"Nobody"
From left to right: Yubin, Sunye, Sohee, Yeeun, Sunmi
Single by Wonder Girls
from the album The Wonder Years: Trilogy, 2 Different Tears, and Nobody for Everybody
ReleasedSeptember 22, 2008 (KR)
June 26, 2009 (US)
Recorded2008
Genre
Length3:34
LabelJYP
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Park Jin-young
Wonder Girls singles chronology
"So Hot"
(2008)		 "Nobody"
(2008)		 "2 Different Tears"
(2010)
Music video
"Nobody" on YouTube

"Nobody" is a song by South Korean girl group Wonder Girls, taken from their first extended play The Wonder Years: Trilogy (2008). It was written and produced by Park Jin-young, with additional songwriting by Rhee Woo-seok. Musically, "Nobody" is retro-inspired dance-pop song that lyrically conveys the affections the members' have towards their lovers. The song was first released in South Korea on September 22, 2008 by JYP Entertainment, and was re-released in English on June 26, 2009, where it was included in their next EP 2 Different Tears (2010). A Japanese version of the song was included on their debut Japanese EP, Nobody for Everybody (2012).

"Nobody" was a commercial success; it was a top search term in South Korea upon its release and ranked number one on various digital music sites. In the United States, the English version of the track set a milestone in K-pop—it was the first song by a Korean artist to appear on the US Billboard Hot 100, entering at number 76 on the chart issue dated October 31, 2009.

Three music videos for "Nobody" were filmed: versions in Korean, English, and Japanese. In South Korea, promotions for the single featured the group performing it on various music programs throughout late 2008. A performance of "Nobody" on M Countdown uploaded by Mnet that November became the most viewed K-pop video on the platform, and became the first K-pop video to surpass 50 million views in 2011. In the US, the group performed it as part of the opening act for Jonas Brothers World Tour 2009.

Background and release

The song first appeared on their first mini-album The Wonder Years: Trilogy (2008), including a remix and instrumental versions. An English version of "Nobody" served as their debut single in the country.[1][2] The English version of "Nobody" was released to iTunes on June 26, 2009, and to Amazon MP3 a day later. A physical single was released in a cross-promotion with Justice stores on October 11, 2009, and the Wonder Girls promoted the release with two meet-and-greet events at Justice stores.

Various remixes of "Nobody" were produced for various award shows and end-of-year specials. A remix of the English version of the song by American DJ Jason Nevins was included on the physical "remix edition" single. A downtempo, re-recorded remix produced by Rainstone was released in both Korean and English.

In 2010, the Wonder Girls entered the Chinese market with the compilation Wonder Girls (2010), which featured a Chinese version of "Nobody". In May 2012, the Wonder Girls announced their official debut into the Japanese market with DefStar Records with a Japanese version of Nobody, "Nobody ～あなたしか見えない～", in a Japanese debut EP titled Nobody for Everybody, released on July 25, 2012.

Commercial performance

On the Billboard Hot 100 chart issue dated October 31, 2009, the single debuted at number 76, making it the first K-pop song to enter the chart.[3] An editor from PopCrush attributed the chart entry in part to the group opening for The Jonas Brothers' summer U.S. tour "when the Disney boy band was at the height of [their] popularity."[4] On November 20, it was reported that the single had sold 32,000 physical copies and over 30,000 digital downloads according to Nielsen Soundscan.[5] It became the best-selling physical single of the year in the United States, topping the year-end Billboard Hot Single Sales chart for 2009, which measured commercial singles sales over the year across the North American region.[6] By February 2012, the single had sold 78,000 downloads and 42,000 physical copies in the US.[7]

At the 2011 China Mobile Wireless Music Awards, the Wonder Girls were awarded the "Top Gross Selling Digital Downloads" award in the foreign group category for 5,371,903 downloads sold of the singles "Nobody", "Tell Me" and "2 Different Tears".[8]

Music video

Korean and English

The music video begins with Park Jin-young performing a Motown-style concert with the Wonder Girls as his backup singers. After the show, a couple of record executives give Park sheet lyrics to the song "Nobody", which he prepares to debut on his next show during the 1960s. Minutes before his show begins, Park is in the men's restroom using a toilet stall when he realizes that there is no toilet paper available. As he frantically calls for help, everyone on stage begins to wonder where he is as the show starts. The executives then motion the Wonder Girls to bring their microphone stands forward and take center stage. At the end of their performance, Park finally appears on stage to congratulate the group for their performance. While the song plays, the video becomes a montage of the group's career progressing to superstardom. At the end of the video, Park enters another toilet stall and sees that there is toilet paper available. Unfortunately for him, he pulls the last sheet off the dispenser and once again has to call for help.

