Instagram (Dean song)

"Instagram" (stylized in all lowercase) is a song recorded by South Korean musician Dean. It was released on December 26, 2017, by Universal Music Korea and distributed by Joombas Company. An R&B and soul track, it deals with "stuffy, gloomy" feeling of scrolling through one's Instagram feed late at night.

"Instagram"
Single by Dean
LanguageKorean
ReleasedDecember 26, 2017 (2017-12-26)
GenreR&B, soul
Length4:15
LabelUniversal Music Korea
Songwriter(s)
  • Deanfluenza
  • Highhopes
  • 2xxx!
  • Jusén
  • Miso
  • Reone
  • Chekparren
Producer(s)Deanfluenza
Dean singles chronology
"Tiny Little Boy"
(2017)		 "Instagram"
(2017)		 "Piss on Me"
(2018)

Despite a lack of promotional activities, "Instagram" topped South Korea's national Gaon Digital Chart and peaked at number two on Billboard magazine's K-pop Hot 100. The single sold over 2.5 million downloads domestically and earned Dean the Best Composer of the Year award at the 2018 Mnet Asian Music Awards.

Background and composition
"To see how so many pretty, handsome, and cool people there are on Instagram... I kept comparing myself to them, and my friends going to these cool places while I was worn out from working in the studio, it felt like I was a lonely island placed away from all those people. That was really hard on me."[1]

—Dean on Instagram

Dean, wanting to craft an album like himself, thought that, "if I speak truthfully about myself, people could empathize with me". He began to objectively observe himself and took note of his tendency to check the social networking service Instagram. He realized that, in following people he admired and liked, he felt "infinitely small and lacking" by comparison, which led him to depression. He "was sure I wasn't the only one" experiencing relative deprivation. Dean conceived "Instagram" with a degree of similarity to the title character from the novel Robinson Crusoe (1719) living in a city.[1]

"Instagram" was written by Dean (under the pseudonym Deanfluenza), Highhopes, 2xxx!, Jusén, Miso, Reone, and Chekparren.[2][3] Musically, it is a R&B and soul track.[4] The song lyrics express the "stuffy, gloomy" feeling of scrolling through one's Instagram feed late at night in bed.[5] Dean described it as a "dark" song amidst the Christmas and holiday season, the "brightest" time of the year. He further elaborated that "Instagram" does not offer any consolation or solutions, but acts as a "crying friend by your side that, like you, lives a difficult life with its ups and downs".[6] He describes a girl with a bob cut in the song, a reference to an ex-girlfriend. He said that the song ends on a "low note" to encourage the listener to "stop snooping around your ex's Instagram page".[1]

Release and promotion

On December 19, 2017, Dean began teasing "Instagram" with a photo post on his Instagram account.[7] He announced the forthcoming single in a second photo post four days later.[8] "Instagram", along with a music video teaser, were concurrently released on December 26.[5] The Korean Broadcasting System and Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation banned "Instagram" from syndication on its networks after deeming the song "unfit for broadcast". Due to its title, the companies determined that it violated regulations for mentioning a specific product brand.[9] On the day of its release, singer-songwriter IU published a pair of cover videos of the song onto her Instagram account.[10] Her post received over 340,000 likes within 12 hours of being shared.[11] A black and white music video for "Instagram" was uploaded on January 30, 2018.[12]

Critical reception

Entertainment news website Oh My Star chose "Instagram" as one of the most memorable songs of the year.[13] Hong Seok-woo of Cine21 magazine felt that the lyrics were "touching" and complimented the guitars on the track.[14] Billboard magazine ranked the song at number thirteen on its list of the 20 Best K-pop Songs of 2018.[15] Writing for Paper magazine, columnist Jeff Benjamin described the record as "one of the most relatable tracks out this year" and listed it at number nine on the publication's Top 20 K-pop Songs of 2018.[16]

Dean and co-composer Highhopes shared the Best Composer of the Year award for "Instagram" at the 2018 Mnet Asian Music Awards.[17] Dean also earned nominations for Best Hip Hop & Urban Music and Song of the Year at the ceremony.[18] The single was also nominated for Song of the Year – December at the Gaon Chart Music Awards.[19]

Commercial performance
IU's "Instagram" cover was credited in part for the single's success

"Instagram" was met with immediate success despite a lack of promotional activities following its distribution on online music stores.[20][21] The single's commercial performance was attributed to its "trendy" melody and resonating lyrical content, in addition to IU's cover and "word of mouth" via social networking services.[21][22][23] Its strong showing on online music stores earned Dean the moniker "digital powerhouse".[24]

On the chart dated December 24–30, 2017, "Instagram" debuted at number one on South Korea's national Gaon Digital Chart.[25] It was the most downloaded song of the week in the country, selling 171,979 digital downloads.[26][27] The single ranked within the top 100 for 33 non-consecutive weeks.[28] On Billboard magazine's K-pop Hot 100 chart dated January 3, 2018, "Instagram" debuted at number ten.[29] The following week, it rose to its peak at number two.[30] On Gaon Music Chart's year-end report for 2018, "Instagram" ranked at number 23 on its list of best-performing singles.[31] As of June 2019, it has sold over 2.5 million downloads domestically.[32]

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Melon and Tidal.[2][3]

