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Stranger (EP)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Stranger"
Normal and digital special edition cover
Single by JO1
from the album Kizuna
LanguageJapanese
A-side"Real"
ReleasedAugust 18, 2021 (2021-08-18)
Recorded2021
Genre
Length
  • 13:30 (Limited edition A)
  • 13:42 (Limited edition B)
  • 13:45 (Normal edition)
  • 20:29 (Special edition)
LabelLapone Entertainment
Producer(s)
  • Jung Ho-hyun
  • Score
  • Megatone
  • Teito
  • Lee Min-young (Eastwest)
  • Yeul (1by1)
  • KZ
  • Honeysweet
  • Gloryface
  • Yuka
JO1 singles chronology
"Challenger"
(2021) 		"Stranger"
(2021) 		"Wandering"
(2021)
Music video
"Real" on YouTube

Stranger (stylized in all capitals) is an extended play (EP) marketed as the fourth single of Japanese boy group JO1. It also served as the second single for their second studio album, Kizuna (2022). Consisting of a total of six songs that fall mostly in the EDM, futurepop and city pop genres, the EP single was released by Lapone Entertainment into three different physical editions and one digital edition on August 18, 2021. It features the participation of various Japanese lyricists and South Korean producers such as Yhanael [ja], Jung Ho-hyun, Score, Megatone, KZ, Full8loom and others.

As part of the promotion, the two B-side tracks were released as a digital single prior to the release of the EP single. "Dreaming Night", used as the opening song of drama Love Phantom [ja], was released on June 25, while "Freedom" was released on July 7 for Yves Saint Laurent Beauté's fragrance web commercial video. Both tracks managed to chart in Billboard Japan Hot 100. Stranger became the fourth single of the group that earned number one position on the Oricon Singles Chart and became their fastest single that surpassed 400,000 copies sold according to Billboard Japan. It earned a Platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of Japan. Meanwhile, the lead track "Real" peaked atop the Billboard Japan Hot 100, and its music video was named as the Best Dance Video by the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards Japan.

Background and release

[edit]

On June 8, 2021, JO1 featured for the third time as the headliner for Tokyo Girls Collection.[4] In the 2021 Sanrio Character Awards' result presentation part of the event, the group performed two songs, "Shine a Light" and "Yancha Girl Yancha Boy", from their first studio album The Star (2020).[5] For the latter, they performed together with character Cinnamoroll.[4][5] At the end of the performance, leader Sho Yonashiro announced the group would release their fourth EP single Stranger on August 18.[5] Continuing the theme of their previous single Challenger where they were "stepping into the unknown world", the concept for this single was said to be "encountering the world and discovering a new self".[6] The covers for the EP singles were released on June 21.[7] A commemorative live streaming was then held on the single's release day where JO1 announced that their first live concert titled 2021 JO1 Live "Open the Door" would be held on November 19–21, 2021, at Makuhari Messe, Chiba city.[8]

Stranger consists of a total of six songs that were released into three different physical editions with "Real" served as the lead track. Each type of the single consists of four tracks with three common tracks, which are "Real", "Icarus" and "Blooming Again".[6] The special track of the limited edition A and B, "Freedom" and "Dreaming Night", were released as a digital single on July 7 and June 25, respectively,[9][10] while "Icarus" was pre-released on August 11 alongside its performance video.[11] The limited edition A comes with a DVD bundle consisting of a variety segment with the members called Beautiful Stranger. The limited edition B and the normal edition come with a photo booklet and a CD-only, respectively.[6] A special edition EP that includes all the songs was released for digital download and streaming.

Lead track

[edit]

The lead track "Real" is an EDM song in a genre called futurepop.[1][2] Jung Ho-hyun (e.one), who was in charge of lyrics, composing, and arrangement, has worked with groups such as Wanna One and Exo.[2] The lyrics was said to express the growth and change of JO1.[1] Choreographed by Yoo Seung-hyun,[12] the move where the members hugging each other symbolizes JO1 members meeting their "new" selves they have never met.[1] That meaning was also reflected by the use of water and mirror in the music video,[13] directed by Ryohei Shingu [ja].[14]

