Mr. Simple

Mr. Simple (reissue name A-Cha) is the fifth studio album by the South Korean boy band Super Junior. It was released on 3 August 2011 by SM Entertainment, distributed by KMP Holdings and digitally release on 2 August.[1] On 19 September 2011, a repackaged edition was released, re-titled A-Cha. It features four new tracks including title track "A-Cha" and "Superman" which was previously released in version B only. This is the group's second album that features ten of the original 13 members and the first being their previous album, Bonamana (2010).

This article is about Super Junior's album. For the song, see Mr. Simple (song).
Mr. Simple
Digital and A version cover.
Studio album by
Super Junior
Released3 August 2011 (2011-08-03)
RecordedJune – July 2011
StudioSM Studios
(Seoul, South Korea)
GenreK-pop, synthpop, R&B, pop-rock
Length47:44 (version A)
47:41 (version B)
61:12 (repackaged)
LanguageKorean
LabelSM Entertainment
KMP Holdings
ProducerLee Soo-man
Super Junior chronology
Bonamana
(2010)		 Mr. Simple
(2011)		 Sexy, Free & Single
(2012)
Singles from Mr. Simple
  1. "Mr. Simple"
    Released: 2 August 2011
  2. "Superman"
    Released: 22 August 2011
Singles from A-Cha
  1. "A-Cha"
    Released: 19 September 2011

At the year end award shows of 2011, the album won the Disk Daesang Award at the 26th Golden Disk Awards and 21st Seoul Music Awards, as well as the Album of the Year at the 13th Mnet Asian Music Awards. The album, including the repackaged version, is listed as the 2nd best-selling album of the year for 2011. According to Gaon Chart, as of the end of December 2012, the album has sold a cumulative total of 543,623 copies domestically.

Background and development

On March 31, 2011, leader Leeteuk announced during the interview, "At the earliest, we’ll be coming out with our fifth album this summer."[2] Leeteuk and Eunhyuk confirmed on their radio show "Super Junior Kiss the Radio" on June 1, 2011 that they had begun recording their upcoming album that day. Heechul tweeted on June 2, 2011 saying that the group "may be going crazy with preparations for our fifth album, but when it’s finally released, you’re all going to go mad."[3] American dancer Kenny Wormald posted on his official Twitter on July 11, 2011 that he had started the choreography rehearsal for the group's upcoming new single.[4] On the same day, Leeteuk and Eunhyuk stated on their radio show "Super Junior Kiss the Radio" that songwriter Jinu (hitchhiker) had contributed something for the new album. Shim Jae Won, current choreographer and former member of the disbanded SM group Black Beat tweeted two pictures of the choreography practice of the group showing the lower half of their bodies.[5]

The first of the teaser photos was released on July 20, 2011 featuring Eunhyuk. Other photos followed, in order of: Donghae, Leeteuk, Shindong, Kyuhyun, Sungmin, Ryeowook, Yesung, Siwon and Heechul.[6] On the same day, it was announced that the album is set for an August 3 release.[6]

Music and video

The album is mostly synthpop, with the title track, "Mr. Simple", being the last installation of the "SJ Funky" genre in which the group has been consistently pursuing since "Sorry, Sorry" (2009) and "Bonamana" (2010). Songs encompassed with synthpop elements include "Opera", "Be My Girl", "Walkin'" and "My Love My Kiss My Heart". Other tracks included in the album are the country-flavored tracks "Good Friends" and "Sunflower", an electropop number "Feels Good", a cover of a 1996 song by Jinu (hitchhiker) entitled "White Christmas", ballads "Storm" and "Memories", a Donghae-Chance-written track "Y", as well as the inclusion of subgroup Super Junior-M's Korean version of their 2011 title track "Perfection", in which it serves a purpose "to give a chance to Korean fans to enjoy the music of Super Junior-M which is appearing in various stages in Asia." Meanwhile, for the B-version of the album, a further-included track "Superman" is described to be "a minimalist hip-hop track which feature the members singing in a low vocal range."[7]

On July 22 to 24, 2011, the group filmed the music video for their new lead single.[8] Two video teasers were released on August 1, 2011, in which the first teaser gained a million views on YouTube a day after its release and 2,500,000 views by the second day. Meanwhile, the second teaser passing a million views by the second day. The music video reached more than half a million views within the first few hours of release. It passed 1.5 million views by the end of the first day, and 3 million by the end of the second, views. Currently, the music video has over 100 million views.[9] On August 26, 2011, a music video for the album's supporting single, "Superman", was released on their YouTube channel, featuring clips from their Super Show 3 Tour as well as the photoshoots and music video making for "Mr. Simple".[10]

On November 1, 2015, the music video officially reached 100 million views on YouTube.[11]

