Ear Fun
Ear Fun is the third Korean extended play (sixth overall) by the South Korean pop rock band CN Blue. It was released on March 26, 2012 with the track "Hey You" as the promotional single.[1]
| Ear Fun | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Ear Fun album cover | ||||
| EP by | ||||
| Released | 21 November 2011 | |||
| Recorded | 2011-2012 | |||
| Genre | Pop rock | |||
| Length | 21:16 | |||
| Language | Korean | |||
| Label | FNC Entertainment / CJ E&M Music and Live Warner Music Taiwan | |||
| Producer | Han Seong-ho, Han Seung-hoon, Kim Jae-yang | |||
| CN Blue chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Alternative Cover | ||||
 Special Limited Edition cover | ||||
| Singles from Ear Fun | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| Still in Love on YouTube Hey You on YouTube | ||||
Background and release
As a teaser of the mini-album, the song "Still in Love" was released on March 16, along with a special music video featuring scenes of the group in a recording studio. The EP was scheduled to be released on March 27, but it was released one day before the official release due of the high popularity of the song "Still in Love".[2] The first teaser of the song and music video for "Hey You" was released on March 19 featuring the member Jung Shin. The second teaser was released on March 21 featuring the member Jong Hyun. The third teaser was released on March 22 featuring the member Min Hyuk. The fourth and last teaser was released on March 23 featuring the member Jung Yong-hwa. The full music video of "Hey You" and mini-album were released on March 26. The album also features a Korean version of the song "In My Head", the group's major debut single and fourth overall single in Japan. This version of the song was firstly introduced on KBS's show Music Bank Year-End special on December 23, 2011 with few changes of the lyrics.
A special limited edition of the EP was released on April 10, 2012. It includes the same track list and there will be 140 pages of pictorial photos and a DVD containing a 20-minute clip of the members shooting in the U.S. In addition, the special limited edition will also include four supplemental sections for each of the members (18 pages individual shoot for each of the members).[3]
Composition
The title song "Hey You" was written by Han Seong Ho and composed by Kim Do Hoon and Lee Sang Ho, same writer and composer of the group's other title songs "Intuition", "Love" and "I'm a Loner".
Promotion
The promotions of the song "Hey You" started on March 29, 2012 on Mnet's show M! Countdown. They are also promoting on the shows Music Bank, Music Core, Inkigayo, and Show Champion. Two other songs of the EP were also performed: "Still in Love" was used for the comeback week performances and "In My Head" was used for the goodbye week on Music Bank. The album Ear Fun and the title track "Hey You" won 4 music show awards, from M! Countdown on April 5, Show Champion on April 10, Music Bank on April 20, and Inkigayo mutizen on April 22.[4] The promotions ended on April 22, on SBS Inkigayo.
Track listing
From CNBlue[5]
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Arrangement | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Hey You" | Han Seong-ho | Kim Do-hoon, Lee Sang-ho | Kim Do-hoon, Lee Sang-ho | 4:00 |
| 2. | "Still in Love" (아직 사랑한다; Ajig Saranghanda) | Han Seong-ho, Kim Jae-yang, Jung Yong-hwa | Kim Jae-yang, Jung Yong-hwa | Kim Jae-yang | 3:18 |
| 3. | "Dream Boy" | Han Seong-ho | Han Seung-hoon, Kim Jae-yang, Jung Yong-hwa | Han Seung-hoon | 3:03 |
| 4. | "Rock n' Roll" | Han Seong-ho, Jung Yong-hwa | Han Seung-hoon, Jung Yong-hwa | Han Seung-hoon, Go Jin-young, Park Hyun-woo | 3:23 |
| 5. | "Run" | Han Seong-ho | Han Seung-hoon, Jung Yong-hwa | Han Seung-hoon | 3:17 |
| 6. | "In My Head" (Korean version) | Jung Yong-hwa | Jung Yong-hwa | Tamai Kenji, Momota Rui | 4:18 |
| Total length: | 21:16 | ||||
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "DVD Special Feature" (20 minutes approximately) |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Ear Fun album teaser" (Yonghwa version) | |
| 2. | "Ear Fun album teaser" (Jonghyun version) | |
| 3. | "Ear Fun album teaser" (Jungshin version) | |
| 4. | "Ear Fun album teaser" (Minhyuk version) | |
| 5. | "Still in Love" (Music video, with Chinese subtitles) | |
| 6. | "Hey You" (Music video, with Chinese subtitles) | |
| 7. | "Ear Fun album shoot" (Off-shot movie, with Chinese subtitles) |
Chart performance
Album chart
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Japan Oricon Weekly album chart[7] | 15 |
| South Korea Gaon Weekly album chart[8] | 1 |
| South Korea Gaon Weekly domestic album chart[8] | 1 |
| South Korea Gaon Monthly album chart[8] | 2 |
| South Korea Gaon Mid-Year album chart[8] | 5 |
| South Korea Gaon 2012 Yearly album chart[9] | 14 |
| Taiwan G-Music Weekly Top 20 Combo Chart[10] | 5 |
