IU - The Winning (U win version) (6th Mini Album)

IU  - The Winning (U win version) (6th Mini Album)

Tracklist

1. Shopper 

2. 홀씨 

3. Shh.. (Feat. 혜인(HYEIN), 조원선 & Special Narr. 패티김)

4. Love wins all

5. 관객이 될게 (I stan U)

IU's 6th Mini Album "The Winning

This is my first album in my thirties.

The conclusions and details are different, but the spirit is the same as when I was twenty-three years old. I've become an adult with different desires than the ones I was greedy for then, but the essence of 'greedy' is the same. I erased the question marks that bothered me and drew an exclamation point in their place. In my thirties, I filled in the first box on my new list of desires with "win". Now there's no confusion about what I want. For the first time in a long time, I'm having fun with myself again.

1. Shopper

The story of shoppers who sweep up what they want according to their own tastes and standards in a store that never closes.

What they put in their carts is very personal. The things they put in their carts may be too tacky, too much, too weird, or not worth it by other people's standards, by the world's standards. But shoppers don't care. They listen to themselves to realize what they really want and choose exactly what will make them happy, and they are happy to fill their carts with all their desires and tastes.

In this shop, only the shopper puts a price tag on the value of his or her desires, and only he or she decides if the choices are worthwhile or not.

The things I put in my cart as a shopper are the emotions and moments I encountered during the 2022 performance of The Golden Hour: Under the Orange Sun. I felt a strong sense of determination in that performance that was somewhat foreign to me.

Those two days of performances, which came at a time when I was experiencing a bit of burnout at work, turned the themes and mood of the album I had been working on, and my energy toward it, upside down. I wanted to leave what was easy and comfortable behind and challenge myself to pour myself into it once again. It was the audience on that hot night that brought clarity to my head as I circled the same spot, unable to recognize burnout and procrastinating on finishing Childpeace.

The sound of tens of thousands of voices, as clear as one, awakened new desires in me, and I channeled the courage and dauntlessness I felt into this song. This time, I hope that my voice will give listeners the courage to be sure of what they want. / K

Electro-Pop Rock track with an intense sound.

The cool guitar sound and various transitions keep the listener on their toes.

IU's vocals are both restrained and divergent throughout the song, making it fun to pop bubbles in your head.

The playful FX sources in the middle of the song add to the excitement of shopping at the market.

2. Mr. Hall

In CHAT-SHIRE, my first self-produced album in my 20s, I compared my age to a trembling flower.

Whether it's a colorful flower or a small flower. At that time, I believed that I was a flower that would bloom when the time was right.

Now, in my 30s, having realized that not everyone in the world has a reason to be a flower or needs to be a flower, I want to live as an odd seed floating in the sky. Like a tireless shopper, I want to wander aimlessly, taking in the sights and sounds of the world around me and putting the various options on display in my cart.

A track with a unique composition based on Hip-Hop/R&B.

Over the heavy drum & bass, IU's voice exudes various charms, sometimes expressing the flexibility of an R&B singer, sometimes the ease of a confident rapper, and sometimes the cheerfulness and lightness of a child singing a nursery rhyme.

3. Shh.. (Feat. HYEIN, Cho Wonsun & Special Narr. Patti Kim)

'This is not just a story of friendship.

It's not a simple love story either.

There was something more complicated between her and me.'

Names that win me over every time.

Names that never go out of style in my mind.

Names that never go out of style in my mind,

Names that make up who I am, somewhere inside me.

To the girls who will always be special and complicated. //

The song is based on a deep blues sensibility, but it is important to note the genre change according to the singer.

The sound is optimized for each artist's voice, such as IU's part with a soulful blues feel, NewJins' Hyein's part with R&B, and Cho Wonsun's part with a rock sound.

The unique and seasoned interpretations of each vocalist on the same melody, the top-notch performances of IU's band members, and the voice of 'master' Patti Kim, who closes this confusingly charming song, make you feel the diversity of generations and genres and the harmony that encompasses all the layers at the same time.

