Chapter 8 (g.o.d album)

Chapter 8 is the eighth studio album by South Korean pop music group g.o.d. It was released in July 2014 to celebrate the 15th anniversary of their debut and mark their reunion as a five-man group after nearly a decade of hiatus.[3][4] The repackaged edition was released in October and features an additional CD containing a new single "Wind" (바람).

Chapter 8
Studio album by
ReleasedJuly 8, 2014
October 22, 2014 (reissue)
Genre
Length52:32 (original)
LanguageKorean
LabelSidusHQ, CJ E&M
Producer
G.o.d chronology
Into the Sky
(2005)
Chapter 8
(2014)
Then & Now
(2019)
Alternate cover
"Thanks" edition (reissue) cover
Singles from Chapter 8
  1. "The Lone Duckling"
    Released: May 7, 2014
  2. "Sky Blue Promise"
    Released: July 1, 2014

Overview

The album contains 14 tracks, three of which are instrumentals. The introductory track is an orchestral medley of the group's most famous hits and was recorded by the Czech National Symphony Orchestra.[5] The songs sampled in the medley are only from the first five albums released by g.o.d as a quintet. The first full track "An Ordinary Day" was originally released after Yoon Kye-sang's departure and was re-arranged by the original composer and re-recorded to include him.[3] It was intentionally termed the "original version" as the re-recorded version was sung by the "complete" five-man group, referencing Yoon's return.[6]

"Sky Blue Promise" was the second single pre-released and samples and references two of the group's most famous hits from their third album: "One Candle" and "Sky Blue Balloon" (하늘색 풍선).[7][8] The title is a reference to their fandom color sky blue.[9][10] The song follows the humorous style of "Sky Blue Balloon" and satirizes their own journey from newly debuted young pop stars to middle-aged experienced "seniors" (Korean: 선배; RR: seonbae) in the entertainment industry, referencing Park Jin-young ("JYP") whom they worked with closely during their early days and the reality show Dad! Where Are We Going?, a nod to member Kim Tae-woo becoming a father.[9][11]

"Saturday Night" was one of three songs for which a music video was released. It alludes to two of the group's hit songs, "Friday Night" and "The Place Where You Should Be" (니가 있어야 할곳), especially the funk rhythm and lyrics. At the end of the video, the members dance the choreography of various past hit songs.[12][13][14][15]

Track listing

Bold tracks are noted as the promotional tracks of the album.[16][4][17]

No.TitleLyricsMusicTranslated TitleLength
1."5+4+1+5=15" (instrumental medley)   4:51
2."An Ordinary Day" (original version) (보통날; Botongnal)Park Jin-youngKwon Tae-eun 4:39
3."Sky Blue Promise" (하늘색 약속; Haneulsaek yaksok)Duble Sidekick[a] 4:04
4."Saturday Night"Duble Sidekick[a]
 3:50
5."Five Men and a Kiddo" (아저씨와 메건리)  Five ahjussi and Megan Lee1:36
6."The Story of Our Lives (feat. Megan Lee)" (우리가 사는 이야기; Uriga saneun iyagi)Duble Sidekick[a]
  • Duble Sidekick[a]
  • Tenjo and Taksuko[b]
 4:37
7."Smile"
  • Duble Sidekick[a]
  • Ahn
Duble Sidekick[a] 4:08
8."Stand Up"Black Eyed Pilseung 3:31
9."Sing for Me (feat. IU)" (노래 불러줘요; Norae bulleojwoyo)
  • Duble Sidekick[a]
  • Soul Twins
  • Chancellor (ko)
  • Soul Twins
 4:08
10."I Like It" (난 좋아; Nan joh-ah)
  • Ahn
  • Kiggen
 3:36
11."G'swag" (신사의 품격; Sinsa-ui pumgyeok)Kim[a]
  • Kim[a]
  • Red Rocket
  • Genneo
A Gentleman's Dignity3:21
12."The Lone Duckling" (미운오리새끼; Miun orisaekki)
  • Duble Sidekick[a]
  • Ahn
Duble Sidekick[a]The Ugly Duckling4:24
13."Saturday Night" (instrumental)   3:50
14."The Story of Our Lives" (instrumental)   4:37
Total length:52:32
"Thanks" edition
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Wind" (바람; Baram)Yoon Kye-sangJam Factory4:05
2."Wind" (instrumental) Jam Factory4:05
  • ^[a] signifies a producer that has multiple song credits for the album.
  • ^[b] signifies a composer who is also the arranger.