The song was pre-released on July 30, 2021, alongside the music video.[13] It was used as the theme song for the 18th edition of Fuji TV's annual summer event The Odaiba held on August 14–September 5, 2021,[15] and later peaked at number one on the Billboard Japan Hot 100.[16] The music video gained more than one million views on YouTube in its first 24 hours,[17] helping the group to reach their highest views in a week on the Oricon YouTube chart.[18] It was then crowned as the Best Dance Video by the 2021 MTV Video Music Awards Japan.[19][20]

Promotion

[edit]

The promotion for Stranger started with the first performance of B-side track "Dreaming Night", which had been used as the opening song of MBS's drama Love Phantom [ja], at the KCON:TACT 4U on June 25, 2021.[9] The group also performed the song on their namesake TV show Toresugi JO1 2 on July 16.[21] The song peaked at number 85 on Billboard Japan Hot 100 in its second week.[22] JO1 then performed another B-side track "Freedom" on July 7 at the launching of Yves Saint Laurent Beauté's fragrance web commercial video which featured the song,[10] and released a special performance video on the group's official YouTube channel on the same day.[23] The song debuted at number 82 on Billboard Japan Hot 100 in the release week.[24]

To further promote the single, JO1 was appointed as "artist of the month" for Tokyo FM's nationwide weekly program Monthly Artist File: The Voice for the month of August 2021.[25] They also released a performance video for the track "Icarus",[26] which acts as the "answer song" to the song "Monstar" from The Star.[11] Both performance video of "Icarus" and "Freedom" are directed by Hidejin Kato.[27] JO1 also released a self-produced music video for "Stay".[28]

On August 13, JO1 performed "Real" for the first time on Mezamashi 8.[29] It served as a teaser for their live performance at The Odaiba on the following day, where they performed three other songs from the single and their previous lead track "Born to Be Wild".[30][31] They also performed "Real" on music show CDTV Live Live and their namesake show Playlist JO1.[32][33] On September 23, JO1 participated in a joint live concert along with other post-Produce 101 Japan groups, OWV and Enjin, titled KCON World Premiere: The Triangle. They performed all songs from Stranger between the two shows.[34]

Commercial performance

[edit]

Stranger debuted at number one on the Oricon Daily Singles Chart and eventually topped the weekly chart with over 280,000 copies sold, keeping the streak the group has since their debut single Protostar.[35][8] This streak earned JO1 an achievement as the tenth overall group and the fifth male group in the history of Oricon charts to have first week sales of over 200,000 copies for four consecutive singles since its debut.[36] JO1 saw an increase in sales with Stranger surpassing the total sales of the last two singles in its second week on the Oricon Charts.[37] It was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Japan for shipments of over 250,000 physical units.[38] By the end of 2021, the single ranked twenty-first on the 2021 Oricon Annual Ranking with 366,212 copies sold.[39]

On Billboard Japan, Stranger debuted atop Top Singles Sales chart,[40] and became JO1's fastest single that surpassed 400,000 copies sold (in two weeks).[41] It eventually became twenty-first best selling single on the annual chart.[42]

Track listing

[edit]

"Real", "Icarus" and "Blooming Again" are common track 1, 3 and 4, respectively, for limited edition A, limited edition B and normal edition.

Track listing of Stranger – Limited edition A
No.TitleLyricsMusicArrangementLength
1."Real"
Jung Ho-hyunJung Ho-hyun3:14
2."Freedom"
  • Score (13)
  • Megatone (13)
  • Onestar
  • Luke (13)
  • Yhanael
  • Score
  • Megatone
  • Onestar
  • Score
  • Megatone
3:16
3."Icarus"
  • Skinner Box
  • Minami
  • Teito (KCKT)
  • Skinner Box
Teito3:16
4."Blooming Again"
  • Choi Hyun-joon
  • Mion Yano
Lee Min-young (Eastwest)
  • Lee
  • Yeul (1by1)
3:44
Total length:13:30
Track listing of Stranger – Limited edition B
No.TitleLyricsMusicArrangementLength
2."Dreaming Night"
  • KZ
  • Stainboys
  • Chungyoon (Joombas)
  • KZ
  • Honeysweat
  • Puyo
  • KZ
  • Honeysweat
3:28
Total length:13:42
Track listing of Stranger – Normal edition
No.TitleLyricsMusicArrangementLength
2."Stay"Jinli (Full8loom)
  • Gloryface (Full8loom)
  • Jinli
  • Yuka (Full8loom)
  • Gloryface
  • Yuka
3:31
Total length:13:45
Track listing of Stranger – Special edition (digital)
No.TitleLength
1."Real"3:14
2."Freedom"3:16
3."Dreaming Night"3:28
4."Stay"3:31
5."Icarus"3:16
6."Blooming Again"3:44
Total length:20:29
Track listing of Stranger – Limited edition A (DVD)
No.TitleLength
1."Beautiful Stranger"1:01:02

