''Electric Shock'' is the second

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 ...

(EP) by South Korean girl group f(x). The EP was released digitally on June 10, 2012, and released physically on June 13, 2012, under SM Entertainment. The EP's title track, "

Electric Shock An electrical injury (electric injury) or electrical shock (electric shock) is damage sustained to the skin or internal organs on direct contact with an electric current. The injury depends on the Current density, density of the current, tissu ...

", as well as the EP, reached the top spot on the weekly

Gaon Chart Gaon may refer to * Gaon (Hebrew), a non-formal title given to certain Jewish Rabbis ** Geonim, presidents of the two great Talmudic Academies of Sura and Pumbedita ** Vilna Gaon, known as ''the'' Gaon of Vilnius * Gaon Music Chart, record cha ...

s. The EP sold a total of more than 70,000 copies in South Korea.

Composition

The EP's single and title track, "

", is an

electropop Electropop is a popular music fusion genre combining elements of the electronic and pop styles. It has been described as a variant of synth-pop with emphasis on a hard electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a rev ...

and dance-pop song. The lyrics start each line with the word, "" ("''jeongichunggyeok''", meaning "''electric shock''" in English). It was written and arranged by Willem Laseroms, Maarten ten Hove and Joachim Vermeulen-Windsant, and produced by Future Presidents. The music video was released on June 11, 2012, and was choreographed by Jillian Meyers. The track "Jet" is composed by SM Entertainment's songwriter Kenzie; the track has hip-hop rhythms and electronic-dance compositions over a pop structure.

Amber Amber is fossilized tree resin. Examples of it have been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since the Neolithic times, and worked as a gemstone since antiquity."Amber" (2004). In Maxine N. Lurie and Marc Mappen (eds.) ''Encyclopedia ...

co-wrote the rap. The track "Zig Zag" was especially produced to focus on the "youthful and refreshing blend of vocals" of the five f(x) members which adds to the urban electronic sound created by the use of

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external electric Guitar amplifier, sound amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickup (music technology), pickups ...

s and drum beats. The track was composed and written by music producer Hitchhiker. The lyrics were penned by Kim Bumin who often works closely with Hitchhiker. The track "Beautiful Stranger" features Amber, Luna and Krystal only and has an urban and hip-hop feel. The vocals and high notes are provided by Luna and Krystal, while Amber raps. The piece has a heavy drum beat synth and percussion performed through electric guitars. The chorus has groove bass lines. The song was composed by a team of music producers that included Aminata 'Amy' Kabba, Jason Gill, and songwriter Mich Hansen ("Cutfather").

Promotion

On June 10, 2012, the ''Electric Shock'' EP was released digitally in Korea and globally. f(x) began promotions for the title track, "Electric Shock", on Mnet's ''

M! Countdown ''M Countdown'' () is a South Korean music program broadcast by Mnet from the CJ E&M Center Studio in Sangam-dong, Mapo District, Seoul. It features appearances by popular music artists who also perform live on stage. First hosted by Leete ...

'' on June 14 and also performed "Jet" as part of a special performance. They went on to perform "Electric Shock" on programs such as '' Music Bank'', '' Show! Music Core'' and '' Inkigayo''. "Electric Shock" won a total of nine first-place trophies on these shows.

Critical reception

On January 22, 2013, the song "Electric Shock" was voted by Korean music industry professionals as the number four song on a list of the top 10 songs domestic songs of 2012, and the ''Electric Shock'' EP as eighth in the top 10 domestic albums of the year.

Chart performance

The ''Electric Shock'' EP topped the

Gaon 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, ...

in its first week of release. The title track debuted at number one on the Gaon Digital Chart, selling 630,510 copies in its first week. It then fell to number three selling 285,501 copies the following week. By the end of 2012, the record had sold 74,694 copies, and the title track 2,150,840 digital copies.

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

External links

* {{Authority control F(x) (group) albums SM Entertainment EPs KMP Holdings EPs Korean-language EPs 2012 EPs