Gotta Go (Chungha song)

"Gotta Go" (Korean: 벌써 12시; RR: Beolsseo Yeoldu-si; lit. "Already 12 o'clock") is a song recorded by South Korean singer Chungha.^[1][2] It was released as a single on January 2, 2019, by MNH Entertainment and distributed by Genie Music, and was promoted as a single album. Adopting a darker style, the princess concept appears to be a shift away from the "girl crush" image of her previous albums Hands on Me and Offset.^[3]

"Gotta Go"
Korean cover
Single by Chungha
Released	January 2, 2019 (2019-01-02)
Recorded	2018
Genre	K-pop dance
Length	3:41
Label	MNH Stone Music
Songwriter(s)	Black Eyed Pilseung Jeon Goon
Producer(s)	Black Eyed Pilseung
Chungha singles chronology
"Live" (2019) "Gotta Go" (2019) "Snapping" (2019)
Chungha chronology
Blooming Blue (2018) XII (2019) Flourishing (2019)
Alternate cover
International cover
Music video
"Gotta Go (MNH)" on YouTube "Gotta Go (Stone)" on YouTube

Background and release

Chungha unveiled three teaser photos and two music video teasers for the song before its release. "Gotta Go" was released digitally and physically on January 2, 2019; the physical edition is a single album titled XII.^[4] The song was also released as a separate digital single through several music portals, including iTunes.^[5]

Composition

"Gotta Go" moves Chungha into a more sultry place than her past singles with its vibrant flute sounds and squelching synths acting as a backdrop to her rich vocals.^[6] Chungha mentioned she had always wanted to do a concept like this. Though “Gotta Go” shows a new and different side of Chung Ha, it also marks her return to collaborating with Black Eyed Pilseung and Jeon Goon, the team behind her 2018 hit "Roller Coaster." The song's Korean title literally translates to "Already Midnight". In an interview with Billboard, Chungha elaborated on the song's musical direction by saying:

"A summer vibe me was there during 2018, and sparkly Chung Ha was there, but this time it’s very different. I don’t have all that glitter. This is more of my personal style, I guess. I wanted to go very dark. There’s a very different side of me so I’m excited to show that to fans."^[7]

Reception

"Gotta Go" peaked at number two on the Gaon Digital Chart, number one on the Billboard K-Pop Hot 100 and number six on the World Digital Song Sales chart, becoming her most successful single to date and her first top 10 entry on the latter. It was the second most-downloaded, eighth most-streamed and overall the eighth best performing song of 2019 in South Korea. It also reached the charts in New Zealand and Singapore. The single also brought Chungha her first music program trophy at MBC Music's Show Champion on January 9 and went on to receive 7 total wins. As of June 2022, it has over 90 million views on YouTube and 108 million streams on Spotify.

"Gotta Go" on critic lists

Critic/Publication	List	Rank	Ref.
Billboard	The 25 Best K-pop Songs of 2019	3	^[8]
	The 100 Greatest K-Pop Songs of the 2010s	100	^[9]
BuzzFeed	Best K-pop Music Videos of 2019	14	^[10]
Melon	Top 100 K-pop Songs of All Time	51	^[11]
Refinery29	The Best K-Pop Songs Of 2019	12	^[12]

Music video

The music video is less girlish than her prior ones, replacing the aforementioned sparkles and glitter with mature, bolder looks, such as power shoulders and a smokey eye and lip hues. Choreography-wise, things similarly shift away from the past, with the emphasis being on theatrical elements like hand moves emulating a clock striking midnight and intense footwork.

Accolades

Awards and nominations

Year	Organization	Category	Result	Ref.
2019	Melon Music Awards	Best Female Dance	Won	^[13]
		Song of the Year	Nominated	^[14]
	Mnet Asian Music Awards	Song of the Year	Nominated	^[15]
		Best Dance Performance – Solo	Won	^[16]
2020	Gaon Chart Music Awards	Song of the Year – January	Nominated	^[17]
		Record Production of the Year	Won	^[18]
	Golden Disc Awards	Digital Bonsang	Won	^[19]
		Digital Daesang	Nominated	^[20]
	Seoul Music Awards	Dance Performance Award	Nominated	^[21]

Music program awards

Program	Date	Ref.
Show Champion	January 9, 2019	^[22]
M Countdown	January 10, 2019	^[23]
Show! Music Core	January 12, 2019	^[24]
	January 19, 2019	^[25]
	February 16, 2019	^[26]
Inkigayo	January 13, 2019	^[27]
Music Bank	January 18, 2019	^[28]

Track listing

• CD / digital download

1. "벌써 12시 (Gotta Go)" – 3:41

Chart performance

Weekly charts Chart (2019) Peak position New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ)^[29] 23 Singapore (RIAS)^[30] 25 South Korea (Gaon)^[31] 2 South Korea Albums (Gaon)^[32] 4 South Korea (K-pop Hot 100)^[33] 1 US World Digital Songs (Billboard)^[34] 6

Year-end charts Chart (2019) Position South Korea (Gaon)^[35] 8

Sales and certifications

Sales and certifications for "Gotta Go"

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
South Korea Single album	—	10,000^[36]
United States	—	2,000^[37]
Streaming
South Korea (KMCA)^[38]	Platinum	100,000,000^†
^† Streaming-only figures based on certification alone.

