Lucifer (Shinee song)

"Lucifer" is a song by South Korean boy band Shinee. It was released on July 19, 2010, through SM Entertainment and served as the lead single for the album of the same name. An electronic song, "Lucifer" was composed and arranged by Yoo Young-jin, Ryan S. Jhun, Adam Kapit and Bebe Rexha, with lyrics penned by Yoo. The song was commercially successful, peaking at number two on the Gaon Digital Chart and selling over one million downloads in South Korea in 2010.

"Lucifer"
Japanese version cover
Single by Shinee
from the album Lucifer
LanguageKorean
ReleasedJuly 19, 2010
GenreElectronic
Length3:53
LabelSM
Composer(s)
Lyricist(s)Yoo Young-jin
Shinee singles chronology
"Fly High"
(2010)		 "Lucifer"
(2010)		 "Hello"
(2010)
Music video
"Lucifer" on YouTube

Composition

"Lucifer" is a 1980s-inspired electronic song with synthesizer effects. SM Entertainment described it as "urban electronica",[1] while music critics have characterised it as dance, electropop and Europop.[2][3] It is considered an example of SM's characteristic music style, SMP (SM music performance),[4][5] and has been labelled "rougher and edgier" than Shinee's previous work.[6] The lyrics compare a two-faced lover to the devil,[1] and contain lines such as "Her whisper is the Lucifer"[6] and the "militaristic" refrain of "loverholic, robotronic".[2]

Release and promotion

"Lucifer" came nine months after Shinee's 2009 single "Ring Ding Dong", serving as the lead single for their second studio album. Ahead of its release, teaser images of each member were released sequentially through Shinee's official website from July 8 to July 12.[7] Shinee were originally scheduled to hold their first performance of the song on Music Bank on July 16; however, it was postponed by a week due to a leg injury Minho sustained while filming the variety show Let's Go! Dream Team Season 2.[8][9] The song was released alongside the album on July 19, with the music video premiering the following day.[10] Shinee promoted the song with performances on various music programs, starting with Music Bank on July 23. Minho was unable to participate in the choreography due to his injury.[11]

A Japanese version of "Lucifer" was released on October 12, 2011, with the Japanese version of "Love Like Oxygen" as a B-side.[12] It was later included on Shinee's first Japanese studio album, The First.[13]

Critical reception

"Lucifer" has received mostly positive reviews from music critics, with some exceptions. Writing for GQ, Taylor Glasby called it a "classic single", and highlighted the lack of vocal processing that was a feature of many K-pop songs at the time.[14] On the other hand, IZM's Lee Jong-min was critical of the departure from Shinee's fresh sound, previously found in songs like "Replay", and felt that it veered too close to the typical SM boy group style.[15] Tamar Herman of Billboard praised the song's "forceful charisma", describing it as a "game-changing tune" that is one of Shinee's "most dynamic pieces". The publication listed it among the best boy group songs of all time and best K-pop songs of the 2010s.[2][6] Spin named it one of the greatest K-pop songs of all time, with staff writer David Bevan calling it "a total romp".[3]

"Lucifer" on critic lists
Publication List Rank Ref.
Billboard The 100 Greatest Boy Band Songs of All Time 67 [2]
The 100 Greatest K-Pop Songs of the 2010s 47 [6]
GQ The Game-Changers From a Decade of K-Pop — [14]
Rolling Stone The 100 Greatest Songs in the History of Korean Pop Music 16 [16]
Spin The 21 Greatest K-Pop Songs Of All Time 20 [3]
Stereogum The 20 Best K-Pop Videos 20 [17]

Accolades
Awards and nominations for "Lucifer"
Ceremony Year Category Result Ref.
Melon Music Awards 2010 Netizen Popularity Award Nominated [18]
Mnet Asian Music Awards 2010 Best Dance Performance – Male Group Nominated [19]
MTV Video Music Awards Japan 2012 Best Choreography Nominated [20]
Music program awards for "Lucifer"
Program Date Ref.
Music Bank July 30, 2010 [21]
August 6, 2010 [22]
Inkigayo August 8, 2010 [23]
August 15, 2010 [24]

