose life has changed through his love and promises to his lover that her love her until the end of his life. Oriental guitar and synth sound creates "Zoom Up" a dreamy and mysterious atmosphere with heavy bass and groovy rhythm song. "Camelia" is a modern rock ballad song produced and written by member Yuto. Through the meaning of camellia,the song depicts memories that Pentagon and Universe spent together in the past 3 years. [15] The album also contains two special tracks,"Someday" that has the vocals of Jinho and Hui,and "Happiness (Korean Ver.)" is a newly released Korean version of "Happiness" which was the double title song of Pentagon's 2nd Japanese single Happiness/Sha La La. [12]
Tamar Herman of Billboard magazine called the title track "dynamic in its propulsive angst with pounding choruses,rapidfire raps,and melodic showcasing the diverse tones of the eight members. [17]
No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Arrangement | Length |
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1. | "Dr. BeBe" (Dr. 베베) |
|
| 3:11 | |
2. | "Asteroid" (소행성) |
|
|
| 3:27 |
3. | "Shower of Rain" (빗물 샤워) |
|
|
| 3:16 |
4. | "Die for You" |
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| NATHAN | 3:35 |
5. | "Talk" |
|
|
| 3:06 |
6. | "The Black Hall" |
|
|
| 3:09 |
7. | "Worship U" |
|
|
| 3:17 |
8. | "Zoom Up" |
|
|
| 3:16 |
9. | "Camellia" (동백꽃) |
|
|
| 3:28 |
10. | "Someday" (Song by Jinho and Hui) (Special) |
|
|
| 3:57 |
11. | "Happiness" (Korean ver. Special) |
|
|
| 3:24 |
Total length: | 37:06 |
On January 28, 2020, Pentagon released a forty-one second-long album trailer video. The video revealed Pentagon's logo shining brightly into a black hole after several intersecting images of the universe, with the release date of Pentagon's first studio album. [18] The album was supposed to accompany by a fan showcase but Cube Entertainment decided to cancel it due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [19] Only a live showcase without the attendance of fans was broadcast live on Vlive. [20]
Cube held Uni Hall outside Cafe 20 Space: The Mint Universe from February 12 to March 1, 2020. [21]
On December 12, 2019, a media showcase was held to commemorate the release of the group's first regular album at YES24 Live Hall in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul. [22]
The group began promoting their title track "Dr. Bebe" on February 13 on Mnet's M Countdown performing together with "Camellia", [23] followed by performances on KBS' Music Bank , [24] MBC's Show! Music Core',' [25] and SBS' Inkigayo . [26]
Pentagon continue their promotion activities with follow-up song "Shower of Rain" starting March 12, on MCountdown. [27]
The music video for the title track was released at midnight, 00:00 KST, on the 12th through Pentagon's official YouTube channel. The music video was meant to be released at the same time as the digital music release but due to the overwhelming response, it was brought forward to midnight on the 12th. [28] The music video showed the members facing terrors raging over love and encountering a variety of dangerous encounters. [17]
On February 14, the official lyrics and dance practice video for "Dr. Bebe" was released on both Pentagon's official YouTube and V Live channel. [29] [30]
On February 16, the music video surpassed 10 million views making it their fastest music video to reach it since debut. [31] Pentagon also released "Dr. Bebe"'s performance version music video on February 17. [32]
In M2, Kino stated that in "Dr. Bebe"'s music video, the remaining members are all his alter ego. The video presents two sides, Upside which means reality and Downside means inner feelings. The Upside shows how they are foolishly waiting for their loved ones and slowly turning into madness, while the Downside shows how they tried to escape from the pain of love. Both sides are connected by the metronome. Also, the trailer of the music video showed Hui during "Shine" with the paper aeroplane, and it changed colour as it landed on "Dr. Bebe"'s music video set. This represents how "A boy that wanted to experience love, finally experienced it, and feel the pain when he broke up". [33]
Critic/Publication | List | Work | Rank | Ref. |
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South China Morning Post | Top 15 K-pop albums of 2020 | Universe: The Black Hall | — | [34] |
Dazed | 40 Best K-pop songs of 2020 | "Dr. Bebe" | 31 | [35] |
Chart (2020) | Peak position |
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Japanese Albums (Oricon) [36] | 14 |
South Korean Albums (Gaon) [37] | 3 |
Region | Date | Format | Label |
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South Korea | February 12, 2020 | ||
Various |
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Cube Entertainment Inc. is a South Korean entertainment company currently manages several artists, namely Jo Kwon, Pentagon, Yoo Seon-ho, (G)I-dle, and Lightsum. It also manages several entertainers, including Lee Hwi-jae and Heo Kyung-hwan. It was formerly home to K-pop artists such as 4Minute, Beast, G.NA, Roh Ji-hoon, A Train To Autumn, Lai Kuan-lin, Jang Hyun-seung, CLC, and BtoB.
Pentagon is a South Korean multi-national boy band formed by Cube Entertainment in 2016. The group consists of nine members: Jinho, Hui, Hongseok, Shinwon, Yeo One, Yan An, Yuto, Kino and Wooseok. Originally composed of ten members, E'Dawn left the group and the record label on November 14, 2018. They were introduced through the Mnet survival show Pentagon Maker. Pentagon released their self-titled debut EP on October 10, 2016.
Five Senses is the second extended play from South Korean boy band Pentagon. It was released on December 7, 2016, by Cube Entertainment. The album consists of five tracks, including the title track, "Can You Feel It".
