Background and release
edit
On July 10, Baekhyun made his official debut as a solo artist with the extended play City Lights,[2] which went onto debut at number one on South Korea's Gaon Album Chart, and became the best-selling solo album of 2019. "UN Village" was released on July 10 for digital download and streaming in various countries by SM Entertainment, as the lead single of City Lights.[1]
"UN Village" received generally favorable reviews from music critics. Riddhi Chakraborty from Rolling Stone India described "UN Village" as a "strong opener with complex and smooth R&B melodies". She added that "Baekhyun takes his time to build up effortless and intricate vocal runs but it’s still just a small taste of what his voice is truly capable of".[5]
Year-end lists
Critic/Publication
|
List
|
Rank
|
Ref.
|
Genius
|
The Genius Community's 50 Best Songs of 2019
|
49
|
[6]
|
Refinery29
|
The Best K-Pop Songs Of 2019
|
9
|
[7]
|
CelebMix
|
Top 10 KPOP songs of 2019
|
10
|
[8]
|
An accompanying music video for "UN Village" was uploaded to SM Entertainment's official YouTube channel, simultaneously with the single's release.[9] It was preceded by a teaser released on the same platform on July 4. The video features a colored and black-and-white theme of the singer while he roams around the titular neighborhood emoting his feelings as he sings.[10] In a music video commentary video, Baekhyun revealed that the music video was shot in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea.[11][12]
Before the official release, Baekhyun held a private showcase in Seoul Arts Center where he performed the song for the first time for the media.[13] Two hours after the release, he held a live broadcast through Naver's V Live app, where he talked about the album, songs and production process.[14]
On July 11, a behind clip of "UN Village" music video was released through Baekhyun's official YouTube channel as a vlog.[15] Baekhyun promoted the song on various South Korean music programs starting with KBS's Music Bank on July 12, 2019.[16] On the same day, he performed the song on the show You Hee-yeol's Sketchbook.[17] On July 19, Baekhyun received his first music trophy for "UN Village" on KBS's Music Bank.[18]
Credits and personnel
edit
Credits adapted from album's liner notes.[24][25]
- SM Entertainment – executive producer
- Lee Soo-man – producer
- Baekhyun – vocals, background vocals
- LIØN – lyrics, composition, background vocals
- dress – composition, arrangement, drums, bass, piano, synthesizer, strings
- Onestar – vocal directing
- Charming Lips – guitar
- Noh Min-ji – recording
- Jang Woo-young – digital editing
- Yoo Young-jin – engineered for mix, music and sound supervisor
- Gu Jong-pil – mixing
- Mike Bozzi – mastering
- ^ a b c Tan, Pakkee (July 10, 2019). "Take a Trip To The 'UN Village' With EXO's Baekhyun: Watch". E!Online. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
- ^ "EXO's Baekhyun Set to Release Debut Solo Album". Billboard. June 10, 2019. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
- ^ a b Lee, Han-na (July 2, 2019). "EXO Baekhyun releases teaser for solo album". The Korea Times. Retrieved July 10, 2019.
- ^ "Key and BPM of UN Village by BAEKHYUN | Musicstax". musicstax.com. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
- ^ "Review: EXO's Baekhyun Embraces Dark R&B Immersion On 'City Lights' -". July 17, 2019. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
- ^ "The Genius Community's 50 Best Songs of 2019". Genius. December 20, 2019. Retrieved December 21, 2019.
- ^ Morin, Natalie (December 20, 2019). "The Best K-Pop Songs Of 2019". Refinery29 . Retrieved December 27, 2019.
- ^ Nicholas, Ellie (December 31, 2019). "Celebmix's Top 10 KPOP songs of 2019". CelebMix. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
- ^ Baekhyun 백현 'UN Village' MV. SM Entertainment. July 10, 2019. Retrieved July 10, 2019 – via YouTube.
- ^ "EXO's Baekhyun Releases 'City Lights' Album: Watch the Smooth Music Video for 'UN Village'". Billboard. Retrieved July 11, 2019.
- ^ "[V LIVE] EXO BAEKHYUN's". www.vlive.tv. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
- ^ "[V LIVE] EXO BAEKHYUN says the best scene in the M/V was - Star Road EP02". www.vlive.tv. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
- ^ "엑소 백현, 10일 솔로 데뷔 쇼케이스 개최..전 세계 생중계[공식]". entertain.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved August 5, 2020.
- ^ "'시티 라이츠 쇼케이스' 솔로 데뷔 백현, "엑소 멤버들, 내게 '신박하다'더라"(V앱 종합)". n.news.naver.com (in Korean). Retrieved August 5, 2020.
- ^ 백현 Baekhyun (July 11, 2019), 백현이의 브이로그 (UN Village Behind Clip), retrieved July 12, 2019
- ^ "[인싸뮤직] 다음 주 컴백 예고, 몽환적 분위기의 하성운·감미로운 세레나데 백현". 뉴스인사이드 (in Korean). July 6, 2019. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
- ^ "'유희열의 스케치북' 엑소 백현, 솔로 무대 선보이며 자신의 꿈 밝혀". 아시아경제 (in Korean). July 13, 2019. Retrieved July 15, 2019.
- ^ a b Park, Ha-na (July 19, 2019). "'뮤직뱅크' 백현, '유엔빌리지'(UN Village) 출연 없이 1위, 벤 꺾었다". News1 via Naver (in Korean). Retrieved July 19, 2019.
- ^ a b "Digital Chart – Week 28 of 2019". Gaon Chart (in Korean). Retrieved July 18, 2019.
- ^ "Download Chart – Week 28 of 2019". gaonchart.co.kr. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
- ^ a b "Billboard World Digital Song Sales". Billboard. July 27, 2019. Retrieved July 25, 2019.
- ^ Im, Young-jin (July 26, 2019). "'뮤뱅' 백현, 2주 연속 1위..NCT DREAM 컴백+CIX 데뷔 [종합]". TV Report via Naver (in Korean). Retrieved July 26, 2019.
- ^ Jang, Woo-young (July 20, 2019). "'음악중심' 백현, 벤-헤이즈 꺾고 2관왕 등극…노라조·펜타곤 컴백 [종합]". Osen via Naver. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
- ^ Baekhyun (2019). City Lights (photobook). South Korea: SM Entertainment; Dreamus. Credits.
- ^ "Try the TIDAL Web Player". listen.tidal.com. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
- ^ "Billboard Korea K-pop 100". Billboard. July 13, 2019. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
- ^ "Gaon Digital Chart - July 2019". gaonchart.co.kr. Retrieved September 4, 2020.