I. Introduction
Eight is a song recorded by IU featuring BTS's Suga.
It was released as a digital single on May 6, 2020 by EDAM Entertainment.
It is IU's first single following the release of her fifth EP ''Love Poem'' in 2019.
The song was written by IU, Suga, and El Capitxn and produced by Suga. Musically, "Eight" has been described as a "nostalgic" pop rock song with lyrics that find IU confessing as a twenty-eight year old, using a virtual figure and various analogies.
II. Background and Release
On April 27, 2020, EDAM Entertainment announced that IU would release a new digital single on May 6, 2020, which would be a collaboration with Suga from BTS.
The agency also reported that IU was involved in several aspects of the song, such as its composition and concept.
On April 28, the first teaser photo was revealed via the singer's official twitter along with the song's name, "Eight".
The teaser contains a close-up image with one hand and a white dress adorned with colorful accessories.
A second teaser photo was released on IU's official SNS accounts on April 30.
The photo shows the singer in a faded medieval dress
staring outside the window anxiously with blank eyes. The style of the second teaser image is in contrast to the lighting, costumes and nail tips depicted in the first teaser.
On May 2, a 17-second moving teaser of the song was released through IU's SNS account.
It shows a round reel tape playing constantly and a snippet of the song's lyrics "So are you happy now" was heard towards the end of the teaser.
On May 5, a 40-second music video teaser of the song was released through the YouTube channel, 1theK Originals.
Set in a "futuristic" backdrop, it shows IU dressed in white, entering a laboratory and then laying down on an examination table.
The song was released on digital platforms on May 6 and the music video was directed by Kim Woogie (GDW) and features IU revisiting various phases of her youth through her memories.
III. Tracklist
| 1. "에잇 (Eight)" |
IU, Suga, El Capitxn |
2:47 |
IV. Spotify Playlist
V. Videos
VI. Concept Pictures
VII. Commercial Performance
"Eight" debuted at number one on South Korea's Gaon Digital Chart for the period dated May 3–9.
The song also took first place on the component Download chart for the same period, and entered the Streaming chart at number two, it peaked at number one the following week for the period May 10–16.
It topped the monthly digital charts for both May and June.
In the United States, with only two days of activity counted as the song was released on a Wednesday, just before the end of the tracking period for that week, it debuted atop the Billboard World Digital Songs chart ecoming both IU and Suga's (as a solo artist) first number one on the ranking. The song sold 6,965 copies and entered the US Digital Song Sales Chart at number 13, making it one of the highest-charting Korean-language songs in the chart's history.
"Eight" received platinum certification in South Korea six months later on November 12, 2020 for surpassing 100 million streams.