  • 2xxx! – composition
  • Chekparren – composition
  • Dean – vocals, production, lyrics, composition, arrangement
  • Highhopes – composition, arrangement
  • Jusén – composition
  • Miso – composition
  • Reone – composition
  • Christian Wright – mastering engineering, studio personnel

Charts
Weekly charts
Chart (2017–18) Peak
position
Billboard K-pop Hot 100[30] 2
Gaon Digital Chart[25] 1
Gaon Bell Chart[33] 14
Gaon Ring Chart[34] 2
Gaon Singing Room Chart[35] 25
Year-end charts
Chart (2018) Peak
position
Gaon Digital Chart[31] 23

See also

References
  1. [좌표인터뷰] Dean - Instagram (video) (in Korean). South Korea: Melon. December 26, 2017. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  2. 곡 정보. Melon. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  3. "Credits". Tidal. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  4. Han, Su-jin (December 29, 2017). [차트 핫100] 딘 ‘인스타그램’ 트렌디에 공감을 더하다. Herald Economy (in Korean). Herald Corporation. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  5. Jeon, Hyo-jin (December 26, 2017). 딘, 오늘(26일) '인스타그램' 공개…7개월만의 컴백. Sports Dong-a (in Korean). Dong-a Ilbo Company. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  6. Jung, Ji-won (December 26, 2017). '컴백' 딘 "연말에 어두운 곡 발표, 외로울 때 들어주세요". Osen (in Korean). Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  7. Kim, Su-kyeong (December 26, 2017). 딘, 신곡 'instagram' 발표…"피드 내리다 느껴봤을 그 감정". Ten Asia (in Korean). Korea Entertainment Media. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  8. Jeon, Won (December 24, 2017). [공식] 딘, 26일 새 싱글 발매…신곡 제목은 '인스타그램'. xportsnews (in Korean). xportsmedia. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  9. Jeon, Hyeong-ju (January 10, 2018). 딘 신곡 '인스타그램' 방송 부적격 판정 받아. Kukmin Ilbo (in Korean). Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  10. An, Yun-ji (December 27, 2017). 아이유, 딘 'instagram'커버 영상 공개…색다른 매력으로 '홀릭'. Top Star News (in Korean). Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  11. Hwang, Bi (December 27, 2017). 아이유가 직접 커버한 딘 신곡 '인스타그램' (영상). Insight (in Korean). Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  12. "Dean releases "Instagram" music video". SBS PopAsia (in Korean). Special Broadcasting Service. January 30, 2018. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  13. Kim, Sang-hwa (December 27, 2018). 알지만 다들 모르는 척 해주는 그의 실체... 파급력은 컸다. Oh My Star (in Korean). Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  14. Hong, Seok-woo (August 2, 2018). [마감인간의 music] 딘 《instagram》, 시대를 담다. Cine21 (in Korean). Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  15. "The 20 Best K-pop Songs of 2018: Critics' Picks". Billboard. Nielsen Holdings. December 17, 2018. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  16. "Paper's Top 20 K-Pop Songs of 2018". Paper. Paper Communications. December 21, 2018. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  17. "2018 Mnet Asian Music Awards". Mwave. CJ ENM. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  18. Johnson, Nia. "Here Are All of the 2018 MAMA Nominations + Current Leaders". Mwave. CJ ENM. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  19. 7th Gaon Chart Music Awards 2017 올해의 가수상 (음원) 후보. Gaon Chart Music Awards. Korea Music Content Association. Archived from the original on February 23, 2018. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  20. Choi, Na-yeong (December 27, 2017). [美친차트]딘, 아이유 버프받고 신곡 '인스타그램' 1위.."최고의 홍보". Osen (in Korean). Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  21. Hwang, Hye-jin (December 27, 2017). [뮤직와치]아이유 효과? 딘 'instagram' 어떻게 홍보없이 1위 등극했나. Newsen (in Korean). Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  22. 아이유, 딘 신곡 '인스타그램' 커버곡 인스타그램에 게시. Segye Ilbo (in Korean). News World Communications. December 27, 2017. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  23. Yang, Seung-jun (January 8, 2018). 역주행 음원시장 "TV에 안 나와야 뜬다". Hankook Ilbo (in Korean). Dongwha Enterprise. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  24. Kim, Eun-ae (December 27, 2017). [Oh!쎈 초점] 동료들도 인정한 딘·또 한번 화력 증명한 엑소. Osen (in Korean). Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  25. 2017년 52주차 Digital Chart (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  26. Yoon, Jun-pil (January 4, 2018). 딘 '인스타그램', 가온차트 52주차 디지털·다운로드 종합 차트 1위…2관왕. Ten Asia (in Korean). Korea Entertainment Media. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  27. 2017년 52주차 Download Chart (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  28. "Digital Chart" (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  29. "Billboard Korea K-pop Hot 100". Billboard. Nielsen Holdings. Archived from the original on July 10, 2019. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  30. "Billboard Korea K-pop Hot 100". Billboard. Nielsen Holdings. Archived from the original on July 9, 2019. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  31. 2018년 Digital Chart (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  32. Daniel C. (June 21, 2019). Gaon's 관찰노트 (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  33. 2018년 01주차 Mobile Chart – 벨소리 (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  34. 2017년 52주차 Mobile Chart – 통화연결음 (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  35. 2018년 09주차 노래방 Chart (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
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