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Restart (EP)

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Restart
Digital cover
EP by
Kyuhyun
ReleasedJanuary 9, 2024 (2024-01-09)
Recorded2023–2024
Genre
Length23:52
LanguageKorean
Label
Kyuhyun chronology
Love Story
(2022) 		Restart
(2024)
Singles from Restart
  1. "The Story Behind"
    Released: January 9, 2024
Music video
"The Story Behind (Music video)" on YouTube

Restart is the fifth extended play by South Korean singer Cho Kyu-hyun. It was released on January 9, 2024, by Antenna, his first release with a new agency after departing from SM Entertainment after spending 17 years with them. The EP consists of six tracks in total, including the lead single, "The Story Behind".

Background

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On July 14, 2023, Kyuhyun and Super Junior bandmates Donghae and Eunhyuk announced that they had not decided to renew their contract with SM Entertainment, but will continue Super Junior group activity with SM.[3] On August 7, Kyuhyun announced that he will join You Hee-yeol's Antenna as his new label.[4]

On December 14, Antenna announced that Kyuhyun will release his first material with the agency with an EP titled Restart on January 9, 2024. The agency stated, "The new album is going to be a new starting point and marking Kyuhyun's musical growth."[5] A week later, Antenna tweeted the track list of the EP, which includes title track "The Story Behind", and a song that featured Kyuhyun's Super Junior sub-group, Super Junior-K.R.Y.[6]

On January 9, the EP was released alongside the music video for its title track.

Composition

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Although there are ballad tracks, the tracks featured on Restart are a departure from Kyuhyun's signature ballad sound. During the album's showcase in Seoul, Kyuhyun stated, "Fans are going to be surprised when they listen to the album since it has rock elements blended in with pop-style songs, which I haven't done before." He also stated that he listened to the label's executives to avoid sounding too similar to his previous works.[1]

The opening track, "Restart" is a rock song that features the singer's exquisite and solid voice with hopeful lyrics, symbolizing the aura of a new beginning.[2] "The Story Behind", the lead single of the EP falls under modern rock genre and was written by the label's founder, You Hee-yeol, and Humbler. The lyrics depict the excitement of seeing a loved one that has not been seen for a long time.[2] The third track, "Slow, Slowly" is a ballad song that lyrically pertains to accepting a breakup slowly.[2] "Was it Love" is a ballad track with minimalist arrangements of only vocals, piano, and strings, the lyrics themselves are about a calm confession.[2] Kyuhyun recounted the song was the song he favored, and it momentarily caused some friction with CEO You.[1] The fifth track, "Rainbow" is another ballad song, with a piano as its background melody.[2] The last track of the album, "Thanks to You" is categorized as a R&B song. It is a special song recorded by Super Junior-K.R.Y. as a thank you and gift to the fans who had waited for the sub-group's team up for a long time.[2]

Promotion

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The music video for its lead single was released on the same day as the album's release, where it featured Kyuhyun and actress Won Ji-an. On January 26, he uploaded a video showing the process of filming the music video on his YouTube channel.[7]

Live performances

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Kyuhyun began promoting the EP by performing "The Story Behind" live on Music Bank on January 12, January 13 on MBC's Show! Music Core, and January 14 on Inkigayo.[8][9][10]

Concert tour

[edit]

Shortly after the live promotions on music shows, on January 17, Antenna announced that Kyuhyun will embark on his first solo Asia tour called 2024 Kyuhyun Asia Tour Restart from March 8 until May 18.[11]

Sales

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The EP reached a cumulative of 50,832 sales according to Circle Chart in South Korea on February.[12] In Japan, in its physical release, the album was sold in 3,347 copies.[13]