Release

Two songs from the album were pre-released as digital singles. "The Lone Duckling" was released on May 7, 2014. All proceeds from the song were donated to those affected by the Sewol ferry accident. "Sky Blue Balloon" was released at noon on July 1 (KST). The music videos for "Sky Blue Promise",[8] "Saturday Night" and "The Story of Our Lives" were uploaded on YouTube by CJ E&M and each has since recorded over a million views.[18][3] The full album was released at midnight (KST) on July 8.

The repackaged edition was released on October 22, following the conclusion of their national tour.[19] It contains a 50-page photo book of behind-the-scenes and shots from the national tour and an additional single entitled "Wind", which was written by Yoon Kye-sang and dedicated to the fans.[20] The music video was uploaded on YouTube on October 23 and contained behind-the-scenes footage and clips from the concerts throughout the tour.[21]

Reception and chart performance

As soon it was released, Chapter 8 topped the local charts, including major sites such as MelOn, Genie and others,[1] earning the group the Album of the Year award at the Melon Music Awards.[22][23] It debuted at #2 in the Gaon Album Chart and was ranked at #5 for the month of July and #45 for the year 2014.[24][25][26]

"The Lone Duckling" won the Song of the Year award for the month of May at the Gaon Chart Music Awards after it achieved an "all kill" in the digital charts for that month[27] and topped the Korea K-Pop Hot 100.[28] "Sky Blue Promise" immediately topped nine local digital charts upon its release, remaining one of the top 5 most downloaded songs for the month of July.[10][29] It also finished second in the Inkigayo rankings for July 13 despite the fact that g.o.d did not promote at any music programs.[30] The album's title track "The Story of Our Lives" topped the digital charts just hours after the album's release.[31] Excluding the two pre-released tracks, all other tracks in the album charted in the Gaon Digital Chart for the month of July,[32] with two debuting in the top 10 the week of the album's release.[33][32][15][2]

YesAsia's YumCha! picked the album for its list of Best Asian Albums of 2014 and its review described the album as an "eminently listenable pop album that appeals to both longtime fans of g.o.d and newer fans to K-pop."[34] Critics have noted that the album had a nostalgic feel as the group chose to retain their signature blend of R&B and rap in the new songs and praised the group for choosing to retain their unique sound rather than follow current trends, thus being able to appeal to both nostalgic older fans as well as newer K-pop fans seeking more variety in genres and musical styles.[35][36][5][37][2][38] Several English-language K-pop blogs have opined that the group have proven through their new album that they have not lost their unique sound despite the long hiatus[3][39] and Hellokpop.com added that while the songs were musically similar to their past hits, "They don’t look wistfully towards the glory years; instead, they aim to keep their trademark down-to-earth, in-touch image while lyrically recognizing their years and celebrating the reunion."[40]

Charted songs

Title Peak positions1 Notes
KOR
Weekly
KOR
Monthly
KOR
Yearly2
"The Lone Duckling" (미운오리새끼) 1 1 41 [41][42][43]
"Sky Blue Promise" (하늘색 약속) 2 3 71 [44][32]
"The Story of Our Lives" (우리가 사는 이야기) 3 21 [31][44][32]
"Sing for Me" (노래 불러줘요) 9 29 [32]
"Saturday Night" 13 34 [33]
"An Ordinary Day" (보통날) 19 46 [33]
"Stand Up" 23 66 [33]
"Smile" 26 74 [33]
"I Like It" (난 좋아) 27 72 [33]
"G'Swag" (신사의 품격) 28 93 [33]
5+4+1+5=15 32 [33]
"Wind" (바람) 12 47 [45][46]