Promotion and release

The group held a press conference at the Imperial Palace Hotel in Seoul on August 4, which attracted over 200 reporters, including 70 foreign journalists from Japan, China, Taiwan, Thailand, Hong Kong and Singapore[12] The group expressed that they will promote the album for as long as possible till Heechul's enlistment date and also to continue with Super Show 4 World Tour.[13][14]

Super Junior had their debut performance of "Mr. Simple" and a non-album track "Superman" at Music Bank on August 5, 2011,[15] followed by Music Core the following day,[16] Inkigayo after that[17] and on August 11 on M! Countdown.[18] However, promotions for the song ended on August 28 due to the enlistment of member Heechul to the army on September 1, 2011.[19][20]

The album was released in 11 countries across Asia.,[21] including Taiwan on September 6, 2011 by Avex Taiwan. The album was supposed to be pre-released in the Philippines by Universal Records on October 1, 2011 but was moved to October 8, citing manufacturing problems caused by typhoon Nesat.[22] The Type A album was officially released in the country on November 24.

After the released of "Mr Simple" in Japanese, the group followed-up with the release of "Opera" in Japanese. The single album also include the travel-themed mid-tempo ballad "Way", Japanese original music video and making-of DVD. It has been available for pre-order from 11 March 2012.[23]

Reception

The album debuted at number 3 on Billboard World Albums Chart for the week of 20 August 2011.[24] It peaked at number one on the Gaon Album Chart for the month of August, with 287,427 copies sold.[25] Meanwhile, the repackaged album, A-Cha, which was released on 19 September, debuted at number three with 97,210 copies sold.

At the year-end list of album sales for 2011, compiled by Gaon Chart, the album is listed as the second best-selling album of the year with 343,348 copies sold and the repackaged version at number seven with 129,894 copies sold. Thus making a cumulative total sale of 473,242 copies in South Korea.[26] On 12 April 2012, Gaon Chart reported that up till the end of March 2012, the album has sold a cumulative total of 502,830 copies, making it the first album in four years to exceed half a million in sales since Kim Gun Mo's eighth album He-story in 2003 and TVXQ's fourth album, Mirotic in 2008.[27] The released in the Philippines on October 8, peaked at number one in Odyssey Weekly Album Chart.[28] After a week of selling the album reached gold status with standout sales of 7,500. This was the group's 5th number one album and 4th album to certify gold status in the country making them the only Korean act to do so.

Track listing
Version A
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Mr. Simple"Yoo Young-jinYoung-jin3:59
2."Opera" (오페라; Opera)Kim Yeon-jung
  • Thomas Troelsen
  • Engelina Larsen
3:01
3."Be My Girl" (라라라라; Lalalala)Kim Bu-min
  • Lanz
  • Henri Kristian
  • William Rappaport
  • Aku Rannila
  • Julimar Santos
3:09
4."Walkin'"Misfit
3:46
5."Storm" (폭풍; Pokpung)Kim Jung-baeYeon-jung4:16
6."Good Friends" (어느새 우린; Eoneusae Urin)Yoon Jong-shinJong-shin3:57
7."Feels Good" (결투; Gyeoltu) 
  • Denniz Jamm
  • Qwan
3:19
8."Memories" (기억을 따라; Gieogeul Ttara)
  • Park Jun-soo
  • Lee Yoon-jong
Jun-soo4:11
9."Sunflower" (해바라기; Haebaragi)Hong Ji-yooBrandon Fraley3:52
10."White Christmas" (엉뚱한 상상; Eongttunghan Sangsang)JinuJinu3:36
11."Y"
  • Dong-hae
  • Chance
  • Super D
3:27
12."My Love, My Kiss, My Heart"Kim Tae-sung
  • Remedios
  • Luke
  • Slater
  • Jhun
3:40
13."Perfection" (태완미; Taewanmi) (performed by Super Junior-M) (bonus track)Lee Won-geun
  • Mikkel Sigvardt
  • Thomas Troelsen
3:24
Total length:47:37
Version B
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Superman"Young-jinYoung-jin3:21
2."Mr. Simple"Young-jinYoung-jin3:59
3."Opera" (오페라; Opera)Yeon-jung
  • Troelsen
  • Larsen
3:01
4."Be My Girl" (라라라라; Lalalala)Bu-min
  • Lanz
  • Kristian
  • Rappaport
  • Rannila
  • Santos
3:09
5."Walkin'"Misfit
  • Remedios
  • Luke
  • Slater
  • Jhun
3:46
6."Storm" (폭풍; Pokpung)Jung-baeYeon-jung4:16
7."Good Friends" (어느새 우린; Eoneusae Urin)Jong-shinJong-shin3:57
8."Feels Good" (결투; Gyeoltu)Ji-yoo
  • Denniz Jamm
  • Qwan
3:19
9."Memories" (기억을 따라; Gieogeul Ttara)
  • Jun-soo
  • Yoon-jong
Jun-soo4:11
10."Sunflower" (해바라기; Haebaragi)Ji-yooFraley3:52
11."White Christmas" (엉뚱한 상상; Eongttunghan Sangsang)JinuJinu3:36
12."Y"
  • Dong-hae
  • Chance
  • Dong-hae
  • Chance
  • Super D
3:27
13."My Love, My Kiss, My Heart"Tae-sung
  • Remedios
  • Luke
  • Slater
  • Jhun
3:40
Total length:47:34
Repackaged version: A-Cha
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Superman"Young-jinYoung-jin3:21
2."A-Cha"Kim Bu-minHitchhiker3:18
3."Mr. Simple"Young-jinYoung-jin3:59
4."Oops!" (featuring f(x))
  • Engstrom
  • Fuller
3:44
5."A Day" (하루에; Harue)Jung-baeYeon-jung3:27
6."Andante" (안단테; Andante)Misfit
3:06
7."Opera" (오페라; Opera)Yeon-jung
  • Troelsen
  • Larsen
3:01
8."Be My Girl" (라라라라; Lalalala)Bu-min
  • Lanz
  • Kristian
  • Rappaport
  • Rannila
  • Santos
3:09
9."Walkin'"Misfit
  • Remedios
  • Luke
  • Slater
  • Jhun
3:46
10."Storm" (폭풍; Pokpung)Jung-baeYeon-jung4:16
11."Good Friends" (어느새 우린; Eoneusae Urin)Jong-shinJong-shin3:57
12."Feels Good" (결투; Gyeoltu)Hong Ji-yoo
  • Denniz Jamm
  • Qwan
3:19
13."Memories" (기억을 따라; Gieogeul Ttara)
  • Jun-soo
  • Yoon-jong
Jun-soo4:11
14."Sunflower" (해바라기; Haebaragi)Ji-yooFraley3:52
15."White Christmas" (엉뚱한 상상; Eongttunghan Sangsang)JinuJinu3:36
16."Y"
  • Dong-hae
  • Chance
  • Dong-hae
  • Chance
  • Super D
3:27
17."My Love, My Kiss, My Heart"Tae-sung
  • Remedios
  • Luke
  • Slater
  • Jhun
3:40
Total length:61:12

