Chat-Shire

Chat-Shire (stylized as CHAT-SHIRE) is the fourth Korean-language extended play by South Korean singer-songwriter IU. The self-composed EP was released digitally on October 23, 2015, and physically four days later by LOEN Entertainment under its imprint LOEN Tree.[1] It was her first original material release since Modern Times (2013).

Chat-Shire
EP by
IU
ReleasedOctober 23, 2015
Length25:40 (digital)
31:56 (CD)
LanguageKorean
Label
Producer
  • IU
IU chronology
A Flower Bookmark
(2014)		 Chat-Shire
(2015)		 Palette
(2017)
Singles from Chat-Shire
  1. "Twenty-Three"
    Released: October 23, 2015
Music video
"Twenty-Three" on YouTube

Chat-Shire contains seven tracks in total including the lead single "Twenty-Three". It also features two CD-only bonus tracks ("Heart" and "Twenty Three") from KBS's television series The Producers, in which IU starred as Cindy.[2]

Composition

According to Scott Interrante of PopMatters, Chat-Shire uses lush orchestrations and complex arrangements that recreates a 90's chamber pop sound similar to The Cardigans.[3] The song "Red Queen" was inspired by a drawing created by Sulli.[4]

Reception

Commercial reception

The lead single, "Twenty-Three" (Korean: 스물셋), topped the national music charts upon release with several of the album's tracks also ranking in the top ten.[5] The track eventually achieved a Perfect All-Kill, as the single hit Number 1 on all of the major South Korean music sites simultaneously.[6] The album reached a peak position of number two on Gaon Album Chart[7] and also reached number four on Billboard's World Albums chart.[8]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
IZM[9]

Billboard listed the album at number six on its list of "Top 10 Best K-Pop Albums of 2015" and described the album as a "must-hear" release, containing "some of [IU's] most personal music yet", and named "The Shower" (Korean: 푸르던) as its stand-out track.[10] Seoul Beats also highlighted the "personal quality" showcased in many of the album's tracks and praised IU's "growing maturity as an artist" and her willingness to experiment musically.[11][12]

Plagiarism controversy

Following its release, the album was controversial for allegedly using Britney Spears' voice and sampling her 2007 song "Gimme More" without permission in the bonus track "23". Although she did not compose the music for the song, IU issued an apology for not checking the samples' sources as the album's producer.[13]

The lyrics for "Zezé" and its illustration on the album cover were criticized by the Korean publisher of the novel My Sweet Orange Tree for its reinterpretation of its five-year-old protagonist, Zezé.[14] Amidst growing debate in the music community, the book's publisher later apologized for its failure to acknowledge the "diversity of interpretation".[15] The controversy surrounding "Zezé" attracted international attention with AbeBooks reporting My Sweet Orange Tree as the most searched for book on its site on November 5–6, despite the book being out of print in English for years.[16][17] Meanwhile, South Korea's largest book store chain, Kyobo Book Centre, reported that sales of the book has increased 5.7 times over the period of November 5–8 when compared to sales over the November 1–4 period.[15]

Track listing

All lyrics are written by IU

Digital download[18]
No.TitleMusicArrangementLength
1."Shoes" (새 신발; Sae Sinbal)Lee Jong-hoonLee Jong-hoon3:35
2."Zezé"Lee Jong-hoon, Lee Chae-kyuLee Jong-hoon, Lee Chae-kyu3:11
3."Twenty-Three" (스물셋; Seumulset)Lee Jong-hoon, Lee Chae-kyu, IULee Jong-hoon, Lee Chae-kyu3:14
4."The Shower" (푸르던; Pureudeon)IUKim Je-hwi4:07
5."Red Queen" (featuring Zion.T)Lee Jong-hoon, Lee Chae-kyuLee Jong-hoon, Lee Chae-kyu3:33
6."Knees" (무릎; Mureup)IULee Jong-hoon4:43
7."Glasses" (안경; An-gyeong)IUKim Je-hwi3:17
Total length:25:40
CD bonus tracks[19]
No.TitleMusicArrangementLength
8."Heart" (마음; Maeum, from The Producers)IU, Kim Je-hwiIU, Kim Je-hwi2:47
9."Twenty Three" (from The Producers)PJ, Lee Jong-hoonPJ, Lee Jong-hoon3:29
Total length:31:56

Notes

  • The title of track 1 literally means "New Shoes".
  • The title of track 4 literally means "Once Blue".
  • The title of track 7 literally means "Eyeglasses".

