The First Scene
The First Scene is the debut extended play by South Korean singer Yuri. It was released on October 4, 2018 by SM Entertainment and distributed by IRIVER. The album debuted at number two on the Gaon Album Chart in its first week and also charted at number ten on Billboards World Albums chart.
Background
The First Scene was recorded between 2017 and 2018 and was difficult to prepare due to Yuri's tight schedule with her acting career, reality TV filming and various activities with her group, Girls' Generation. In January 2018, after the release of her single "Always Find You" featuring DJ Raiden, Yuri addressed her fans' requests for a solo album on the SBS Power FM radio show Park So Hyun's Love Game and stated that "the timing wasn't right" but she's "always thinking about it and preparing for it". She then said that if they're willing to wait, she will "release one at any time". On September 20, it was reported that the singer was planning on making her solo debut, 11 years into her career, through the release of an album which was subsequently confirmed by a source from her label SM Entertainment.On September 27, SM Entertainment posted a series of teasers for the album on their official SNS accounts, which Forbes stated exuded "confident sensuality" that would have been unthinkable years ago when the group's "brand of peppy girlishness was at its peak". Yuri wanted her album to reflect her personal image in her group, so she made sure it showed "sexiness, femininity and beauty". A timeline for the remaining teasers and the release of the album was also included, along with some details about the extended play which will contain six tracks, including the lead single "Into You ". Yonhap News also reported that Yuri planned on doing active promotions for the album. The album was released on October 4, 2018.
Composition
Tamar Herman of Billboard described the title track "Into You" as "a rhythmic dance track with a captivating melody". She also wrote that throughout the song, Yuri "plays up her airy tone, vacillating between piano-backed croons and dramatic belts over whirring synths as she pulls back and lets loose, letting her vocals blend with pulsating, rumbling beats, and one-off quirks, like the popping sound of a champagne bottle being opened, to create a soundscape of a dreamy night out". At her debut showcase on October 4, Yuri revealed that the Girls' Generation unit Oh!GG's debut song "Lil' Touch", which was released the previous month and Yuri was also a part of, was one of the two choices for her debut single but the company ultimately went with "Into You" since "Lil' Touch" was faster and would fit a group more.Herman characterized the second track "Illusion" as a groovy dance track, "C'est La Vie! " as a creeping retro-pop track, "Butterfly" as a bossa nova song and "Chapter 2" as a ballad.