| Taiwan G-Music International Chart[11] | 2 |
| Taiwan G-Music Asia Album Chart[12] | 1 |
Singles chart
| Song | Peak chart position | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KOR Gaon Top200[13] |
KOR Billboard[14] | ||||||||||||
| weekly | monthly | yearly | |||||||||||
| "Hey You" | 1 | 13 | 111 | 7 | |||||||||
| "Still in Love" | 3 | 9 | 139 | 6 | |||||||||
| "Dream Boy" | 72 | — | — | 96 | |||||||||
| "Rock n' Roll" | 88 | — | — | — | |||||||||
| "Run" | 79 | — | — | — | |||||||||
| "In My Head" (Korean version) | 65 | — | — | 80 | |||||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region. | |||||||||||||
Digital sales
| Chart | Songs | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Hey You" | "Still in Love" | |||
| Peak position | Sales | Peak position | Sales | |
| South Korea Gaon Yearly digital aggregate chart[15] | 111 | 116,452,770 aggregates | 139 | 98,770,318 aggregates |
| South Korea Gaon Yearly digital download chart[15] | 120 | 1,257,932 downloads | 112 | 1,312,009 downloads |
| South Korea Gaon Yearly digital streaming chart[16] | 135 | 11,080,458 streamings | 168 | 8,547,952 streamings |
Album sales
| Country | Chart | Period | Peak position | Sales | Accumulative sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | Oricon physical sales | 14,765+ | |||
| South Korea | Gaon Monthly Album Chart | March 2012 | #5 | 59,944[17] | 59,944+[18] |
| April 2012 | #2 | 60,144[18] | 120,088+[18] | ||
| Gaon Yearly Album Chart | 2012 | #14 | 122,515+[19] | 122,515+ |
Release history
| Country | Date | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Korea | March 16, 2012 (Single: Still in Love) | Digital download | FNC Entertainment |
| March 26, 2012 | CD, Digital download | ||
| April 10, 2012 (Special Limited edition) | CD | ||
| Taiwan | May 4, 2012 | CD, CD+DVD | Warner Music Taiwan |
Award and nomination
| Year | Award | Category | Nomination | Result | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 14th Mnet Asian Music Awards | Best Band Performance | "Hey You" | Nominated | [20] |
| Song of the Year | Nominated | [21] |
References
- "(EP) EAR FUN / Daum 뮤직 :: 언제 어디서나 Music on Daum". Daum Communications. 2012-03-26. Retrieved 2012-03-25.
- 씨엔블루 '아직 사랑한다' 3일 만에 조회수 100만 돌파 (in Korean). Naver. 2012-03-21. Retrieved 2012-03-25.
- "4월 10일 CNBLUE (EAR FUN) SPECIAL LIMITED EDITION 발매 안내" (in Korean). FNC Music. 2012-04-06. Archived from the original on 2012-04-14. Retrieved 2012-04-13.
- 씨엔블루 '뮤직뱅크' 1위로 활동 마무리 '유종의미' (in Korean). Nate. 2012-04-20. Retrieved 2012-04-20.
- "CNBLUE 3rd Mini Album (EAR FUN) Track List" (in Korean). FNC Music. 2012-03-28. Archived from the original on 2014-03-25. Retrieved 2016-02-24.
- "最新迷你韓語專輯EAR FUN台灣獨占豪華影音限定盤 CD+DVD / 華納線上音樂雜誌" (in Chinese). Warner Music Taiwan. Archived from the original on 2012-06-26. Retrieved 2012-06-19.
- "2012年03月26日～2012年04月01日のCDアルバム週間ランキング (Oricon's Weekly album chart for April 9th)" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on 2013-09-17. Retrieved 2012-04-04.
- "Gaon Albums Chart" (in Korean). Gaon. Archived from the original on 2012-05-15. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
- "Gaon – Yearly charts" (in Korean). Gaon. Archived from the original on 2012-05-15. Retrieved 2013-01-21.
- "Weekly Top 20 Combo Chart". G-Music. 2012-05-11. Archived from the original on 2013-03-14. Retrieved 2013-03-16.
- "International Chart". G-Music. 2012-05-11. Archived from the original on 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2013-03-16.
- "J-Pop Chart". G-Music. 2012-05-11. Archived from the original on 2011-05-12. Retrieved 2013-03-16.
- "Gaon Singles Chart" (in Korean). Gaon. Archived from the original on 2010-12-09. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
- "Korea K-Pop Hot 100 Music Chart". Billboard. 2011-09-08. Archived from the original on 2012-04-03. Retrieved 2012-03-25.
- "Gaon – Yearly charts" (in Korean). Gaon. Archived from the original on 2012-12-19. Retrieved 2013-01-21.
- "Gaon – Yearly charts" (in Korean). Gaon. Archived from the original on 2012-06-14. Retrieved 2013-01-21.
- Kim, Hyun Rok (12 April 2012). "Big Bang's fifth mini album sells over 250,000 copies". Star News. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
- "Gaon physical sales". Gaon Chart. Archived from the original on 2012-01-19. Retrieved 2012-05-11.
- "Gaon Chart Yearly Album Chart (This links to current week – select the year/month/week from drop down menu)". Gaon Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Industry Association. Archived from the original on September 22, 2013. Retrieved January 21, 2013.
- "Nominees for the 2012 MAMA Announced". enewsWorld. CJ E&M. 23 October 2012. Archived from the original on 27 October 2012. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
- "Nominees for SONG and ARTIST of the YEAR". enewsWorld. CJ E&M. 23 October 2012. Archived from the original on 26 December 2012. Retrieved 13 November 2012.