4. Love wins all

Some say this is the age of hate.

It certainly doesn't seem to be a time of love.

In an ashen world that is growing colder and colder with visible hostility and indifference,

it sometimes seems absurd to hope for victory with the invisible weapon of love.

But I know from firsthand experience that hate is always alone, even in its momentum.

Love, on the other hand, is fleeing, shattering, and dying, but it's always there.

Love has the odds in its favor.

This is the story of people who try to love until the end in a world that prevents them from doing so.

As a side note, there are two songs on this five-song album that I dedicate to the people I love, especially my fans, and one of them is this song, Love wins all.

From the age of eighteen, when I was suddenly loved so much that my life changed overnight, to now.

Not a day goes by that I don't think about the end of my life. I thought it was lonely, scary, and natural.

But as I thought about it day after day, decade after decade, my attitude towards it changed.

It's not so scary now. I don't feel like I'll miss it more or feel lonely.

Most of all, it doesn't seem so close.

The reason why I was able to change so much from a pessimistic and worried child is because there were people who reassured me every day, tirelessly, for so many years.

Thanks to them, I've never been alone for a single moment in my life as IU.

To my diligent fans who have never left me alone.

I'd like to thank them for cultivating endless love in my heart, which is naturally a dry type.

And thank you for choosing to stand by my side time and time again, for some reason I still don't understand.

I want to be there for you in your highs and lows, just as you've been there for me.

I want to be the person who says, "I'm not scared. We're going to have the best time ever."

The song starts with a minimalist, vintage piano intro and builds up to a maximalistic outro, continuing IU's series of big ballads that have been loved by fans, including "Secret," "To My Name," "Love poem," and "I and the Sea. Toward the end, the song's battle-like vocals and gorgeous symphony-like instrumentation maximize emotion.

The floating rhythm and layered harmony themes enhance the eighth-sixth time signature, while the sprawling strings that gently envelope the entire sound add width and depth to the song.

IU's delicate vocal technique, the wide-ranging melodic harmonies, and the non-stop rising crescendo will have you hanging on to every last word until you reach the end.

5. I'll Be Your Audience (I stan U)

"I'll be your biggest fan" is probably the most romantic thing I can say to someone right now. That's what audience means to me.

I want to repay them with the same amount of love for agreeing to my music and words with a twinkle in their eyes and no sign of exhaustion until the end of a long performance. I want to be the same kind of support in your life. I want to live harder and harder to keep the meaning of what we shared. Thank you is not enough. I love you is not enough.

Standing face to face, sending affection with eyes and voice,

I will be your audience. / D

From the melodic guitar riff and crisp vocals of the intro, to the dreamy B-part, to the breathy chorus, to the childlike bridge, to the final climax, the song is like a three-minute dynamic rush, with no breaks in between.

The electric guitars and strings work in harmony to drive the song's overall pop rock sound. The singer, the audience, the band. It is a song that makes everyone in the concert center feel like an audience member of each other.

*Album Specifications

- SLEEVE : 176.5*242*19.5(mm)

- PHOTO BOOK : 172*242*17(mm) / 148p

- CD-R (DISC1) : 120*120(mm)

- ACCORDION PHOTO CARD : 99*107(mm) / spread 528*107(mm) / 1 insert (image differs by version)

- MUGSHOT PHOTO CARD : 100*148(mm) / Insert 1 type (Image varies by version)

- CROSSWORD PUZZLE POSTCARD : 120*120(mm) / Insert 1 type (Image varies by version)

- LOGO STICKER : Insert 3 types (image varies by version)

- HIDDEN MESSAGE CARD : 128*182(mm) / Insert 1 type (Image varies by version)

- PHOTO CARD : 55*85(mm) / 3 types inserted (image differs by version)

# pre-order only

- PHOTO CARD : 55*85(mm) / Insert 1 random out of 2 types (Image differs by version)