Aboutzu
Aboutzu is the debut extended play by Taiwanese singer Tzuyu of the girl group Twice. It was released on September 6, 2024, through JYP Entertainment and Republic Records. The EP contains six tracks, including the lead single "Run Away" and collaborations with Peniel of BtoB and rapper pH-1.
Background
In 2023, the decision was made that Tzuyu would debut as a soloist, with recording and production beginning in February 2024. On August 2, 2024, JYP Entertainment released an opening trailer for Aboutzu to publicly announce Tzuyu's solo debut. Throughout August and early September, various teasers and other promotional content were distributed in anticipation of the EP's release on September 6. The official music video for the lead single "Run Away" came out on the same day as the EP. In an interview with Rolling Stone, also published on September 6, Tzuyu explained that she has long had the desire to release her own album and that she hopes listeners will learn more about her true personality through her music. Tzuyu was the third member of Twice to launch a solo music career, following Nayeon in 2022 and Jihyo in 2023.Title
The title Aboutzu is a combination of the English word "about" and the first three letters of the singer's name Tzuyu, symbolizing that the EP reflects all aspects of herself. The text "abouTZU" on the EP's cover art can also be read as "chouTZU" to represent her full name Chou Tzuyu.Composition
The lead single "Run Away" is a synth-pop and disco-pop song composed by Andrea Rosario, Elsa Curran, Davin Kingston, and Johnny Simpson, with lyrics written by Park Jin-young. Pyo Kyung-min of The Korea Times, reporting from a pre-release press conference, said that the song "features nostalgia-evoking piano melodies in the intro and a bold synth bass for the chorus, evoking a sound reminiscent of the late 2000s to mid-2010s". Next on the track list are collaborations with Peniel of BtoB in "Heartbreak in Heaven" and rapper pH-1 in "Lazy Baby", before the EP continues with the solo tracks "Losing Sleep" and "One Love". Tzuyu wrote the lyrics for the final song "Fly", a ballad that tells her own story.Commercial performance
Pre-order sales of Aboutzu reportedly reached 467,500 copies worldwide. In South Korea, the EP debuted at number 3 on the Circle Album Chart for the week ending September 7, with 284,844 copies sold. In the United States, the EP debuted at number 19 on the Billboard 200 for the chart dated September 21, with 24,000 album-equivalent units, including 22,000 physical album sales as reported by the music data tracking firm Luminate.Track listing
Personnel
Credits adapted from album liner notes.Musicians
- Tzuyu – lead vocals
- Sophia Pae – background vocals
- Johnny Simpson – piano, keyboard, programming
- Davin Kingston – piano, keyboard
- Peniel – featured vocals
- Lostboy – keyboards, programming, guitars, bass, drums
- Marky Style – instrumentation
- Shayon Daniels – instrumentation
- Nicci Funicelli – instrumentation
- pH-1 – featured vocals, background vocals
- Tre Jean-Marie – drums, bass, programming, synthesizer
- George Tizzard – guitar, drums, keyboard
- Rick Parkhouse – bass, programming, piano
- pdly – programming
- Kim Woo-sang – programming, piano
- Shiry – guitar
- Sophia Pae – vocal directing for Tzuyu
- Lee Kyung-won – digital editing
- Seo Eun-il – recording
- Im Chan-mi – recording
- Lee Tae-seop – mixing
- Kwon Nam-woo – mastering
- Shin Bong-won – Dolby Atmos mixing
- Park Nam-joon – digital editing, Dolby Atmos mixing assistance
- Lee Seon-yu – vocal directing for Peniel
- Gu Hye-jin – digital editing, recording for Tzuyu
- Kim Dong-il – recording for Peniel
- Park Eun-jeong – mixing
- Im Chan-mi – recording
- Lee Sang-yeop – digital editing, recording for Tzuyu
- pH-1 – recording for pH-1
- Choi Hye-jin – mixing
- Eom Se-hee – mixing
- Im Hong-jin – mixing
Charts