The Unseen (EP) explained

The Unseen
Type:EP
Artist:Shownu X Hyungwon
Cover:Shownu_X_Hyungwon_-_The_Unseen.jpg
Caption:Digital cover
Released:July 25, 2023
Genre:K-pop
Length:15:20
Language:Korean

The Unseen (stylized as THE UИSEEN) is the debut extended play by the South Korean boy group Monsta X's first official sub-unit Shownu X Hyungwon. It was released by Starship Entertainment and distributed by Kakao Entertainment on July 25, 2023. The EP contains five tracks, including the lead single "Love Me a Little".

Background and release

In May 2023, Starship Entertainment announced that Shownu and Hyungwon will form Monsta X's first sub-unit but its schedule had not yet been set.[1] On June 26, Starship Entertainment revealed their official logo through the group's official SNS, announcing the debut of the duo at the end of July.[2] On June 28, it was revealed that the EP's title is The Unseen,[3] with the lead single titled "Love Me a Little" and four new tracks, revealed on July 12.[4] On July 25, Shownu X Hyungwon had The Unseen Release Talk Live, to commemorate the release of the EP and communicate with fans through Monsta X's official YouTube channel.[5]

The physical EP was released in two standard and limited edition versions, alongside jewel cases version and a KiT version.[6] [7] [8] [9] [10]

Composition

Hyungwon produced "Love Me a Little", as well as the B-side song "Roll with Me", while Shownu participated in the choreography.[11]

The Unseen contains the perspectives of two people who greet numerous "me" who exist in the eyes of others.[9] It also shows how Shownu and Hyungwon expand their own world with delicate details and composure, capturing a darker and more mature image of them, a culmination of 8 years of hard work.[12]

"Love Me a Little" is a track with a midtempo chorus backed by percussion,[13] depicting the conflict between our true self and what others want us to be, "Love Therapy" is a hybrid pop style-groovy undercurrent of 808 bass track with a charming melody and mournful vocals, "Roll with Me" is a smoky, piano-backed track in an impressively unique arrangement, "Play Me" is a electro-pop synthesizer track which arrays their various charms, and "Slow Dance" is a dream-pop masterpiece with gentle 8-bit notes track which stands out with the duo's sweet voice.[12] [14]

Commercial performance

The Unseen placed at number 5 on the Circle Chart's Retail Album Chart, for the week of July 23 to 29, with 24,953 copies sold, while number 6 and number 26 on the Circle Album Chart, with 111,297 copies sold.[15] The EP also placed at number 1 on the Hanteo's Global Authentication Chart, for the month of August.[16]

For the EP's tracks, three of which entered the Billboards Hot Trending Songs Chart, for the week of July 30 to August 5, with "Love Therapy" at number 7, "Play Me" at number 10, and "Slow Dance" at number 14.[17]

Charts

Weekly chart

Chart (2023)! scope="col"
Peak
position
South Korean Albums (Circle)[18] 6

Monthly chart

Chart (2023)! scope="col"
Peak
position
South Korean Albums (Circle)[19] 15

Certification and sales

Region! scope="col"
CertificationCertified units/sales
South Korea178,695<-- 171,695 (CD) + 7,000 (KiT) -->[20]

