''Prelude'' is the third Korean

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 girl group

April April is the fourth month of the year in the Gregorian and Julian calendars. Its length is 30 days. April is commonly associated with the season of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and autumn in the Southern Hemisphere, where it is the ...

. Released on January 4, 2017 by

DSP Media DSP Media () is a South Korean entertainment company established in 1991 by Lee Ho-yeon. The company operates as a record label, talent agency, music production company, event management and concert production company, and music publishing hous ...

and distributed 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 ...

. It marks the group's first comeback as a six member-group with the addition of Chaekyung and Rachel.

Background and release

On December 20, 2016, DSP Media confirmed that April would release their third

, ''Prelude'' on January 4, 2017. The title of the album ''Prelude'' represent the group's new beginning, with their new line-up consisting of members Chaekyung, Chaewon, Naeun, Yena, Rachel and Jinsol. The next day, the album's tracklist was released, revealing that the album will includes 9 tracks with 5 new songs, a re-recorded version of 3 of their previous tracks: "Dream Candy", "Muah!" and "Snowman", and an instrumental version of the title track. On December 27, they revealed two concept images. On December 28, April released a teaser with member Rachel for showing the choreography key point dance moves and also revealed that the title track of the album, "April Story". On December 30, their music video making teasers for Jinsol, Chaekyung and Rachel were revealed, followed by Naeun, Chaewon and Yena's on December 31. On January 1, 2017, the highlight medley of the five new songs from the mini-album was released.

Promotions

From January 1 to January 3, Chaekyung, Chaewon, Naeun, Yena, Rachel and Jinsol held a series of live appearances on their

V Live V Live (stylized as VLIVE), sometimes referred to as V App, was a South Korean live video streaming service that allowed celebrities based in the country to broadcast live videos such as live chat sessions with fans, performances, reality show ...

channel. On January 3, the music video for "April Story" was released on the group's YouTube channel. On January 4, the group also held a live aired comeback showcase for ''Prelude'', on V Live. On January 6, April had their comeback stage on KBS's ''Music Bank'' that were eventually followed by appearances on

Mnet M-Net (an abbreviation of Electronic Media Network) is a South African pay television channel established by Naspers in 1986. The channel broadcasts both local and international programming, including general entertainment, children's series, ...

'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 Leeteuk ...

'', MBC's ''

Show! Music Core ''Show! Music Core'' (), or simply ''Music Core'' is a South Korean music television program broadcast by MBC. It airs live every Saturday at 15:30 (KST). The show features some of the latest and most popular artists who perform live on stage. I ...

'' and SBS's ''

Inkigayo ''Inkigayo'' (; English title: ''The Music Trend'', previously ''Popular Song'') is a South Korean music program broadcast by SBS. It airs live every Sunday. The show features some of the latest and most popular artists who perform on stage. ...

''. On January 19, the Special choreography MV of "April Story" was released. On February 14, 2017, Chaekyung, Chaewon, Naeun, Yena, Rachel and Jinsol performed a special stage of

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 ''" LUV"'' for the 100th episode of

SBS MTV SBS M is a South Korean pay television music channel owned by SBS Medianet, a division of SBS Media Holdings. It features South Korean pop artists, international music, news, and a few reality and variety programs. It was launched in 2001 as t ...

The Show Show or The Show may refer to: Competition, event, or artistic production * Agricultural show, associated with agriculture and animal husbandry * Animal show, a judged event in the hobby of animal fancy ** Cat show ** Dog show ** Horse show ** S ...

''. Starting from February 16, the group performed, on Mnet's, ''M! Countdown'', a series of special stages of "WOW" a song also figuring on the ''Prelude'' album.

Track listing

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2017 EPs Korean-language EPs 2010s Korean-language albums Kakao M EPs April (girl group) albums DSP Media albums