Grayground

Grayground (stylized as grayground.) is the debut studio album of South Korean singer and record producer Gray. It was released on August 17, 2021 through AOMG.

Grayground
Studio album by Gray
Released	August 17, 2021 (2021-08-17)
Genre	Pop-trap emo rap contemporary R&B
Length	36:04
Language	Korean
Label	AOMG
Producer	Gray
Singles from Grayground
"I Don't Love You" Released: August 10, 2021

Singles

"I Don't Love You" was pre-released on August 10, 2021. It charted at number 121 on the Gaon Digital Chart.^[1]

Music and lyrics

Grayground encompasses trendy mainstream black music genres such as trap, funk, emo rap and dancehall with a strong touch of pop. It has songs with delicate instrumental composition such as "Rise", whose energetic rhythm creates a refreshing mood; "Ready to Love", which features rippling horn sounds; and "Eternal Sunshine", which features Jason Lee's sentimental saxophone performance in its postlude.^[2] The pre-release single "I Don't Love You" is a song about ending a relationship without regret. It has an "addictive melody" and "lyrics you can empathize with".^[3] The lead single "Party for the Night" is a cheerful party song with Lee Hi's catchy hook and Loco's smooth rap. It features modernized beats and melodies that drew inspiration from 90's hip-hop.^[4]

Critical reception

Hwang Duha of Rhythmer rated Grayground 2.5 out of 5 stars. He pointed out that the various guest appearances on the album do not create synergy and steal the spotlight from Gray. Overall, he found Grayground to be a smoothly produced album that does not leave a strong impression.^[2]

Lim Seon-hui of IZM rated "I Don't Love You" 2.5 out of 5 stars. According to Lim, "I Don't Love You" does its job okay as a pre-release single, but the song itself lacks attractiveness because Gray's relaxed melodic rap performance on a melancholy guitar riff is bland.^[5]

Year-end lists

Publication	List	Rank	Ref.
Rolling Stone India	10 Best Korean Hip-Hop and R&B Albums of 2021	2	^[6]

Track listing

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Arrangement	Length
1.	"Show Window" (featuring pH-1)	Gray pH-1	Gray pH-1	Gray	3:00
2.	"Selfish" (featuring Woo)	Gray Woo	Gray Dax	Gray Dax	3:29
3.	"Make Love" (featuring Zion.T)	Gray Zion.T	Gray Zion.T	Gray Park Junu	2:34
4.	"Rise" (featuring DeVita)	Gray DeVita	Gray Dax DeVita	Gray Dax	3:19
5.	"I Don't Love You" (featuring Coogie)	Gray Coogie	Gray Coogie	Gray	3:18
6.	"Party for the Night" (featuring Loco & Lee Hi)	Gray Jay Park Loco Lee Hi	Gray Jay Park Lee Hi	Gray	2:53
7.	"Close 2 U" (featuring Punchnello)	Gray Punchnello	Gray	Gray	3:18
8.	"Ready to Love" (featuring Hoody)	Gray Hoody	Gray Hoody	Gray Hoody	3:38
9.	"Eternal Sunshine" (없던 일로 해; Eopdeon illo hae) (featuring Meenoi)	Gray Hoody	Gray Sam Kim Hoody	Gray Sam Kim	4:14
10.	"Baby Don't Cry" (featuring Yumdda)	Gray Yumdda	Gray Yumdda	Gray	3:01
11.	"U"	Gray	Gray	Gray	3:20
Total length:					36:04

Charts

Chart (2021)	Peak position
South Korean Albums (Gaon)^[7]	14

Sales

Region	Sales
South Korea^[8]	4,500

References

1. "2021년 33주차 Digital Chart" [2021 Week 33 Digital Chart]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean).
2. Hwang, Duha (September 26, 2021). "그레이 - grayground" [Gray - grayground.]. Rhythmer (in Korean).
3. Kim, Hyeon-deok (August 11, 2021). "그레이, 'I Don't Love You (Feat. 쿠기)' 선공개…'grayground. 기대 더한 퀄리티'" [Gray pre-releases "I Don't Love You (Feat. Coogie)"... Its quality makes the expectation of grayground. higher]. Single List (in Korean).
4. Kwak, Kristine (September 12, 2021). "Song You Need to Know: Gray, 'Party for the Night'". Rolling Stone.
5. Lim, Seon-hui (August 2021). "I don't love you (Feat. 쿠기)" [I don't love you (Feat. Coogie)]. IZM (in Korean).
6. Chakraborty, Riddhi (December 29, 2021). "10 Best Korean Hip-Hop and R&B Albums of 2021". Rolling Stone India.
7. "2021년 34주차 Album Chart" [2021 Week 34 Album Chart]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean).
8. "2021년 08월 Album Chart" [2021 August Album Chart]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean).