Darl+ing

"Darl+ing" is a song by South Korean boy band Seventeen. It was released on April 15, 2022, by Pledis Entertainment through YG Plus. The song is the band's first song fully recorded in English performed by all members of the band. The song also served as a pre-release single for Seventeen's fourth studio album, Face the Sun, and appears as the album's first track.

"Darl+ing"
Single by Seventeen
from the album Face the Sun
ReleasedApril 15, 2022
GenrePop[1]
Length2:56
Label
Composer(s)
  • Woozi
  • Bumzu
  • Hwang Hyun (Monotree)
Lyricist(s)
Seventeen singles chronology
"Rock with You"
(2021)		 "Darl+ing"
(2022)		 "Hot"
(2022)
Music video
"Darl+ing" on YouTube

The pop song is a gift to the band's international fans, with lyrics following a theme of togetherness. While "Darl+ing" received mixed reviews, it was a commercial success, reaching the national charts of nine countries.

Background

Following the conclusion of their "Power of 'Love'" project, the song marks Seventeen's first full-group release in 2022.[2][3] Previously, as a part of Attacca, their ninth EP, released in May 2021, American-born Seventeen members Vernon and Joshua released "2 Minus 1", a song fully recorded in English.[4][5] In January 2022, another member, Woozi released his solo song "Ruby", also fully recorded in English, despite not having an English-language background.[6] "Darl+ing" marks Seventeen's first song fully recorded in English performed by all members of the band.[4]

The song marks the beginning of the band's "Team SVT" project, which presents the theme of uniting Seventeen and their fans.[7] The use of the plus sign in the song's title points to the theme of togetherness, with multiple meanings, including the link between the band and their fans, as well as the link between individuals in a relationship.[8][1] According to band members, the song is dedicated to Seventeen's international fans.[9]

Our international fans, even though they may not understand Korean, love us for who we are and love our music so much, so we just wanted to make a song they can easily listen to and understand.

— Joshua, on the song's motivation, Rolling Stone[10]

Release and promotion

In March, Pledis Entertainment confirmed that Seventeen would release their fourth studio album in May, three years after their previous studio album, An Ode and seven months after their previous EP, Attacca.[11][12] In early April, Seventeen partnered with Apple for a "Today at Apple" remix session highlighting "Darl+ing" and the band's creative process.[4] As part of the experience, people were able to create their own remixes of the song in GarageBand.[13]

On April 7, Pledis Entertainment released the title of the song, along with its promotional poster and date of release.[7] On the same day, a sunny mood teaser video was released on YouTube.[14] Pastel concept photos were released to tease the song on April 9.[15] On April 13, Seventeen posted a video of text messages with the song's lyrics and a voice message of a 10-second audio snippet of the song.[16] The following day, a teaser video was released on YouTube, featuring short snippets from their music video.[17] The song was released as a digital single on April 15, accompanied by a music video featuring dreamy scenes in a sunlit wheat field and a mystical house.[4]

On the same day as the song's release, Seventeen performed "Darl+ing" on Fresh Out Live.[18][19] On April 26, the band performed the song on Japanese shows: Sukkiri and CDTV Live! Live!.[20] The song was re-released as the first track on the studio album Face the Sun on May 27.[21] After the release of the album, Seventeen performed "Darl+ing" on several South Korean music shows, including Music Bank and M Countdown.[22][23] "Darl+ing" also appears as the fifth track of Face the Sun's reissue, Sector 17.[24] A holiday version of the song was released as part of Seventeen's Japanese EP, Dream, on November 9.[25]

Music and lyrics

The song's lyrics were written by Woozi, Bumzu, and Shannon Bae[26] and composed by Woozi, Bumzu and Hwang Hyun of Monotree.[8] Musically, the song was composed in the key of C major at a tempo of 96 beats per minute.[27] The song is characterized by its guitar and synth sounds.[13][18] In their remix session with Apple, Hoshi revealed that the band "made the melody and rhythm more simple so that the song could reach a wider range of listeners."[13] Lyrically, the song explores the theme of togetherness, with the song opening with the lines: "You know without you, I’m so lonely / When you’re not here, 911 calling.”[4][28]

