''A Flower Bookmark'' () is the first cover

extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

n singer-songwriter IU. It is also her fourth Korean-language extended play. The EP was released on May 16, 2014, the singer's birthday, by

LOEN Entertainment Kakao M Corp. (; formerly Seoul Records, YBM Seoul Records and LOEN Entertainment) was a South Korean entertainment company established by Min Yeong-bin in 1978. It was one of the largest co-publisher companies in South Korea. The company opera ...

under its imprint LOEN Tree. Unlike her previous works, ''A Flower Bookmark'' features cover versions of nostalgic

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 ...

songs popularized from 1980s to 1990s. The EP was successful both commercially and critically. It spawned two

hit singles A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single, or simply hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record'' ...

; the

lead single A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. A similar term, "debut ...

"My Old Story" and "The Meaning of You". The former topped ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' K-pop Hot 100, while the latter was ranked at the top of

Gallup Korea Gallup Korea () or Gallup Korea Research Institute () is a South Korean research company. Founded by Park Moo-ik in 1974, the company became a member of Gallup International Association in 1997. It is best known for conducting public surveys o ...

's Song of the Year in 2014. In particular, the latter has gone to sell more than two million digital copies since release, even outselling the album's lead track. The EP also earned IU the Melon Music Award for Artist of the Year, and a nomination for Album of the Year. It was ranked at number three on ''

s list of Best K-pop Albums of 2014.

Background and release

''A Flower Bookmark'' consists of

cover versions In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song released ...

of nostalgic

songs popularized from 1980s to 1990s, including "My Old Story" ( Jo Deok-bae, 1985), "Flower" (

Kim Kwang-seok Kim Kwang-seok (; ; January 22, 1964 – January 6, 1996) was a popular and influential South Korean folk rock singer. He debuted in 1987 as a member of Noraereul Channeun Saramdeul, an activist folk band. He achieved widespread popularity as ...

, 1991), "Pierrot Smiles at Us" (

Kim Wan-sun Kim Wan-sun (; born May 16, 1969) is a South Korean pop singer who was known in the mid-1980s and early 1990s as the "Korean Madonna" and "the dancing queen of Korean popular music's renaissance era" as well as a sex symbol for her "sexy" dancing ...

, 1990), "When Love Passes By" (

Lee Moon-sae Lee Moon-sae (; ; born January 17, 1959) is a South Korean ballad singer who is often considered a Korean pop icon. Since his debut in 1978, he has released 16 full-length albums, including 1987's ''When Love Passes By'', which sold 2.85 million ...

, 1987), "The Meaning of You" (

Sanulrim Sanulrim (Hangul: 산울림), also spelled Sanullim, was a South Korean rock band that debuted in 1977. They are considered to be one of South Korea's most influential rock groups. The band consisted of brothers Kim Chang-wan, Kim Chang-hoon, a ...

, 1984), "Dreams in Summer Night" (

Kim Hyun-sik Kim Hyun-sik (; 7 January 1958 – 1 November 1990) was a South Korean musician, active during the 1980s. He debuted in 1980, releasing his debut studio album, ''Spring Summer Fall Winter'', along with his band of the same name. He died at the ag ...

, 1988), and "Boom Ladi Dadi" ( Clon, 1996). On May 15, a video teaser for ''A Flower Bookmark'' was uploaded on

's official

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

channel. The teaser features Kim Wan-sun, the original singer of "Pierrot Smiles at Us" (). The official

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for the title track "My Old Story" (), starring actor

Choi Woo-shik Choi Woo-shik (; born March 26, 1990) is a Canadian actor based in South Korea. He first gained recognition for starring in the film ''Set Me Free (2014 film), Set Me Free'' (2014) and the Korean drama, television series ''Hogu's Love'' (2015) ...

, was released via YouTube on the same day. The whole album was released on the following day. After the album's release, "My Old Story" reached a perfect all-kill status. A limited LP edition, featuring a bonus track "Eoheoya Dunggidunggi", was available for sale.

Critical reception

The album received critical acclaim upon release. ''

The Korea Herald ''The Korea Herald'' () is a South Korean English-language daily newspaper founded in August 1953 and published in Seoul. The editorial staff is composed of Korean and international writers and editors, with additional news coverage drawn from i ...

'' complimented the album for providing "a pleasant, calming respite from the mainstream music of today's times", and praised IU for her reinterpretations: "For every track, IU keeps a careful balance between preserving the song's original sentiments and altering the original with her own color and arrangements." ''Billboard'' highlighted the track, "Pierrot Smiles at Us" (), as the "most ambitious tune she tackled" and one that proved her diversity as a singer and called the album a "soothing mix of classic K-pop melodies". Furthermore, ''A Flower Bookmark'' was listed at number three on ''Billboards Best K-Pop Albums of 2014.

Commercial performance

As of October 2015, the album has sold 53,900 copies in South Korea and 900 in Japan.Sales references for ''A Flower Bookmark'': * (subscription only) As of , the album has sold over 91,935 physical copies with its tracks recording a total of over six million digital downloads.

Accolades

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Year-end charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Use in media

* "The Meaning of You" () was featured on

SK Telecom SK Telecom Co., Ltd., abbreviated as SKT ( or ) is a South Korean wireless telecommunications operator and former film distributor and is part of the SK Group, one of the country's largest chaebols. It leads the local market with 50.5 perce ...

's corporate advertisement.

Release history

Footnotes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Flower Bookmark 2014 EPs Covers EPs IU (singer) EPs Korean-language EPs Kakao M EPs

Background and release

Critical reception

Commercial performance

Accolades

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Year-end charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Use in media

Release history

See also

Footnotes

References

External links