References

  1. "g.o.d. All Kills Real-Time Charts with 8th Album 'Chapter 8'". Mnet. July 8, 2014. Archived from the original on August 1, 2017. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
  2. Lee, Kyung-ran (July 8, 2014). "god 'Chapter 8', 15년 팬덤을 위한 경배와 오마주". JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean).
  3. "g.o.d Comes Back with Next Great Chapter". seoulbeats.com. July 18, 2014.
  4. "15주년 프로젝트 god 콘서트 안무 연습 현장!". Mnet. July 8, 2014.
  5. "g.o.d. makes grand return with new LP 'Chapter 8'". The Korean Herald. July 8, 2014.
  6. "god '보통날'이 5인조 버전으로 다시 태어난 이유". 10Asia (Korea Economic Daily) (in Korean). July 8, 2014.
  7. "'하늘색 약속'에 담긴 god의 추억들, 눈치 채셨나요?". 10Asia (Korea Economic Daily) (in Korean). July 2, 2014.
  8. "[Video] g.o.d Pre-Releases ′Sky Blue Promise′". Mnet. July 1, 2014. Archived from the original on August 27, 2017. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
  9. Benjamin, Jeff (July 1, 2014). "g.o.d. Apologizes for Long Hiatus in 'Sky Blue Promise': Listen". Billboard.com.
  10. Ahn, Sung-mi (July 1, 2014). "g.o.d. releases 'Sky Blue Promise'". The Korean Herald.
  11. "'국민그룹' god 컴백, 후배들도 뜨겁게 반겼다". 10Asia (Korea Economic Daily) (in Korean). July 3, 2014.
  12. "Not Your Typical "Saturday Night" with g.o.d". seoulbeats.com. July 10, 2014.
  13. "god 'Saturday Night' 뮤비 인기폭발 "깨방정, 완전히 내려놨네"". The Dong-a Ilbo (in Korean). July 8, 2014.
  14. "뮤비 탐구 수첩, god '새터데이 나이트(Saturday Night)' 편". 10Asia (Korea Economic Daily) (in Korean). July 11, 2014.
  15. "뮤비야 개그야? god 'Saturday Night'뮤직비디오 공개 '폭소만발'". JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). July 8, 2014.
  16. "Chapter 8". Naver Music. Naver. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  17. "2014.07.08 - god 15주년 프로젝트 웃음꽃 만발 앨범 녹음 현장!" (in Korean). Melon. July 8, 2014.
  18. "'god'releases music video of [Saturday Night], comes back fabulously". 2014-07-08. Retrieved 2014-12-10.
  19. "Thanks Edition '바람'". Naver Music. Naver.
  20. "g.o.d. announces digital single release". Korea JoongAng Daily. October 16, 2014.
  21. "[Video] g.o.d Thanks All the Fans for All the Support and Love in 'Wind' MV". Mnet. October 23, 2014. Archived from the original on July 4, 2017. Retrieved July 14, 2017.
  22. "2014.11.26 - 기자단이 전하는 MelOn Music Awards 후끈후끈 현장 스토리! - The Winners" (in Korean). Melon. November 26, 2014.
  23. "god·아이유·태양, 2014 멜론 뮤직 어워드 주인공". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). November 14, 2014.
  24. "2014년 29주차 Album Chart" (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association.
  25. "2014년 07월 Album Chart" (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association.
  26. "2014년 Album Chart" (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association.
  27. "Winners From the 4th Gaon Chart K-Pop Awards". Soompi. January 28, 2015.
  28. Oak, Jessica (May 16, 2014). "Classic K-Pop Band g.o.d Returns After 10-Year Hiatus to Top K-Pop Hot 100". Billboard.com.
  29. "Jul 2014 Downloads Chart" (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association.
  30. "BEAST Takes Home 10th Trophy for "Good Luck" on Inkigayo + Comebacks from Henry, NU'EST, and Seo Young Eun". Soompi. July 13, 2014.
  31. "g.o.d's "The Story of Our Life" Grabs Ten No 1 Spots within Hours of Release". Soompi. July 7, 2014.
  32. "2014년 7월 Digital Chart" (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association.
  33. "2014년 29주차 Digital Chart" (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association.
  34. "YumCha! Picks: Best Asian Albums of 2014". YesAsia. December 31, 2014.
  35. "요주의 10음반, 너는 이미 패턴을 다 읽혔어 더 싸워봤자 아무 의미 없겠어". 10Asia (Korea Economic Daily) (in Korean). July 11, 2014.
  36. "[NEW RELEASES] G.O.D". Korea JoongAng Daily. July 14, 2014.
  37. "[리뷰] 그랬지, 12년전에도 god는 어른스런 아이돌이었다…'우리가 사는 이야기'". JoongAng Ilbo (in Korean). July 10, 2014.
  38. "2014.12.24 - 다중음격 27회: 2014 올해의 가요 앨범 [한동윤]" (in Korean). Melon. December 24, 2014.
  39. "[Album Review] g.o.d – Chapter 8". unitedkpop.com. July 10, 2014.
  40. "Quick Reviews: god, Beenzino, and Idiotape". hellokpop.com. August 14, 2014.
  41. "2014년 20주차 Digital Chart" (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association.
  42. "2014년 05월 Digital Chart" (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association.
  43. "2014년 Digital Chart (Year 2014 Digital Chart)" (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association.
  44. "2014년 28주차 Digital Chart" (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association.
  45. "2014년 44주차 Digital Chart" (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association.
  46. "2014년 10월 Digital Chart" (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association.
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