''Semicolon'' (stylized as ; emicolon'') is a special

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

(EP) by South Korean boy band

Seventeen Seventeen or 17 may refer to: *17 (number), the natural number following 16 and preceding 18 * one of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017 Literature Magazines * ''Seventeen'' (American magazine), an American magazine * ''Seventeen'' (Japanese m ...

. It was released through

Pledis Entertainment Pledis Entertainment () is a South Korean entertainment company founded by Han Sung-Soo in 2007. The label is home to actress Nana, Hwang Min-hyun, Baekho, and K-pop groups Seventeen and Fromis 9. Its name originates from the pleiades, a star cl ...

on October 19, 2020, four months after its predecessor, '' Heng:garæ'' (2020). The album consists of six tracks, including the

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release s ...

"Home;Run", all of which have been co-written by the band members. Sporting a

retro Retro style is imitative or consciously derivative of lifestyles, trends, or art forms from history, including in music, modes, fashions, or attitudes. In popular culture, the "nostalgia cycle" is typically for the two decades that begin 20–30 ...

sound, ''Semicolon'' primarily incorporates

dance-pop Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

, pop, acid jazz, and

bossa nova Bossa nova () is a style of samba developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is mainly characterized by a "different beat" that altered the harmonies with the introduction of unconventional chords and an innovativ ...

, while also experimenting with hip hop, R&B,

trap A trap is a mechanical device used to capture or restrain an animal for purposes such as hunting, pest control, or ecological research. Trap or TRAP may also refer to: Art and entertainment Films and television * ''Trap'' (2015 film), Fil ...

, and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

elements. Recorded and released as a "special album", the record lyrically reaches out to the youth who are enduring the ongoing

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, offering comfort and encouragement. Commercially, the album reached number one on South Korea's

Gaon Album Chart The Circle Album Chart, previously known as the Gaon Album Chart, is a record chart ranking the 100 most popular albums, extended plays and single albums in South Korea based on their Record sales, pure sales. It is a part of the Circle Chart, pr ...

and number two on the Japanese

Oricon Albums Chart The Oricon Albums Chart is the Japanese music industry standard albums popularity chart issued daily, weekly, monthly and yearly by Oricon. Oricon originally published LP, CT, Cartridge and CD charts prior to the establishment of the Oricon Albu ...

. Seventeen promoted the album with televised live performances on several South Korean weekly music programs, including ''

M! Countdown ''M Countdown'' () is a South Korean music program broadcast by Mnet. The show features appearances by popular music artists who also perform live on stage. It is broadcast from CJ E&M Center Studio in Sangam-dong, Mapo District, Seoul. Bro ...

'', ''

Music Bank Music Bank may refer to: * ''Music Bank'' (TV program), a South Korean music program by KBS **''Music Bank World Tour The ''Music Bank'' World Tour is a worldwide live concert tour of South Korean music show ''Music Bank'' by the Korean Broad ...

'', and ''

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 ...

''.

Background

Seventeen's special EP was much anticipated after the band earned the moniker of "million seller" with their previous album '' Heng:garæ'', released in June 2020, which became their first album to sell one million copies in South Korea. Pledis Entertainment posted a 40-second trailer video on October 5, 2020, which revealed that Seventeen would be releasing a new EP ''Semicolon'' the same month. Recorded as a "special album", ''Semicolon'' speaks out to the young people who are enduring the ongoing

. Described by band member Mingyu as a "youth diary", ''Semicolon'' thematically follows its predecessor ''Heng:garæ'', though the band began working on the album prior to the latter.

Music and lyrics

''Semicolon'' consists of six songs which urge the listeners to "take some time off in their busy lives." The album touches upon themes of youth, encouragement, and comfort. The opening track, "Home;Run" is an

uptempo A variety of musical terms are likely to be encountered in printed scores, music reviews, and program notes. Most of the terms are Italian, in accordance with the Italian origins of many European musical conventions. Sometimes, the special mus ...

