Love Scenario
"Love Scenario" (Korean: 사랑을 했다; RR: Sarang-eul haetda) is a song recorded by South Korean boy group iKon. It was released as the lead single of their second studio album, Return.[2] The song won "Song of the Year" at the 2018 Melon Music Awards and 33rd Golden Disc Awards. It is recognized as iKon's signature song.
| "Love Scenario" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Japanese version digital cover | ||||
| Single by iKon | ||||
| from the album Return | ||||
| Released | January 25, 2018 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:29 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Composer(s) |
| |||
| Producer(s) | B.I | |||
| IKon singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Love Scenario" on YouTube | ||||
Background and composition
"Love Scenario" is described as a mellow, yet relatively upbeat, with a circuitous melody that guides the rhythmic dance track.[3]
"I wanted to express what I found regrettable, neither sad nor happy, in the warm farewell which inspired me by the last 10 minutes of the film La La Land," group leader and songwriter B.I stated. He continued, "The main protagonist smiles at his past lover in the end, and I felt, 'That's enough.'"[citation needed]
Chart performance
Upon its release, "Love Scenario" topped China's QQ Music's real-time chart. It also entered the top 10 on QQ Music's weekly chart. In South Korea, the song debuted at 12 on the Gaon Weekly Chart.[4][5][6] It topped the chart for six weeks straight, becoming the longest-running number-one song in Gaon history. On February 5, it reached number one on numerous digital platforms such as iChart, Melon, Genie, Bugs, Mnet, Naver, and Soribada, and also number one on the weekly overall chart, Instiz's iChart. They are the second boy band to ever have achieved number one on more than seven music charts since iChart began ranking songs in 2010, with Big Bang having previously accomplishing a similar feat. The group managed to achieve 204 hourly Perfect All Kills, where a song is number one on all charts for a certain amount of time. The song spent 913 hours at number one on the Melon Chart and 40 days at number one on the Melon daily chart.[7]
The group was named top artists of the first half of 2018 by Genie Music, as they topped their daily chart for 35 days.[8]
"Love Scenario" became the first song to receive a Gaon platinum certification from the Korea Music Content Industry Association in the streaming category after surpassing 100 million streams.[9]
Critical reception
Billboard praised the song, saying it "is guided by a gentle cowbell-style beat and swaying vocals. The song relays a mellow, yet relatively upbeat, reaction to breaking up, with a circuitous melody that guides the rhythmic dance track. It's more emotional than their boisterous most-recent singles, and serves as a subtle directional change and maturing for iKON."[10] "Love Scenario" was also chosen as Apple Music's Best of the Week.[11]
| Critic/Publication | List | Rank | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Billboard | The 20 Best K-pop Songs of 2018: Critics' Picks | 7 | [12] |
| BuzzFeed | 30 Songs That Helped Define K-Pop In 2018 | 10 | [13] |
| The Dong-a Ilbo | Best Songs of 2018 | 1 | [14] |
| HK01 | 20 Must Listen to K-Pop Songs of 2018 | 2 | [15] |
| Paper | PAPER's Top 20 K-Pop Songs of 2018 | 4 | [16] |
| Sanook | 10 Popular Songs From 2018 | — | [17] |
| SBS PopAsia | Top 100 Asian pop songs of 2018 | 3 | [18] |
| YouTube Rewind | Top 10 Most Popular Music Videos In Korea From 2018 | 1 | [19] |
Impact
The song achieved substantial popularity, especially from kindergarteners and elementary schoolers due to its easy-to-follow melodies and lyrics.[20] Some elementary schools banned students from singing "Love Scenario" in classrooms because of its inappropriate content and students showing signs of addiction to catchy tunes.[21] It was featured in several popular Korean TV shows, including Running Man and Infinite Challenge.[22]
The song was also made into an exclusive in-game emote in Fortnite that fans can get by purchasing any Galaxy S10 series smartphone through the partnership between Epic Games and Samsung Mobile.[citation needed]
Music video
The "Love Scenario" music video was shot with a motion control camera. The background displays nostalgic scenery and props; each scene consists of naturally connected shots, and the Korean media said that this production method adds "fun" to the film.[23] The music video also shows the synchronized dance of seven members, with love stories shown in the background to reflect the lyrics. Among them, the film presents a period from top to bottom, showing iKon's star-shaped dance, which was called the highlight of the music video by Billboard.[3]
On May 24, 2021, the music video reached 500 million views on YouTube.[24]
Chinese and Japanese version
On the 12th of July, the Chinese version of the hit song was released, with the lyrics being written by Tiger Hu.[citation needed] While in 2019, the Japanese version was released on the 27th of February.
