Celebrity (IU song)

"Celebrity" is a song by South Korean singer-songwriter IU. It was released on January 27, 2021, through EDAM Entertainment via Kakao M, and serves as the lead single from her fifth Korean-language studio album, Lilac. A dance-pop and electropop track, "Celebrity" was written by IU, with additional composition by Chloe Latimer and Celine Svanback, and Ryan S. Jhun, Jeppe London Bilsby, Lauritz Emil Christiansen, —the last three also handled arrangement.

"Celebrity"
Single by IU
from the album Lilac
Language	Korean
Released	January 27, 2021 (2021-01-27)
Genre	Dance-pop electropop synth-pop tropical house
Length	3:15
Label	EDAM
Composer(s)	IU Ryan S. Jhun Jeppe London Bilsby Lauritz Emil Christiansen Chloe Latimer Celine Svanback
Lyricist(s)	IU
IU singles chronology
"Small Room" (2020) "Celebrity" (2021) "Lilac" (2021)
Music video
"Celebrity" on YouTube

Background

IU first teased that a new single was in the works while onstage at the 35th Golden Disc Awards on January 9, 2021. As she accepted the Digital Daesang award for "Blueming", she stated that the new song would be "refreshing" and "gives people strength".^[1] On January 11, her label, Edam Entertainment, announced that she would return with a pre-release single titled "Celebrity" on January 27, 2021. The label hinted that the new song would be a cheerful pop sound with energetic music genre.^[2]

"Celebrity" was subsequently released on January 27 for digital download and streaming as the lead single off of IU's fifth Korean-language studio album, Lilac. The single marked her first offering following the release of the chart-topping single "Eight"—a collaboration with BTS' Suga—in May 2020.^[3] The track was written and composed by IU, Ryan S. Jhun, Jeppe London Bilsby, Lauritz Emil Christiansen, Chloe Latimer and Celine Svanback, with arrangement conducted by Bilsby, Christiansen and Jhun.^[4]

Composition

Musically, "Celebrity" is described as a dance-pop track that incorporates a variety of genres, including pop, electronic music and tropical house, and signals a shift from much of IU's previous discography.^[4] Regarding the musicality of the single, EDAM Entertainment stated that "the song has a bright and cheerful pop sound that can energize those listening to it. It's a genre of music that IU is trying for the first time". Furthermore, the agency commented about the upcoming album's musical direction, saying "it will be her venture into more energetic and pop beat genres".^[5] Lyrically, the song explores the themes of fame, identity, insecurities, loss and the notion of living as a celebrity.^[6]

Commercial performance

Upon release, "Celebrity" debuted atop the Gaon Digital Chart,^[7] becoming IU's 17th number one single and 25th number-one overall when including featured appearances and OSTs. The song remained atop the chart for six consecutive weeks, becoming one of the longest songs in the chart's history to remain at number one.^[8] Internationally, "Celebrity" debuted and peaked at number 2 and number 13 in Singapore and New Zealand respectively. The song placed at number 3 in its opening week on the World Digital Song Sales chart, where it peaked.^[9] On the Billboard Global Excl. US chart, the song debuted at number 190 before entering at number 78 on the standard Billboard Global 200 the following week, marking her first appearance on the global chart.^[10]

Music video and promotion

On January 25, 2021, a music video teaser for "Celebrity" was released on Kakao M's official YouTube channel.^[11] The music video, directed by Paranoid Paradigm and produced by VM Project Architecture,^[12] was subsequently uploaded on January 27, in conjunction with the release of the single.^[13]

Accolades

Awards and nominations

Year	Organization	Award	Result	Ref.
2021	Melon Music Awards	Song of the Year	Nominated	^[14]
	Mnet Asian Music Awards	Best Vocal Performance – Solo	Won	^[15]
		Song of the Year	Nominated
2022	Gaon Chart Music Awards	Digital Song Bonsang	Won	^[16]
	Golden Disc Awards		Won	^[17]
		Digital Daesang	Won

Music program awards (11 total)

Program	Date	Ref.
Inkigayo	February 7, 2021	^[18]
	February 21, 2021	^[19]
	February 28, 2021	^[20]
Music Bank	February 5, 2021	^[21]
	February 12, 2021	^[22]
	March 12, 2021	^[23]
	April 2, 2021	^[24]
Show Champion	February 10, 2021	^[25]
Show! Music Core	February 6, 2021	^[26]
	February 20, 2021	^[27]
	March 13, 2021	^[28]

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Melon.^[4]

• IU — vocals, lyricist, composer, chorus
• Ryan S. Jhun — composer, arranger
• Jeppe London Bilsby — composer, arranger
• Lauritz Emil Christiansen — composer, arranger
• Chloe Latimer — composer
• Celine Svanback — composer
• Son Myung-gap @Kakao Entertainment — recording
• Jongpil Koo @Klang Studio — mixing
• Kang Seon-young — assisted
• Jung Yu-ra — assisted

Charts

Weekly charts "Celebrity" weekly chart performance Chart (2021) Peak position Global 200 (Billboard)^[29] 78 Malaysia (RIM)^[30] 3 New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ)^[31] 13 Singapore (RIAS)^[32] 2 South Korea (Gaon)^[7] 1 South Korea (K-pop Hot 100)^[33] 1 US World Digital Songs (Billboard)^[9] 3

Monthly charts "Celebrity" monthly chart performance Chart (2021) Position South Korea (Gaon)^[34] 1 South Korea (K-pop Hot 100)^[35] 1 Yearly charts "Celebrity" year-end chart performance Chart (2021) Position South Korea (Gaon)^[36] 1 Chart (2022) Position South Korea (Circle)^[37] 52