Charts
CountryChartPeak position
South KoreaGaon Weekly Album Chart1[29]
Gaon Monthly Album Chart1
JapanOricon Weekly Album Chart17[30]
USABillboard World Album Chart3[24]

Release history
CountryDateFormatDistributing label
South KoreaAugust 2, 2011
August 3, 2011 (version A)
August 22, 2011 (version B)
September 19, 2011 (repackaged)		Digital download
CD
CD
CD, digital download		KMP Holdings
JapanAugust 6, 2011CD (import)Avex Trax
TaiwanSeptember 6, 2011 (version A)[31]
September 23, 2011 (version B)[32]
September 30, 2011 (Repackaged)[33]		CDAvex Taiwan
SingaporeSeptember 29, 2011 (version C)CDUniversal Music
PhilippinesNovember 24, 2011 (version A)
December 17, 2011 (version B & C)		CDUniversal Records
MalaysiaSeptember 12, 2011 (version B)
October 10, 2011 (version C)		CDUniversal Music

Personnel

Credits are for the Type A of the album, unless where indicated.[34]

Awards
Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Super Junior
YearAward-Giving BodyCategoryResultRef
2011 Golden Disk Awards Disk Daesang Won [35]
Disk Bonsang Won
Seoul Music Awards Disk Daesang Won [36]
Disk Bonsang Won
Mnet Asian Music Awards Album of the Year Won [37]
Gaon Chart K-Pop Awards Artist of the Year (Album) - 3rd Quarter Won
MelOn Music Awards Top 10 Artist Winners (Bonsang) Won

