Released May 11, 2012 Length 11:34 Producer Jo Young-chul | Label LOEN Entertainment | |
Spring of a Twenty Year Old(2012) Can You Hear Me?(2013) | ||
Spring of a Twenty Year Old (Hangul: 스무 살의 봄; RR: Seumusal-ui Bom) is a special Korean-language extended play by South Korean singer-songwriter and actress IU. It was released and distributed by LOEN Entertainment on May 11, 2012. The CD, which was also released digitally, consists of three tracks in total, one of which was composed by IU. It is the singer's first Korean-language release since the full-length album, Last Fantasy, that was released six months prior.
Contents
The EP spawned two hit singles, "Peach" and "Every End of the Day". The latter topped Billboard Korea K-Pop Hot 100 for four consecutive weeks, making it IU's second number-one hit on the chart after "You and I". The EP has sold over 34,400 copies in South Korea as of 2013.
Background
On May 1, 2012, IU posted a hand-drawn picture of a peach to her official Twitter account, which she described as "racy". Not known to fans at that time, this was actually the first information regarding IU's upcoming Spring of a Twenty Year Old album. A video teaser for the song "Peach" (Hangul: 복숭아; RR: Boksung-a) was revealed the following day. The teaser ended with another hand-drawn image of a peach. Later, on the May 22 episode of SBS's Strong Heart, IU revealed that her label had requested for her to draw an image for the "Peach" teaser. She decided to draw a peach which also resembled a heart, however, her initial attempt, the "racy" peach, was rejected as it was "too risque".
The teaser video also shows footage of IU singing and playing guitar as she writes the song. The text description of the teaser, uploaded on LOEN Entertainment's official YouTube channel, revealed the first details about the song. "Peach" is the third composition of IU, featuring an acoustic focus. The song title was named after IU's favorite word and fruit. The song's arrangement contains both the recorder and triangle, which IU played herself. In an interview with Cyworld, she revealed that she used these instruments as she felt that they represented childhood, which allowed her to create a playful atmosphere in the song. She also mentioned that the lyrics were written to convey the emotion one feels when looking at their lover and that she had put in special attention into portraying one verse of the lyrics from the perspective of a male thinking about a pretty girl, using f(x)'s Sulli as reference.
On May 4, 2012, the full digital single, "Peach", was released, preceding the release of the full CD single by seven days. The single was highly successful and achieved the number one spot on many South Korean music websites.
Following the release of "Peach", several video teasers were released onto LOEN Entertainment's official YouTube channel to promote the upcoming album and its associated music video. The teasers were themed to display IU's travels from Incheon, South Korea to Venice, Italy. One teaser in particular showed IU playing the recorder melody from "Peach".
Release and promotion
The full CD was released on May 11, 2012. It contained the already-released "Peach", "Every End of the Day" (Hangul: 하루 끝; RR: Haru Kkeut), and "I Really Don't Like Her" (Hangul: 그 애 참 싫다; RR: Geu Ae Cham Silta). The album was immediately successful; all three songs achieved the top 10 spots on the South Korean music websites Mnet, MelOn, and Olleh Music. "Every End of the Day" managed to achieve the number one spot on these websites.
The same day, the music video for the track, "Every End of the Day", was released. This 26-minute-long short film is done in a documentary style and features interviews with IU as well as footage from her previously mentioned trip to Venice. The song itself is a lively up-tempo song, that sounds similar to older pop music. The arrangement features string instruments. The lyrics and music video tell the tale of a girl who is deeply in love with a man that she hopes will make the first move.
One week after the album's release, the single, "Every End of the Day", managed to make it to the first place spot on the Billboard Korea K-Pop Hot 100.
The final song on the album, "I Really Don't Like Her", is about a girl who resents a lost love for not giving her the attention she wanted. The song features an acoustic guitar and is done in an R&B ballad style.
To prepare for her first solo concert, "Real Fantasy", IU did not perform any broadcast promotions for Spring of a Twenty Year Old.
Track listing
※ Bolded tracks identify singles from the album.