Spring Love (Eric Nam and Wendy song) explained

Spring Love
Cover:File:Spring_Love_cover.png
Border:yes
Type:single
Artist:Eric Nam and Wendy
Album:S.M. Station Season 1
Length:3:18
Chronology:Eric Nam
Prev Title:A Second Is an Hour
Prev Year:2015
Next Title:Good for You
Next Year:2016

"Spring Love" is a song by South Korea-based American singer Eric Nam and South Korean singer Wendy, a member of the South Korean girl group Red Velvet. It was released digitally by SM Entertainment on March 4, 2016, as the fourth single of the first season of the label's digital music project, SM Station. Composed by Kevin Writer and Douglas James with lyrics by Hwang Hyun (MonoTree) and Agnes Shin, the song is an acoustic ballad about friends developing romantic feelings for one another as the season gets warmer in the beginning of spring.

The single was a commercial success upon its release. It was both Nam and Wendy's first top-ten entry on the Gaon Digital Chart, peaking at number seven on its second week. It eventually became the sixty-first best-selling song in South Korea in 2016, having achieved over 820,131 downloads. The song was also nominated for Best Collaboration at the 18th Mnet Asian Music Awards, but lost to Wendy's fellow labelmate Baekhyun with his collaboration single "Dream".

Background and composition

In January 2016, S.M. Entertainment, one of the largest entertainment companies in South Korea, launched a digital music project called SM Station which would give their artists a platform to release music, with the intention of releasing a new single by an S.M. Entertainment artist each week for an entire year.[1] [2] Girls' Generation member Taeyeon started the digital project by releasing the single "Rain" on February 3, 2016.[3] After two more releases, the company announced that Red Velvet member Wendy and non-S.M. Entertainment artist Eric Nam would be the fourth to participate in the project.[4] On March 4, the single was released along with an accompanying music video.[5] "Spring Love" was produced by Kevin Writer and Douglas James, while its lyrics were penned by Hwang Hyun and Agnes Shin.[6] The song is described as a mid-tempo ballad with an acoustic arrangement. Lyrically, it is a youthful song about friends falling in love as the weather grows warmer.[7]

Promotion and reception

A music video of the song directed by Shim Hyung-jun was premiered on the official YouTube channel of S.M. Entertainment in conjunction with the single's release. In it, Eric Nam and Wendy are depicted as a couple who enjoy their day together at an amusement park, riding various attractions.[8] [9]

In December 2016, Nam and Wendy sang the song on Yang&Nam Show, a show hosted by Nam, in which Red Velvet appeared as guests in its 4th episode. On March 30, 2017, they performed it live for the first time at KCON Mexico.[10] [11]

"Spring Love" was a commercial success in South Korea. It debuted at number ten on the Gaon Digital Chart, eventually peaked at number seven one week later, thus became both Nam and Wendy's first top-ten entry on the chart.[12] Its accompanying music video was the ninth most watched K-pop video in America and tenth worldwide for the month of March.[13] The single was the ninth best-selling song on the March issue of the Gaon Monthly Digital Chart, and went on to become the sixty-first best-selling song in South Korea in 2016, with a total sales of over 820,131 downloads.[14]

Billboard included it in its '7 Essential K-Pop Songs' for spring in 2016 and in November, the song was nominated at the 18th Mnet Asian Music Awards for Best Collaboration.

Track listing

Digital download / streaming

  1. "Spring Love"3:18
  2. "Spring Love" (Instrumental)3:18

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Melon.

Studio

Personnel

Charts

Monthly charts

Chart (March 2016)! scope="col"
Position
South Korea (Gaon)[16] 9

Year-end charts

Chart (2016)! scope="col"
Position
South Korea (Gaon)[17] 74

Notes and References

  1. News: SM founder talks new boy band, future localization strategy. The Korea Herald. Herald Media Inc.. Julie. Jackson. January 28, 2016. December 12, 2017.
  2. News: Taeyeon releases teaser for new single 'Rain'. Philippine Daily Inquirer. Min-kyung. Jung. January 28, 2016. December 12, 2017.
  3. News: Two new singles out from Taeyeon this week. JoongAng Ilbo. JoongAng Media Network. February 2, 2016. December 12, 2017. Sung So-young.
  4. News: 웬디X에릭남, SM '스테이션' 네 번째 주자 발탁…달콤 듀엣 예고. 10asia. March 2, 2016. December 12, 2017. Eun-ho. Lee. ko.
  5. News: 에릭남X웬디 '봄인가 봐', 단숨에 1위 'SM 음원파워 입증'. News1. March 4, 2016. December 12, 2017. Kyung-nam. Lee. ko.
  6. News: 봄인가 봐 (Spring Love). Mnet. March 4, 2016. December 12, 2017. ko.
  7. Akdong Musician 'Spring' Into Action, Plus 7 Essential K-Pop Songs for the Season. Billboard. Tamar. Herman. May 5, 2016. December 12, 2017.
  8. News: 정동하표 발라드가 온다…'오! 사랑' 6월 2일 발매. Newsway. May 31, 2016. December 12, 2017. So-hee. Lee. ko.
  9. News: Red Velvet's Wendy and Eric Nam Release Adorable MV for 'Spring Love'. MoonRok. March 3, 2016. December 12, 2017.
  10. News: KCON 2017 Mexico×M COUNTDOWN |Eric Nam, Wendy (Red Velvet) – Spring Love. Mnet. March 30, 2017. December 12, 2017.
  11. YANG and NAM SHOW [미공개 풀버전] 최.초.공.개. 에릭남&웬디의 봄인가 봐 라이브 161208 EP.4]. December 8, 2016. December 12, 2017. ko.
  12. Web site: Gaon Digital Chart. Gaon Music Chart. ko. https://web.archive.org/web/20171206140146/http://gaonchart.co.kr/main/section/chart/online.gaon?serviceGbn=ALL&termGbn=week&hitYear=2016&targetTime=11&nationGbn=T. December 6, 2017. December 12, 2017.
  13. Most Viewed K-Pop Videos in America, Around the World: March 2016. Billboard. Jeff. Benjamin. April 12, 2016. December 12, 2017.
  14. Web site: Gaon Download Chart. Gaon Music Chart. ko. https://web.archive.org/web/20170903220626/http://gaonchart.co.kr/main/section/chart/online.gaon?nationGbn=T&serviceGbn=S1020&termGbn=year. September 3, 2017. December 12, 2017.
  15. Web site: ko:2016년 11주차 Digital Chart. 2016, Week 11 Digital Chart. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20160322172901/http://gaonchart.co.kr/main/section/chart/online.gaon?nationGbn=T&serviceGbn=ALL&targetTime=11&hitYear=2016&termGbn=week. March 22, 2016. March 25, 2021. Gaon Music Chart. ko.
  16. Web site: ko:2016년 03월 Digital Chart. March 2016 Digital Chart. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20160418111149/http://gaonchart.co.kr/main/section/chart/online.gaon?nationGbn=T&serviceGbn=ALL&targetTime=03&hitYear=2016&termGbn=month. April 18, 2016. March 25, 2021. Gaon Music Chart. ko.
  17. Web site: ko:2016년 Digital Chart. 2016 Digital Chart. live. https://archive.today/20210325040256/http://gaonchart.co.kr/main/section/chart/online.gaon?nationGbn=T&serviceGbn=ALL&termGbn=year&hitYear=2016&year_time=1. March 25, 2021. March 25, 2016. Gaon Music Chart. ko.