Pieces (EP)

Pieces (Korean: 조각집; RR: Jogakjip) is an extended play by South Korean singer-songwriter IU. It was released on December 29, 2021, through Edam Entertainment.

Pieces
EP by
IU
ReleasedDecember 29, 2021
StudioKakao Entertainment, 918 Studio, Seoul Studio, Prelude Studio
Length17:55
LanguageKorean
LabelEdam
ProducerIU
IU chronology
Lilac
(2021)		 Pieces
(2021)
Singles from Pieces
  1. "Winter Sleep"
    Released: December 29, 2021

Initially released for digital download and streaming only, the physical CD was included in the DVD/Blu-ray box set of the documentary Pieces: 29th Winter, which was published on March 23, 2022.[1] It was nominated for Album of the Year at the 2022 Melon Music Awards.[2]

Background and release

On December 22, 2021, Edam Entertainment released a teaser image for the EP through its social media account. The monochrome image contained books titled like IU's previously released singles, interspersed with colored sheets indicating the period of composition of the songs of the new release.[3] On December 28, a live clip of the song "Next Stop" was released on the company's YouTube channel.[4]

The disc collects five acoustic and orchestral songs, entirely in Korean, written, composed, arranged and produced by IU over the years, performed at concerts and events with fans,[5] but never released, and which represent "pieces" of her twenties.[6][7]

Composition

"Drama" was written when IU was 20 for a friend who was feeling down after experiencing a break up with her boyfriend.[5][8] IU started making "Next Stop" when she was 25 and completed it at 26, writing the second verse taking inspiration from the character Lee Ji-an, who she played in My Mister. The song talks about waiting for someone without any promise of meeting,[5] and the meaning is that there is a train stop between Lee Ji-eun and Lee Ji-an.[9]

"Winter Sleep" commemorates the deaths of loved ones with metaphors that connect to the four seasons, telling the story of the first year without them and concluding with a farewell.[5][8] IU started making it at 27 and finished it at 29 after having lived through important separations, thinking about what remained in the world once a person passed away.[5] "You" was written at 24 during a few days' stay in the mountains to shoot Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo,[5] and talks about missing her upstairs resident friend, actress Yoo In-na.[8] The song is placed between Chat-Shire (2015) and Palette (2017), in the year in which the singer took a break after 14 years of activity, and that acted as a stepping stone for her to mature.[9]

The disc is closed by "Love Letter", written between 26 and 28,[9] and was listed on Jung Sung-hwan's extended play Five Words Left Unsaid.[8][10] The lyrics were written as a love letter left by an elderly person to their partner before dying,[5] and the last verse, "More than anywhere else, I'll stay inside you" (Korean: 어디보다 그대 안에 나 머물러 있다오), was the starting point for "Epilogue", the final song in IU's fifth album, Lilac.[5]

About Pieces, the singer declared: "These songs are individually precious to me and a part of my memories, but rather than a complete picture on their own, I think it is more appropriate to describe them as pieces that make up an image. Thus, these five songs put together form a complete picture."[11][12]

Commercial performance

Upon release, all the tracks from Pieces charted in the Gaon Weekly Digital Chart Top 30,[13] with "Winter Sleep" topping the chart on the following week.[14][15]

Critical reception

For South Korean culture magazine Ize, "All the simple sounds it contains dig into the heart with sincerity and subtlety. [...] Pieces is an album that is more confession than healing," concluding "All the songs convey the sincerity of a letter."[8] Newsen spoke of the album as "a bundle of more sincere stories from the human Lee Ji-eun."[16]

Reviewing for Newsis, Lee Jae-hoon felt that the sincerity of the lyrics and the production, which managed to "organically weave together tracks that were pieces in their own right," had "painted the scenery of a song that was lost in time. In this way, the puzzle of the 20-year-old IU, who will turn 30 next year according to the Korean age, was put together naturally." He concluded his review by writing, "The reason this collection deserves to be valued higher is for IU's ability to sublimate her seniors' magnetism, whom she has been influenced by, into her own personality. The wit of the first track 'Drama' reminds us of Yoo Young-seok's songs 'Blue Sky' and 'W.H.I.T.E.', and the last track 'Love Letter' reminds of 'The Letter' by Kim Kwang-jin. Not everyone can imprint their seal without forgetting their roots in Korean pop music."[9]

Track listing

All tracks are written by IU[17]

No.TitleArrangementLength
1."Drama" (드라마; Deurama)IU2:09
2."Next Stop" (정거장; Jeonggeojang)IU3:57
3."Winter Sleep" (겨울잠; Gyeo-ul Jam)Seo Dong-hwan4:23
4."You" (너; Neo)IU3:27
5."Love Letter" (러브레터; Reobeureteo)Hong So-jin3:59
Total length:17:55

Personnel

Credits taken from Mania Database.[18]

