XOXO (song)

"XOXO" is a song recorded by Canadian-Dutch-Korean singer and songwriter Jeon Somi. It was released by The Black Label and Interscope Records on October 29, 2021 as the lead single from the singer's debut studio album of the same name. It was written by Teddy, Danny Chung, Vince, Jeon Somi, and Kush, and composed by them alongside Pink Sweats.

"XOXO"
Single by Jeon Somi
from the album XOXO
Language	Korean English
Released	October 29, 2021 (2021-10-29)
Genre	Pop^[1] dance-pop^[2]
Length	3:27
Label	The Black Label Interscope
Composer(s)	Pink Sweats Pacific Teddy Jeon Somi^[3] Kush Danny Chung VINCE 24
Lyricist(s)	Teddy Danny Chung Vince Jeon Somi Kush
Jeon Somi singles chronology
"Dumb Dumb" (2021) "XOXO" (2021) "Anymore" (2021)
Music video
"XOXO" on YouTube

Background and release

On October 14, The Black Label announced that Jeon Somi was scheduled to make a comeback with her first full-length album XOXO at the end of the month.^[4] In the following week Jeon revealed the release date and shared the tracklist of the album through her social media accounts, which included the lead single entitled "XOXO".^[5] The song and its music video were released for digital download and streaming alongside the album on October 29.^[6]

Composition

"XOXO" was written by Teddy, Danny Chung, Vince, Jeon Somi, and Kush, and composed by Pink Sweats, Pacific, Teddy, and 24. The song is described as a dance-pop track with a trap beat and a layered chant-like hook. Lyrically, the song is an anthem filled with anger and centers on leaving a cheating partner and no longer letting one's feelings be trivialized.^[7] According to Somi, the title of the song is "the goodbye you send to the player who cheated on you" and 'XOXO' are "hugs and kisses that are a bit more evil than sweet”.^[8]

Critical reception

NME's Carmen Chin praised the song as "ridiculously catchy" with "well-placed rap verses and an earworm of a chorus". However, she criticized it as a "foolproof but boring pop anthem" made specifically to appeal to the general audience.^[9]

Music video

On October 27, the music video teaser was released.^[10] On October 29, the official music video was released. The video takes place after the music video for "Dumb Dumb" and opens with a scene of Jeon Somi discovering she’s been cheated on by her lover. She deals with her heartbreak by embarking on a revenge mission on her ex-boyfriend. She playfully wields a sledgehammer as she skips around a graffiti-covered car in an outdoor parking lot in some scenes, and completely trashes a hallway in others.^[11]

Accolades

Awards and nominations

Year	Organization	Award	Result	Ref.
2021	Asian Pop Music Awards	Best Composer – Overseas^[a]	Nominated	^[12]
		Best Music Video – Overseas	Nominated
		Record of the Year – Overseas	Nominated

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for "XOXO" Chart (2021) Peak positions Global 200 (Billboard)^[13] 185 Malaysia (RIM)^[14] 17 New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ)^[15] 24 Singapore (RIAS)^[16] 6 South Korea (Gaon)^[17] 43 South Korea (K-pop 100)^[18] 33 US World Digital Song Sales (Billboard)^[19] 9

Monthly charts Chart (2021) Peak positions South Korea (Gaon)^[20] 52 South Korea (K-pop 100)^[21] 67

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Label
Various	October 29, 2021	Digital download streaming	The Black Label
United States			Interscope

Notes

1. Pink Sweats, Pacific, Teddy Park, and 24 credited as nominees

References

1. Kim Na-young (October 8, 2021). "'컴백 D-1' 전소미, 화려한 프로듀서진 공개..테디·핑크 스웨츠 참여" ['Comeback D-1' Jeon So-mi, splendid producers revealed.. Participated in Teddy and Pink Sweatshirts]. from the original on March 18, 2022. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
2. Nguyen, Kelly (November 5, 2021). "Jeon Somi Talks "XOXO," Rebellion, and Doing Her Own Thing". Teen Vogue. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
3. "somi credits on komca".
4. Lee, Ha-na (October 14, 2021). 전소미, 약 3개월만 컴백 "이달 말 첫번째 정규 앨범 발매"(공식입장) [Jeon So-mi, comeback after about 3 months "First full album release at the end of this month" (official position)]. Newsen (in Korean). Retrieved October 23, 2021.
5. Chin, Carmen (October 21, 2021). "Jeon Somi unveils release date and tracklist for debut album 'XOXO'". NME. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
6. Choi, Ji-won (October 29, 2021). "Jeon Somi is confident about her first full-length album 'XOXO'". The Korea Herald. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
7. Nguyen, Kelly (November 5, 2021). "Jeon Somi Talks "XOXO," Rebellion, and Doing Her Own Thing". Teen Vogue. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
8. Roby, India (October 29, 2021). "Jeon Somi shares her fashion diary for the "XOXO" music video". Nylon. Retrieved October 29, 2021.
9. Chin, Carmen (November 3, 2021). "Jeon Somi – 'XOXO' review: an anti-climactic debut album that fails to flesh out her identity". NME. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
10. Yeo, Gladys (October 26, 2021). "Jeon Somi is out for revenge in new 'XOXO' teaser". NME.
11. Chin, Carmen (October 29, 2021). "Jeon Somi meets heartbreak in music video for new single 'XOXO'". NME.
12. "【APMA 2021】亚洲流行音乐大奖2021年度入围名单" [[APMA 2021] Asian Pop Music Awards 2021 shortlist]. Weibo (in Chinese). November 30, 2021. from the original on November 30, 2021. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
13. "Billboard Global 200 – Week of November 13, 2021". from the original on November 9, 2021. Retrieved November 9, 2021.
14. "Top 20 Most Streamed International & Domestic Singles In Malaysia". Recording Industry Association of Malaysia. November 12, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
15. "New Zealand Hot 40 Singles". Recorded Music NZ. November 8, 2021. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
16. . Archived from the original on November 10, 2021. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
17. "2021년 47주차 Digital Chart" [Week 47 of 2021 Digital Chart] (in Korean). Korea Music Content Association. Retrieved November 25, 2021 – via Gaon Chart.
18. "Billboard K-pop Hot 100 – Week of November 27, 2021". Billboard. November 23, 2021. from the original on December 2, 2021. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
19. "World Digital Song Sales Chart – Week of November 13, 2021". from the original on November 11, 2021. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
20. "2021년 11월 Digital Chart" [November 2021 Digital Chart] (in Korean). Korea Music Content Association. from the original on December 9, 2021. Retrieved December 8, 2021 – via Gaon Chart.
21. . Billboard Korea (in Korean). Archived from the original on December 3, 2021. Retrieved December 3, 2021.