XOXO (Jeon Somi album)

XOXO is the debut studio album by Canadian-Dutch-Korean singer and songwriter Jeon Somi. It was released on October 29, 2021, by The Black Label and distributed through YG Plus and Interscope Records. The album consists of eight tracks and was supported by four singles: "Birthday", "What You Waiting For", "Dumb Dumb", and "XOXO". The album features a guest appearance by South Korean rapper and singer Giriboy.

XOXO
Digital and physical (KiT version) cover
Studio album by
ReleasedOctober 29, 2021 (2021-10-29)
Length24:20
Language
  • Korean
  • English
Label
Jeon Somi chronology
XOXO
(2021)
Game Plan
(2023)
Singles from XOXO
  1. "Birthday"
    Released: June 13, 2019 (2019-06-13)
  2. "What You Waiting For"
    Released: July 22, 2020 (2020-07-22)
  3. "Dumb Dumb"
    Released: August 2, 2021 (2021-08-02)
  4. "XOXO"
    Released: October 29, 2021 (2021-10-29)

Background and release

Jeon Somi, well known as the winner of the first installation of the Produce 101 competition series and a member of the series' temporary project girl group I.O.I, began to venture out as a soloist following the conclusion of group activities under her then agency JYP Entertainment. She eventually left JYP Entertainment and joined The Black Label and made her solo debut with the digital single "Birthday" and B-side track "Outta My Head" in June 2019.[1] Jeon made two comebacks following year-long breaks with digital singles "What You Waiting For" in July 2020, and "Dumb Dumb" in August 2021. In the press conference for "Dumb Dumb", Jeon shared that she had "spent the past year practicing and recording a lot of songs apart from "Dumb Dumb" ... and there's a lot more coming."[2]

On October 1, 2021, the singer uploaded an image of a pile of albums, with title XOXO and her name printed on them, onto her Instagram post with the caption "Soon to be yours x̷o̷x̷o̷."[3] On October 14, The Black Label announced that Somi is scheduled to make a comeback with her first full-length album XOXO at the end of the month.[4] In the following week Jeon revealed the release date and shared the tracklist of the album through her social media accounts.[5] The album was released for digital download and streaming on October 29, alongside the music video for lead single "XOXO".[6] On December 25, the music video for "Anymore" was released.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
NME[7]

Carmen Chin writing for NME criticized the songs on the album for being "repetitive and uninspired" and stated that despite Jeon Somi's "immense musical talent", the album "fails to flesh out her identity". Chin also expressed disappointment in half of the short tracklist being made up of Somi’s previous releases.[7]

Accolades

Award and nominations for XOXO
Year Organization Award Result Ref.
2021 Asian Pop Music Awards Top 20 Albums of the Year – Overseas Won [8]
Best Album of the Year – Overseas Nominated [9]

Track listing

XOXO track listing[10]
No.TitleLyricsMusicArrangementLength
1."Dumb Dumb"
  • Teddy
  • R. Tee
  • 24
2:27
2."XOXO"
  • Teddy
  • Chung
  • Vince
  • Somi
  • Kush
  • Pink Sweats
  • Pacific
  • 24
3:27
3."Don't Let Me Go" (featuring Giriboy)
  • Teddy
  • Chung
  • Somi
  • Giriboy
  • Teddy
  • 24
  • Dominsuk
  • 24
  • Dominsuk
2:59
4."Anymore"
  • Pink Sweats
  • Chung
  • R. Tee
  • Wonjin Seo
3:17
5."Watermelon"Somi
  • Somi
  • 24
243:02
6."Birthday"
  • Teddy
  • 24
  • Bekuh Boom
  • Somi
  • 24
  • R. Tee
3:05
7."What You Waiting For"
  • Teddy
  • Somi
  • Chung
  • Teddy
  • R. Tee
  • 24
  • Somi
  • R. Tee
  • 24
2:55
8."Outta My Head" (어질어질; Eojireojil; lit. Getting Dizzy)Somi
  • Somi
  • 24
243:08
Total length:24:20

Charts

Certifications and sales

Certifications for XOXO
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
South Korea 60,988[14]

Release history

Release dates and formats for XOXO
Region Date Format Label Ref.
Various October 29, 2021 [15]
South Korea The Black Label [16]
November 5, 2021 CD [17]

References

  1. Herman, Tamar (June 13, 2019). "K-Pop Star Somi Makes Every Day Her 'Birthday' in First Solo Single: Watch the Music Video". Billboard. Archived from the original on March 1, 2020. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  2. Yang, Haley (August 2, 2021). "After a year-long hiatus, Jeon Somi is relaxed and ready for her return". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  3. Yeo, Gladys (October 1, 2021). "Somi hints at upcoming release of long-awaited debut album 'XOXO'". NME. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  4. Lee, Ha-na (October 14, 2021). 전소미, 약 3개월만 컴백 "이달 말 첫번째 정규 앨범 발매"(공식입장) [Jeon So-mi, comeback after about 3 months "First full album release at the end of this month" (official position)]. Newsen (in Korean). Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  5. Chin, Carmen (October 21, 2021). "Jeon Somi unveils release date and tracklist for debut album 'XOXO'". NME. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  6. Choi, Ji-won (October 29, 2021). "Jeon Somi is confident about her first full-length album 'XOXO'". The Korea Herald. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
  7. Chin, Carmen (November 3, 2021). "Jeon Somi – 'XOXO' review: an anti-climactic debut album that fails to flesh out her identity". NME. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
  8. "亚洲流行音乐大奖2021年度获奖名单揭晓" [Asian Pop Music Awards 2021 winners announced]. Phoenix New Media (in Chinese). December 28, 2021. Archived from the original on May 5, 2022.
  9. "【APMA 2021】亚洲流行音乐大奖2021年度入围名单" [[APMA 2021] Asian Pop Music Awards 2021 shortlist]. Weibo (in Chinese). November 30, 2021. Archived from the original on November 30, 2021. Retrieved November 30, 2021.
  10. @THEBLACKLABEL_ (October 27, 2021). "JEON SOMI 'XOXO' THE FIRST ALBUM 2021.10.29 6PM (KST) CREDITS GO TO…" (Tweet). Retrieved October 27, 2021 via Twitter.
  11. "Gaon Album Chart – Week 46, 2021". Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Retrieved November 18, 2021.
  12. "World Albums: Week of November 13, 2021". Billboard. November 10, 2021. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  13. "2021년 11월 Album Chart" [November 2021 Album Chart]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Korea Music Content Association. Archived from the original on December 9, 2021. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  14. XOXO Sales (58,933 (2021) + 2,055 (Kit))
  15. "전소미 - XOXO". Melon (in Korean). Archived from the original on October 29, 2021. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
  16. "[Promotion Event] JEON SOMI THE FIRST ALBUM XOXO". Ktown4u. Archived from the original on October 22, 2021. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.