''Rover'' is the third
extended play by South Korean singer
Kai, released on March 13, 2023, by
SM Entertainment. The EP contains six tracks including the lead single of the
same name. The physical album is available in five versions (two "Photobook" versions, one "Sleeve" version, one "Digipack" version, and one "SMini" version).
Background and release
In February 2023, SM confirmed that Kai plans to release a new solo album. On February 17, SM announced that his new EP, ''Rover'', would be released on March 13.
The music video for "Rover" was inspired by two movies: ''
Billy Elliot'' (2000) and ''
Catch Me If You Can'' (2002).
A promotional video entitled "FILM : KAI #Rover" for the EP was released on
Exo official
YouTube channel on March 20, featuring performances for each of the EP's b-sides.
Composition
The
lead single "Rover" is a
dancehall
Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rou ...
song featuring heavy bass, marimba, bells and various percussions. The lyrics sing of throwing off the restraints of others' viewpoints and living freely as a 'wanderer'. "Black Mirror" is an
R&B hip hop song with lyrics that question the lifestyle of modern humans reliant on the stimulating, provocative content on social media.
"Bomba" is a
dance
Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
genre song with
reggaeton beats.
"Slidin'" is an R&B
soul genre song that features elegant
arpeggio
A broken chord is a chord broken into a sequence of notes. A broken chord may repeat some of the notes from the chord and span one or more octaves.
An arpeggio () is a type of broken chord, in which the notes that compose a chord are played ...
synth sounds and rhythmical drums. The lyrics compare falling in love at first sight with someone that you run into by chance to one's clothes becoming wet from a sudden downpour.
"Say You Love Me" is a hip-hop R&B song accompanied by drums and 808 bass. The lyrics make use of candid, straightforward expressions to depict one's desire for the other to confirm their interest in an honest manner.
"Sinner" is a
pop
Pop or POP may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* Pop music, a musical genre Artists
* POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade
* Pop!, a UK pop group
* Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band
Albums
* ''Pop'' (G ...
genre song with piano and synthesizer as accompaniments. The lyrics express the desire to remain trapped in an exhausting type of love where both exhilaration and pain coexist.
Commercial performance
The album debuted at #1 on the Circle Weekly Album Chart (March 12–18) while the lead single
Rover topped the Circle Weekly Download Chart in the same week. The album topped the iTunes Top Albums chart in 40 regions, including Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, and Chile. Additionally, the lead single
Rover debuted at #12 on the Billboard World Digital Song Sales.
Reception
David Opie from ''
Paste
Paste is a term for any very thick viscous fluid. It may refer to:
Science and technology
* Adhesive or paste
** Wallpaper paste
** Wheatpaste, A liquid adhesive made from vegetable starch and water
* Paste (rheology), a substance that behaves a ...
'' named ''Rover'' the 10th best K-pop album of 2023, who praised the record's production and sensuality. He named "Bomba" and "Sinner" as the EP's standouts.
Track listing
Credits
Credits adapted from EP's liner notes.
Studio
* SM Starlight Studio –
recording ,
mixing , engineered for mix ,
digital editing
Digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operate in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital media can be created, viewed, distributed, modified, listened to, and preserved on a digital ...
* SM Yellow Tail Studio – recording , digital editing, engineered for mix
* SM Big Shot Studio – recording , mixing , engineered for mix , digital editing
* Doobdoob Studio – recording, digital editing
* Sound Pool Studio – recording
* Embassy Studio – recording
* SM Blue Ocean Studio – mixing
* SM Blue Cup Studio – mixing
* SM Lvyin Studio – mixing, engineered for mix
* SM Ssam Studio – engineered for mix
* SM Concert Hall Studio – mixing
* 821 Sound Mastering –
mastering
Personnel
*
SM Entertainment –
executive producer
Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...
*
Lee Sung-soo – production director, executive supervisor
*
Tak Young-jun
Tak Young-jun (; also spelled Tak Young-joon; born January 17, 1978) is a South Korean business executive and the current COO of SM Entertainment. He also serves as the CEO of SM Life Design Group and a representative director of SM Entertainmen ...
– executive supervisor
*
Yoo Young-jin – music and sound supervisor
*
Kai – vocals ,
background vocals
* Park Tae-won – lyrics
* Mia (153/Joombas) – lyrics
* Lee Yeon-ji (PNP) – lyrics
* RGB (Lalala Studio) – lyrics
* Kim Su-min (Artiffect) – lyrics
* Danke (Lalala Studio) – lyrics
* Hwang Yu-bin (Verygoods) – lyrics
* Cristian Tarcea –
composition,
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 orches ...
*
Dara – composition
* Valentina Nikova – composition
* YNGA – composition
* Young Chance – composition , vocal directing , background vocals
* Gabriel Brandes – composition
* Imlay – arrangement
* John "Jbl8ze" Eley – composition, arrangement
* Jordan Dollar – composition, arrangement
* Castle – composition, arrangement
*
Talay Riley – composition, arrangement
* Steve "Tave" Octave – composition
* Sam Klempner – composition, arrangement
* Michael Matosic – composition
* Jake Torrey – composition
* Vinny "Vinnyforgood" Verdi – composition, arrangement
* Michael "Trupopgod" Jiminez – composition, arrangement
* Miguel Jiminez – composition
* Dominique Logan – composition
* Darius Logan – composition
* Koen van de Wardtcomposition, arrangement
* Ruben Pol – composition, arrangement
*
Chancellor
Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...
– vocal directing , background vocals, recording
* Rick Bridges – vocal directing
* Kim Yeon-seo – vocal directing
* Bob Matthews –
keyboard
* Jeong Yu-ra – recording , mixing , engineered for mix , digital editing
* Noh Min-ji – recording , digital editing, engineered for mix
* Lee Min-gyu – recording , mixing , engineered for mix , digital editing
* Eugene Kwon – recording, digital editing
* Jung Ho-jin – recording
* Kim Cheol-sun – mixing
* Jung Eui-seok – mixing
* Lee Ji-hong – mixing, engineered for mix
* Kang Eun-ji – engineered for mix
* Nam Koong-jin – mixing
* Lee Yong-jin – digital editing
* Woo Min-jeong – digital editing
* Kwon Nam-woo – mastering
Charts
Weekly charts
Monthly charts
Sales
Release history
References
{{Kai (entertainer, born 1994)
2023 EPs
Kai (entertainer, born 1994) EPs
Korean-language EPs
SM Entertainment EPs