Track listing

[edit]
Restart track listing
No.TitleLyricsMusicArrangementLength
1."Restart"
  • WDLM
  • Honey jar
  • Brian Cho
  • WDLM
  • Saimon
  • Saimon
  • Brian Cho
3:52
2."The Story Behind" (그렇지 않아; geuleohji anh-a; lit. It is not so)
HumblerHumbler4:16
3."Slow, Slowly" (천천히, 느리게; cheoncheonhi, neulige)Hwang Hyun (MonoTree)HumblerHumbler3:50
4."Was It Love" (사랑이었을까; salang-ieoss-eulkka)
  • Lisun
  • You Hee-yeol
  • Ecobridge
  • Lisun
  • Kim Ji-hoon
  • Kim Ji-hoon
  • Lisun
  • Kwon Young-chan
4:07
5."Rainbow"Hwang Yoo-binSeo Dong-hwanSeo Dong-hwan4:25
6."Thanks to You" (너여서 그래; neoyeoseo geulae; lit. It's because of you; performed by Super Junior-K.R.Y.)
  • minGtion
  • Junny
  • minGtion
  • Junny
minGtion3:19
Total length:23:52

Charts

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Album

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Chart performance for Restart
Chart (2024) Peak
position
South Korean Albums (Circle)[14] 8
Japan (Oricon)[15] 18

Songs

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Song chart performance
Title Chart (2024) Peak
position
"The Story Behind" Digital Chart (Circle)[16] 108

Release history

[edit]
Release history for Restart
Region Date Format Label
South Korea January 9, 2024 CD
Various
  • Antenna

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Shim, Sun-ah (January 9, 2024). "Super Junior's Kyuhyun tries new style of music under Antenna". Yonhap News Agency. Yonhap News Agency. Archived from the original on March 28, 2024. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "앨범 정보" [Restart Album Information]. Melon (in Korean). January 9, 2024. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  3. ^ Ziwei, Puah (July 14, 2023). "Three members of Super Junior leave SM Entertainment". NME. Archived from the original on August 24, 2023. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  4. ^ "Keluar dari SM, Kyuhyun Super Junior Resmi Gabung Agensi Yoo Jae-suk" [Out of SM, Kyuhyun Super Junior Officially Joins Yoo Jae-suk's Agency]. CNN Indonesia (in Indonesian). Jakarta. August 7, 2023. Archived from the original on August 7, 2023. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  5. ^ Kim, Ji-ye (December 14, 2023). "Super Junior's Kyuhyun to release first solo EP with Antenna Music". Korea JoongAng Daily. Archived from the original on March 19, 2024. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  6. ^ Antenna Music [@antennamusic] (December 21, 2023). "KYUHYUN EP [Restart]" (Tweet). Archived from the original on March 28, 2024 – via Twitter.
  7. ^ "'그렇지 않아 (The Story Behind)' MV Behind The Scenes KYUHYUN EP 'Restart'". YouTube. January 26, 2024. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  8. ^ "The Story Behind - KYUHYUN [Music Bank] KBS WORLD TV 240112". YouTube. KBS World. January 12, 2024. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  9. ^ "KYUHYUN (규현) - The Story Behind (Show! MusicCore) MBC240113방송". YouTube. Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation. January 12, 2024. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  10. ^ "KYUHYUN(규현) - The Story Behind(그렇지 않아) @인기가요 inkigayo 20240114". YouTube. Inkigayo. January 14, 2024. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  11. ^ Lee, Jung-youn (January 17, 2024). "Kyuhyun to embark on first solo Asia tour". The Korea Herald. Archived from the original on February 21, 2024. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  12. ^ "Circle Album Chart – February, 2024". Circle Chart (in Korean). Archived from the original on March 7, 2024. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  13. ^ 週間 CDアルバムランキング 2024年02月12日付 [Weekly CD Album Ranking for February 12, 2024] (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on February 7, 2024. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  14. ^ "Circle Album Chart – Week 2, 2024". Circle Chart (in Korean). Archived from the original on January 28, 2024. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  15. ^ "キュヒョンのランキング情報" [Kyuhyun's ranking information]. Oricon (in Japanese). January 14, 2024. Archived from the original on March 28, 2024. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
  16. ^ "Circle Digital Chart – Week 2, 2024". Circle Chart (in Korean). Archived from the original on January 18, 2024. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
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