"Replay" () is the debut single by South Korean boy band

Shinee Shinee ( ; ; ; stylized as SHINee) is a South Korean boy band formed by SM Entertainment in 2008. The group consists of four members: Onew, Key (entertainer), Key, Choi Min-ho, Minho, and Taemin. Originally a five-piece band, Jonghyun died on ...

, recorded for the extended play of the same name. It was released on May 22, 2008, 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 ...

. A Japanese version of the song was later released on June 22, 2011, through

EMI Music Japan , formerly , was one of Japan's leading music companies. It became a wholly owned subsidiary of British music company EMI Group Ltd. on June 30, 2007, after Toshiba sold off its previous 45% stake. Its CEO and president was Kazuhiko Koike. Wh ...

Background and release

On May 19, 2008,

announced the formation of their new boy band,

. Described as a "contemporary band", the group was composed of five teenagers and was intended to set trends in music, fashion and dance. A teaser for the music video of their debut single, "Replay", was released the same day. The song and its accompanying music video were released on May 22, alongside the EP of the same name. The music video features Victoria of f(x) as the female lead. The choreography was created by Rino Nakasone. The music video was

remastered A remaster is a change in the sound or image quality of previously created forms of media, whether Mastering (audio), audiophonic, Cinematography, cinematic, or Videography, videographic. The resulting product is said to be remastered. The term ...

in 4K and was re-released on April 20, 2022. "Replay" is a

contemporary R&B Contemporary R&B (or simply R&B) is a popular music Music genre, genre, originating from African Americans, African-American musicians in the 1980s that combines rhythm and blues with elements of Pop music, pop, Soul music, soul, funk, Hip-hop, ...

song composed by The Heavyweights, who co-arranged with

Yoo Young-jin Yoo Young-jin is a South Korean singer-songwriter, record producer and vocal trainer formerly under SM Entertainment. He has produced and written songs for H.O.T., S.E.S, BoA, Shinhwa, TVXQ, CSJH The Grace, Super Junior, Girls' Generatio ...

, while the lyrics was written by Young-hu Kim. The lyrics are from the perspective of a young man in love with an older woman. The line, "Noona (older sister), you're so pretty", directly targets the adult female demographic. The group took an entire day to record the song, finding it unexpectedly challenging and vocal-driven. Prior to their debut, three of the group's five members were training to be rappers; only

Jonghyun Kim Jong-hyun (; April 8, 1990 – December 18, 2017), known mononymously as Jonghyun, was a South Korean singer-songwriter, record producer, radio host, and author under the SM Entertainment label. He was the vocalist of the South Korean bo ...

and

Onew Lee Jin-ki (; Korean pronunciation: Help:IPA/Korean, .dʑin.ki born December 14, 1989), better known by his stage name Onew, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, and actor. Born in Gwangmyeong, Gyeonggi-do, Onew was discovered at the 2006 ...

were vocalists. The youngest member,

Taemin Lee Tae-min (; born July 18, 1993), better known mononymously as Taemin, is a South Korean singer-songwriter, dancer, and actor. He debuted as a member of the South Korean boy band Shinee in May 2008 and the supergroup SuperM in 2019, both un ...

, did not feature on the song at all.

Promotion

Shinee performed "Replay" for the first time on the music program ''

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 May 25, 2008. The performance attracted over 800 fans, and the group held an event afterwards at a nearby park where they handed out lollipops. They also performed at the 2008 Dream Concert on June 7.

Critical reception

Writing in 2008, Jo I-seul of ''

IZM ''IZM'' () is a South Korean online magazine that publishes pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom.S. Frith, W. Straw, and J. Stre ...