Critical reception

The song was met with mixed reviews. Sara Delgado from Teen Vogue likened the song to Seventeen's previous fresh sound, describing the song as "playful and feel good."[29] On the other hand, NME's Abby Webster criticized the song for being "anti-climactic" and being "a tad too muted to strike a chord."[30] The South China Morning Post ranked "Darl+ing" as number three on their list of "15 best K-pop songs of 2022", describing it as a "sweet and uplifting song."[31] Sarina Bhutani from MTV praised the song's musical composition, writing that it "perfectly layers instrumental elements, like plucky acoustic guitars and melodic pianos, with soft electronic sounds to create the sonic equivalent of a warm hug."[32]

Commercial performance

"Darl+ing" marked Seventeen's first entry on the Canadian Digital Song Sales chart, at number 50.[33] The song also marked Seventeen's first entry on Billboard's Malaysia Songs,[34] Taiwan Songs,[35] Philippines Songs,[36] and Vietnam Hot 100 charts.[37] In Japan, the song debuted at 35 on the Oricon Combined Singles chart and charted for three consecutive weeks, reaching its peak of 13 on its second week.[38] On the Japan Hot 200, the song debuted at 15 and charted for 5 weeks.[39] In South Korea, the song debuted on the weekly Circle Digital Chart at number 96, and charted for 20 consecutive weeks, reaching its peak at 54.[40][41][42] On the monthly Circle Digital Chart, the song charted for five consecutive months.[43]

Charts

Release history
Release formats for "Darl+ing"
Region Date Format Version Label Ref.
Various April 15, 2022
Original
[50]
November 9, 2022 Holiday [51]