Charts
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Accolades
| Year | Organization | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Melon Music Awards | Best Rap/Hip-hop | Nominated | [26] |
| Song of The Year (Daesang) | Won | |||
| MBC Plus X Genie Music Awards | Rap/Hip Hop Music Award | Won | [27] | |
| Best Song of The Year | Nominated | [28] | ||
| Mnet Asian Music Awards | Song of The Year (Daesang) | Nominated | [29] | |
| Best Vocal Performance Group | Won | |||
| 2019 | Golden Disc Awards | Digital Song Division (Bonsang) | Won | [30] |
| Digital Song of The Year (Daesang) | Won | |||
| Seoul Music Awards | Record of the Year in Digital Release | Won | [31] | |
| Gaon Chart Music Awards | Song of the Year – January | Won | [32] | |
| Long-Run Song of the Year | Won | |||
| The Fact Music Awards | Best Song | Won | [33] |
|
|
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| South Korea (KMCA)[46] | Platinum | 2,500,000* |
| South Korea (KMCA)[47] Streaming | Platinum | 100,000,000 |
| * Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
See also
References
- ^ "[V Report] iKon's B.I reveals production process of 'Love Scenario'". Kpop Herald.
- ^ "iKON Introduces 'Love Scenario' & 'Return' Album: Watch this Billboard Exclusive". Billboard.
- ^ a b "iKon 'Return' with New Album & 'Love Scenario' Single". Billboard. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
- ^ "Gaon 2018년 04주차 Digital Chart". Gaon. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
- ^ "QQ Music: Love Scenario".
- ^ ""돌아온 음원강자" 아이콘, '사랑을 했다' 6일째 1위". Chosun. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
- ^ "iKON's 'Love Scenario' Becomes First 2018 Track To Achieve Perfect All-Kill". Soompi. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
- ^ "[DA:차트] 아이콘·모모랜드, 2018 상반기 최고 남녀그룹". Naver News. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
- ^ "가온 인증(Gaon Certification)". Gaon Chart.
- ^ "iKon 'Return' with New Album & 'Love Scenario' Single". Billboard. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
- ^ "iKON's 'LOVE SCENARIO' at No. 1 For 2 Days... First Performance Today (27th) At 'Music Core'". YG Life. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
- ^ "The 20 Best K-pop Songs of 2018: Critics' Picks". Billboard. December 17, 2018. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
- ^ "30 Songs That Helped Define K-Pop In 2018". BuzzFeed. January 2, 2019. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
- ^ Lim, Hwi-yoon (December 13, 2018). "최고 가수는 BTS, 최고 프로듀서는 방시혁". doongA (in Korean). Retrieved January 6, 2019.
- ^ Yuyuan, Li (December 31, 2018). "盤點2018年20首必聽k-pop冠軍歌 BTS、EXO等天王之年". HK01 (in Chinese). Retrieved January 6, 2019.
- ^ Benjamin, Jeff (December 21, 2018). "PAPER's Top 20 K-Pop Songs of 2018". PAPER. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
- ^ Sidhipong, W.; Chanon, B.; Jurairat, N. (December 22, 2018). "10 เพลงสุดฮิตแห่งปี 2018". Sanook (in Thai). Retrieved January 6, 2019.
- ^ "PopAsia's Top 100 Asian pop songs of 2018: 50-1". SBS. Popasia. December 24, 2018. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
- ^ "Top 10 Most Popular Music Videos In Korea From 2018". YouTube. December 6, 2018. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
- ^ "Sing 'Love Scenario' with iKON at family festival". Kpop Herald.