Japanese

The PV begins with Sohee holding a newspaper The New York Lines with the "wonderful" Wonder Girls as the front cover and an article titled "Nobody, the worldwide hit". Sohee in white shades folds the newspaper. Then, it reveals that the Wonder Girls are in an airplane. The screen pans from left to right, showing the members in neon dresses: Sunye in green, Hyelim in blue, Yoobin in orange, Yeeun in yellow, and Sohee in pink. As the airplane side slides down, the member walk out from the stairs to be greeted by paparazzi. The girls walk past the paparazzi forward to a stage. The back of the stage slides closed. Yoobin begins with "it'll never change" and the song begins with the girls dancing with their microphone stands. After Sohee's second verse and during Yeeun's chorus, it pans out to show a black-and-white TV showing the Nobody music video. A family is watching and dancing to Nobody in one room and switches to another room with two ladies dancing along. The TV is zoomed in to see the girls in changed dresses and hairstyles. The girls are in upgraded golden dresses similar to the ones in their 2008 version. The stage changed to have a live band, a pianist to the left, and four background singers to the right. The song continues with Yeeun and Sunye sharing the chorus leading to Yeeun's high note, then Sunye's ad libs. The song ends with Yoobin's rap and a pose with the microphones.

Live performances and promotion

The Wonder Girls had their official comeback on the weekend of September 26–28, 2008, performing on KBS's Music Bank, MBC's Show! Music Core, and SBS's Inkigayo. At the end of October, the group briefly used the "Rainstone Remix" of the song. A video of their M Countdown performance from October 9, 2008 was posted to Mnet's official YouTube channel on November 18, and soon became the most viewed K-pop video on the platform.[9] In 2011, it became the first K-pop video to surpass 50 million views.[10] At the 2008 Mnet KM Music Festival on November 15, 2008, Wonder Girls performed a tango version and a disco version of "Nobody". The rest of the remixes debuted at the 23rd Golden Disc Awards on December 10, which showcased each Wonder Girl performing a short clip of a unique "Nobody" remix.

For their American live television debut, they performed "Nobody" on The Wendy Williams Show on July 20, 2009.[11] They also performed it on So You Think You Can Dance on December 9.[12] Their first live performance of the Japanese version of Nobody was at the Girls Award 2012 Spring/Summer by Crooz fashion event in Tokyo. Wonder Girls were the only Korean group to be invited at the event as one of the performing artists, aside from opening act, Code-V.[13][14] On August 8, 2015, they reprised this song with instrumental version in conjunction with their 2015 comeback as a 4 members band group at You Hee-yeol's Sketchbook.

Other usage

In 2013, the song was featured in the sixth episode of the South Korean television drama series Master's Sun.[15] In 2014, "Nobody" was used in the DreamWorks animated movie Penguins of Madagascar.[16] Hyerim said, "It's an honor for us to represent Asian artists and have our song selected for the great animated film." Yubin added that "We hope this will help shed light on more works by Asian artists".[17]

In March 2009, it was reported that both JYP Entertainment and Sony/ATV Music Publishing would be taking legal action against other Asian musical groups who had adopted or covered "Nobody" illegally.[18] JYP Entertainment stated that groups and actresses in the People's Republic of China and Cambodia had been "recklessly copying" the group's songs, dances, and costumes.[19]

Legacy

In 2017, Billboard ranked it as the 43rd greatest girl group song of all-time, deeming it as a breakthrough moment in K-pop history where it marked one of the first indicators that Korean acts had appeal in America.[20] Tamar Herman of the same publication wrote that "It revived the industry with a modern update to old school sounds that drew on Motown and the disco era for inspiration, which resulted in the single becoming one of the most popular Korean songs ever."[21] PopCrush said that what perhaps made entering Billboard "especially momentous was the fact that they remained true to their signature style, and didn't change it to appeal to accommodate American audiences."[4] In a ranking by 35 music experts curated by Melon and Seoul Shinmun in 2021, "Nobody" was ranked the 27th best K-pop song of all time. Music critic Han Dong-yoon said that the song's simple choreography and structure propelled it to becoming a hit. However, he pointed out that although it was not a huge commercial success in America, it holds important value in K-pop history as it became an example of how Korean singers could enter foreign markets.[22]