Charts

[edit]

Certifications

[edit]
Certifications and sales for Stranger
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Japan (RIAJ)[38] Platinum 250,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

[edit]
Release dates and formats for Stranger
Region Date Label Format(s) Edition Catalog
Japan August 18, 2021 Lapone Entertainment
Limited A YRCS-90196
  • CD
  • photo booklet
 Limited B YRCS-90197
  • CD
 Normal YRCS-90198
Various
Special —

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d "JO1、メンバーがハグし合うダンスが注目の「REAL」を初パフォーマンス！ 佐藤景瑚のバースデーサプライズも". The Television (in Japanese). July 31, 2021. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c "JO1沼はなぜ深いのか？最新SG「STRANGER」リード曲を軸に作品面から迫る". The First Times (in Japanese). August 17, 2021. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
  3. ^ "勢いが止まらないJO1、新シングルで見せた新境地 與那城奨「今まで見たことがないJO1を」". Okinawa Times (in Japanese). August 20, 2021. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
  4. ^ a b "サンリオキャラ大賞発表会でJO1がシナモロール、井上苑子はキティと歌う！ラップバトルに荘子itが曲提供". natalie.mu (in Japanese). May 27, 2021. Archived from the original on June 9, 2021. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
  5. ^ a b c "JO1、シナモロールと「やんちゃ」コラボパフォーマンス＜2021年サンリオキャラクター大賞＞". Modelpress (in Japanese). June 9, 2021. Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  6. ^ a b c "JO1の4thシングルは「STRANGER」、コンセプトは"見慣れない世界と出会い新たな自分を発見"". natalie.mu (in Japanese). June 8, 2021. Archived from the original on June 8, 2021. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
  7. ^ "JO1、4thシングル「STRANGER」センターは川西拓実 新アーティスト写真が解禁". Oricon (in Japanese). June 21, 2021. Archived from the original on July 22, 2021. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
  8. ^ a b "JO1、1stライブは11月に3日間5公演 デビュー以来初の有観客ライブ". Oricon (in Japanese). August 18, 2021. Archived from the original on August 18, 2021. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
  9. ^ a b "JO1、初のドラマ主題歌「Dreaming Night」 『KCON:TACT 4 U』で初パフォーマンス". Oricon (in Japanese). June 24, 2021. Archived from the original on July 1, 2021. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  10. ^ a b "JO1、日本人初YSLフレグランスWEB CMに出演 新曲「Freedom」テーマソングに". Modelpress (in Japanese). June 28, 2021. Archived from the original on July 22, 2021. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
  11. ^ a b "JO1、4thシングル「STRANGER」収録「ICARUS」のパフォーマンスビデオ公開 「MONSTAR」のアンサーソングに". Oricon (in Japanese). August 11, 2021. Archived from the original on August 19, 2021. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
  12. ^ "Creator Voice". 別冊カドカワScene 08 (in Japanese). Japan: Kadokawa. July 28, 2021. p. 56.
  13. ^ a b "JO1、新曲「REAL」MV解禁 特徴は"ハグダンス" 24時間以内100万再生でメンバー制作MV公開". Oricon (in Japanese). July 30, 2021. Archived from the original on August 19, 2021. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
  14. ^ "ミュージックビデオサーチ". Space Shower TV (in Japanese). Archived from the original on August 13, 2021. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
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  19. ^ "Winners". VMAJ 2021 (in Japanese). Archived from the original on October 29, 2021. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
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  21. ^ "「トレスギJO1」でJO1が「Dreaming Night」TV初披露、"おやすみ"振り付けを「ぜひやってみて」". natalie.mu (in Japanese). July 8, 2021. Archived from the original on July 22, 2021. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
  22. ^ "Japan Hot 100 7 July 2021". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Archived from the original on July 7, 2021. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  23. ^ "JO1、「Freedom」PERFORMANCE VIDEOが公開 先行配信もスタート". Oricon (in Japanese). July 7, 2021. Archived from the original on July 22, 2021. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
