Dice (EP)

Dice
Digital and Rolling version cover
EP by
Onew
ReleasedApril 11, 2022
GenrePop
Length20:59
LanguageKorean
Label
Producer
Onew chronology
Voice
(2018) 		Dice
(2022) 		Life Goes On
(2022)
Singles from Dice
  1. "Dice"
    Released: April 11, 2022

Dice is the second extended play by South Korean singer Onew. It was released on April 11, 2022, through SM Entertainment. It consists of six tracks, including the lead single of the same name.

Background and release

[edit]

Onew released his debut solo EP, Voice, in 2018, after which he enlisted in the military.[1] His second EP was initially scheduled for a September 2021 release,[2] before eventually being confirmed for April 2022, three years and four months after Voice.[3][4] Onew took a greater role in the production process than on his first EP, and stated that he felt increased pressure as a result.[4] Promotional materials, including video and image teasers, were released beginning March 31.[5] Onew hosted a countdown livestream on Shinee's YouTube channel on April 11 to celebrate the EP's release.[6] He promoted it with performances on M Countdown, Music Bank, Inkigayo and Show! Music Core,[7][8] marking his first time engaging in promotional activities for a solo release.[4]

Composition

[edit]

"I wanted to show that Onew is a person who can do not only calm songs, such as ballads or drama soundtracks, but also can dance and try something new."

Onew at a press conference about the selection of songs on the EP[9]

Onew included songs from a wide range of genres in order to showcase his diversity as an artist.[9] The six tracks on the EP represent the six sides of a dice, each reflecting different aspects of his artistry.[4] Lead single "Dice" is a pop song that contains rhythmical guitar plucking and synth sounds. It is about betting on love despite knowing it's a game one will inevitably lose.[10] "Sunshine" is an upbeat electronic pop song about embarking on a spontaneous trip and escaping from the monotony of daily life. It is guided by a bassline which is aided by an electric guitar.[11] "On the Way" is a romantic song with a fantasy sound that utilises piano and guitar adlibs. The lyrics detail losing sleep at night, thinking about another person and wanting to go to them.[12] "Love Phobia" is an alternative pop song that expresses scepticism about love while simultaneously desiring it.[13] "Yeowoobi" is an emotional break-up song with a dreamlike yet lonely atmosphere. The lyrics compare feelings of love that are warm but sad to a rain shower in the sunlight.[14] "In the Whale" is a midtempo pop song that takes the listener on a "metaphorical journey through the insides of a beast".[15][16] The lyrics, written by Onew, express that he will always be by his fans' side, even in the darkness.[15]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
The Line of Best Fit[17]
NME[16]

Dice received critical acclaim. Tássia Assis from NME gave Dice a 5 out of 5 stars, describing the EP as "multifaceted" as it offered a variety of sounds yet all six tracks sat together cohesively, which allowed Onew to showcase his true talent. She states that: "for a long time, and despite his proven talent, it felt like Onew stood in the shadows – or inside a whale, if you will – but the skies have cleared now. There’s a whole ocean to explore ahead. By taking a chance and trusting his own experience, Onew allows himself to shine in all his multifaceted glory."[16] Sophia Simon-Bashall of The Line of Best Fit felt that the songs "showcase that Onew is an artist of variety" and praised his vocal delivery. She named "On the Way" and "Love Phobia" as album highlights.[17]

Year-end lists

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Year-end lists
Critic/Publication List Work Rank Ref.
SoundX The 10 Best EPs of 2022 Dice 9 [18]
The 30 Best K-Pop Projects of 2022 4 [19]
Omelete Top 10 K-pop albums of 2022 2 [20]
Teen Vogue The 79 Best K-Pop Songs of 2022 "In The Whale" — [21]
Clash The 20 Best K-Pop B-Sides From 2022 "Love Phobia" — [22]

Track listing

[edit]
Dice track listing
No.TitleLyricsMusicArrangementLength
1."Dice"Kang Eun-jung
  • Will Lobban-Bean
  • Griffith Clawson
  • Jesse Fink
3:06
2."Sunshine"Jo Yoon-kyung
  • Klempner
  • Quinn
  • Hitchhiker
3:49
3."On the Way"Hwang Yu-bin
Malone3:58
4."Love Phobia"Jo Dong-hee
  • Sakima
  • Danny Casio
  • Peter Rycroft
  • Richard Boardman
  • Lostboy
  • The 6
3:10
5."Yeowoobi" (Korean: 여우비; RR: Yeoubi; lit. Fox Rain)Kim Bu-min
  • Hitchhiker
  • Kim Bu-min
  • Charles "Chizzy" Stephens
  • Robert Edward Stribling
Hitchhiker3:34
6."In the Whale"
  • Dirty Rice
  • M. Lee
  • Cru Alxndr
  • Dirty Rice
  • M. Lee
3:19
Total length:20:59