- ^ "iKON's 'Love Scenario' banned in some elementary schools". Korea Times.
- ^ "iKON's "Love Scenario" is EVERYWHERE on Korean TV". SBS.com.au.
- ^ "아이콘, '취향저격' 느낌물씬...'사랑을 했다' 티저 첫선" (in Korean). naver. 2018-01-22. Retrieved 2018-01-27.
- ^ "iKON's "Love Scenario" Becomes Their 1st MV To Reach 500 Million Views". Soompi. 2021-05-24. Retrieved 2022-08-28.
- ^ "2018년 Digital Chart". Gaon. Retrieved January 17, 2019.
- ^ "Winners Of The 2018 Melon Music Awards". Soompi. Retrieved 2018-12-01.
- ^ "2018 MBC Plus X Genie Music Awards Announces Nominees + Voting Begins". Soompi. October 1, 2018.
- ^ "2018 MBC Plus X Genie Music Awards Announces Nominees + Voting Begins". Soompi. October 1, 2018.
- ^ Lee, Hoyeon (November 1, 2018). 방탄소년단부터 워너원…'2018 MAMA', 투표 시작. Hankook Ilbo (in Korean). Retrieved November 5, 2018.
- ^ "Winners Of The 33rd Golden Disc Awards Day 1". Soompi. Retrieved 2019-01-05.
- ^ "Winners of the '28th Seoul Music Awards'!". allkpop. January 15, 2019. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
- ^ "Winners Of 8th Gaon Chart Music Awards". soompi. January 23, 2019. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
- ^ "방탄소년단, 더팩트뮤직어워즈 대상..4관왕 영예(종합)". star.mt.co.kr (in Korean). April 24, 2019. Retrieved April 24, 2019.
- ^ "'엠카운트다운' 아이콘, 선미 꺾고 1위… 보아·수지·레드벨벳, '걸크러시' 컴백 (종합)". Ten Asia (in Korean). February 1, 2018. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
- ^ "아이콘, '사랑을 했다'로 '엠카' 1위..5관왕 달성". Ten Asia (in Korean). March 1, 2018. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
- ^ "'엠카' 아이콘, 1위 10관왕..마마무·정일훈·NCT드림 컴백 [종합]". Chosun (in Korean). March 8, 2018. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
- ^ "[SBS Star] VIDEO: iKON's 'LOVE SCENARIO' to Its Unstoppable Popularity Scenario!". SBS News.
- ^ "'인기가요' 아이콘, 모모랜드 꺾고 1위…음방 4관왕 달성 [종합]". Chosun (in Korean). February 25, 2018. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
- ^ "아이콘, '인기가요' 첫 트리플크라운 "새 싱글, 사랑 부탁"". Chosun (in Korean). March 4, 2018. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
- ^ "'음악중심' 아이콘, 모모랜드 꺾고 1위…보아·양요섭 컴백[종합]". Chosun (in Korean). February 24, 2018. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
- ^ "'음악중심' 아이콘, 2주연속 1위 7관왕". YG Life (in Korean). March 3, 2018. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
- ^ "'음악중심' 아이콘, 11관왕 대기록(종합)". YG Life (in Korean). March 10, 2018. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
- ^ "아이콘, '뮤직뱅크' 1위… 음악방송 6관왕". Ten Asia (in Korean). March 2, 2018. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
- ^ "'쇼챔피언' 아이콘, 불참에도 1위 9관왕 달성…성규·우주소녀 컴백[종합]". Chosun (in Korean). March 7, 2018. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
- ^ "Melon Weekly Award". www.melon.com (in Korean). Retrieved June 11, 2018.
- ^ "South Korean single certifications – iKON – Love Scenario" (in Korean). Korea Music Content Association (KMCA). Retrieved November 8, 2018.
- ^ "South Korean single streaming certifications – iKON – Love Scenario" (in Korean). Korea Music Content Association (KMCA). Retrieved June 8, 2018.