When the scandal regarding Super Junior memberHankyung's request to terminate his contract with SM Entertainment broke out recently, the Korean and Chinese media immediately began scrambling to dig deeper into this issue and read between the lines.Is Hankyung’s contract termination request a publicity stunt?
ifeng.com recently held a poll to see how E.L.F members were taking the situation; an overwhelming number of people speculate that this is SME's attempt to create a succès de scandale to raise sales for Super Junior's upcoming concert.
According to the poll, approximately 80% of the fans believed that SM Entertainmenthad created this controversy in order to hype up Super Junior's upcoming concert in China on January 23, 2010 by conjuring a controversy around Super Junior's single Chinese member. Many don't buy into the coincidence that the tickets went on sale to the public on the 18th, a mere three days before the Hankyung scandal surfaced.
Personally, I have no opinion on the situation yet because there isn't enough information out... but at this point, what's your take on this matter - is Hankyung a victim of a slave contract, a marketing scheme or not a victim at all?
super junior's third album is already out in korea on march 12th, 2009
the title of the album is
sorry sorry
Recording and production
Following their commercially successful 2007 album, Don't Don, Super Junior embarked on their first Asia tour, the Super Show, and formed two additional subgroups: Super Junior-M, designated for the Mandarin Chinese market, and Super Junior-Happy. While pre-production for Sorry, Sorry started as early as Super Junior-Happy's debut, full-time recording sessions did not come until November 2008, when both subgroup promotions officially ended in both countries.
In July 2008, Super Junior announced the initial preparations for Sorry, Sorry.[4] In November 2008, Kyuhyun wrote in his fancafe stating that he was preparing for the third album "bit by bit".[5] During a press conference for Super Junior's Super Show tour in January 2009, Kang-in stated that the album will be in a style that will make the audience see a different side of Super Junior.[6] He further commented that while their second album Don't Don did well in 2007, activities promoting the album were lacking due to the activities of the different subgroup. Therefore, there will be a concentrated effort to increase promotional activities in order to make Sorry, Sorry more successful.[7] On March 2, SM announced the official release date to be on March 12, 2009.[1] TVXQ members U-Know and Micky are featured rappers in "Heartquake" and actress Lee Yeon-hee's vocals are also featured in "Club No.1."[8]
An image teaser of the album was released on March 4, 2009[9] and a video teaser of the album was released on March 6.[10] "Sorry, Sorry" was released as a digital single through various Korean MP3 sites on March 9.[10]
[edit] Music
Sorry, Sorry has a more mature approach in style in comparison to previous Super Junior albums. The album contains more R&B-styled pop songs with lyrics that represent the evolution of "boys to men."[11] Songs are less cheerful; melodic instruments play a huge part in most of the songs, showing maturity. Rap is also less presented in this album, having a majority of the songs dominated by R&B and harmonious vocals. Super Junior explained that this album is more strongly affiliated with Super Junior's own musical style unlike their previous albums, in which their music had been test-productions for various markets.[12]
The title song "Sorry, Sorry" was written by Youngjin Yoo, who was also responsible for the title single of Super Junior's 2007 album. This track is inspired by American funk–with synthesized vocals and a strong electronic beat, a new style that the group has never tried before. Nick Bass, who have worked with international stars like Usher and Justin Timberlake, is the dance choreographer for "Sorry, Sorry", showing the song's strong musical prominence.[13]
Track listing
| # | Title | Lyrics | Music | Translation | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "SORRY, SORRY" | Youngjin Yoo | Youngjin Yoo | 3:52 | |
| 2. | "니가 좋은 이유 (Why I like you)" | SHIRO | Jimmy Burney, Steven Lee, Sean Alexander, Pascal "Claps" | You A Good Reason (Why I like you) | 3:45 |
| 3. | "마주치지 말자 (Let's not...)" | Hwanhee, Junyoung Jo | Hwanhee | Let's Not Run Into Each Other (Let's not...) | 3:40 |
| 4. | "앤젤라 (Angela)" | Jungbae Kim | Kenzie | 3:21 | |
| 5. | "Reset" | Changhak Park | Martin Collin Sutton, Shridhar Ashokkumar Solanki | 3:43 | |
| 6. | "Monster" | Kenzie | Mikkel Remee Sigvardt, Timothy Kellett, Robin Anthony Taylor-Firth, Peter Biker | 3:48 | |
| 7. | "What if" | Yunjung Kwon | Sean Syed Hosein, Dane Anthony Deviller, Jorgen Kjell Elofsson, Adrew G Goldmark | 3:26 | |
| 8. | "이별... 넌 쉽니 (Heartquake)" (feat. TVXQ U-Know & Micky) | Junyoung Jo, July | Junyoung Jo | You... Say Goodbye Easily (Heartquake) | 4:07 |
| 9. | "Club No.1" (featuring Yeonhee Lee) | Gapwon Choi | Gabe Lopez, Angela Peel | 3:09 | |
| 10. | "Happy Together" | Jaemyung Lee | Jaemyung Lee | 3:34 | |
| 11. | "죽어있는 것 (Dead at heart)" | Changhyun Park | Changhyun Park | Dead Thing (Dead at heart) | 4:09 |
| 12. | "Shining Star" | Youngsuk Yoo | Youngsuk Yoo | 3:25 |
Promotion and release
The year prior to the album's release was seen as a hiatus year for Super Junior, although the sub-unit groups Super Junior-M and Super Junior-Happy had been heatedly working on promotions in both China and Korea in 2008. While in the past Super Junior have successfully grabbed attention through their flexible personalities in variety shows, they were falling behind musically. As an aspiring singing group, they hope people will critique their music first and foremost before they judge anything else. Through this album, they hope it will give Super Junior a stronger musical impression in the media, simultaneously confirming a style that is strictly Super Junior's own style of music.[12] As soon as "Sorry, Sorry" was released via MP3 websites, it topped every music chart, confirming the single's popularity. Super Junior explained that "Sorry, Sorry" was not chosen because of popularity, but because they see the song as their own style.[12]
Super Junior's first comeback performance was on March 13 with the performance of "Sorry, Sorry" and "Why I like you" on KBS's Music Bank.[14] That following weekend, they performed the same two songs on MBC's Music Core and SBS's Popular Songs.
[edit] Sales and impact
In just a week days, 150,000 copies of Sorry, Sorry were pre-ordered.[2] The album debuted at #1 on the Hanteo Daily Charts, with approximately 30,000 copies sold, making it the biggest opening day for the group.[3] By the end of the week, 36,000 copies have been sold through Hanteo, debuting at #2 on the Hanteo Weekly charts, selling only 4,000 copies less than Seo Taiji's single, which was released on March 10.[15]