Commercial performance

"Lucifer" debuted at number two on the weekly Gaon Digital Chart.[25] It recorded 1,431,431 downloads in South Korea in 2010[26] and ranked number 60 on the year-end Gaon Digital Chart.[27] It also peaked at number three on Billboard World Digital Song Sales and charted for fifty-seven weeks.[28] "Lucifer" is Shinee's best-selling song in the United States, with over 67,000 downloads sold, as of 2017.[29] The Japanese version ranked second on the Oricon Singles Chart, selling approximately 50,000 copies in the first week. It was Shinee's third single to enter the top three, following "Replay (Kimi wa Boku no Everything)" and "Juliette", making Shinee the first foreign artist to reach the top three with each of their first three singles.[30][31]

Music video

The music video for "Lucifer" was directed by Cho Soo-hyun and filmed in Namyangju in early July 2010.[10] A teaser video was released on July 16, filmed using bullet time,[32] followed by the music video on July 20. The music video was noted for showing a more mature image compared to Shinee's previous youthful concepts.[33] The members sport "haircuts that seem like they leaped straight from a William Gibson novel".[17] The choreography has a strong emphasis on isolations[6] and was the work of Rino Nakasone and Shim Jae-won.[34] It has received nominations from the Mnet Asian Music Awards and the MTV Video Music Awards Japan.[19][20]

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Lucifer.[35]

Recording

  • Recorded and mixed at SM Boomingsystem
  • Mastered at Sonic Korea

Personnel

  • Shinee – vocals
  • Yoo Young-jin – lyrics, composition, arrangement, vocal directing, background vocals, recording, mixing
  • Ryan S. Jhun – composition, arrangement
  • Adam Kapit – composition, arrangement
  • Bebe Rexha – composition, arrangement
  • Jeon Hoon – mastering

Charts

Korean version
Chart performance for "Lucifer"
Chart (2010) Peak
position
South Korea (Gaon)[25] 2
US World Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[28] 3

Japanese version
Chart performance for "Lucifer" (Japanese ver.)
Chart (2011) Peak
position
Japan (Japan Hot 100)[36] 4
Japan (Oricon)[12] 2

Release history
Release dates and formats for "Lucifer"
Region Date Format Version Label Ref.
South Korea July 19, 2010 Digital download Original SM [37]
Japan October 12, 2011
Japanese EMI [12]