Personnel

[edit]

Credits adapted from the album liner notes.[23]

  • Onew – vocals, background vocals
  • Hitchhiker – producer, director, guitar (tracks 1–2, 5), keyboard (tracks 1, 5), vocal directing (track 5), bass (track 5)
  • Kenzie – vocal directing (track 1)
  • Lee Min-gyu – recording (tracks 1, 4), mixing (track 4), digital editing (track 4), engineering for mix (track 5)
  • No Min-ji – recording (tracks 1–2), digital editing (track 3)
  • Lee Ji-hong – digital editing (track 1), recording (track 3)
  • Jeong Eui-seok – mixing (track 1)
  • Jeon Seung-woo – vocal directing (track 2)
  • Kang Eun-ji – digital editing (track 2)
  • An Chang-gyu – digital editing (track 2), digital editing (track 6)
  • Kim Han-gu – mixing (track 2)
  • Pollen – vocal directing (tracks 3, 6), background vocals (track 3)
  • Jeong Yu-ra – recording (tracks 3–4, 6), digital editing (tracks 4, 6), mixing (track 6)
  • Kim Cheol-sun – mixing (track 3)
  • Sam Kim – background vocals (track 3)
  • Adrian McKinnon – background vocals (track 3)
  • Kim Yeon-seo – vocal directing (track 4)
  • Kim Bu-min – vocal directing (track 5)
  • Kwon Yu-jin – recording (track 5), digital editing (track 5)
  • Nam Gung-jin – mixing (track 5)
  • Kwon Nam-woo – mastering

Charts

[edit]

