"Copycat" is a song recorded by South Korean duo Apink Chobom. It was released on July 12, 2022, by

IST Entertainment IST Entertainment () is a South Korean entertainment company under Beyond Music. History Plan A Entertainment In 2011, A Cube Entertainment was established as an independent label of Cube Entertainment. A Cube signed its first solo artist Huh ...

and

Kakao Entertainment Kakao Entertainment Corp. () is a South Korean entertainment, mass media, and publishing company founded in 2021. A subsidiary of the Internet company Kakao, it was established subsequent to the merger of the latter's two subsidiaries KakaoPa ...

as their debut single on a

single album In music, a single is a type of release of a song recording of fewer tracks than an album ( LP), typically one or two tracks. A single can be released for sale to the public in a variety of physical or digital formats. Singles may be standa ...

of the same name. Written by

Jo Yoon-kyung Jo Yoon-kyung () is a South Korean lyricist and writer. She has written primarily for SM Entertainment artists such as BoA, Girls' Generation, Shinee, Exo, NCT, Red Velvet, and Aespa. In 2017, she won Lyricist of the Year at the Gaon Chart ...

and composed by Kella Armitage, GG Ramirez, and Jurek, "Copycat" has been described as a

nu-disco Nu-disco is a 21st-century dance music genre associated with a renewed interest in the late 1970s disco, synthesizer-heavy 1980s European dance music styles, and early 1990s electronic dance music. The genre was popular in the early 2000s, and exp ...

style

K-pop K-pop (; an abbreviation of "Korean popular music") is a form of popular music originating in South Korea. It emerged in the 1990s as a form of youth subculture, with Korean musicians taking influence from Western Electronic dance music, danc ...

song.

Background and release

Chorong Park Cho-rong (; born March 3, 1991), better known mononymously as Chorong, is a South Korean singer, songwriter and actress. She is best known as the leader of the South Korean girl group Apink. Early life Park Cho-rong was born in Cheongju, ...

stated that the unit Apink Chobom was formed because she had heard of her resemblance to Bomi since

Apink Apink (; ) is a South Korean girl group formed by IST Entertainment, (formerly Play M Entertainment, A Cube Entertainment, and Plan A Entertainment) and managed by Choi Creative Lab as of April 2024. The group debuted on April 19, 2011, with the ...

's debut, and "thought it would be fun for the two of us to form a unit". They began preparing for their debut following the end of Apink's activities for "

Dilemma A dilemma () is a problem offering two possibilities, neither of which is unambiguously acceptable or preferable. The possibilities are termed the ''horns'' of the dilemma, a clichéd usage, but distinguishing the dilemma from other kinds of p ...

". On June 22, 2022,

announced that Apink Chobom would be releasing their debut single album ''Copycat'' on July 12. "Copycat" was released as scheduled on that day and was distributed by

. The music video for "Copycat" was directed by Wanda and featured choreography from Kiel Tutin and Yoon Mi-yeon. Apink Chobom held a fan showcase on July 12, where the duo performed "Oscar" and "Copycat". It was hosted by Apink members

Kim Nam-joo Kim Nam-joo may refer to: * Kim Nam-joo (actress) (born 1971), South Korean actress known for ''Model'' * Kim Nam-joo (singer) Kim Nam-joo (; born April 15, 1995), also known mononymously as Namjoo, is a South Korean singer and actress. She ...

and

Oh Ha-young Oh Ha-young (; born July 19, 1996), also known by her mononym Hayoung, is a South Korean singer and actress. She is best known as a member of the South Korean girl group Apink. Life and career 1996–2011: Early life and debut with Apink Oh H ...

, and

Jung Eun-ji Jung Eun-ji (; born Jung Hye-rim on August 18, 1993), is a South Korean singer-songwriter and actress. She is best known as the vocalist of the South Korean girl group Apink. Renowned for her powerful vocals, she possesses perfect pitch and has ...

also made an appearance. To promote "Copycat", Apink Chobom performed the song on music programs like '' The Show''.

Composition

"Copycat" was written by

and composed by Kella Armitage, GG Ramirez, and Jurek. It has been described as

style and

. In the middle of the song the melody briefly shifts from

disco-pop Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describes ...

to a familiar K-pop melody. Lyrically, it describes a "'mischievous imitator' that wants to copy everything of his or her loved one". "Copycat" was composed in the key of

B major B major is a major scale based on B. The pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A are all part of the B major scale. Its key signature has five sharps. Its relative minor is G-sharp minor, its parallel minor is B minor, and its enharmonic equi ...

, with a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...

of 112 beats per minute. "Oscar" depicts lovers that act out lies, and uses the sound of windshield wipers and

synth A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

s. "Feel Something" describes "the first steps of Chobom".

Critical reception

Writing for '' Weverse Magazine'', Na Won-young described "Copycat" as "essentially a study of what makes an

track categorically Apink: a combination of dense

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that came to prominence in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mos ...

, a subtle groove and a pop melody." Na also highlighted "Feel Something", writing that it "comes across as two separate tracks rather than an interconnected unit, while at the same time hinting at what makes this pair a duo and a subunit within a larger group". ''

IZM ''IZM'' () is a South Korean online magazine that publishes pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom.S. Frith, W. Straw, and J. Stre ...

s Jeong Da-yeol compared "Copycat" to

Doja Cat Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini (born October 21, 1995), known professionally as Doja Cat (), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer. Born and raised in Los Angeles, California, she began making and releasing music on SoundCl ...

and

SZA Solána Imani Rowe (born November 8, 1989), known professionally as SZA ( ), is an American singer-songwriter. Known for her diaristic lyrics and genre explorations, she has been credited as a prominent figure in influencing contemporary R& ...

's "

Kiss Me More "Kiss Me More" is a song by American rapper and singer Doja Cat featuring American singer SZA from the former's third studio album ''Planet Her'' (2021). It was released on April 9, 2021, as the album's lead single through Kemosabe and RCA Rec ...

" and noted the

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

beat change in the second half of the song. Jeong also noted the "

kitsch ''Kitsch'' ( ; loanword from German) is a term applied to art and design that is perceived as Naivety, naïve imitation, overly eccentric, gratuitous or of banal Taste (sociology), taste. The modern avant-garde traditionally opposed kitsch ...

y twin concept" that highlighted the duo's energy.

Commercial performance

The single album ''Copycat'' sold 31,177 copies in its first week, with the physical album ranking 10th and the digital version ranking 25th on the

Circle Album Chart The Circle Album Chart, previously known as the Gaon Album Chart, is a record chart ranking the 100 most popular albums, extended plays and single albums in South Koreabased on their Record sales, physical sales. It is a part of the Circle Chart, ...

. It sold 9,858 copies in the subsequent two weeks.

Track listing

References

{{Apink Apink songs 2022 debut singles 2022 songs Songs in Korean Kakao Entertainment singles Songs with lyrics by Jo Yoon-kyung