Guilty (Taemin EP)
Guilty is the fourth Korean extended play by South Korean singer Taemin. It was released on October 30, 2023, through SM Entertainment. The EP is Taemin's first release since being discharged from military service. It consists of six songs, including the lead single, "Guilty".
Background
Taemin's third Korean EP, Advice, was released in May 2021, shortly prior to his mandatory enlistment in the South Korean military. He completed his military service in April 2023. On October 10, SM Entertainment confirmed that Taemin would release his fourth EP later that month, bringing his two-year hiatus to an end. In an interview with Luxury magazine, Taemin said that he took inspiration for the EP from Georges Bataille's 1957 book L'Erotisme. He stated that it would reflect on past chapters of his career, and described it as "an album where I walk on a tightrope to see how far I can go".Composition
The EP contains six songs of various genres. Lead single "Guilty" describes a selfish love that hurts others, incorporating strings and "dynamic" synths. "The Rizzness" is a hip hop track with 808 bass kick, strong synth bass, organ and electric guitar tremolo sounds. The song implores those who are easily swayed by the words of others to listen to their own voices. "She Loves Me, She Loves Me Not" is a hip hop-based song that compares the moment love ends to the wilting of flower petals. It utilises guitar riffs and retro synth sounds to create a lonely atmosphere. Alternative pop song "Not Over You" features "dreamy" chords, rhythmic drums and emotional vocals. It is about being unable to accept a break-up, and expresses feelings of suffering and longing. "Night Away" uses a soft guitar melody and synths to evoke warmth. The lyrics describe happy moments with a lover. Finally, "Blue" contains a hopeful message, likening the realisation of long-awaited dreams to blue light.Release and promotion
Guilty was announced on October 10, 2023, through the release of a teaser image showing a person's feet stood next to a white T-shirt strewn across the floor. Pre-orders began the same day. On October 13, Taemin uploaded a "photo dump" to social media, depicting scenery such as deserts, swimming pools and streets. He released a variety of online promotional content, including mood clips, teaser images and trailers. Newspaper sheets containing the album artwork were distributed throughout Seoul from October 25 to October 27. Taemin hosted a livestream through various social media platforms on October 30 to count down to the album's release. He held a concert titled Metamorph at the Inspire Arena in Incheon in December.Critical reception
Track listing
Personnel
- Taemin – vocals, background vocals
- Deez – vocal directing
- Kriz – background vocals
- Kole – background vocals
- Park In-yeong – strings arrangement, string recording directing, strings conducting
- Moon Jeong-jae – string recording directing
- SM Classics Town Orchestra – strings
- Jeong Yu-ra – recording, digital editing, mixing
- Jeong Gi-hong – recording
- Choi Da-in – recording
- Lee Chan-mi – recording
- Kim Cheol-sun – mixing
- Rick Bridges – vocal directing
- Manifest – background vocals
- Landon Sears – background vocals
- Lee Min-gyu – digital editing, recording
- Jeong Eui-seok – mixing
- Maxx Song – vocal directing
- Oiaisle – background vocals
- Junny – background vocals
- Lee Ji-hong – digital editing
- An Chang-gyu – digital editing
- Woo Min-jeong – digital editing
- Gu Jong-pil – mixing, Dolby Atmos mixing
- 4bout – vocal directing
- No Min-ji – recording, digital editing
- minGtion – vocal directing
- Breland – background vocals
- Kim Jin-hwan – vocal directing
- Will Jay – background vocals
- Lucas Szulansky – background vocals
- Kang Eun-ji – recording
- Nam Gung-jin – mixing
- Kwon Nam-woo – mastering
Charts