References

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  1. ^ "Shinee's Onew takes hiatus to serve in military". The Korea Times. Yonhap News Agency. December 10, 2018. Archived from the original on December 10, 2018. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
  2. ^ Ziwei, Puah (April 12, 2021). "Shinee's Taemin, Key and Onew to release new solo material this year". NME. Archived from the original on December 5, 2021. Retrieved March 28, 2022.
  3. ^ "Shinee's Onew to drop new EP 'Dice' next month". Yonhap News Agency. March 29, 2022. Archived from the original on March 29, 2022. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d Choi, Ji-won (April 11, 2022). "Shinee's Onew hopes to unravel his 'diversity' through second solo EP 'Dice'". The Korea Herald. Retrieved June 11, 2022.
  5. ^ Kim, Ju-hee (March 30, 2022). 온유, 솔로 앨범 '다이스' 스케줄 포스터 공개…내달 컴백 [Onew releases the schedule poster for solo album 'Dice'... Comeback next month]. Newsis (in Korean). Archived from the original on April 9, 2022. Retrieved April 9, 2022 – via Naver.
  6. ^ Yang, Haley (April 8, 2022). "Shinee's Onew to hold 'Dice' countdown event on April 11". Korea JoongAng Daily. Archived from the original on April 8, 2022. Retrieved April 9, 2022.
  7. ^ Lee, Hye-min (April 14, 2022). 샤이니 온유, '다이스'로 컴백…엠카 첫 방송 [Shinee Onew's comeback with 'Dice'... First broadcast on M Countdown]. Newsis (in Korean). Archived from the original on May 31, 2022. Retrieved May 31, 2022 – via Naver.
  8. ^ Lee, Hana (April 23, 2022). '음악중심' 빅뱅, 활동 안 해도 1위‥온유·송가인 컴백(종합) ['Music Core': Big Bang takes first place despite not promoting]. Newsen (in Korean). Archived from the original on April 24, 2022. Retrieved May 31, 2022 – via Naver.
  9. ^ a b Shim, Sun-ah (April 11, 2022). "Shinee leader Onew says 'diversity' is keyword for his new EP". Yonhap News Agency. Archived from the original on April 11, 2022. Retrieved April 12, 2022.
  10. ^ Lee, Da-gyeom (March 31, 2022). 샤이니 온유, 신곡 '다이스'로 청량 매력 예고 [Shinee's Onew shows refreshing charm on new song 'Dice']. Maeil Business Newspaper (in Korean). Archived from the original on April 9, 2022. Retrieved April 3, 2022 – via Naver.
  11. ^ Kang, Da-yun (April 5, 2022). 샤이니 온유, 수록곡 '선샤인' 하이라이트 클립 공개…믿듣 청량 보이스 [Shinee's Onew releases highlight clip of B-side track 'Sunshine'... A refreshing voice]. My Daily (in Korean). Archived from the original on April 5, 2022. Retrieved April 9, 2022 – via Naver.
  12. ^ Lee, Seung-hoon (April 6, 2022). '컴백 D-5' 샤이니 온유, 솔로 앨범 수록곡 'On the way'로 로맨틱한 설렘 예고 ['Comeback D-5' Shinee's Onew displays romantic excitement with 'On the way' from his solo album]. Osen (in Korean). Archived from the original on April 6, 2022. Retrieved April 9, 2022 – via Naver.
  13. ^ Son, Ji-na (April 7, 2022). 샤이니 온유, 솔로 앨범 수록곡 'Love Phobia' 세련된 바이브 예고 [Shinee's Onew heralds a sophisticated vibe with 'Love Phobia' in solo album]. MK Sports (in Korean). Archived from the original on April 7, 2022. Retrieved April 9, 2022 – via Naver.
  14. ^ Oh, Yoon-joo (April 1, 2022). 샤이니 온유, '여우비'로 이별 감성 예고 [Shinee's Onew describes break-up feelings in 'Yeowoobi']. My Daily (in Korean). Archived from the original on April 9, 2022. Retrieved April 3, 2022 – via Naver.
  15. ^ a b Koh, Young-jun (April 3, 2022). 샤이니 온유, 솔로 앨범 수록곡 'In the whale' 작사 참여 [Shinee's Onew participated in writing lyrics for 'In the Whale' on his solo album]. Sports Dong-a (in Korean). Archived from the original on April 9, 2022. Retrieved April 3, 2022 – via Naver.
  16. ^ a b c Assis, Tassia I. (April 15, 2022). "Onew – 'Dice' review: a stately revelation of his true, shining talents". NME. Archived from the original on April 15, 2022. Retrieved April 15, 2022.
  17. ^ a b Simon-Bashall, Sophia (April 12, 2022). "Onew's second album Dice showcases the Shinee member's variety". The Line of Best Fit. Archived from the original on May 31, 2022. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
  18. ^ "Os 10 Melhores EPs de 2022" [The 10 Best EPs of 2022]. soundx (in Portuguese). December 7, 2022. Archived from the original on December 10, 2022. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  19. ^ "Os 30 Melhores Projetos de K-Pop de 2022" [The 30 Best K-Pop Projects of 2022]. soundx (in Portuguese). December 8, 2022. Archived from the original on December 8, 2022. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  20. ^ "Os 10 melhores álbuns de k-pop de 2022" [Top 10 K-pop albums of 2022]. soundx (in Portuguese). December 22, 2022. Archived from the original on December 23, 2022. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
  21. ^ "The 79 Best K-Pop Songs of 2022". Teen Vogue. December 15, 2022. Archived from the original on December 15, 2022. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
  22. ^ "The 20 Best K-Pop B-Sides From 2022". Clash. December 20, 2022. Archived from the original on December 21, 2022. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
  23. ^ Dice (Liner notes). South Korea: SM Entertainment. 2022.
  24. ^ "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 2022-05-02/p/2" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved April 27, 2022.
  25. ^ "Oricon Top 50 Combined Albums: 2022-04-25" (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on April 23, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
  26. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot Albums: 2022/04/20 公開". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Archived from the original on April 20, 2022. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  27. ^ "Gaon Album Chart – Week 16, 2022". Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Archived from the original on April 21, 2022. Retrieved April 21, 2022.
  28. ^ "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 16, 2022.
  29. ^ "Album Chart – April 2022". Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Archived from the original on May 12, 2022. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  30. ^ 月間 アルバムランキング 2022年04月度 [Monthly album ranking April 2022] (in Japanese). Oricon. Archived from the original on May 13, 2022.
  31. ^ "Billboard Japan Download Albums Year-End 2022". Billboard Japan. Archived from the original on December 8, 2022. Retrieved December 9, 2022.
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