References
  1. Lee, Jae-hoon (July 16, 2010). 샤이니, 사탄 우두머리 '루시퍼' 앞세우다 [Shinee releases 'Lucifer']. Newsis (in Korean). Archived from the original on May 29, 2022. Retrieved May 29, 2022 – via Naver.
  2. "The 100 Greatest Boy Band Songs of All Time: Critics' Picks". Billboard. April 23, 2018. Archived from the original on April 21, 2022. Retrieved April 25, 2022.
  3. Bevan, David; Eddy, Chuck (June 1, 2012). "The 21 Greatest K-Pop Songs Of All Time". Spin. Archived from the original on April 22, 2022. Retrieved April 25, 2022.
  4. [SPECIAL] SM과 K-POP – 의사 선생님, SMP가 뭔가요 [SM and K-pop – Doctor, what is SMP?]. Weiv (in Korean). March 27, 2013. Archived from the original on May 23, 2022. Retrieved April 25, 2022.
  5. [SPECIAL] SM과 K-POP – '병맛'의 역사: 팬심으로 기록한 SMP의 마수 [SM and K-pop – The history of 'byeongmat': The magic of SMP written by fans]. Weiv (in Korean). March 27, 2013. Archived from the original on May 23, 2022. Retrieved April 25, 2022.
  6. "The 100 Greatest K-Pop Songs of the 2010s: Staff List". Billboard. November 25, 2019. Archived from the original on December 1, 2021. Retrieved April 25, 2022.
  7. Lee, Jung-ah (July 8, 2010). 샤이니, 19일 새 앨범 발표 '민호부터 파격 변신 순차적 공개' [Shinee to release a new album on the 19th. 'Sequentially revealing a radical transformation starting with Minho.']. Osen (in Korean). Archived from the original on May 29, 2022. Retrieved April 26, 2022 – via Naver.
  8. Lee, Jung-ah (July 9, 2010). 샤이니, 민호 근육파열 부상 '컴백 무대 연기' [Shinee's Minho diagnosed with muscle rupture injury. 'Comeback stage postponed.']. Osen (in Korean). Retrieved April 26, 2022 – via Naver.
  9. Jo, Eun-ji (July 15, 2010). 샤이니 23일 '뮤직뱅크'로 컴백 '부상' 민호 의지 확고 [Shinee's comeback will be on 'Music Bank' on the 23rd. 'Injured' Minho's strong will.]. Korea Economic Daily (in Korean). Retrieved April 26, 2022 – via Naver.
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  14. Glasby, Taylor (December 20, 2019). "The game-changers from a decade of K-pop". GQ. Archived from the original on December 20, 2019. Retrieved April 25, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
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  16. "The 100 Greatest Songs in the History of Korean Pop Music". Rolling Stone. July 20, 2023. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
  17. Breihan, Tom (March 22, 2012). "The 20 Best K-Pop Videos". Stereogum. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved April 25, 2022.
  18. Lee, Mi-young (December 15, 2010). 슈주, 멜론뮤직어워드 인기상..이특 홀로 참석 [Super Junior, winners of the Melon Music Awards Popularity Award... Only Leeteuk attended]. Joy News 24 (in Korean). Archived from the original on November 29, 2021. Retrieved November 29, 2021 – via Naver.
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  22. Choi, Joon-yong (August 6, 2010). 천하무적 샤이니, 2주 연속 '뮤뱅' 1위..'가요계 평정' [Invincible Shinee, number one on 'Music Bank' for two weeks in a row...]. Asia Economy (in Korean). Archived from the original on May 11, 2021. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  23. Jung, Eun-mi (August 9, 2010). 샤이니, '뮤뱅' 이어 '인기가요' 1위 석권 [Shinee wins first place on 'Inkigayo' after 'Music Bank']. Joy News 24 (in Korean). Archived from the original on May 11, 2021. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  24. Yoon, Guy (August 15, 2010). 샤이니, 2주 연속 뮤티즌송 수상 '얼떨떨' [Shinee, winner of Mutizen Song for two weeks in a row]. Osen (in Korean). Archived from the original on May 11, 2021. Retrieved March 2, 2021 – via Naver.
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  31. 【オリコン】SHINee新曲が2位 海外歌手史上初のデビューから3作連続TOP3 [[Oricon] Shinee's new song ranked second. Top three third time in a row since debut for the first time in the history of foreign singers.]. Oricon News (in Japanese). October 18, 2011. Archived from the original on April 4, 2023. Retrieved May 15, 2023.
  32. Baek, Ji-eun (July 16, 2010). 샤이니, '루시퍼' 티저 16일 공개…메트릭스 카메라 도입 [Shinee's 'Lucifer' teaser to be released on the 16th... Introduction of matrix cameras]. Sports Chosun (in Korean). Retrieved April 26, 2022 – via Naver.
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  34. Ishii, Hiromi (October 20, 2010). 少女時代、美脚ダンスの振り付け担当は日本人ダンサー・仲宗根梨乃 [Rino Nakasone, a Japanese dancer, was in charge of choreographing Girls' Generation's beautiful leg dance]. Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). Archived from the original on October 23, 2010. Retrieved February 28, 2015.
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  36. "Hot 100: 2011/10/19 公開". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Archived from the original on January 27, 2023. Retrieved August 28, 2022.
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