"Round 1" is the debut single by South Korean idol group Dalmatian. It was released on September 1, 2010, through IS Entermedia Group and distributed by

LOEN Entertainment Kakao M (; formerly Seoul Records, YBM Seoul Records and LOEN Entertainment) was a South Korean entertainment company established by Min Yeong-bin in 1978. It is currently one of the largest co-publisher companies in South Korea. The company op ...

. The sextet was formed by rapper

MC Mong Shin Dong-hyun ( ko, 신동현; born September 4, 1979), better known by his stage name MC Mong ( ko, MC몽, links=no), is a South Korean hip hop recording artist, record producer, radio personality, actor and television personality who is kno ...

and managed under his newly formed record label Monkey Funch. Inspired by music of the 1990s, the song is a dance track about the group members' aspirations. The single and music video for "Round 1" were concurrently released. Dalmatian promoted the song on various music chart shows, and it peaked at number 102 on South Korea's national

Gaon 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 o ...

. The track was included in the group's debut mini-album '' Dalmatian'' (2011).

Background and composition

Following the establishment of his record company Monkey Funch in December 2009,

announced his intention to debut five-member boy group Dalmatian by the following February. With the members' ages ranging from 20 to 28, he wanted to "pursue the music boundaries between idols and adults". "Round 1" was written by MC Mong and member Day Day (credited as David Kim), and composed by Jo Yeong-su and MC Mong. It is composed in the key of

A flat major A-flat major (or the key of A-flat) is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has four flats. The A-flat major scale is: : Its relative minor is F minor. Its parallel minor, A-flat minor ...

using

common time The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...

. The track shifts from

electronic music Electronic music is a Music genre, genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or electronics, circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromech ...

and "machine sounds", as well as avoids love themes in its lyrics which dominated the Korean music industry at the time. A dance song, "Round 1" opts for a 1990s-inspired sound with an "addictive"

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in which all verse ...

, focusing on lyrics revolving around the aspirations of the members following their five-year training period.

Release and promotion

On August 25, 2010, a music video teaser was uploaded for Dalmatian's debut single "Round 1". Directed by Jo Su-hyeon, it showcases a member of the group walking into a room filled with shoes, where he selects a pair with a dalmatian pattern and leaves behind paw prints on the floor. The prints symbolized "that DMTN will enter the music world and leave their mark". Conceptually, the group's image was labeled as "bad boys". In order to generate headlines for its upcoming debut, labelmate Park Jang-geun orchestrated Dalmatian to greet Japanese

AV idol An or is a type of pornographic film actress in Japan. It is a sub-category of the idol culture in Japanese pop entertainment. AV idols work in the pornographic business, often both as an actress as well as a model as the video performance ...

actress Sola Aoi at

Gimpo Airport Gimpo International Airport (), commonly known as Gimpo Airport , formerly rendered in English as Kimpo International Airport, is located in the far western end of Seoul, some west of the Central District of Seoul. Gimpo was the main interna ...

later that day. Aoi, who was promoting Liveplex's

MMORPG A massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is a video game that combines aspects of a role-playing video game and a massively multiplayer online game. As in role-playing games (RPGs), the player assumes the role of a character (of ...

''Dragona Online'' at the time, was "rushed" by the group with a bouquet of flowers upon her arrival. She immediately posted about the incident on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

and "Dalmatian" become the top-searched item on search engine

Naver Naver (Hangul: 네이버) is a South Korean online platform operated by the Naver Corporation. It was launched in 1999 as the first web portal in South Korea to develop and use its own search engine. It was also the world's first operator to i ...

. "Round 1" and its music video were concurrently released on September 1. Dalmatian made its debut live performance with the track on

Korean Broadcasting System The Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) () is the national broadcaster of South Korea. Founded in February 1927, it is one of the leading South Korean television and radio broadcasters. KBS operates seven radio networks, ten television channels, ...

's (KBS) '' Music Bank''. The sextet continued promoting the song in subsequent performances on

Seoul Broadcasting System Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS) () is one of the leading South Korean television and radio broadcasters. The broadcaster legally became known as SBS in March 2000, changing its corporate name from Seoul Broadcasting System (서울방송). Its ...

's (SBS) ''

Inkigayo ''Inkigayo'' ( ko, 인기가요; 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 p ...

'' and

Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation (MBC; ) is one of the leading South Korean television and radio broadcasters. ''Munhwa'' is the Sino-Korean word for "culture". Its flagship terrestrial television station MBC TV broadcasts as channel 11. E ...

's (MBC) ''

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. ...

''. "Round 1" was included in the group's debut mini-album '' Dalmatian'' (2011).

Commercial performance

On the chart dated August 29 – September 4, 2010, "Round 1" debuted at number 146 on South Korea's national

. The following week, it rose to its peak rank at 102.

Track listing

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Round 1 (Song) 2010 songs 2010 debut singles DMTN songs Songs written by MC Mong