"Rebel" is a song recorded by South Korean duo

TVXQ TVXQ (stylized as TVXQ!; , ), known as Tohoshinki in Japan, is a South Korean pop duo formed by SM Entertainment, composed of U-Know Yunho and Max Changmin. Originally a five-member boy band which also consisted of members Kim Jae-joong, Hero ...

. It was released through

SM Entertainment SM Entertainment Co., Ltd. () is a South Korean multinational entertainment agency established in 1995 by Lee Soo-man. It is one of South Korea's largest entertainment companies and has been responsible for fostering and popularizing the car ...

on December 26, 2023, the day of their twentieth debut anniversary, as the lead single from their ninth studio album '' 20&2'' (2023).

Background and release

On October 5, 2023, SM Entertainment announced TVXQ would be returning in December 2023 with a new full-length studio album and a concert to commemorate their twentieth debut anniversary. They confirmed the new album would be titled ''20&2'', referring to TVXQ's twenty years since debut, and the two remaining members, U-Know Yunho and

Max Changmin Shim Chang-min (; born February 18, 1988), better known by his stage name Max Changmin (), is a South Korean singer-songwriter, actor, and a member of the pop duo TVXQ. Born and raised in Seoul, South Korea, Changmin was scouted by an SM Ente ...

. Their last original Korean release was five years ago, with the EP '' New Chapter No. 2: The Truth of Love'' (2018). On December 12, SM confirmed that ''20&2'' would have ten tracks including the lead single "Rebel" produced by Kenzie, who also co-wrote their 2012 single "

Humanoids A humanoid is any non-human entity that resembles a human. Humanoid(s) may also refer to: * Humanoid robot, a robot resembling the human body in shape Music * Humanoid (musician), Brian Dougans (born 1965), Scottish musician and composer * Human ...

". A preview of "Rebel" was first revealed on December 24 in an album tracklist preview. A music video teaser was released on December 25. The song was released alongside the album and its music video on December 26.

Composition

"Rebel" was composed by Moonshine,

Cazzi Opeia Moa Anna Maria Carlebecker (born 10 November 1988), better known by her stage name Cazzi Opeia, is a Swedish DJ, singer and songwriter. Life and career 1988–2010: Early life and beginnings Moa Anna Carlebecker was born Jönköping County, ...

, Adrian McKinnon, and Kenzie, who also wrote the lyrics. Produced by Moonshine and Kenzie, the song was described as an energetic dance song with "a seamless blend of intense drum beats with heavy synth bass sounds", characterized by "dynamic vocals" and a "rhythmic track". The song's lyrics contain a potent message, stating, "A true rebel of an era is a person who steadfastly follows their convictions without being swayed." The beginning and chorus of "Rebel" also featured a sample of "

Carol of the Bells "Carol of the Bells" is a popular Christmas carol, which is based on the Ukrainian New Year's song " Shchedryk". The music for the carol comes from the song written by the Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych in or before 1916; the English-la ...

", referring to the song and the group's anniversary being close to

Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A liturgical feast central to Christianity, Chri ...

. "Rebel" was composed in the key of C# Major, 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 126 beats per minute.

Music video

Directed by Ha Jung-hun and Lee Hye-sung, the music video was released 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 at 6:00 PM KST on December 26, 2023. The video stars Yunho and Changmin as lab experiments with superhuman powers. They overpower their cages and break free. They then gather an army and start a rebellion. "Rebel" is choreographed by Ingyoo Kim and EZ Twins.

Promotion

TVXQ performed "Rebel" for the first time at the

SBS Gayo Daejeon ''SBS Gayo Daejeon'' (, broadly ''SBS'' '' Battle of the Bands'') is an annual televised music festival that is broadcast by the Seoul Broadcasting System at the end of each year. The program first aired in 1997, and awards were given to musica ...

on December 25. They had their comeback performances on KBS's ''

Music Bank ''Music Bank'' () is a South Korean music program which airs every Friday at 17:15 KST on KBS2. the show is also broadcast in more than a hundred countries through KBS World. Episodes are filmed at the KBS New Wing Open Hall in Yeouido-dong, Ye ...

'' on January 5, 2024, 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 7, and 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 Leeteuk ...

'' on January 11.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes. Studio * SM Big Shot Studio –

recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, re ...

* SM SSAM Studio –

digital editing In mass communication, digital media is any communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. can be created, viewed, distributed, modified, listened to, and preserved on a digital electronic d ...

* 77F Studio – digital editing * SM Blue Ocean Studio – mixing * 821 Sound – mastering Personnel *

–

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...

– vocals,

background vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are u ...

* Kenzie – producer, lyrics,

composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography * Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include ...

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...

, vocal directing * Jonatan Gusmark (Moonshine) – producer, composition, arrangement * Ludvig Evers (Moonshine) – producer, composition, arrangement * Moa "Cazzi Opeia" Carlebecker – composition, background vocals * Adrian McKinnon – composition, background vocals * Lee Min-kyu – recording * Woo Min-jeong – digital editing * Kang Eun-ji – digital editing * Kim Cheol-sun – mixing * Kwon Nam-woo – mastering

Charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2023 songs 2023 singles TVXQ songs Songs in Korean SM Entertainment singles South Korean dance-pop songs Songs written by Kenzie (songwriter) Kakao Entertainment singles