References
  1. Sun-ah, Shim (April 15, 2022). "Seventeen drops first English-language single". Yonhap News Agency. Archived from the original on August 14, 2023. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
  2. Delgado, Sara (November 22, 2021). "All the Best Moments From SEVENTEEN's Power of Love Concerts". Teen Vogue. Archived from the original on August 14, 2023. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
  3. Blistein, Jon (April 8, 2022). "Seventeen Embrace a Beatific Vibe as They Tease First English-Language Single 'Darl+ing'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
  4. Chin, Carmen (April 15, 2022). "SEVENTEEN bask in sunlight in music video for new single 'Darl+ing'". NME. Archived from the original on August 14, 2023. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
  5. Aniftos, Rania (May 31, 2022). "Seventeen's Joshua Recalls How the Group Prepared to Record Their First English-Language Single 'Darl+ing'". Billboard. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
  6. Yeo, Gladys (January 5, 2022). "SEVENTEEN's Woozi says decision to write English lyrics for 'Ruby' was "intuitive"". NME. Archived from the original on August 14, 2023. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
  7. Lee, Jae-lim (April 7, 2022). "Seventeen unveils title of its first English-language digital single". Korea JoongAng Daily. Archived from the original on August 14, 2023. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
  8. Legaspi, Althea (April 15, 2022). "Seventeen Are 'Darl+ing' on Their First English-Language Song". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
  9. Yeo, Gladys (April 18, 2022). "SEVENTEEN describe English-language track 'Darl+ing' as a gift to international fans". NME. Archived from the original on August 14, 2023. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
  10. Morin, Natalie (April 15, 2022). "'Hot and Passionate': K-Pop Superstars Seventeen Open Up About Their New Album". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
  11. Bowenbank, Starr (March 18, 2022). "Here's When SEVENTEEN's Fourth Studio Album Will Arrive". Billboard. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
  12. Bowenbank, Starr (April 15, 2022). "SEVENTEEN Share a Love Letter to CARATs With First English Single 'Darl+ing': Watch the Video". Billboard. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
  13. Choi, Ji-won (April 15, 2022). "Seventeen's first English single 'Darl+ing' gets Apple spotlight". The Korea Herald. Archived from the original on August 14, 2023. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
  14. Martin, Annie (April 7, 2022). "Watch: Seventeen share sunny mood teaser for 'Darl+ing' single". UPI. Archived from the original on April 19, 2022. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  15. Park, Soo-in (April 9, 2022). "세븐틴 'Darl+ing' 콘셉트 포토 공개, 포근한 무드의 조슈아→민규" [Seventeen 'Darl+ing' concept photo released, Joshua → Mingyu in a cozy mood] (in Korean). Archived from the original on August 15, 2023. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  16. Ji, Min-kyung (April 13, 2022). "세븐틴, 'Darl+ing' 보이스 메시지 공개…음원 일부 최초 공개" [Seventeen, 'Darl+ing' voice message released... First release of some of the music]. Osen (in Korean). Archived from the original on August 15, 2023. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  17. Kim, No-eul (April 14, 2022). "세븐틴, 'Darl+ing' MV 티저 공개 #새 이야기 #자체제작 #애플협업" [Seventeen, 'Darl+ing' MV Teaser Release #New Story #Self-Production #Collaboration with Apple]. Xports News (in Korean). Archived from the original on August 15, 2023. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  18. Jie, Ye-eun (April 17, 2022). "Seventeen's first all-English single 'Darl+ing' gets favorable response". The Korea Herald. Archived from the original on August 14, 2023. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
  19. Shin, Min-hee (April 15, 2022). "Seventeen to perform 'Darl+ing' on MTV's 'Fresh Out Live'". Korea JoongAng Daily. Archived from the original on August 14, 2023. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
  20. Jeon, Ah-ram (April 26, 2022). "세븐틴, 日 '슷키리'→'CDTV 라이브! 라이브!' 출연…'Darl+ing' 무대" [Seventeen, Japan 'Sukkiri'→'CDTV Live! live!' Appearance… 'Darl+ing' stage]. Xports News (in Korean). Archived from the original on August 15, 2023. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  21. Yim, Seung-hye (April 22, 2022). "Seventeen to drop fourth full-length album 'Face the Sun' on May 27". Korea JoongAng Daily. Archived from the original on August 14, 2023. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
  22. Baek, Min-kyung (May 27, 2022). "'뮤직뱅크' 아스트로, 출연 없이 1위…세븐틴 컴백 [종합]" ['Music Bank': Astro wins 1st place without appearing... Seventeen Comeback [Comprehensive]]. Xports News (in Korean). Archived from the original on August 15, 2023. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  23. Ji, Min-kyung (June 3, 2022). "세븐틴, 신곡 'HOT' 컴백 후 첫 음방 1위.."좋은 무대로 감동 드릴 것"" [Seventeen's first music chart No. 1 after the comeback with the new song 'Hot'..."I will be impressed with a good stage"]. Osen (in Korean). Archived from the original on August 15, 2023. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  24. Han, Hae-seon (July 4, 2022). "세븐틴, 'SECTOR 17' 트랙리스트 공개..타이틀은 '_WORLD'" [Seventeen, 'Sector 17' track list released.. Title is '_World']. Star News (in Korean). Archived from the original on August 16, 2023. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  25. Yim, Seung-hye (September 7, 2022). "Seventeen releases first Japanese EP 'Dream' ahead of Dome Tour". Korea JoongAng Daily. Archived from the original on September 8, 2023. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  26. Delgado, Sara (April 15, 2022). "SEVENTEEN Say "Darl+ing" MV Is a Hint About Their Next Album". Teen Vogue. Archived from the original on August 14, 2023. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
  27. "Key, tempo of Darl+ing By SEVENTEEN". Musicstax. Archived from the original on August 14, 2023. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
  28. "Here Are the Lyrics to Seventeen's 'Darl+ing'". Billboard. April 28, 2022. Archived from the original on August 15, 2023. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  29. Delgado, Sara (June 1, 2022). "SEVENTEEN Light a New Path With 4th Studio Album "Face the Sun"". Teen Vogue. Archived from the original on June 22, 2023. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
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  31. Chan, Valerie; Kwai, Emily; Chin, Amelie (December 21, 2022). "15 best K-pop songs of 2022: NewJeans, BTS, Red Velvet and more". Young Post (South China Morning Post). Archived from the original on December 27, 2022. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
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  49. "Digital Chart – 2022". Circle Chart (in Korean). Archived from the original on January 13, 2023. Retrieved August 14, 2023.
  50. References for "Darl+ing" release:
  51. References for "Darl+ing" (Holiday version) release:
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