''Shalala'' is the debut

extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

(EP) by South Korean rapper

Taeyong Lee Tae-yong (; born July 1, 1995), known mononymously as Taeyong (stylized in all caps), is a South Korean rapper, singer, songwriter, and dancer. He is a member and leader of South Korean boy band NCT under SM Entertainment, having debuted ...

. It was released on June 5, 2023, by

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 ...

through

Kakao Entertainment Kakao Entertainment Corp. () is a South Korean entertainment, mass media, and publishing company founded in 2021. A subsidiary of the Internet company Kakao, it was established subsequent to the merger of the latter's two subsidiaries KakaoPa ...

alongside the music video for its lead single of the same name. The EP contains seven tracks all co-written by Taeyong with several other songwriters, including long-time collaborators Royal Dive, Squar and Zayson. The EP was commercially successful, selling over 380,000 copies in its first week, and has sold over 500,000 copies.

Background and release

South Korean rapper

became known as a member of the

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 ...

boy group NCT after debuting with the group under

in 2016. He wrote numerous songs for the group and its sub-units, including "

The 7th Sense "The 7th Sense" () is the debut single by South Korean boy group NCT U, the first sub-unit of NCT. It was released digitally on April 9, 2016, through SM Entertainment. Musically, "The 7th Sense" was described as a future bass genre based on hip- ...

" (2016), "

Cherry Bomb A cherry bomb (also known as a globe salute or kraft salute) is an approximately spherical exploding firework, roughly resembling a cherry in size and shape (with the fuse resembling the cherry's stem). Cherry bombs range in size from in diame ...

" (2017), and "

Sticker A sticker is a type of label: a piece of printed paper, plastic, vinyl, or other material with temporary or permanent pressure sensitive adhesive on one side. It can be used for decoration or for functional purposes, depending on the situation. ...

" (2021), and later joined SM Entertainment's supergroup

SuperM SuperM () was a South Korean Supergroup (music), supergroup formed in 2019 by SM Entertainment and Capitol Music Group. The group consisted of seven members from four SM Entertainment boy bands: Taemin from Shinee, Baekhyun and Kai (entertainer, ...

. As a soloist, he collaborated with several artists and released some of his songs, including "Long Flight", through the

SM Station SM Station is a digital music project by South Korean record label SM Entertainment. It undertook to release one digital single every Friday starting from February 3, 2016. The project's first season ended on February 3, 2017, with 52 songs. It ...

project while still being active in NCT. In 2021, he started independently releasing self-composed tracks on

SoundCloud SoundCloud is a German audio streaming service owned and operated by SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG. The service enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is ...

. On May 15, 2023, SM Entertainment that Taeyong would release his first

(EP), ''Shalala'', containing seven tracks including the lead single of the same name.

Critical reception

Carmen Chin of ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' gave ''Shalala'' four out of five stars, saying it is an album that "demonstrates aeyong'simmense potential as an artist unafraid to forge personal connections with his audience, setting an indelible standard for future K-pop soloists." Chin noted that ''Shalala'' retains NCT's signature sound, while delving deeper in Taeyong's personal life presented through his "down-to-earth" songwriting. Chin also highlighted Taeyong's performance on the "emotional" half of the album, commenting that that's where the singer "really shines".

Commercial performance

''Shalala'' surpassed 500,000 pre-orders a day before the release. As of July 6, the EP has sold more than 503,952 copies.

Promotion

Single

The music video for the

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

lead single, "Shalala", was released on June 5, 2023. It shows Taeyong playing the role of a hacker who is capable of modifying reality and traveling among multiverses. Han Seong-hyun 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 ...

'' gave the single two out of five stars, criticizing the chorus among other elements.

Live performances

The same day of release, Taeyong presented the EP at his showcase, titled Code: Stage, where he performed several tracks, including the lead single. The show was broadcast live through NCT's

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 ...

and

TikTok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...

channels.

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{reflist 2023 debut EPs Korean-language EPs 2020s Korean-language albums SM Entertainment EPs Taeyong albums Kakao Entertainment EPs