Awards and nominations

Award ceremony! scope="col" style="width:5em"
YearCategoryResult
Melon Music Awards2023Millions Top 10 Artist[21]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: https://entertain.naver.com/read?oid=609&amp;aid=0000719825. ko:스타쉽 "셔누X형원, 몬스타엑스 첫 유닛 준비 중" [공식]. Starship "Shownu X Hyungwon, preparing for the first unit of MONSTA X" [Official]. Newsen. Naver. Lee. Min-ji. 2023-05-03. 2023-06-29. ko.
  2. Web site: https://entertain.naver.com/read?oid=109&amp;aid=0004877794. ko:몬스타엑스 셔누X형원, 7월 말 유닛 데뷔..로고 공개[공식]. Monsta X Shownu X Hyungwon, unit debut at the end of July..Logo revealed [Official]. OSEN. Naver. Seon. Mi-kyung. 2023-06-27. 2023-06-29. ko.
  3. Web site: https://entertain.naver.com/read?oid=117&amp;aid=0003745364. ko:몬스타엑스 셔누X형원, 7월 5일 유닛 데뷔…첫 미니 '디 언씬' 발매 [공식]. MONSTA X's Shownu X Hyungwon, unit debut on July 5... Released the first mini 'The Unseen' [Official]. My Daily. Naver. Kang. Da-yoon. 2023-06-29. 2023-06-29. ko.
  4. Web site: https://entertain.naver.com/read?oid=382&amp;aid=0001063262. ko:형원 자작곡=타이틀곡…몬스타엑스 유닛 셔누X형원 트랙리스트 공개. Hyungwon's self-composed song = title song... Monsta X Unit Shownu X Hyungwon Track List Revealed. Sports Dong-A. Naver. Jeong. Hee-yeon. 2023-07-13. 2023-07-13. ko.
  5. Web site: http://m.viva100.com/view.php?key=20230725010007548. ko:몬스타엑스 셔누X형원, 오늘(25일) '디 언씬' 발매 기념 토크 라이브 진행. Monsta X Shownu X Hyungwon, today (25th), 'The Unseen' release commemorative talk live. Bridge Economy. Kim. Se-hee. 2023-07-25. 2023-07-25. ko.
  6. Web site: https://entertain.naver.com/read?oid=112&amp;aid=0003642264. ko:몬스타엑스 셔누X형원, 유닛 앨범 '디 언씬' 콘셉트 포토 공개. MONSTA X's Shownu X Hyungwon unveils concept photos for unit album 'The Unseen'. K-pop Herald. Naver. Jeong. Hye-yeon. 2023-07-14. 2023-07-22. ko.
  7. News: https://entertain.naver.com/read?oid=410&amp;aid=0000949632. ko:몬스타엑스 셔누X형원, 유닛 시너지 기대....'디 언씬' 콘셉트 포토 공개. MONSTA X Shownu X Hyungwon expect unit synergy...'The Unseen' concept photo released. MK Sports. Naver. Jin. Joo-hee. 2023-07-15. 2023-07-22. ko.
  8. News: https://entertain.naver.com/read?oid=144&amp;aid=0000900553. ko:몬스타엑스 셔누X형원, 첫 유닛 앨범 두 번째 콘셉트 포토[화보]. Monsta X Shownu X Hyungwon, the second concept photo of the first unit album [pictorial]. Sports Kyunghyang. Naver. Son. Bong-seok. 2023-07-17. 2023-07-22. ko.
  9. Web site: https://www.ajunews.com/view/20230718104209841. ko:몬스타엑스 셔누X형원, '디 언씬' 두 번째 콘셉트 포토 추가 공개. MONSTA X Shownu X Hyungwon unveils second concept photo for 'The Unseen'. Aju Economy. Choi. Song-hee. 2023-07-18. 2023-07-22. ko.
  10. Web site: https://entertain.naver.com/read?oid=117&amp;aid=0003752881. ko:몬스타엑스 셔누X형원, 닮은 듯 다른 '디 언씬' 콘셉트 포토. MONSTA X Shownu X Hyungwon, similar but different 'The Unseen' concept photo. My Daily. Naver. Park. Seo-yeon. 2023-07-20. 2023-07-22. ko.
  11. News: https://entertain.naver.com/read?oid=117&amp;aid=0003751056. ko:몬스타엑스 셔누X형원, 닮은 듯 다르네…'문짝즈'의 첫 유닛. MONSTA X's Shownu X Hyungwon, similar but different... The first unit of 'Moonjjakz'. My Daily. Naver. Oh. Yoon-joo. 2023-07-14. 2023-07-14. ko.
  12. Web site: https://entertain.naver.com/read?oid=311&amp;aid=0001619997. ko:몬스타엑스 유닛 셔누X형원, 오늘(25일) 데뷔. Monsta X unit Shownu X Hyungwon, debut today (25th). Xports News. Naver. Cho. Hye-jin. 2023-07-25. 2023-07-25. ko.
  13. Monsta X's Shownu & Hyungwon Team Up for First Joint Mini Album 'The Unseen': Stream It Now. Billboard. Bowenbank. Starr. 2023-07-25. 2023-07-26.
  14. Web site: Shownu X Hyungwon: We are all conflicted in some way. NME. Chin. Carmen. 2023-07-28. 2023-07-29.
  15. Web site: Week 30 of 2023 Retail Album Chart. Circle Chart. July 23–29, 2023. 2023-08-03. ko.
  16. Web site: https://entertain.naver.com/read?oid=030&amp;aid=0003132308. ko:BTS 제이홉-엔시티-셔누X형원, 한터 8월 차트 '정상 등극'. BTS J-Hope-NCT-Shownu X Hyungwon, 'Climb to the Top' of Hanteo August Chart. Electronic Newspaper. Naver. Hong. Eun-hye. 2023-09-04. 2023-09-05. ko.
  17. Hot Trending Songs Powered by Twitter. Billboard. July 30 – August 5, 2023. 2023-08-02.
  18. Web site: Week 30 of 2023 Album Chart. Circle Chart. July 23–29, 2023. August 3, 2023. ko.
  19. Web site: July 2023 Album Chart. Circle Chart. August 10, 2023. ko.
  20. Cumulative sales for The Unseen (KiT + CD):
    • Web site: Week 30 of 2023 Album Chart. Circle Chart. July 23–29, 2023. August 3, 2023. ko. August 3, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230803063753/https://circlechart.kr/page_chart/album.circle?nationGbn=T&targetTime=30&hitYear=2023&termGbn=week&yearTime=3. live.
    • Web site: Week 31 of 2023 Album Chart. Circle Chart. July 30 – August 5, 2023. August 10, 2023. ko. August 10, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230810070258/https://circlechart.kr/page_chart/album.circle?nationGbn=T&targetTime=31&hitYear=2023&termGbn=week&yearTime=3. live.
    • Web site: Week 32 of 2023 Album Chart. Circle Chart. August 6–12, 2023. August 17, 2023. ko. August 17, 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230817034158/https://circlechart.kr/page_chart/album.circle?nationGbn=T&targetTime=32&hitYear=2023&termGbn=week&yearTime=3. live.
    • Web site: Week 33 of 2023 Album Chart. Circle Chart. August 13–19, 2023. August 24, 2023. ko.
    • Web site: Week 34 of 2023 Album Chart. Circle Chart. August 20–26, 2023. August 31, 2023. ko.
    • Web site: Week 35 of 2023 Album Chart. Circle Chart. August 27 – September 2, 2023. September 7, 2023. ko.
    • Web site: Week 41 of 2023 Album Chart. Circle Chart. October 8–14, 2023. October 19, 2023. ko.
    • Web site: Week 43 of 2023 Album Chart. Circle Chart. October 22–28, 2023. November 2, 2023. ko.
    • Web site: Week 45 of 2023 Album Chart. Circle Chart. November 5–11, 2023. November 16, 2023. ko.
  21. Web site: ko:MMA2023: 부문별 투표. MMA2023: Voting by Category. https://www.melon.com/mma/vote2.htm . live. https://web.archive.org/web/20231130084601/https://www.melon.com/mma/vote2.htm. November 30, 2023. November 17, 2023. Melon. ko.