Charts
Chart (2015) Peak
position		 Sales
South Korean Gaon Weekly Albums Chart[20] 2
South Korean Gaon Monthly Albums Chart[22] 9
South Korean Gaon Year-End Albums Chart 56
US Billboard Heatseekers Albums Chart[23] 19
US Billboard World Albums Chart[24] 4

Release history
Region Date Format Label
South Korea October 23, 2015 Digital download LOEN Tree
Various[18]
South Korea[19] October 27, 2015 CD

References
  1. Seong, Jin-hee (October 12, 2015). "컴백! 아이유, 새 미니앨범 '챗셔' 10월 23일 발매..전곡 프로듀싱 ("Comeback! IU to Release Her Self-Produced New EP "Chat-Shire" on October 23rd")" (in Korean). The Chosun Ilbo. Archived from the original on November 25, 2015. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  2. Won, Ho-seong (October 23, 2015). "아이유 '스물셋', 드라마 '프로듀사' 삽입곡 '23'과의 관계는? CD 보너스 트랙 삽입 ("What's the Relationship Between "Twenty-Three" by IU, and "Twenty Three" from "The Producers"?")" (in Korean). SPORTSQ. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  3. Scott, Interrante (2015-12-17). "The Best K-Pop of 2015". PopMatters. Retrieved 2020-04-29.
  4. "설리, 절친 아이유 응원 "도저히 안 사랑할 수 없어"". TenAsia (in Korean). 2015-10-24. Retrieved 2019-10-17.
  5. "IU tops eight domestic charts with new song "Twenty-Three"". The Korea Times. South Korea. October 23, 2015. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  6. "아이유, 진짜 '센 언니'". Naver.
  7. "Gaon Album Chart - Week 45 (see #2)". Gaon Music Chart.
  8. "World Albums: Week of November 14, 2015". World Albums. Billboard. November 14, 2015. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  9. "Chat-Shire". IZM (in Korean). Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  10. "The 10 Best K-pop Albums of 2015". Billboard. December 30, 2015.
  11. "IU Creates A Wonderland In 'Twenty-Three'". Seoul Beats. October 25, 2015. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  12. "Down The Rabbit Hole With IU's Chat-Shire". Seoul Beats. October 27, 2015. Retrieved April 8, 2018.
  13. Lim, Jeong-yeo; Ko, Ji-seon (November 6, 2015). "IU apologizes amid plagiarism, pedophilia charges". The Korea Herald. Seoul. Retrieved November 10, 2015.
  14. Sung, So-young (November 7, 2015). "Controversy surrounds IU, again". Korea Joongang Daily. Retrieved November 8, 2015.
  15. Sung, So-Young (November 12, 2015). "Publisher backs down in IU debate". Korea JoongAng Daily. Seoul. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
  16. Flood, Alison (November 10, 2015). "K-pop star IU's song accused of 'sexualising' book's child hero". The Guardian. London. Retrieved November 11, 2015.
  17. Davies, Richard (November 8, 2015). "K-pop Erupts over a Book-Inspired 'Sexualized' Pop Song". AbeBooks. Retrieved November 11, 2015.
  18. "Chat-Shire by IU on iTunes". iTunes Store. 23 October 2015. Retrieved 23 October 2015.
  19. "아이유 (IU) – CHAT-SHIRE (4TH 미니앨범)" (in Korean). Media Synnara. Retrieved October 28, 2015.
  20. "South Korean Gaon Chart: Album – The 45th Week of 2015". Gaon Chart. Korea Music Content Industry Association. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
  21. Sales references for Chat-Shire:
  22. "South Korean Gaon Chart: Album – October 2015". Gaon Chart. Korea Music Content Industry Association. November 12, 2015. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
  23. "Billboard Heatseekers Albums Chart – The Week of November 14, 2015". Billboard. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
  24. "Billboard World Albums Chart – The Week of November 14, 2015". Billboard. Retrieved November 4, 2015.
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