''Agassy'' () is the debut

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 ...

by South Korean singer

Soojin Seo Soo-jin (; born March 9, 1998), better known mononymously as Soojin, is a South Korean singer, dancer, and rapper. She is a former member of the South Korean girl group I-dle under Cube Entertainment. After she left the group in 2021, she ...

. It was released by BRD Communications on November 8, 2023. The EP contains six tracks, including 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 ...

of the same name. Soojin conceived ''Agassy'' as "a whole new blend" of the singer's qualities, featuring "a more mature scent" and combining various genres. Commercially, it peaked at number seven on the

Circle Chart The Circle Chart (), previously known as the Gaon Music Chart or the Gaon Chart (), tabulates the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in South Korea. Founded in 2010, it is produced by the Korea Music Content Association and sponsored ...

. To promote the mini album, Soojin embarked on the ''Flowering'' tour in February 2024.

Background and release

On March 4, 2021,

Cube Entertainment Cube Entertainment Inc. () is a South Korean entertainment company. The company operates as a record label, talent agency, music production company, event management and concert production company, and music publishing house. Cube are known for h ...

announced that

, then member of the South Korean girl group

(G)I-dle I-dle (; stylized in all lowercase), formerly known as (G)I-dle (), is a South Korean girl group formed by Cube Entertainment in 2018. The group consists of five members: Miyeon, Minnie (singer), Minnie, Soyeon, Yuqi, and Shuhua. Originally a se ...

, would temporarily halt all activities due to bullying allegations by former classmates, that were later found to be false. In August 2021, the singer had officially withdrawn from the group and label. Following the news, Soojin "remained largely out of the public eye". On June 30, 2023, almost 2 years after her departure from the group, Soojin opened up a personal

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

account, hinting at a possible return to the entertainment industry. On October 16, it was reported that the singer had signed an exclusive contract with the record label BRD Communications. This was followed by a statement that Soojin was "quietly preparing to make a solo comeback". A "

monochrome A monochrome or monochromatic image, object or palette is composed of one color (or values of one color). Images using only shades of grey are called grayscale (typically digital) or black-and-white (typically analog). In physics, mon ...

" dance performance video, titled "Black Forest", was released on October 25. It features the singer performing a "

contemporary dance Contemporary dance is a genre of Concert dance, dance performance that developed during the mid-twentieth century and has since grown to become one of the dominant genres for formally trained dancers throughout the world, with particularly stron ...

to dramatic instrumental music, before she is joined by two masked backup dancers in the second half". On October 26, BRD announced that the singer would be releasing her debut extended play, titled ''Agassy'', on November 8. On November 1, the track listing for the EP was released with the title track announced as the

. On November 3, a highlight medley featuring snippets of the six tracks was published. Teasers for the music video for the title track were released on November 6 and 7. On November 8, 2023, ''Agassy'' was released along with the music video for its title track.

Aesthetics

On October 26, Soojin released a concept trailer for the mini album. In the video, she is seen wearing traditional Korean clothing, such as a

hanbok The hanbok () is the traditional clothing of the Koreans, Korean people. The term ''hanbok'' is primarily used by South Koreans; North Koreans refer to the clothes as (). The clothes are also worn in the Korean diaspora. Koryo-saram—ethnic Ko ...

dress and

binyeo A (; ) is a Koreans, Korean traditional hairpin for fixing ladies' chignon (hairstyle), chignons. Its main purpose is to pin the chignon in place, but it also serves as ornamentation, and it has different usages or names according to its materia ...

. Nayoung Kim of ''MK Sports'' noted that singer shows a "limitless ability to digest concepts" and "ever-changing facial expressions and mature charm" in the concept photos. Jeon Jae-kyung of ''Newsis'' praised the way Soojin "create various moods" from "charming and chic" to "innocent and lovely".

Development

In an interview with ''Xport News'', Soojin stated that ''Agassy'' is a "a whole new blend of er ualities- both pure and enchanting, as well as charismatic and mysterious". Furthermore, she added: "Before, I have shown rather charismatic and strong sides of myself, but this time, I decided to reveal a different side of myself. I hope that my fans and audiences will be able to enjoy a completely different version of me". The singer described the fifth track, "Sunset", as the one " he ismost attached to" since it "allowed erto imagine the journey of meeting fans in a delightful way" when she heard it for the first time.