  • Choi In-sung – bass (tracks 3, 5)
  • Choi Ja-yeon – mixing assistance (track 3)
  • Eastbeam – recording (tracks 1-2)
  • Hong So-jin – arrangements (track 5), piano (tracks 1, 4-5), chorus (track 5)
  • IU – lyrics, composing, arrangements (tracks 1-2, 4), recorder (track 1), chorus (tracks 1-2, 4), whistle (track 2)
  • Jo Jae-beom – percussions (track 1)
  • Jo Joon-sung – mixing (track 3)
  • Jukjae – guitar (tracks 1-2)
  • Jung Gi-hong – recording (tracks 2-3)
  • Jung Seok-hoon – guitar (track 4)
  • Kim Dong-min – guitar (track 5)
  • Kim Ji-ah – guitar (track 3)
  • Kim Seung-ho – drums (tracks 3, 5)
  • Kwon Nam-woo – mastering (tracks 1-4)
  • Lee Chang-sun – recording (tracks 3-4)
  • Lee Chan-mi – recording (tracks 2-3)
  • Park Hyuk – mixing (track 5)
  • Seo Dong-hwan – strings arrangements (tracks 2-3), arrangements (track 3), piano (track 3)
  • Son Myung-gap – recording (tracks 1-4), mixing (tracks 1-2, 4)
  • Yoong String – strings (tracks 2-3)

Charts

Weekly charts
Weekly chart performance for Pieces
Chart (2021) Peak
position
Japan Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[19] 56
Japan Top Download Albums Chart (Billboard Japan)[20] 18

Accolades
Name of the award ceremony, year presented, category, nominee of the award, and the result of the nomination
Award ceremony Year Category Nominee(s) / Work(s) Result Ref.
Asian Pop Music Awards 2022 Top 20 Albums of the Year (Overseas) Pieces Won [21][22]
Song of the Year (Overseas) "Drama" Nominated
Best Lyricist (Overseas) "Winter Sleep" Nominated
Golden Disc Awards 2023 Digital Song Bonsang "Drama" Nominated [23]
Melon Music Awards 2022 Album of the Year Pieces Nominated [2]
Mnet Asian Music Awards 2022 Best Vocal Performance – Solo "Drama" Nominated [24]
Song of the Year Nominated

References
  1. "아이유 다큐멘터리, 일주일 연기 "꼼꼼히 준비할 것"[전문]" (in Korean). March 11, 2022. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  2. "2022 Melon Music Awards unveils nominees — BTS, BLACKPINK, IU, SEVENTEEN, Jay Park, LE SSERAFIM, and more". November 10, 2022. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
  3. "29살 아이유, 29일에 신곡 '조각집' 발표". biz.chosun.com (in Korean). December 22, 2021.
  4. "아이유, 수록곡 '정거장' 선공개…감성 자극하는 목소리". www.sportsseoul.com (in Korean). December 29, 2021.
  5. "[Opinion] 아이유 - 조각집 [음악]". Art Insight (in Korean). January 14, 2022.
  6. "역시 아이유···올해 마지막 앨범 '조각집'으로 음원차트 올킬". www.sportsseoul.com (in Korean). December 30, 2021.
  7. Pinlac, Beatrice. "IU reveals story behind her year-end album 'Pieces'". www.gmanetwork.com. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
  8. "아이유의 담백한 자기고백 '조각집'". IZE Magazine (in Korean). December 30, 2021.
  9. "봄 송이·여름 한 컵·가을 한 장·겨울 한 숨…아이유 기대어 한 평생". Newsis (in Korean). December 31, 2021.
  10. "조각집". melon (in Korean).
  11. McMullen, Chase (December 29, 2021). "IU releases an intimate, understated set of songs with the gracefully personal Pieces | Beats Per Minute". beatsperminute.com. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
  12. Yeo, Gladys (December 29, 2021). "IU unveils special mini-album, 'Pieces'". NME. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
  13. "2022년 01주차 Digital Chart". gaonchart.co.kr (in Korean). Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  14. "2022년 02주차 Digital Chart". gaonchart.co.kr (in Korean). Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  15. "아이유, 가온차트 디지털 주간 1위..케플러, 앨범 정상(연예/문화) - NSP통신" (in Korean). January 13, 2022. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  16. ""무너지지 않아" 아이유, 우리가 몰랐던 사람 이지은의 조각들[뮤직와치]" (in Korean). December 30, 2021. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  17. "Search results for Album Title "조각집"". Korea Music Copyright Association. Retrieved January 9, 2022.
  18. "아이유 - 조각집 [ep] (2021)". maniadb.com (in Korean). Retrieved March 26, 2022.
  19. "Billboard Japan Hot Albums: 2022/01/05". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  20. "Billboard Japan Top Download Albums: 2022/01/05". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  21. "【APMA 2022】亚洲流行音乐大奖2022年度入围名单" (in Chinese). December 14, 2022. Archived from the original on December 14, 2022. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
  22. "【APMA 2022】亚洲流行音乐大奖2022年度获奖名单" [【APMA 2022】 Asian Pop Music Awards 2022 Winners List] (in Chinese). December 28, 2022. Archived from the original on December 30, 2022. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  23. "Golden Disc Awards - Digital Song Division". Archived from the original on December 7, 2022. Retrieved December 7, 2022.
  24. "2022 MAMA Awards Nominees". Retrieved October 24, 2022.
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