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Streaming
South Korea (KMCA)^[38]	Platinum	100,000,000^†
^† Streaming-only figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release dates and formats

Region	Date	Format	Label	Ref.
Various	January 27, 2021	Digital download streaming	Kakao M	^[39]

See also

• List of Inkigayo Chart winners (2021)
• List of Music Bank Chart winners (2021)
• List of Show Champion Chart winners (2021)
• List of Show! Music Core Chart winners (2021)

References

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2. "IU, pre-release of new song on the January 27th". Korea Dispatch. January 11, 2021. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
3. "K-pop singer IU releases new song 'Celebrity'". ABS-CBN News. January 27, 2021.
4. "Celebrity". Melon (in Korean). Retrieved January 27, 2021.
5. Adhya, Arpita (January 25, 2021). "IU 'Celebrity': Here's all about K-pop queen's new track before her fifth album". Meaww.
6. Lin, Sandy (January 27, 2021). "IU新歌〈Celebrity〉MV藏暴露出道12年心情！超美「直角肩」＋仙女眨眼微笑電暈粉絲". ELLE Taiwan (in Chinese (Taiwan)).
7. 2021년 05주차 Digital Chart [Digital Chart – Week 5 of 2021]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). from the original on February 4, 2021. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
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11. Hwang, Gyu-jun. '컴백 D-2' 아이유, 시크+러블리 오가는 반전 매력 '셀러브리티' MV 티저 공개 :: ['Comeback D-2' IU, Chic + Lovely Reversal Charm 'Celebrity' MV Teaser Released]. Star Daily News (in Korean). Retrieved November 21, 2021.
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18. Jo, Eun-mi (February 7, 2021). '인기가요' 아이유, '셀러브리티' 1위..김우석→CIX 컴백[종합]. Herald Pop (in Korean). Herald Corporation. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
19. Hwang, Hye-jin (February 21, 2021). '인기가요' 아이유 출연없이 1위, 강다니엘·청하·루시 컴백(종합) ['Inkigayo' IU wins 1st place without any appearance, Kang Daniel, Chungha and Lucy comeback [Overall]]. Newsen (in Korean). from the original on March 1, 2021. Retrieved June 27, 2021.
20. Kim, Myung-mi (February 28, 2021). 아이유 '인기가요' 1위, 민혁-나은-재현 눈물의 막방 "감사합니다" [IU ranked 1st on Inkigayo, Minhyuk-Jaehyun-Na-eun's last tearful broadcast "Thank you"]. Newsen (in Korean). from the original on March 1, 2021. Retrieved February 28, 2021.
21. Bae, Hyo-joo (February 5, 2021). '뮤직뱅크' 아이유 '셀러브리티' 위엄, 방송출연 없이 1위 등극 ['Music Bank' IU 'Celebrity', ranked 1st with no TV appearance]. Newsen (in Korean). from the original on February 5, 2021. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
22. 2월 2주순위 <k-차트> 순위 [Music Bank ranking for the second week of February]. KBS Music Bank (in Korean). February 16, 2021. Retrieved February 16, 2021.
23. Jin, Ju-hee (March 13, 2021). '뮤직뱅크' 아이유, 방송 출연 없이 BTS 제치고 1위 ['Music Bank' IU, ranked 1st with no TV appearance]. MK Sports (in Korean). Archived from the original on March 12, 2021. Retrieved March 12, 2021.
24. Park, Soo-in (April 2, 2021). '뮤직뱅크' 아이유, 브레이브걸스 제치고 출연없이 1위 ['Music Bank' IU beating Brave Girls to No. 1 without appearing]. My Daily (in Korean). Retrieved April 2, 2021 – via Naver.
25. "'쇼챔' 아이유, 영광의 1위…강다니엘→BTS까지 '설특집' 하이라이트 [종합]". www.xportsnews.com (in Korean). February 10, 2021. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
26. Lee, Ha-na (February 6, 2021). '음악중심' 아이유 '셀러브리티'의 힘, 출연없이 1위‥김우석·CIX 컴백(종합) ['Music Core' IU's "Celebrity" power, 1st place without any appearance, Kim Woo-suk and CIX comeback [Overall]]. Newsen (in Korean). from the original on February 13, 2021. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
27. Lee, Ha-na (February 6, 2021). '음악중심' 아이유 '셀러브리티'의 힘, 출연없이 1위‥김우석·CIX 컴백(종합) ['Music Core' IU's "Celebrity" power, 1st place without any appearance, Kim Woo-suk and CIX comeback [Overall]]. Newsen (in Korean). from the original on February 13, 2021. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
28. Lee, Ji-sun (March 13, 2021). [종합]'음악중심' 아이유, 출연없이 1위…CRAVITY·GHOST9·영지 컴백 [[General] 'Music Core' IU, No. 1, without appearing ... CRAVITY·GHOST9·Youngji Comeback]. Herald POP (in Korean). from the original on March 13, 2021. Retrieved March 13, 2021 – via Naver.
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30. "#RIMChart Top 20 Most Streamed International + Domestic song Week 5 (29/01/21 - 04/02/21)". Facebook. February 14, 2021. Archived from the original on January 7, 2022. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
31. "NZ Hot 40 Singles". Recorded Music NZ. February 8, 2021. from the original on February 13, 2021. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
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37. "Digital Chart 2022". Circle Chart. from the original on January 13, 2023. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
38. "South Korean single streaming certifications – IU – Celebrity" (in Korean). Korea Music Content Association (KMCA). Retrieved August 12, 2021.
39. "Celebrity - Single by IU". Retrieved January 27, 2021 – via Apple Music.