Exit : E

EXIT : E
EP by WINNER
Released February 1, 2016[1]
Genre K-pop, dance-pop, electropop, hip hop, ballad, R&B, rock
Length 18:10
Label YG Entertainment
Producer Nam Tae-hyun
WINNER chronology
2014 S/S: Japan Collection
(2014)		 EXIT : E
(2016)		 2016 Winner Exit Tour In Seoul Live CD
(2016)
Singles from EXIT : E
  1. "Pricked"
    Released: January 10, 2016
  2. "Baby Baby"
    Released: February 1, 2016
  3. "Sentimental"
    Released: February 1, 2016
  4. "I'm Young"
    Released: February 1, 2016

EXIT : E is the first extended play, and the second musical release of South Korean group Winner. It was released on February 1, 2016, 18 months after their debut album 2014 S/S back in 2014.[2] As with their first album, the members contributed heavily to the songwriting and production aspects of EXIT : E. The album was also WINNER's last with member Nam Tae-hyun, who left the group on 25 November 2016.

The album features five tracks, including the double title songs "Baby Baby" and “Sentimental”, and Mino and Tae Hyun’s duet “Pricked.”

The album physical sales sold over 64.000 copies in Korea only.

Upon release, EXIT : E was an immediate success with "Baby Baby" and "Sentimental" having topped eight charts including Melon, OllehMusic, Naver Music, Genie, Bugs, Soribada, Mnet.com, and Monkey3Music. The album was warmly received in various parts of Asia as well, where it climbed to the top of iTunes charts in 11 nations including Hong Kong, Indonesia, Macao, Malaysia and the Philippines. It has also ranked 17th on U.S. iTunes.[2]

Background

"When we were making our first album in 2014, since each of us desired a different musical direction, there were many times when we disagreed with each other. In this upcoming album, we respected each other’s preferences and worked separately, silently and whenever there were satisfactory results, we immediately talked to each other about it. Because this process worked out smoothly, we rarely clashed." [3] - Min-ho, Song

The majority of the album was produced by the members themselves, much like in their full-length album 2014 S/S, though with limited contribution from leader Seungyoon. Uk Jin-kang was a frequent presence in the album as well, who had previously helped Big Bang member Daesung with his second Japanese album D'slove. Frequent Sistar contributor lyricist and producer Rovin, assisted Taehyun with his solo single "I'm Young".

During the 18-month long hiatus, the members took the time to study more about music producing and songwriting in order to expand the variety in their sound. Jumping straight from the CJ E&M produced "Show Me The Money" rapping survival show, Min-ho expressed relief in being able to leave the 'intense' atmosphere behind..."[hiphop itself] is a scary type of music and it’s not like there is a rule that you need to do everything with strength but the program 'Show Me The Money' itself is an audition program where they make all the rappers compete with each other so it can’t be helped that there is a atmosphere that pressurizes the mentality." Going on to explain that the hiphop scene was somewhat restricting, he revealed that the members were more comfortable working together on EXIT : E than on their previous album, where they had encountered disagreements stemming from different musical styles. Taehyun, meanwhile, listened to B. B. King, blues rock, and modern rock in order to expand his musical experience, and incorporated those styles in the songs he contributed to the album. He learned to play the guitar during the break as well.[3]

Cover projects

As a way to generate excitement for Winner's comeback, instead of simply releasing teasers, various artists covered "Sentimental" and "Baby Baby", the title tracks for the then upcoming extended play. 8 different renditions were made in total for the project series, featuring short video covers by DEAN, Epik High,[4] G-Dragon,[5] Katie Kim,[6] Akdong Musician,[7] Zion.T,[8] Taeyang,[9] and Lee Hi.[10]

Track listing

No. TitleLyricsMusicArrangement Length
1. "Baby Baby"  Nam Taehyun, Song Minho, Lee SeunghoonNam TaehyunNam Taehyun, Uk Jin Kang 4:06
2. "Sentimental" (센치해)Nam Taehyun, Song Minho, Lee SeunghoonNam Taehyun, Uk Jin KangNam Taehyun, Uk Jin Kang 3:28
3. "Immature" (철없어)Kang Seungyoon, Song Minho, Lee SeunghoonKang Seungyoon, Uk Jin KangUk Jin Kang 3:12
4. "I'm Young" (좋더라)Nam TaehyunNam Taehyun, RovinRovin 3:33
5. "Pricked" (사랑가시)Song MinhoSong Minho, Uk Jin KangUk Jin Kang 3:51
Total length:
 18:10

Charts

Chart Peak
position
South Korea Gaon Weekly Album Chart[11] 1
Japan Oricon Weekly Album Chart[12] 63
United States Billboard Heatseekers Album Chart"[13] 3
United States Billboard World Album Chart"[14] 2

Sales

Region Sales
Japan 4,321[12]
Region Sales
Korea 75,948+

References

  1. ↑ "WINNER's 'Exit Movement : E' track list is out!". Allkpop. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  2. 1 2 "Winner starts 2016 with hit mini-album". The Korea Times. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
  3. 1 2 "The Winner Takes It All". W Korea. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
  4. ↑ "Epik High releases a very different kind of cover for WINNER's 'Sentimental'". Allkpop. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
  5. ↑ "G-Dragon is 'Sentimental' in WINNER's pre-release cover". Allkpop. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Katie Kim is the next artist to cover WINNER's 'Sentimental'". Allkpop. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
  7. ↑ "Akdong Musician are happily 'Sentimental' in WINNER's pre-release cover series". Allkpop. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
  8. ↑ "Zion.T is the third artist to cover WINNER's 'Baby Baby'". Allkpop. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
  9. ↑ "Big Bang's Taeyang is the next to cover WINNER's upcoming title track". Allkpop. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
  10. ↑ "WINNER's first pre-release cover is out by label mate Lee Hi". Allkpop. Retrieved February 1, 2016.
  11. ↑ "Gaon Chart" (in Korean). Gaon. 16 August 2014.
  12. 1 2 "오리콘 위클리 싱글/앨범/DVD/블루레이 차트 1~100위 (갱신완료)" [Oricon Weekly Single / Album / DVD / Blu-ray chart, 1-100 (updated)] (in Korean). theqoo. Retrieved February 10, 2016.
  13. ↑ "Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. Retrieved February 12, 2016.
  14. ↑ "World Albums / Billboard.com". Billboard. February 8, 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/26/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.