"Either Way" is a song recorded by South Korean girl group

Ive Ive or IVE may refer to: Music * Ive (group), a South Korean girl group * I've Sound (aka "I've"), a Japanese musical group People * Ive (given name), a Croatian and Slovenian given name * Bert Ive (1875–1939), British-born Australian cinema ...

. It was released by

Starship Entertainment Starship Entertainment () is a South Korean entertainment company founded in 2008 and became an independent subsidiary of Kakao Entertainment in 2013. It is also called one of the "five major agencies" in the pop music world, with SM Entertainm ...

as the first single from the group's first Korean extended play ''

I've Mine ''I've Mine'' is the first Korean-language extended play music album and second overall by South Korean girl group Ive. It was released by Starship Entertainment on October 13, 2023, and contains six tracks, including three singles: " Either Way ...

'' on September 25, 2023.

Background and release

On September 3, 2023, Starship Entertainment announced Ive would be releasing their second extended play ''I've Mine'' on October 13. It was also announced that ''I've Mine'' would have three singles with "Either Way" pre-released on September 25, "Off the Record" pre-released on October 6, and "Baddie" scheduled to be released together with the extended play on October 13. The song was released alongside its music video on September 25.

Composition

"Either Way" was written by

Sunwoo Jung-a Sunwoo Jung-a (, born May 11, 1985), stylized as Sunwoojunga, is a South Korean musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer who has worked with numerous Korean artists including IU (singer), IU, Suran (singer), Suran, GD & TOP, 2NE1, Lee ...

, composed and arranged by Ryan S. Jhun, and Luke Fitton, with

Lauren Aquilina Lauren Amber Aquilina (born 23 June 1995) is a Maltese-English singer-songwriter, and musician. Born in Bristol, she gained popularity by independently releasing a trilogy of EPs (''Fools'', ''Sinners'', and ''Liars'') whilst studying at school ...

, and Liam O'Donnell participating in the composition. It was described as a song with "a dreamy synth and lyrical atmosphere" with lyrics about "being free from other people's gaze". "Either Way" was composed in the key of

A-flat major A-flat major is a major scale based on A♭ (musical note), A, with the pitches A, B♭ (musical note), B, C (musical note), C, D♭ (musical note), D, E♭ (musical note), E, F (musical note), F, and G (musical note), G. Its key signature has fou ...

, 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 123 beats per minute.

Commercial performance

"Either Way" debuted at number 14 on South Korea's

Circle Digital Chart The Circle Digital Chart, previously known as the Gaon Digital Chart, is the music industry standard record chart ranking the 200 most popular singles in South Korea. It provides rankings on a weekly, monthly, and yearly basis, which is based on ...

in the chart issue dated September 24–30, 2023. The song ascended to number three in the chart issue dated October 15–21, 2023, It also debuted at number ten on the ''

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 ...

'' South Korea Songs in the chart issue dated October 14, 2023. In Japan, the song debuted at number 80 on the ''

Billboard Japan ''Billboard Japan'' is a sister organization of the U.S.-based music magazine '' Billboard''. It is operated by the Japanese Osaka-based company Hanshin Contents Link (a subsidiary of Hanshin Electric Railway), holding an exclusive licence fr ...

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

in the chart issue dated October 4, 2023. In Singapore, "Either Way" debuted at number 27 on the RIAS Top Streaming Chart in the chart issue dated September 29 – October 5, 2023. It also debuted at number 22 on the RIAS Top Regional Chart in the chart issue dated September 22–28, 2023, ascending to number ten in the following week. In Hong Kong, the song debuted at number 21 on the ''Billboard'' Hong Kong Songs in the chart issue dated October 14, 2023. In Taiwan, the song debuted at number 24 on the ''Billboard'' Taiwan Songs in the chart issue dated October 14, 2023. In the United States, "Either Way" debuted at number eight on the ''Billboard''

World Digital Song Sales The World Digital Song Sales chart (formerly World Digital Songs) is a weekly record chart compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published by ''Billboard'' magazine. Established in 2010—its first issue was dated January 23—as one of 21 genre-speci ...

in the chart issue dated October 7, 2023. In New Zealand, the song debuted at number 38 on the

RMNZ Recorded Music NZ (formerly the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ)) is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell recorded music in New Zealand. Membership of Recorded Mus ...

Hot Singles in the chart issue dated October 2, 2023. Globally, the song debuted at number 177 on the ''Billboard''

Global 200 The Global 200 is the list of ecoregions identified by the World Wide Fund for Nature ( WWF), the global conservation organization, as priorities for conservation. According to WWF, an ecoregion is defined as a "relatively large unit of land or w ...

in the chart issue dated October 14, 2023, ascending to number 160 in the chart issue dated October 28, 2023. It also debuted at number 182 on the ''Billboard'' Global Excl. U.S. in the chart issue dated October 7, 2023, ascending to number 86 in the chart issue dated October 28, 2023.

Music video

The music video directed by Yoo Kwang-goong was released alongside the song by Starship Entertainment on September 25. Shot on

film stock Film stock is an analog medium that is used for recording motion pictures or animation. It is recorded on by a movie camera, developed, edited, and projected onto a screen using a movie projector. It is a strip or sheet of transparent pl ...

cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera ...

Han Da-som, the "

coming of age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...

" visual depicts "the members' finding their true self amidst misunderstandings caused by the gazes of countless others" with scenes that switches between "the member's everyday life and fantasy space".

Accolades

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

{{Ive (group) Ive (group) songs 2023 songs 2023 singles Starship Entertainment singles Songs in Korean Songs written by Ryan S. Jhun Songs written by Lauren Aquilina Kakao Entertainment singles