Chrysalis (EP)

Background

In November 2015, Mnet announced a new survival show where 101 girl group trainees will compete to be in the Top 11 that would eventually form the group I.O.I. Produce 101 ended on April 1, 2016 and the group immediately started preparations for their debut, starting with recording their own version of the song "Crush", a song produced by Ryan S. Jhun and was performed by the Top 22 of Produce 101 on the show's finale, initially intended to be the group's debut song before YMC Entertainment postponed their debut and announced that they will be recording a different song as the title track of their debut album.

On April 11, YMC Entertainment announced that the group will release the album on May 4 and will hold a debut showcase and a fan meeting on the following day at Jangchung Gymnasium. On April 27, the mini-album title was revealed to be Chrysalis. The group's 2-episode reality show Standby I.O.I showed the group's preparations for the album, from recording their songs including the title track "Dream Girls", to practicing the choreography for the songs and filming the music video. During the showcase held on May 5, it was revealed that member Kim Se-jeong came up with the album title.

Promotion

On May 5, the group held their first media showcase where the girls discussed their album and performed their new songs for the first time including the title track "Dream Girls". They also performed songs from Produce 101 such as "24 Hours" and "Yum-Yum". The group also performed their own version of "Pick Me", "Crush" and "When the Cherry Blossoms Fade", all of which are included in their new album. On the same day, they made their official debut on M! Countdown, performing both "Knock Knock Knock" and "Dream Girls". On May 10, they appeared on The Show performing both, "When the Cherry Blossoms Fade" and "Dream Girls". Due to conflict of interest, the group did not perform on the music shows of three major Korean networks, being KBS, MBC and SBS. On May 20, the group made their first appearance on a non-cable television music show on Music Bank. Its producer, Won Seung Yeon, stated that the group "is always a hot topic and does well in whatever they do" and that "there was no real reason to exclude them". Previously, the girls had also been excluded from being nominated on the three channels' music shows.

Composition

The title track "Dream Girls" is a trap pop dance track produced by Famousbro and Paul, who also composed the album intro "I.O.I". "Dream Girls" was penned by Famousbro with rap parts written by members Lim Na-young and Choi Yoo-jung, both members also wrote the lyrics of "I.O.I". The song was chosen by the members themselves through a blind voting, where the members picked their album's title track by listening to over 30 songs from famous producers. YMC Entertainment affiliates stated that the members chose their title track and other tracks included in the album without knowing the producers and were told to pick songs that 'match the team'.

"똑똑똑 (Knock Knock Knock)" is an R&B/Pop track co-composed by Duble Sidekick, SEION and David Kim, with lyrics by Duble Sidekick, David Kim and Long Candy. "Doo-Wap" was produced and penned by earattack. "Crush" is a trapical Dutch funk track produced by Ryan S. Jhun and was pre-released on April 5, 2016 along with its music video. The song was featured in the finale of Produce 101, intended to be the group's debut single. "벚꽃이 지면 (When The Cherry Blossoms Fade)", produced by Jung Jin-young, is another song that was featured in the finale. I.O.I recorded their versions of both songs along with their version of "Pick Me" which is the final track in the album.

Commercial performance

Chrysalis debuted at number 4 on the Gaon Album Chart while the title track "Dream Girls" debuted at number eight and rose to number 7 a week later. All the other tracks from the album also charted.

"Dream Girls" became the 7th most viewed K-Pop video in America and 4th worldwide in May.

The EP placed at number 38 on the Gaon Album Chart for the year-end 2016 with 74,554 physical copies sold.