Awards

Awards and nominations for "Nobody"
Year Organization Award Result Ref.
2008 Cyworld Digital Music Awards Song of the Month (September) Won [23]
Song of the Month (October) Won
Golden Disc Awards Digital Song Bonsang Won [24]
Digital Daesang Nominated
Popularity Award Nominated
Mnet KM Music Festival Song of the Year Won [25]
Best Music Video Won [26]
Best Dance Performance Nominated
Sports Korea Awards Song of the Year Won [27]
2009 Korean Music Awards Song of the Year Nominated [28]
Best Dance & Electronic Song Nominated
Philippine K-pop Awards Song of the Year Won [29]
Seoul Music Awards Best Song Won [30]
2010 Myx Music Awards Favorite International Video Nominated
2011 RTHK International Pop Poll Awards Top Ten International Gold Songs Won [31]
Music program wins
Program Date Ref.
Music Bank (KBS) October 3, 2008 [32]
October 10, 2008 [33]
October 17, 2008 [34]
October 24, 2008 [35]

Track listing

Digital single – US
  1. "Nobody" — 3:34
Nobody (Sing-Along Version) – US
  1. "Nobody (English version)" — 3:34
  2. "Nobody (Karaoke Version)" — 3:34
  3. "Nobody (Instrumental Remastered)" — 3:36
Nobody (The Remix Edition) – US
  1. "Nobody" (Jason Nevins Remix) — 3:32
  2. "Nobody" (Jason Nevins Extended Remix) — 5:50
  3. "Nobody" (Jason Nevins Remix) [Instrumental] — 3:32
  4. "Nobody" (Jason Nevins Extended Remix) [Instrumental] — 5:50

