"Spring Love" (Korean: 봄인가 봐; RR: Bominga bwa) is a song by South Korea-based American singer Eric Nam and South Korean singer Wendy, a member of the South Korean girl group Red Velvet. It was released digitally by SM Entertainment on March 4, 2016, as the fourth single of the first season of the label's digital music project, SM Station. Composed by Kevin Writer and Douglas James with lyrics by Hwang Hyun (MonoTree) and Agnes Shin, the song is an acoustic ballad about friends developing romantic feelings for one another as the season gets warmer in the beginning of spring.
| "Spring Love" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Eric Nam and Wendy | ||||
| from the album SM Station Season 1 | ||||
| Released | March 4, 2016 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:18 | |||
| Songwriter(s) |
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| Producer(s) |
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| Eric Nam singles chronology | ||||
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| Wendy singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Spring Love" on YouTube | ||||
The single was a commercial success upon its release. It was both Nam and Wendy's first top-ten entry on the Gaon Digital Chart, peaking at number seven on its second week. It eventually became the sixty-first best-selling song in South Korea in 2016, having achieved over 820,131 downloads. The song was also nominated for Best Collaboration at the 18th Mnet Asian Music Awards, but lost to Wendy's fellow labelmate Baekhyun with his collaboration single "Dream".
Background and composition
editIn January 2016, S.M. Entertainment, one of the largest entertainment companies in South Korea, launched a digital music project called SM Station which would give their artists a platform to release music, with the intention of releasing a new single by an S.M. Entertainment artist each week for an entire year.[2][3] Girls' Generation member Taeyeon started the digital project by releasing the single "Rain" on February 3, 2016.[4] After two more releases, the company announced that Red Velvet member Wendy and non-S.M. Entertainment artist Eric Nam would be the fourth to participate in the project.[5] On March 4, the single was released along with an accompanying music video.[6]
"Spring Love" was produced by Kevin Writer and Douglas James, while its lyrics were penned by Hwang Hyun and Agnes Shin.[7] The song is described as a mid-tempo ballad with an acoustic arrangement.[1] Lyrically, it is a youthful song about friends falling in love as the weather grows warmer.[8]
Promotion and reception
editA music video of the song directed by Shim Hyung-jun was premiered on the official YouTube channel of S.M. Entertainment in conjunction with the single's release. In it, Eric Nam and Wendy are depicted as a couple who enjoy their day together at an amusement park, riding various attractions.[9][10]
In December 2016, Nam and Wendy sang the song on Yang&Nam Show, a show hosted by Nam, in which Red Velvet appeared as guests in its 4th episode. On March 30, 2017, they performed it live for the first time at KCON Mexico.[11][12]
"Spring Love" was a commercial success in South Korea. It debuted at number ten on the Gaon Digital Chart, eventually peaked at number seven one week later, thus became both Nam and Wendy's first top-ten entry on the chart.[13] Its accompanying music video was the ninth most watched K-pop video in America and tenth worldwide for the month of March.[14] The single was the ninth best-selling song on the March issue of the Gaon Monthly Digital Chart, and went on to become the sixty-first best-selling song in South Korea in 2016, with a total sales of over 820,131 downloads.[15]
Billboard included it in its '7 Essential K-Pop Songs' for spring in 2016 and in November, the song was nominated at the 18th Mnet Asian Music Awards for Best Collaboration.[8]
Track listing
editDigital download / streaming[1]
- "Spring Love" – 3:18
- "Spring Love" (Instrumental) – 3:18
Credits and personnel
editCredits adapted from Melon.[1]
Studio
- Recorded and edited at In Grid Studio
- Edited at MonoTree Studio
- Mixed at SM Blue Ocean Studio
- Mastered at Sterling Sound
Personnel
- Eric Nam – vocals
- Wendy – vocals, background vocals
- Hwang Hyun – songwriting, arrangement, piano
- Shin Agnes – songwriting
- Kevin Writer – composition, arrangement
- Douglas James – composition, arrangement
- Lee Ju-hyung – vocal directing, background vocals, Pro Tools operation, digital editing
- Kim Byung-seok – bass
- Jeong Su-wan – guitar
- Gil Eun-kyung – keyboard
- Jeong Eun-kyung – recording, digital editing
- Woo Min-jung – recording
- Kim Chul-soon – mixing
- Tom Coyne – mastering
Charts
editWeekly charts
edit| Chart (2016) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| South Korea (Gaon)[16] | 7 |
Monthly charts
edit| Chart (March 2016) | Position |
|---|---|
| South Korea (Gaon)[17] | 9 |
Year-end charts
edit| Chart (2016) | Position |
|---|---|
| South Korea (Gaon)[18] | 74 |
Release history
edit| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Various | March 4, 2016 | [1] |
References
edit- ^ a b c d e "봄인가 봐 (Spring Love) – SM STATION". Melon (in Korean). March 4, 2016. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
- ^ Jackson, Julie (January 28, 2016). "SM founder talks new boy band, future localization strategy". The Korea Herald. Herald Media Inc. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
- ^ Jung, Min-kyung (January 28, 2016). "Taeyeon releases teaser for new single 'Rain'". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
- ^ Sung So-young (February 2, 2016). "Two new singles out from Taeyeon this week". JoongAng Ilbo. JoongAng Media Network. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
- ^ Lee, Eun-ho (March 2, 2016). "웬디X에릭남, SM '스테이션' 네 번째 주자 발탁…달콤 듀엣 예고". 10asia (in Korean). Retrieved December 12, 2017.
- ^ Lee, Kyung-nam (March 4, 2016). "에릭남X웬디 '봄인가 봐', 단숨에 1위 'SM 음원파워 입증'". News1 (in Korean). Retrieved December 12, 2017.
- ^ "봄인가 봐 (Spring Love)". Mnet (in Korean). March 4, 2016. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
- ^ a b Herman, Tamar (May 5, 2016). "Akdong Musician 'Spring' Into Action, Plus 7 Essential K-Pop Songs for the Season". Billboard. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
- ^ Lee, So-hee (May 31, 2016). "정동하표 발라드가 온다…'오! 사랑' 6월 2일 발매". Newsway (in Korean). Retrieved December 12, 2017.
- ^ "Red Velvet's Wendy and Eric Nam Release Adorable MV for 'Spring Love'". MoonRok. March 3, 2016. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
- ^ "KCON 2017 Mexico×M COUNTDOWN ｜Eric Nam, Wendy (Red Velvet) – Spring Love". Mnet. March 30, 2017. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
- ^ YANG and NAM SHOW [미공개 풀버전] 최.초.공.개. 에릭남&웬디의 봄인가 봐 라이브 161208 EP.4 (in Korean). December 8, 2016. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
- ^ "Gaon Digital Chart" (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. Archived from the original on December 6, 2017. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
- ^ Benjamin, Jeff (April 12, 2016). "Most Viewed K-Pop Videos in America, Around the World: March 2016". Billboard. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
- ^ "Gaon Download Chart" (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. Archived from the original on September 3, 2017. Retrieved December 12, 2017.
- ^ 2016년 11주차 Digital Chart [2016, Week 11 Digital Chart] (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. Archived from the original on March 22, 2016. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
- ^ 2016년 03월 Digital Chart [March 2016 Digital Chart] (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. Archived from the original on April 18, 2016. Retrieved March 25, 2021.
- ^ 2016년 Digital Chart [2016 Digital Chart] (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. Archived from the original on March 25, 2021. Retrieved March 25, 2016.