Closer (Oh My Girl EP)

Production and composition

The EP (also called a mini album) was produced by WM Entertainment's CEO Lee Won-min, with music produced by Choi Jae-hyuk (under the pen name 72) and Moon Jeong-gyu of the Key Artist Agency, a music publishing and production company based in Los Angeles. All five songs had music composed by songwriters associated with the agency, and three of the songs feature rap lyrics written by Oh My Girl member Mimi.

"Closer" was composed by Laura Brian and Sean Alexander, with Korean lyrics by Seo Ji-eum of Jam Factory. Alexander also co-wrote "Playground" and "Sugar Baby", and previously co-wrote three of the songs on Oh My Girl's self-titled debut album. Brian composed the chord progressions, melody, piano hook, and original English lyrics of "Closer", while Alexander did the arrangement. Brian wrote the song to have a "dreamy feel", beautiful and eerie at the same time. It was originally written with an R&B beat for the American song market, and Alexander changed the instrumental to be more upbeat before sending it to contacts at the Key Artist Agency. The song was subsequently purchased by WM Entertainment. Seo's lyrics were written to fit the mysterious and dreamlike feeling, and include cosmic imagery. The song is in the key of C-sharp minor with a tempo of 110 beats per minute.

"Say No More" is a retro-pop R&B song composed by Swedish songwriters Andreas Öberg, Pär Almqvist and August Vinberg. "Playground" is an uptempo pop song about a couple who break up and say goodbye to each other at a playground. "Sugar Baby" is retro-pop song with minor chord progressions and big band instrumentation. In the song's lyrics, the narrator compares her boyfriend to a teddy bear. The last track, "Round About", is an uptempo R&B song with a swing rhythm, composed by the Swedish songwriting team with Korean lyrics by Kim Eana.

The music video for "Closer" was produced by Yoo Sung-gyun of Sunny Visual, who also directed B1A4's "Solo Day" and "Sweet Girl". It has a fairy tale and fantasy-inspired theme, called "magical, sad and beautiful" by Yoonjung Yi of BNT News. The dance choreography was created by Soulme to fit the song's theme. When viewed from above, the choreography forms the shapes of the astrological signs. This corresponds with Mimi's rap lyrics: "Out of all the constellations, I take the one that looks like you / And place it gently in the sky".

Promotion and chart performance

On October 7, 2015, Oh My Girl held a comeback showcase at the 2015 Seoul International Music Fair. The album was released the next day on October 8, in both CD and digital format. Oh My Girl began promoting "Closer" on music shows that same day, starting with M! Countdown. The album ranked at number 6 on the weekly Gaon Album Chart, selling 8,743 physical copies during the month of October. The title track was number 75 on the Gaon Digital Chart and sold 26,204 digital downloads. "Closer" also charted at number 12 on the Billboard World Digital Songs chart. Both the song and album only charted in the first week of release. Oh My Girl promoted on music shows for six weeks, with the final performance taking place on Show! Music Core on November 14.

Critical reception

"Closer" ranked number 14 on Billboard's "20 Best K-Pop Songs of 2015". Staff writers Jeff Benjamin and Jessica Oak said the song is a "whirlwind of dreamy, trance-pop from 2015's most promising new female act". They also said the song is "a youthful-yet-sophisticated declaration of longing, and gorgeously done so". Benjamin, writing for Fuse, said it was one of the best rookie releases of 2015. He praised Oh My Girl's unique songs and said they showed their sensual side with the melancholy "Closer". Billboard's Tamar Herman said the music video and choreography "showed a sense of artistry in an industry often accused of taking creativity out of the musical process".

"Closer" came in at number 5 on Noisey's "Top 20 K-pop Songs of 2015". Jakob Dorof said it was the best example of 2015 to show how the music video, choreography and conceptual narrative can enhance the music. He called the song a "quiet storm of trancey dream-pop", enhanced by the lyrics, music video and choreography. He described the other four tracks of the album as "across-the-board winners", with "Say No More" being a "joyously mathed up complication of first album Ariana". At his own website, the K-Pendium, Dorof said "Closer" was K-pop at its "absolute best" and all five tracks are "saccharine marvels of refracted dream pop, '50s chart music, iconic K-pop tropes, and top-shelf Ariana Grande".

Personnel

Credits adapted from EP liner notes.

Locations

Personnel