Charts

Release history

Region Date Version Format Label Ref.
South Korea September 22, 2008 Korean JYP Entertainment [39]
United States June 26, 2009 English digital single [40]
October 11, 2009 Sing-Along Version
  • CD
  • digital download
 [41]
October 30, 2009 The Remix Edition Digital download [42]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Official Wonder Girls MySpace. Retrieved March 3, 2009.
  2. ↑ 원더걸스, 美 데뷔 앨범 발표하고 본격 진출 [Wonder Girls, debut album in the US enters full swing]. Osen (in Korean). June 5, 2009. Retrieved June 5, 2009 – via Daum.
  3. ↑ Herman, Tamar (September 23, 2018). "Looking Back On Wonder Girls' 'Nobody,' A Decade Later". Billboard.
  4. 1 2 Hodoyan-Gastelum, Alexis (February 8, 2016). "Wonder Girls at Nine: The Ups and Downs of K-Pop's Enduring Girl Group". PopCrush.
  5. ↑ Bell, Crystal (November 20, 2009). "Breaking & Entering: The Wonder Girls". Billboard. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
  6. 1 2 Lee, Hyo-won (January 4, 2010). "Wonder Girls Tops 2009 US Singles Chart". The Korea Times. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  7. ↑ Benjamin, Jeff (February 1, 2012). "Girls' Generation Makes Big U.S. Debut on 'Letterman'". Billboard. Retrieved September 9, 2017.
  8. ↑ Name of event: Releases for which the award given: Sales amount:
  9. ↑ "엠넷 공식 유튜브 동영상 조회수 1억건 돌파" [Wonder Girls 'Nobody' tops the number of views for Korean video]. Osen (in Korean). September 2, 2011 – via Naver.
  10. ↑ "8 top K-pop songs from 2008 (yeah, from 10 years ago)". SBS PopAsia. January 24, 2018. Archived from the original on June 18, 2018.
  11. ↑ "Wonder Girls make U.S. television debut". Korea JoongAng Daily. July 22, 2009. Retrieved November 6, 2012.
  12. ↑ Han, Sang-hee (December 4, 2009). "Wonder Girls to Appear in American Hit Reality Show". The Korea Times.
  13. ↑ "Rakuten GirlsAward 2012 Spring/Summer｜ガールズアワード". GirlsAward. Archived from the original on June 5, 2012. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
  14. ↑ "Wonder Girls to perform at Girls Award by CROOZ in Japan". The Korea Herald. May 16, 2012. Retrieved November 6, 2012.
  15. ↑ "Master's Sun: Episode 6 » Dramabeans Korean drama recaps". Dramabeans. August 22, 2013.
  16. ↑ 애니 '마다가스카 펭귄'에 원더걸스 '노바디'가?! [Wonder Girls 'Nobody' used in the animated film 'Penguins of Madagascar'?!]. KBS News (in Korean). January 9, 2015 – via Naver.
  17. ↑ Lim, Jeong-yeo (January 5, 2015). "Wonder Girls' 'Nobody' featured in U.S. film trailer". The Korea Herald.
  18. ↑ Lim, Jeong-yeo (March 20, 2009). "International lawsuit over Wonder Girls' 'Nobody'". The Chosun Ilbo. Archived from the original on March 20, 2009.
  19. ↑ Wonder Girls to sue for plagiarism: agent. AFP. March 13, 2009. Retrieved March 24, 2009.
  20. ↑ "100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time: Critics' Picks". Billboard. July 10, 2017.
  21. ↑ Herman, Tamar (February 9, 2017). "Every Wonder Girls Single Ranked From Worst to Best: Critic's Take". Billboard.
  22. ↑ "K-pop 100 Masterpieces: Nobody - Wonder Girls" (in Korean). Melon. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
  23. ↑ 지난 시상식, Page 6. Cyworld (in Korean). Archived from the original on July 1, 2015. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
  24. ↑ 2008년 골든디스크, 쥬얼리·원더걸스·MC몽·브아걸 디지털음원본상 수상 [2008 Golden Disc, Jewelry · Wonder Girls · MC Mong · Brown Eyed Girls receives Digital Music Award]. Ilgan Sports (in Korean). December 10, 2008 – via Daum.
  25. ↑ "2008 M.net Korean Music Festival Winners list" Archived December 25, 2012, at the Wayback Machine. MAMA. Retrieved June 12, 2014.
  26. ↑ ‘MKMF 3관왕’ 원더걸스 “변치 않는 원더걸스 되겠다” [MKMF triple winner, Wonder Girls "will never change"]. Hankyung (in Korean). November 16, 2008. Retrieved November 16, 2008.
  27. ↑ "빅뱅 '올해의 스타상', '노바디' 올해 최고의 노래" [Big Bang 'Star of the Year', 'Nobody' Best Song of the Year]. Newsen. December 23, 2008. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
  28. ↑ 언니네 이발관 2009 한국대중음악상 5개부문 '최다후보' [Sister's Barbershop at 2009 Korean Popular Music Awards are the 'most nominated' in 5 categories]. Newsen (in Korean). February 4, 2009 – via Daum.
  29. ↑ Hicap, Jonathan (December 11, 2009). "Nobody Picked Best Song by Filipino Fans". The Korea Times. Retrieved April 10, 2022.
  30. ↑ 원더걸스 서울가요대상 대상 수상 [Wonder Girls Seoul Music Awards Grand Prize]. Kookmin Ilbo (in Korean). February 12, 2009 – via Naver.
  31. ↑ "rthk.hk 香港電台網站 新聞稿 Press Release - "RTHK International Pop Poll Award Presentation" Reveals the Top Ten Foreign Music Awards". Radio Television Hong Kong. May 2, 2011. Retrieved August 17, 2011.
  32. ↑ 원더걸스, 컴백 1주 만에 '뮤직뱅크' 1위 [Wonder Girls, 1st place on 'Music Bank' 1 week after comeback]. JoyNews24 (in Korean). October 3, 2008 – via Naver.
  33. ↑ '노바디' 원더걸스, '뮤직뱅크'서 2주째 1위 ['Nobody' Wonder Girls, 1st place on 'Music Bank' for 2nd week]. Hankyung (in Korean). October 10, 2008.
  34. ↑ 원더걸스 '노바디', 3주 연속 '뮤직뱅크' 1위 [Wonder Girls' 'Nobody' topped 'Music Bank' for 3 weeks in a row]. My Daily (in Korean). October 17, 2008 – via Naver.
  35. ↑ 원더걸스 '노바디', 비 제치고 4주 연속 '뮤직뱅크' 1위 [Wonder Girls' 'Nobody' beats Rain to win 'Music Bank' for 4 weeks in a row]. My Daily (in Korean). October 24, 2008 – via Naver.
  36. ↑ "Wonder Girls Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  37. ↑ "Dance Singles Sales Chart". Billboard. November 6, 2009. Retrieved June 12, 2014.
  38. ↑ "Heatseekers Songs". Billboard. billboard.com. October 31, 2009. Retrieved October 29, 2009.
  39. ↑ "The Wonder Years: Trilogy - EP by Wonder Girls". Apple Music (US). September 22, 2008. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  40. ↑ "Nobody - Single by Wonder Girls". Apple Music (US). June 26, 2009. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  41. ↑ "Nobody (Sing-Along Version) - by Wonder Girls". Apple Music (US). October 11, 2009. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  42. ↑ "Nobody (The Remix Edition) - by Wonder Girls". Apple Music (US). October 30, 2009. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
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