'' described "Replay" as a "trendy" and "high-quality" song, but did not find it lived up to the originality implied by Shinee's "contemporary band" label. Retrospectively, "Replay" has met with more positive reviews. It was named one of the top 100

K-pop K-pop (; an abbreviation of "Korean popular music") is a form of popular music originating in South Korea. It emerged in the 1990s as a form of youth subculture, with Korean musicians taking influence from Western Electronic dance music, danc ...

songs of all time by a panel of 35 music critics and industry experts in association with

Melon A melon is any of various plants of the family Cucurbitaceae with sweet, edible, and fleshy fruit. It can also specifically refer to ''Cucumis melo'', commonly known as the "true melon" or simply "melon". The term "melon" can apply to both the p ...

and the ''

Seoul Shinmun ''Seoul Shinmun'' () is a Korean-language daily newspaper published in South Korea. The newspaper claims descendency from a newspaper established by Englishman Ernest Bethell in Korea on 29 June 1904 called '' The Korea Daily News'' (''Taehan ...

''. According to music critic Kim Yun-ha, "Replay" laid the foundation for Shinee's "unique identity", and carries the "mint-coloured freshness" that the public associates with the group. Park Chang-young of ''

Maeil Business Newspaper The Maeil Business Newspaper (), also simply known as Maekyung (derived from the pronunciation of the Korean name) or MK, is a comprehensive daily newspaper published in South Korea, first issued on March 24, 1966. The president of the publishi ...

'' stated that "Replay" "opened a new chapter in idol music". Writing for ''

Marie Claire ''Marie Claire'' (stylized in all lowercase; ) is a French international monthly magazine first published in France in 1937. Since then various editions are published in many countries and languages. The feature editions focus on women aro ...

'', Quinci LeGardye called the song "one of the best idol debuts ever". ''

Insider Insider(s) or The Insider(s) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Comics * ''Insiders'', a comic series by Mark Millar and Paul Grist, published in ''Crisis'' * The Insiders, a team of DC Comics characters in the Brainiac stories * ''I ...

'' named it one of the best debut songs of all time in K-pop.

Accolades

Japanese version

A Japanese version of "Replay", titled "Replay (Kimi wa Boku no Everything)", was released on June 22, 2011, featuring the Japanese version of "

Hello Hello is a salutation or greeting in the English language. It is first attested in writing from 1826. Early uses ''Hello'', with that spelling, was used in publications in the U.S. as early as the 18 October 1826 edition of the '' Norwich Cou ...

" as a B-side.

Yoona Im Yoon-ah (; born May 30, 1990), also known mononymously as Yoona, is a South Korean singer and actress. After training for five years, she debuted as a member of girl group Girls' Generation (and later its subgroup Oh!GG, Girls' Generation-Oh! ...

Girls' Generation Girls' Generation (), also known as SNSD, is a South Korean girl group formed by SM Entertainment. The group is composed of eight members: Taeyeon, Sunny, Tiffany, Hyoyeon, Yuri, Sooyoung, Yoona, and Seohyun. Originally a nine-piec ...

appeared in the music video. Shinee celebrated its release with a live showcase at

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a music recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, London, Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of ...

in London, becoming the first Asian artists to perform there. The single sold over 91,000 copies in the first week, setting a new sales record for the Japanese debut single of a Korean group. It was certified Gold by

RIAJ The is an industry trade group composed of Japanese corporations involved in the music industry. It was founded in 1942 as the Japan Phonogram Record Cultural Association, and adopted its current name in 1969. The RIAJ's activities include prom ...

for selling over 100,000 copies, the first debut single by a Korean male group to do so. The song was later included on Shinee's first Japanese album, '' The First''.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of '' Replay''. Recording * Recorded and mixed at SM Booming System * Recorded at SM Blue Ocean Studio * Mastered at Sonic Korea Personnel *

– vocals, background vocals * Young-hu Kim – lyrics, directing, vocal directing, recording * The Heavyweights – composition, arrangement * RaVaughn – composition * James Burney II – composition *

– arrangement, directing, vocal directing, background vocals, recording, mixing * KAT – recording * Jeon Hoon – mastering

Charts

Korean version

Japanese version

Sales and certifications

Release history

References

{{Shinee 2008 songs 2008 singles 2008 debut singles Songs in Korean Shinee songs SM Entertainment singles South Korean contemporary R&B songs 2011 singles 2011 songs Songs in Japanese EMI Music Japan singles