Minisode1: Blue Hour
Minisode1: Blue Hour is the third extended play by South Korean boy band Tomorrow X Together. It was released through Big Hit Entertainment and Republic Records on October 26, 2020, five months after its predecessor, The Dream Chapter: Eternity.
The album consists of five tracks, including the lead single "Blue Hour", all of which have been co-written by the band members. The band worked with various writers for the album, including British singer-songwriter Charli XCX on the track "We Lost the Summer". As a disco, rock, and R&B album that experiments with indie-rock, nu-gaze, dancehall, and pop rock, Minisode1: Blue Hour features production from El Capitxn, Slow Rabbit, Pdogg, Sam Klempner, and Shin Kung. Written and recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic, the album lyrically narrates the emotions from the perspective of a teenager who has faced changes in his life. The album's artwork and visuals illustrate the connection that can be felt through online communication despite being physically far.
Minisode1: Blue Hour received generally favourable reviews from music critics, with praise towards the emotional narrative. Commercially, the album debuted at number three on South Korea's Gaon Album Chart, selling over 300,000 copies in its first week. The EP entered the US Billboard 200 chart at number 25, becoming the band's highest-charting album in the country. It charted at number one on the Japanese Oricon Albums Chart, becoming the band's second consecutive chart-topper, and also entered Billboard Japan's Hot Albums at number two. To promote the album, Tomorrow X Together appeared on several South Korean music programs including M Countdown, Music Bank, and Show Champion.
Background
Following the conclusion of the three-part "Dream Chapter" series which depicted stories of growth, Big Hit Entertainment posted a motion graphic video on YouTube and Weverse on September 21, 2020, which revealed that Tomorrow X Together would be releasing their third EP, Minisode1: Blue Hour the following month. According to press release, the EP serves as "a short episode told by Tomorrow X Together before they progress into their next series." In an interview with Teen Vogue, the band revealed that the album was written and recorded entirely during the COVID-19 pandemic.Music and lyrics
Minisode1: Blue Hour consists of five songs written from the perspective of a teenager who is "isolated and lost in emotions amid the unprecedented pandemic." The songwriting is characterized by hopefulness, loneliness, unfamiliarity, loss of routine, desperation, empathy, and connection. It explores the "conflicts of reality and reflects on the current need for a pause in real life." Minisode1: Blue Hour is primarily a disco, rock, R&B album that experiments with several other genres.The opening track, "Ghosting" is a nostalgic indie-rock and '80s nu-gaze soft ballad. It begins with vocal harmonies and vintage sound in the chorus before advancing in a melodic arrangement of electric guitars and synthesizers. Lyrically, the track addresses the titular phrase of "ghosting" or "being ghosted" and narrates the confusion and disheartenment of being detached from the world. Soobin and Taehyun co-penned the lyrics of the track with indie-pop singer Lennon Stella.
The title track, "Blue Hour" is an uptempo disco and dance track that has a synth-indebted sound. It is the group's first attempt at disco. Co-composed by Slow rabbit and Bang Si-hyuk, the production employs funky four-on-the-floor beats, rhythm guitars, and groovy and booming bass beats. Driven by electric guitars in the bridges and bass-filled dance breaks in the segments, the soft and breezy track features smooth vocals from the band. The song's Korean title is a reference to the time 5:53 PM, which is the golden hour in the city of Seoul in the month of October. Metaphoric to the complex colors of the sky just before the sunset, the lyrics celebrate "the desire to revisit beautiful past memories via one's imagination." Explaining further on the theme in an interview with Elle, Soobin stated, "The scene is mesmerizing, but it's also too dark to recognize and 'know' the people around us, including our friends. There are concepts of unfamiliarity in familiar surroundings; the song expresses a message: even though we may feel solitude in these times, we will continue to hope we still feel the same way as one another.