Composition

The standard edition of ''Agassy'' consists of six tracks and incorporates various genres such as

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

, R&B and K-ballad. Described as "a new beginning for Soojin", the extended play solidifies the singer's position as a solo artist by showing off her "unique strengths" and "unrivaled musical color" that contains "a more mature scent". The tracks on the mini album were written and composed by a variety of songwriter-producers: Yuth, Rhode, Suen, Kim Chae Ah, Flip_00, Ellui, Josh Grant and

Alisa Xayalith Alisa Xayalith (born 24 August 1986) is a New Zealand musician best known as the lead vocalist, guitarist, and Electronic keyboard, keyboard player for the indie electronic band the Naked and Famous. Early life Xayalith, the daughter of Laos, ...

, among others.

Songs

The opening song, "Flowering", lyrically depicts "flowers blooming in warm sunlight". Its melody consists of a guitar and strings, which evoke "a languid yet strange sense of tension". The title track is characterized by oriental sound instruments and combines Soojin's "unique color with the strange feeling of crossing the past and present". The third song, "Sunflower", expresses the experience of "falling head first in love" and "developing deep emotions for someone", comparing it to "a sunflower blooming within he singer. "TyTy" is a "bright" and "catchy" track that shows "gratitude" to a person who protects the singer "without saying a word" and "no matter what happens". Musically, the song is built around "twinkling synths skip" in the hook and features a "wispy, layered falsettos" in the vocal delivery. Followed by "Sunset", a "hazy" R&B track that is sung in "an alto register" over a bossanova rhythm. It features "poetic" lyrics about "watching the sun set beneath the horizon". The sixth track, "Bloodredroses", is a "melancholic note" that expresses the pain of the dissolution of a romantic relationship. Eventually, Soojin "acknowledg sthe trials and tribulations" she had to face and "finds the space to accept that she has grown because and in spite of them".

Critical reception

Carmen Chin writing for ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' described the extended play as "a captivating love letter to herself" and "a testament to her strength in returning to what does best". She concluded that "even if 'Agassy''tends to play it safe with run-of-the-mill production - underscores the potential Soojin has always held and puts it on display for the world to see once again".

Promotion

On November 10, 2023, it was announced that Soojin would "focus on her overseas activities rather than the domestic ones". The singer opted for hosting fan signing events and communicating with fans via

social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...

. On November 20, Soojin performed the title track at the

Naver Naver (; stylized as NAVER) is a South Korean online platform operated by the Naver Corporation. The company's products include a search engine, email hosting, blogs, maps, and mobile payment. History Naver was the first Korean web provide ...

's Playlist ''NPOP''. On December 13 and 14, the singer held her first fan meet and greet at the Cutup Studio in Tower Records

Shibuya is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward in Tokyo, Japan. A major commercial center, Shibuya houses one of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shibuya Station. As of January 1, 2024, Shibuya Ward has an estimated population of 230,60 ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Tour

On December 6, the singer announced that she would embark on the ''Flowering'' tour across Oceania, in February, 2024. The tour began on February 11, 2024, at the

Great Hall A great hall is the main room of a royal palace, castle or a large manor house or hall house in the Middle Ages. It continued to be built in the country houses of the 16th and early 17th centuries, although by then the family used the great cha ...

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

Setlist

# Black Forest (Dance performance) # Agassy # bloodredroses # But I Am A Good Girl (

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera ( , ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter, actress and television personality. Recognized as Cultural impact of Christina Aguilera, an influential figure in music and having received Public imag ...

song) (Dance performance) # Sunset

= Encore

= # TyTy # Sunflower

Commercial performance

''Agassy'' debuted at number eight 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, ...

with 66,463 sold in less than five days of tracking. On the chart issued December 3–9, 2023, the EP reached a new peak at number seven. On December 13, the mini album exceeded 100,000 copies sold on the Hanteo Chart.

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Sale figures

Release history

References

{{reflist 2023 debut EPs Korean-language EPs 2020s Korean-language albums Dance-pop albums by South Korean artists Contemporary R&B albums by South Korean artists Soojin EPs