  24. ^ "Japan Hot 100 17 July 2021". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Archived from the original on July 14, 2021. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  25. ^ "『Monthly Artist File-THE VOICE-』JO1が2021年8月パーソナリティ！4THシングル『STRANGER』の制作エピソードを語り尽くす！". PR Times (in Japanese). July 25, 2021. Archived from the original on August 19, 2021. Retrieved September 7, 2021.
  26. ^ "JO1が表現する翼に注目「ICARUS」パフォーマンスビデオ公開". natalie.mu (in Japanese). August 11, 2021. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
  27. ^ "JO1「Freedom」「ICARUS」". P.I.C.S (in Japanese). Archived from the original on September 28, 2021. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
  28. ^ "JO1が海で大はしゃぎ！メンバープロデュースの「STAY」ミュージックビデオ公開". natalie.mu (in Japanese). August 21, 2021. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
  29. ^ "JO1、8/13「めざましテレビ」「めざまし8」に連続生出演！「ICARUS」パフォーマンスビデオ公開中". Navicon (in Japanese). August 12, 2021. Archived from the original on August 12, 2021. Retrieved September 7, 2021.
  30. ^ "『めざましライブ』第1弾出演アーティスト発表 JO1、山崎育三郎、金爆ら". Oricon (in Japanese). August 2, 2021. Archived from the original on August 2, 2021. Retrieved September 7, 2021.
  31. ^ "JO1イチ"爽やかなメンバー"は川西拓実！「めざましライブ」でリアルな一面明かす". Fuji TV View (in Japanese). August 23, 2021. Archived from the original on August 26, 2021. Retrieved September 7, 2021.
  32. ^ "Kis-My-Ft2、SixTONES、JO1ら11組 『CDTVライブ!』夏フェス第1夜に出演". Oricon (in Japanese). August 9, 2021. Archived from the original on August 16, 2021. Retrieved September 7, 2021.
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  34. ^ "「遠く離れてても空でつながってる」JO1、OWV、円神が集い有観客ライブの喜び噛み締めた「KCON」". natalie.mu (in Japanese). September 26, 2021. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
  35. ^ デイリーシングルランキング 2021年08月17日付 [Oricon Daily Single Ranking 17/08/2021]. Oricon. Archived from the original on August 18, 2021. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
  36. ^ "JO1、「STRANGER(REAL)」が4作連続の1位 河野「努力を惜しまず、進み続けたい」【オリコンランキング】". Oricon. Archived from the original on August 24, 2021. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  37. ^ Stranger first two weeks physical sales:
  38. ^ a b "Japanese single certifications – JO1 – Stranger" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Select 2021年8月 on the drop-down menu
  39. ^ a b "【オリコン年間ランキング2021】Snow Man、唯一のミリオン達成で「シングル」年間1位". Oricon. November 29, 2021. p. 2. Archived from the original on December 23, 2021. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
  40. ^ "Top Singles Sales". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). August 25, 2021. Archived from the original on August 25, 2021. Retrieved August 26, 2021.
  41. ^ "Hey! Say! JUMP『群青ランナウェイ』初週23.4万枚でシングル・セールス首位". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). August 30, 2021. Archived from the original on September 1, 2021. Retrieved September 7, 2021.
  42. ^ a b "Billboard Japan Top Singles Sales Year End 2021". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Archived from the original on December 10, 2021. Retrieved December 10, 2021.
  43. ^ 2021年08月16日～2021年08月22日 週間 デジタルアルバムランキング [Oricon Weekly Single Ranking 16/08/2021 - 22/08/2021]. Oricon. Archived from the original on August 25, 2021. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  44. ^ 2021年08月16日～2021年08月22日 オリコン週間 合算シングルランキング [Oricon Weekly Combined Single Ranking 16/08/2021 - 22/08/2021]. Oricon. Archived from the original on August 27, 2021. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
  45. ^ "【ビルボード】JO1『STRANGER』36.8万枚でシングル・セールス首位、自身最高の初週売上". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). August 23, 2021. Archived from the original on August 27, 2021. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
  46. ^ 月間 シングルランキング 2021年08月度 [Oricon Monthly Single Ranking 2021/08]. Oricon. Archived from the original on September 8, 2021. Retrieved September 8, 2021.
  47. ^ "オリコンランキング情報サービス「you大樹」" [Oricon Ranking Information Service 'You Big Tree' (Annual Combined Singles Ranking 2021)]. Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved December 18, 2021.
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