The third track, "We Lost the Summer" is a dancehall number with tropical influences, that was co-written by British singer-songwriter Charli XCX. Backed by guitar, the track takes on a "sunny" production despite delivering a "melancholic" message. Inspired by the 1998 Korean pop song "Arcade" by Han's Band, which focussed on the financial crisis of Korea in the '90s, "We Lost the Summer" parallelly speaks of "teenagers who face a world flipped upside down due to the pandemic." Beomgyu explained, "Many teenagers could no longer go to school and hang out with each other, passing notes, sharing earbuds, and so on. It's our story but it's still a subject that teens all over the world can relate to. It's the teen perspective and we wanted to address it through our music." The fourth track, "Wishlist" is an uplifting and anthemic guitar-driven pop-rock song, co-written by Huening Kai, Taehyun and Yeonjun. Lyrically, it portrays the story of a boy who prepares a gift for his love. The closing track, "Way Home" is a future R&B song knitted with a soft vocals, trap beats, rhythmic drums, and synthesizer harmonies. Exhibiting a sombre melody, it marks a departure from the signature bright and cheery sound of the band. The song captures the loneliness of a boy walking back from school and emphasises the need of companionship. According to Yeonjun, the track is about "a belief that regardless of uncertainties we may feel, we will still be together as long as we remember one another."
Title and artwork
The phrase "Blue Hour" in the title of the album is eponymous and alludes to the "story about boys who are forced to stand at the brink of the real world during the blue hour." In the lead-up to the release of the album, the band teased three versions of concept photos: R, VR and AR. Version R portrayed "the members virtually together but by themselves in an online space." The VR version rendered the band "in a limitless virtual space reflective of today’s online-dominant lifestyle." Version AR illustrated "the gap between their isolation at home and the places they would rather be."Release and promotion
On September 21, 2020, Minisode1: Blue Hour was made available for pre-order in three versions: R, VR and AR, that were packaged in blue, pink and purple pastels, respectively. On September 29, version R of concept photos for the album was released in conjunction with a pixel art teaser. The VR and AR versions of concept photos were released on October 6 and 8, respectively. The EP's track list was revealed on October 9. From October 12 to 16, individual video teasers of each member were uploaded to YouTube. The first group teaser for the music video of the album's lead single "Blue Hour" was released on October 18, followed by a second teaser on October 20. A preview of the tracks featured on the EP was released on October 23. The EP was released on October 26, 2020, in CD and digital formats. The music video for the lead single "Blue Hour", directed by Guzza of Lumpens, was released to Big Hit's YouTube channel in conjunction with the release of the album. A performance version of the video was released on November 9, 2020.A few hours prior to the album release, the band held a media showcase at the Yes24 Live Hall, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, which was broadcast online through YouTube. Hours after the album's release, a special "Comeback Show", hosted by Mnet was premiered live worldwide, where they performed "Blue Hour" for the first time. On October 27, the band appeared as guests on KBS Cool FM. A dance challenge with the hashtag "#BlueHour_Moment" was started on TikTok the same day. The group appeared on the October 28 episode of the variety show Weekly Idol. Tomorrow X Together began promoting the album with televised live performances on several South Korean weekly music programs, starting with Mnet's M! Countdown on October 29, where they performed "Blue Hour". The band also appeared on KBS' Music Bank, SBS MTV's The Show, MBC M's Show Champion, and SBS' Inkigayo, to perform the song. They performed "Blue Hour" and "We Lost the Summer" on Kakao TV's Comeback Show MU:Talk Live on November 2. In the second week of promotion, "Blue Hour" won first place on The Show on November 3. The band appeared on SBS Power FM's Cultwo Show on November 8, where they performed "Blue Hour". The band performed "Blue Hour" on Genius's "Open Mic" and MBC FM4U's Kim Shin-Young's Hope Song at Noon on November 17 and November 19, respectively.
Tomorrow X Together released a group teaser for the music video of the album track "We Lost the Summer" on November 10, 2020. Solo photo stills and video teasers were unveiled on November 12 and 13, respectively. The song's music video was released to YouTube on November 13.