See also

• List of Inkigayo Chart winners (2019)
• List of Kpop Hot 100 number ones
• List of M Countdown Chart winners (2019)

References

1. Riley, Cardoza. "I.O.I.'s Chungha Drops Epic New Video For 'Gotta Go' & Fans Are Obsessed — Watch". Hollywood Life. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
2. "청하 '벌써 12시' 뮤비 티저 영상 공개 '몽환적이면서도 신비로운 분위기' 팬들 기대감↑". Naver (in Korean). December 29, 2018. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
3. "Chungha to return with 'Gotta Go' in 2019". Kpop Herald (in Korean). December 26, 2018. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
4. "벌써 12시". Melon (in Korean). Retrieved January 6, 2019.
5. "Gotta Go – Single by CHUNG HA". iTunes. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
6. Herman, Tamar (January 2, 2019). "Chung Ha Talks Starting Off 2019 with 'Gotta Go' & Goals for the New Year". Billboard. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
7. "Chung Ha Talks Starting Off 2019 with 'Gotta Go' & Goals for the New Year". Billboard. January 2, 2019.
8. "The 25 Best K-pop Songs of 2019: Critics' Picks". Billboard. December 29, 2019. from the original on December 30, 2019. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
9. "The 100 Greatest K-Pop Songs of the 2010s: Staff List". Billboard. Retrieved 2019-12-22.
10. "Best K-pop Music Videos of 2019". BuzzFeed. January 1, 2020. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
11. Hicap, Jonathan (August 29, 2021). "Top 100 K-pop songs of all time revealed". Manila Bulletin.
12. Morin, Natalie (December 20, 2019). "The Best K-Pop Songs Of 2019". Refinery29 . Retrieved December 27, 2019.
13. . Melon (in Korean). Archived from the original on October 30, 2019. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
14. "[MMA 2019] 방탄소년단, 대상 4개 포함 8관왕…"계속 성장할 것" (종합)". Naver (in Korean). Mydaily. November 30, 2019. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
15. "2019 MAMA, 부문별 후보 공개 및 투표 시작…강다니엘-있지(ITZY), 신인상 수상할까". Topstarnews (in Korean). October 24, 2019. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
16. Gaea Katreena Cabico (October 25, 2019). "LIST: Official nominees for 2019 MAMA". The Philippine Star. Retrieved November 15, 2019.
17. 9th Gaon Chart Music Awards 율해의 기쉬(디지털음원) 후보차 (in Korean). November 1, 2019. from the original on November 25, 2019. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
18. "방탄소년단 3관왕 인기 입증, 청하·엑소·세븐틴·벤 2관왕(종합)[2020 가온차트]". newsen.com (in Korean). January 8, 2020. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
19. "'본상' 청하 "팬들에게 영광 돌리고 싶다" [2020 골든디스크]". Naver (in Korean). January 4, 2020. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
20. "The 34th Golden Disk Awards with TikTok". Golden Disc Awards. December 5, 2019. from the original on December 6, 2019. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
21. "Seoul Music Awards 2020 nomination list, live streaming details and more". Ibtimes. December 9, 2019. Retrieved January 30, 2020.
22. "[종합] '쇼챔피언' 청하, 컴백 동시에 1위…에이핑크, 려욱 등 ★ 컴백러쉬". www.xportsnews.com (in Korean). January 9, 2019. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
23. "'엠카' 청하, 1위 추가로 벌써 2관왕..에이핑크⋅우주소녀 컴백[종합]". entertain.naver.com (in Korean). January 10, 2019. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
24. "'쇼음악중심' 청하, 강렬한 레드 의상입고 시크美..'벌써 12시'". entertain.naver.com (in Korean). January 12, 2019. Retrieved January 12, 2019.
25. "'음악중심' 청하, 1위 '6관왕 등극'…"더 열심히 하겠다" [종합]". m.jtbc.joins.com (in Korean). January 19, 2019. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
26. "'음악중심' 청하 1위 속 태민・화사 솔로출격..ITZY・새 MC 찬희X현진 데뷔[종합]". osen.co.kr (in Korean). February 16, 2019. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
27. "'인기가요' 청하, 1위·4관왕 쾌거..에이핑크·우주소녀 컴백 [종합]". entertain.naver.com (in Korean). January 13, 2019. Retrieved January 13, 2019.
28. "'뮤직뱅크' 청하 1위, 매니저와 동반 무대…아스트로·이민혁·여자친구 컴백 [종합]". TV리포트 (in Korean). January 18, 2019. Retrieved January 18, 2019.
29. "NZ Hot Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. January 14, 2019. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
30. (PDF). Recording Industry Association (Singapore). Archived from the original (PDF) on January 21, 2019.
31. "2019년 02주차 Digital Chart". Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). January 6–12, 2019. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
32. "2019년 01주차 Album Chart". Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). December 30, 2018 – January 5, 2019. Retrieved January 10, 2019.
33. "Gotta Go". Billboard Korea (in Korean). January 26, 2019.
34. "World Digital Song Sales". Billboard. January 19, 2019. Retrieved January 26, 2019.
35. "2019년 Digital Chart". Gaon Chart (in Korean). Retrieved January 10, 2020.
36. "2019년 01월 Album Chart". Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
37. "Chung Ha Earns First Solo Top 10 on World Digital Song Sales Chart With 'Gotta Go'". Billboard. January 17, 2019. Retrieved January 22, 2019.
38. "South Korean single streaming certifications – Jennie – SOLO" (in Korean). Korea Music Content Association (KMCA). Retrieved February 7, 2019.