'20s and '30s

swing Swing or swinging may refer to: Apparatus * Swing (seat), a hanging seat that swings back and forth * Pendulum, an object that swings * Russian swing, a swing-like circus apparatus * Sex swing, a type of harness for sexual intercourse * Swing rid ...

and

song, with a

-indebted sound. The song incorporates strong

brass Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other with ...

sound, "chipper" finger-snaps, cheerful beats and

-inflected piano harmony in its production and

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

instruments in its

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

. The lyrics emphasize the passion of youth and deliver comfort to the listener through baseball metaphors. Elaborating on the sound and the lyrics, Woozi explained, "We expressed the feeling of hitting a home run with a rhythmical and hard-hitting sound." The following track, "Do Re Mi" (Korean: 도레미) is an anthemic slow burn number featuring a

bassline Bassline (also known as a bass line or bass part) is the term used in many styles of music, such as blues, jazz, funk, Dub music, dub and electronic music, electronic, traditional music, traditional, or classical music for the low-pitched Part ( ...

. "Hey Buddy" is a

and pop song featuring '80s instrumentation and brass sound. The third track, "Light A Flame" (Korean: 마음에 불을 지펴) incorporates

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

-inflected

jazzy rap with an orchestral pitch. "Ah! Love" is an acoustic

synth A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and f ...

number with jazz, hip hop and R&B influences. Performed by S.Coups, Jeonghan and Joshua, the track features

vocal harmonies Vocal harmony is a style of vocal music in which a consonant note or notes are simultaneously sung as a main melody in a predominantly homophonic texture. Vocal harmonies are used in many subgenres of European art music, including Classical chora ...

and

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

instrumentation. The album concludes with the

midtempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

mellow acid jazz and synth

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

, "All My Love" (Korean: 겨우), featuring '90s nostalgic hooks.

Release and promotion

The album's title and release date were announced on October 5. The album tracklist was released on October 12. The following day, a preview of the tracks featured on the album was released in the form of a highlight medley. Two music video teasers for the

"Home;Run" were released on October 15 and 16. The album was released on October 19, 2020, in CD and digital formats. The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for the lead single "Home;Run" was released in conjunction with the release of the album. The '20s themed visual is a cross-over between ''

Murder on the Orient Express ''Murder on the Orient Express'' is a work of detective fiction by English writer Agatha Christie featuring the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. It was first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club on 1 January 1934. In the U ...

'' and

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

's 2006 movie ''

The Pink Panther ''The Pink Panther'' is an American media franchise primarily focusing on a series of comedy-mystery films featuring an inept French police detective, Inspector Jacques Clouseau. The franchise began with the release of the classic film ''The Pink ...

'', and features the band members sporting

-suits in underground poker clubs and smoky pool bars. A few hours prior to the album release, the band held a press conference, which was broadcast online through

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

. Seventeen began promoting the album with televised live performances on several South Korean weekly music programs, starting with Mnet's ''

'' on October 22, where they performed "Home;Run". The group appeared on KBS' ''

'' and SBS' ''

'' on October 23 and 25, respectively, to perform the song. On October 27, the band appeared as guests on the reality show ''

Knowing Bros ''Knowing Bros'' (), also known as ''Men on a Mission'' or ''Ask Us Anything'', is a South Korean television entertainment program produced by SM C&C that premiered on December 5, 2015, and currently airs on Saturdays at JTBC. Although the sho ...

''. In the second week of promotion, "Home;Run" won first place on

MBC M MBC M (formerly MBC Music) () is a South Korean specialty television channel owned by MBC Plus Media. The cable channel primarily broadcasts programming related to music. The channel opened on February 1, 2012, with a new music program ''Show ...

's ''

Show Champion ''Show Champion'' (Korean: 쇼 챔피언) is a South Korean music television program broadcast live by MBC M every Wednesday at Bitmaru Broadcasting Center in Ilsan. Hosts * Shindong (February 14, 2012 – December 25, 2012) * Hahm Eun-jung ...

'' on October 28.

Commercial performance

On October 16, Pledis reported that album preorders had surpassed 1.1 million copies in 16 days, breaking their previous record of 1.06 million stock pre-orders with ''Heng:garæ''. Following its release, ''Semicolon'' debuted at number one on South Korea's

on the chart issue dated October 24, 2020. "Home;Run" debuted at number 16 on the

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 ...

and number one on the component Download Chart. The album also reached number two on the Japanese

on the issue date of November 2, 2020.

Track listing

Notes: * "Home;Run", "Hey Buddy", and "Ah! Love" are stylized in all caps.

Accolades

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Seventeen (band) 2020 EPs Korean-language EPs Seventeen (South Korean band) EPs Hybe Corporation EPs