Spellbound (TVXQ album)

Spellbound
Studio album (repackage) by TVXQ
Released	February 27, 2014 (2014-02-27)
Recorded	2011–14
Genre	K-pop R&B dance neo soul
Length	56:55
Language	Korean
Label	S.M. Entertainment, KT Music
Producer	Lee Soo-man (exec.) Yoo Young-jin Kenzie Hitchhiker Hiro Doi Hwang Hyun
TVXQ chronology
Tense (2014) Spellbound (2014) Tree (2014)
Singles from Tense
"Spellbound" Released: February 27, 2014

Spellbound, known as Surisuri (Hangul: 수리수리) in Korean, is the repackage of Tense (2014), the seventh Korean studio album by South Korean pop duo TVXQ. It was released on February 27, 2014 by S.M. Entertainment, almost two months after the original record. The repackage features three newly recorded songs, including the lead single "Spellbound".^[1] The repackage had two-day shipments of 61,405 copies and debuted at number two on the Gaon Albums Chart.^[2] It sold 110,566 physical units in 2014,^[3] becoming TVXQ's best-selling repackage album on the chart.

Background and release

In January 2014, TVXQ released their seventh Korean studio album Tense. The record was promoted as a commemorative album for the duo's tenth debut anniversary, which fell on December 26, 2013. ^[4] They recorded the album between 2011 and 2013, closely working with longtime collaborators Yoo Young-jin, Kenzie, and Hitchhiker.^[5]

Tense was commercially successfully upon its release. It debuted at number one on the Gaon Albums Chart, giving TVXQ their third consecutive number-one since the chart's establishment in 2010. It peaked at number four on Japan's Oricon Albums Chart and number two on the US Billboard World Albums.^[6] Music critics reviewed the album favorably, calling it TVXQ's best record since Mirotic (2008).^[7] The lead single "Something" debuted on the Gaon Singles Chart at number four, the highest in their career.

Information regarding an expanded album or a second release for Tense arose in early December 2013, when TVXQ revealed that they may separate Tense into two parts. A few weeks after Tense was released in January 2014, S.M. Entertainment disclosed in an interview that TVXQ would announce the release of a new album around mid-February 2014.^[8] Speculations of the album's repackage began circulating around social media websites in late January 2014, and the rumors claimed that the repackage would be released on February 17. On February 18, member Max Changmin confirmed that they were preparing for a new single.^[9]

TVXQ officially announced the repackage of Tense on February 20, 2014,^[1] and that "Spellbound" would be serviced as the repackage's lead single. Complementing its magical concept, a deck of collectible playing cards are also included in the album's packaging. Pre-orders officially began on February 21, 2014, and it peaked at number one on the online medium Synarra. The official music video for "Spellbound" dropped at midnight on February 27, 2014 and TVXQ debuted their first performance of "Spellbound" on February 28, 2014 on Music Bank.^[10]

New material and promotion

The repackaged album has three new songs, starting off with the lead single "Spellbound", a dance-pop song inspired by groove and funk. The second new track is Max Changmin's solo "Heaven's Day", a PBR&B track.^[11] The last new track is U-Know Yunho's solo "November with Love", a soft, mid-tempo pop ballad co-composed by Yunho and the writers of Real Man. The song also includes the backing vocals of a children's choir. "November with Love" is Yunho's first self-composed song to be included in a TVXQ studio album release.^[12]

To promote the album, TVXQ debuted their first performance of "Spellbound" on Music Bank and continued their comeback tour with performances on Show! Music Core and The Music Trend, respectively on March 1 and 2. They performed "Spellbound" on the cable shows The Show and Show Champion – TVXQ's first ever appearances on the shows – respectively on March 4 and 5, and on March 6, TVXQ debuted its only performance of "Spellbound" on M! Countdown. TVXQ completed its music show promotions by March 16. On March 24, the duo held a 3.5 hour Korail tour with 180 fans to commemorate their tenth debut anniversary and promote the record.^[13]

Track listing

Lead single

"Spellbound", or "Surisuri" (Hangul: 수리수리) in Korean, was announced to be the lead single of the repackage on February 20, 2014. An upbeat dance-pop track, the production draws inspiration from soul, groove and funk. Its lyrics describe the feelings of being "spellbound" by a magical love. Its official Korean title "Surisuri", derived from the phrase "Surisuri Masuri" (Hangul: 수리수리마수리), the Korean version of the incantation abracadabra.

Snippets of "Spellbound" were first featured on slideshow teasers that aired on the music shows Music Bank, Show! Music Core and The Music Trend on the weekend of February 21, 2014.^[1] At 12 p.m. KST on February 27, 2014, "Spellbound" was officially released on digital stores, coinciding with the release of the full album repackage.

"Spellbound" was only moderately successful. Though critically favored, the single peaked at number 27 on the Gaon Singles Chart and failed to chart in the top 50 on the Billboard Korea K-Pop Hot 100, peaking at only number 52.

Music videos and choreography

A 30-second teaser for the accompanying music video was revealed online via S.M. Entertainment's official YouTube account on February 25, 2014.^[14] Two music videos were announced to be in the making, and on February 27, 2014 at 12 a.m. KST, the first music video was released. The second version premiered on March 5, 2014 at 12 p.m. KST.

The "Spellbound" music videos, directed by Hong Wong-ki, were filmed sometime in the fourth week of February 2014. The fashion pieces seen in the videos are inspired by the throwback theme established in their last single "Something". The featured dance choreography is created by the award-winning dancing team NappyTabs, who have worked with TVXQ on their 2012 single "Humanoids".^[15] The choreography is noted for its intricacy, reenactments of magician moves, and its emphasis on the female back-up dancers.^[16] Billboard called the dance "a strong case for 2014's best choreography".^[17]

First version

The first version premiered on video-sharing websites on February 27, 2014 at approximately 12 a.m. KST. Running five minutes and fifteen seconds, the video was shot in a one-take camera technique and features TVXQ dancing in a brightly-lit, polished room with tiled walls. The video starts off in black-and-white footage of U-Know Yunho and Max Changmin dressing up to prepare for a casino table game. The duo briefly gamble and compete in a card game. After Yunho flicks his coin to the camera, the video changes to color with faded gray undertones. The duo change their black attire to white suits, and they are seen dancing on top of the gaming table with their back-up dancers, who are dressed in black pinstriped blazers and fish-net stockings. They dance across the squared room before coming back to the same table at the end of the video, where they pose and a female dancer shows a playing card with TVXQ's logo.

Second version

The second version premiered on March 5, 2014 at approximately 12 p.m KST. Like the first version, it also has a run time of five minutes and fifteen seconds, and features the same black-and-white opening sequence. The second version includes more cuts of TVXQ and their female dancers dancing in different studio sets.

Live performances

On February 28, 2014, TVXQ debuted their first performance of "Spellbound" on Music Bank. They continued their comeback tour with performances on Show! Music Core and The Music Trend, respectively on March 1 and 2.^[10] They performed their first performances of the song on the cable shows SBS MTV The Show, Show Champion and M! Countdown, respectively on March 4, 5 and 6. TVXQ had their second round of promotions on Music Bank, Show! Music Core, and The Music Trend from March 7–9. Their last performance aired on March 16, 2014.

Single charts

Weekly charts

Sales

Album charts

Weekly charts

Sales

Release history

References

External links

• Official teaser video for "Spellbound" on YouTube
• First official video for "Spellbound" on YouTube
• Second official video for "Spellbound" on YouTube