Melting (album)

On January 29, 2016, Mamamoo released the single "I Miss You" from their upcoming studio album.[1][2] On February 2, the group's agency, RBW, confirmed the album's release date.[3] A second single, "Taller Than You", was released on February 12.[4] The full track list of the album was revealed on February 18, and the album was released on February 26, along with the single "You're the Best".[5][6] The song "Girl Crush" is from the soundtrack of the video game Innisia Nest, and was originally released as a single on September 16, 2015.[7] A music video for "You're the Best" was released in conjunction with the album; in the video, the members are vacationing in Thailand and fall in the love with the employee who checks them into the hotel. The site they filmed the "You're the best " MV is "The Eugenia Spa" in Bangkok, Thailand.[8][9]

On February 25, Mamamoo held a media showcase for the album at the Yes24 Move Hall in Seogyo-dong, Seoul, as well as a fan showcase at a concert hall in Paju, Gyeonggi Province.[10][11] They began promoting on music shows that same day with a performance on M! Countdown.[6] All three singles were performed on music shows, and their February 27 performance on Show! Music Core became the most viewed video on Naver TV Cast.[12] On March 6, the group won their first music show award on Inkigayo for "You're the Best".[13] They also won awards on Show Champion, M! Countdown, and Music Bank that same week.[14][15] On March 16, they performed at K-Pop Night Out at SXSW in Austin, Texas.[16][17]

The album was produced by RBW's CEO Kim Do-hoon, and all four Mamamoo members participated in songwriting.[6] "Taller Than You" is a hip hop song with a trap beat drop, written by Kim with lyrics co-written with Moonbyul, Solar, and Hwasa. The song is a comical rap battle inspired by the members' height difference of one centimeter.[4][18] "Words Don't Come Easy" is jazz-influenced song with a bossa nova melody written by Kim and Park Woo-sang, with additional lyrics writing by Esna.[19] "You're the Best" is a dance song with a "retro groove", with three key and tempo changes.[12] It was written by Kim, with lyrics by Moonbyul and Solar, and music by Duble Sidekick. "Friday Night", featuring Junggigo, is an uptempo R&B song written by Park, with additional lyrics by Moonbyul. "My Hometown" is a holiday-themed song with lyrics by Kim and Mamamoo, and music by Kim and Solar.[20] It was the first song with lyrics by all four members, and they said it was not easy to put their feelings into it.[6]

"Emotion" is a medium-tempo song written by Cosmic Sound and Cosmos, with lyrics by Moonbyul. "I Miss You" is an R&B ballad written by Cosmic Sound, Hwang Yoo-bin, and Moonbyul, with music by Kim. "Funky Boy" is upbeat, retro-inspired song with lyrics by Yoon Hye-joo and music by Daniel Palm and Ellen Berg Tollbom. "Recipe" was written by Park, Solar, and Hwasa, with additional lyrics by Moonbyul and music by Kim. "Cat Fight" was written by Lee Hoo-sang, with music co-composed by S2REN and additional lyrics by Hwang and Moonbyul. "Recipe" and "Cat Fight" are both retro style songs that fit into the doo-wop and swing genres.[18] "Just" is a "soulful" ballad written by Park, and "Girl Crush" is an upbeat song written by Park, with lyrics co-written by Jang Yoon-seo.

Mamamoo performing at K-Pop Night Out at SXSW in March 2016

Music critics gave the album generally positive reviews. Tamar Herman, writing for Billboard, said the album "brings a retro soul feel back to the K-pop world, heralding the Korean quartet's rise to the top ranks of the girl group hunger games".[18] She described it as an atypical K-pop album, which takes the "tunes of yesterday and gives them a modern feel". She commended the group for trying a different style with "Taller Than You" and said they pulled off the humorous lyrics to "pure perfection". About "You're The Best", she said it was Mamamoo's answer to "Lady Marmalade" and "makes the most of each members' distinct vocal colors". In conclusion, she said the group "simply shines in a way not seen by most K-pop girl groups".[18]

Fuse's Jeff Benjamin said "You're the Best" was possibly the group's best single and music video to date, and described the song as having a "throwback style" blended with "feel-good bubblegum pop". He also noted the group's vocal cohesion and "on-point harmonies", and said the music video showcased their "fun personalities".[9] After seeing Mamamoo's performance at the SXSW music festival, American singer-songwriter Siedah Garrett said she would love to work on the group's next project, and Hollywood actress Chloë Grace Moretz praised "Taller Than You" on Twitter after seeing a performance on Korean television.[13]

Melting entered the Gaon Album Chart at number three, and peaked at number two the following week.[23][24] It also charted at number eight on the Billboard World Albums chart.[25] It was the sixth best selling album in South Korea during the month of February, selling 18,295 physical copies.[26] As of May 2016, it has sold more than 32,000 units.[27] "I Miss You" peaked at number seven on the Gaon Digital Chart the week of February 7, and "Taller Than You" peaked at number five the following week.[28][29] "You're the Best" topped the chart the week of February 28,[30] and "Friday Night", "Words Don't Come Easy", and "Emotion" also charted.[31] The music videos for "Taller Than You" and "You're the Best" were the fourth and seventh most viewed K-pop music videos worldwide during the month of February.[32]