See also

References
  1. 슈퍼주니어 5집 컴백, 은혁 금발+문신 파격티저 공개. Newsen (in Korean). 20 July 2011. Retrieved 2011-10-26.
  2. AllKPop (March 2010). "Suju's Leeteuk, Heechul, Shindong, Yesung talk experience, marriage plans summer comeback". Retrieved 2011-07-12.
  3. AllKPop (2010-06-01). "Heechul tweets about Super Junior's fifth album". Retrieved 2011-07-12.
  4. "Kenny Wormald on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  5. (in Korean). 2010-07-15 https://www.twitter.com/Famous_Jae/status/91759953785790464. Retrieved 2011-07-15. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. Nate (2010-07-20). 슈퍼주니어 5집 컴백, 은혁 금발+문신 파격티저 공개 (in Korean). Retrieved 2011-10-26.
  7. Official SUPERJUNIOR SMTOWN Website (2010-08-05). "Super Junior Album Info" (in Korean and English). Retrieved 2011-08-10.
  8. DKPN (2010-07-20). "Super Junior Started MV Filming". Retrieved 2011-10-26.
  9. SMTOWN (2010-07-29). "The Music Video Teaser of Super Junior's 5th Album Title Song, 'Mr. Simple,' to be Released on August 1st!". Retrieved 2011-07-29.
  10. "Super Junior Reveals "Superman" Music Video". HypnoticAsia. 2010-08-26. Retrieved 2011-08-27.
  11. "Super Junior's "Mr. Simple" Reaches 100 Million Views - Soompi". www.soompi.com.
  12. "Super Junior album release draws strong international interest" Hankyoreh. 5 August 2011. Retrieved 2011-10-15
  13. Nate (2010-08-04). '컴백' 슈주 "5집 활동 많이..軍입대도 해야하기에" (in Korean). Retrieved 2011-08-11.
  14. Nate (2010-08-04). 슈퍼주니어 "멤버 군입대 문제 때문에 월드투어 계획중" (in Korean). Retrieved 2011-08-11.
  15. AllKPop (2010-08-05). "Super Junior makes a "Mr. Simple" comeback on Music Bank". Retrieved 2011-08-11.
  16. AllKPop (2010-08-06). "Super Junior makes a "Mr. Simple" comeback on Music Core". Retrieved 2011-08-11.
  17. AllKPop (2010-08-07). "Super Junior makes a "Mr. Simple" comeback on Inkigayo". Retrieved 2011-08-11.
  18. AllKPop (2010-08-11). "Super Junior wins #1 on M! Countdown comeback + other performances". Retrieved 2011-08-11.
  19. 슈퍼주니어 김희철, 9월 1일 입대. "조용히 입대하고 싶다". Naver News (in Korean). 2010-08-21. Retrieved 2011-08-27.
  20. Song Yoon-soo (2010-08-22). "Super Junior's Kim Hee-chul makes plans to be a military man". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2011-08-23.
  21. "Super Junior's Mr. Simple tops Tower Records charts in Japan". Nate News (in Korean). 10 August 2011. Retrieved 2011-08-11.
  22. "Universal Records PH on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  23. Ho, Stewart "Super Junior Wants to Sing ′Opera′ in Japan" Mnet News. 13 March 2012. Retrieved 2012-03-21
  24. "Billboard World Albums Chart (week of 20 August 2011)". Billboard. 2011-08-20. Retrieved 2012-04-13.
  25. "Super Junior's 5th album, "Mr. Simple" sells over 280,000 copies". Korea Star Daily (in Chinese). 2010-09-09. Retrieved 2011-09-14.
  26. "Gaon 2011 album sales chart". Gaon Charts (in Korean). 2012-01-14. Archived from the original on 2013-01-23. Retrieved 2012-01-14.
  27. Park, Hyun Min "Super Junior Records Half-Million in Sales" Archived 2012-04-16 at the Wayback Machine Mnet News. 13 April 2012. Retrieved 2012-04-13
  28. "Super Junior becomes 'Album Kings' in the Philippines with 'Mr. Simple' | allkpop.com". allkpop. 2011-12-28. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  29. "Gaon Weekly Albums Chart". Gaon Charts (in Korean). 2010-10-06. Archived from the original on 2012-01-19. Retrieved 2011-12-19. (Subscription only)
  30. "Oricon Weekly Album Chart 2011.8.8 - 2011.8.14". Oricon (in Japanese). 2010-08-17. Retrieved 2011-08-17.
  31. "Mr Simple (Version A) album info" Avex Taiwan. 6 September 2011. Retrieved 2012-04-13 (in Chinese)
  32. "Mr Simple (Version B) album info" Avex Taiwan. 23 September 2011. Retrieved 2012-04-13 (in Chinese)
  33. "Mr Simple (Repackaged) album info" Avex Taiwan. 30 September 2011. Retrieved 2012-04-13 (in Chinese)
  34. ManiaDB (2010-08-17). "슈퍼주니어 5집 - 'Mr. Simple' The 5th Album ..... 슈퍼주니어" (in Korean). Archived from the original on 2011-09-13. Retrieved 2011-08-31.
  35. "2011 M.net Korean Music Festival Winners list" Archived 2012-12-10 at the Wayback Machine. Kpopwave.joinsmsn.com. Retrieved 2013-12-07.
  36. Park, HyunMin (20 January 2012). "Super Junior Wins Another Grand Prize at the Seoul Music Awards". enewsWorld. CJ E&M. Retrieved 2013-02-02.
  37. "The Winners of 2011 Mnet Asian Music Awards". Mnet Asian Music Awards. Retrieved 2011-11-29.
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