No.1 is the eighth and most recent Korean extended play by South Korean girl group CLC. It was released digitally on January 30, 2019, and physically on January 31, by Cube Entertainment and distributed by Kakao M. It features five tracks, including the lead single "No".
Genie:us is the eighth Korean-language mini album from South Korean boy band Pentagon. It was released on March 27, 2019 by Cube Entertainment. The album consists of six tracks, with "Sha La La" serving as the album's title track. This is the first Korean-language EP the band has released as a nine-member group, with original member E’Dawn departing the group in late 2018, as well as the first album not to involve E'Dawn in any capacity. Member Kino did not participate in stage promotions for "Sha La La" due to an ankle injury he suffered in January. Starting on April 16, 2019, the group promoted the song "Spring Snow" for a week, for which Kino was able to participate in.
Lee Hoe-taek, better known as Hui (Korean: 후이), is a South Korean singer, songwriter, composer, and actor. He debuted as the leader, main vocalist and lead dancer of boy group Pentagon in October 2016, under Cube Entertainment. He was a member of the co-ed trio Triple H, alongside former bandmate Dawn and former labelmate Hyuna, and is the leader of trot boy group Super Five of MBC's Favorite Entertainment. He is also well known for his participation in the reality competition series Boys Planet, where he placed 13th overall.
Kang Hyung-gu, better known as Kino (키노), is a South Korean singer, songwriter, rapper, composer and dancer. He is best known as a member of the boy group Pentagon, which debuted in 2016 under Cube Entertainment. He releases solo music on SoundCloud under the name Knnovation.
Sum(me:r) is the ninth extended play by South Korean boy group Pentagon. The album was released on July 17, 2019 by Cube Entertainment under Kakao M distribution. Member Yan An did not participate in the activities for health reasons.
This is the list of South Korean K-Pop boy band Pentagon videography. It includes music videos, music clips, variety shows, TV dramas and commercial films since its debut in 2016.
Rendez-vous is the debut extended play by South Korean Im Hyun-sik of BtoB. The album was released on October 14, 2019 by Cube Entertainment under U-CUBE and Kakao M distribution.
Yeo Chang-gu, better known by his stage name Yeo One, is a South Korean singer and actor. He debuted as a vocalist in a South Korean boy group Pentagon in October 2016. Aside from group activities as singer, he has also starred in various television and web dramas.
Kim Hyo-jong, better known as Dawn and formerly E'Dawn, is a South Korean rapper and singer-songwriter. Dawn is best known as a former rapper and songwriter of the South Korean boy band Pentagon, releasing nine EPs in both Korean and Japanese before his departure from Cube Entertainment in 2018. Dawn also participated in the group Triple H alongside (then) bandmate Hui and labelmate Hyuna for the release of two EPs.
We:th is the tenth extended play by South Korean boy group Pentagon. The EP was released digitally and physically on October 12, 2020, by Cube Entertainment, eight months after their first studio album Universe: The Black Hall released in February. The album is the group's first release without member Jinho, who was completing his mandatory military service. After a 440-day hiatus due to health reason, member Yan An participated in the album. The physical version is available in two versions: "Seen" and "Unseen".
"Daisy" is a song recorded by South Korean boy group Pentagon, released on October 12, 2020, by Cube Entertainment as the lead single of the group's tenth extended play WE:TH. The song was written by members Hui and Wooseok, alongside producer Nathan.
We Can is the second extended play by South Korean girl group Weeekly. It was released on October 13, 2020, by Play M and distributed by Kakao M. The physical version of the EP was made available in two versions: "Orb" and "Wave". It contains five tracks, including the lead single "Zig Zag".
We L:ve, also known as the 2020 Pentagon Online Concert WE LIVE, is the first online live concert by South Korean boy group Pentagon. Initially, the live concert is set to be broadcast live at 3 pm KST on November 29, 2020. However, a day before the event, Cube announced that the concert would be "urgently postponed", amid the COVID-19 pandemic. A rescheduled date for the concert was held on December 13.
Yuto Adachi, known mononymously as Yuto, is a Japanese rapper, singer, songwriter and composer. He is a member of the South Korean boy group Pentagon, formed by Cube Entertainment.
"Shine" is a song recorded by South Korean boy group Pentagon. It was released on April 2, 2018, by Cube Entertainment and distributed by LOEN Entertainment as the lead single from the group's third extended play Positive. The Japanese version of the song was released by Cube Entertainment Japan, distributed by Universal Music Japan on August 29, 2018. The track was written by E'Dawn, Hui, Yuto, Wooseok with Flow Blow credited as the producer. This is the last Korean single to feature E'Dawn due to his hiatus and subsequent departure from the group.
Love or Take is the eleventh Korean extended play by South Korean boy group Pentagon. It was released on March 15, 2021, by Cube Entertainment and Universal Music. Member Hui participated in the album's writing and recording process, but did not take part in promotional activities due to serving his mandatory military enlistment. The physical album is available in three versions: Romantic, Sporty and Mild.
"Do or Not" is a song recorded by South Korean boy group Pentagon, released on March 15, 2021, by Cube Entertainment as the second track and lead single of the group's eleventh extended play, Love or Take written and produced by members Hui and Wooseok, alongside Nathan. The song is a refreshing Pentagon-style song that follows the footsteps of their other songs like "Shine", "Spring Snow" and "Daisy".