Thành viên:Matuyda (nháp)

Lilac
Tập tin:IU - Lilac.png
Album phòng thu của IU
Phát hành	March 25, 2021
Thu âm	2020–2021
Thể loại	K-pop
Thời lượng	36:32
Ngôn ngữ	Korean
Hãng đĩa	Edam Entertainment
Thứ tự album của IU
Love Poem (2019) Lilac (2021)
Đĩa đơn từ Lilac
"Celebrity" Phát hành: January 27, 2021 "Lilac" Phát hành: March 25, 2021 "Coin" Phát hành: March 26, 2021 "Epilogue" Phát hành: April 14, 2021

Lilac (Tiếng Hàn: 라일락; Romaja: Ra-illak, stylized in all caps) is the fifth Korean-language studio album by South Korean singer-songwriter IU. It was released on March 25, 2021, through Edam Entertainment. The album was certified platinum by the Korean Music Content Association.

Background and conception

On September 8, 2020, IU uploaded a video of her as Lee Ji-dong, her alter-ego working for Edam Entertainment, through her official YouTube channel, revealing that she would be releasing a studio album by the end of the year. On January 11, 2021, her label Edam Entertainment announced that she would return with a pre-release single, a cheerful and energetic pop song titled "Celebrity", on January 27. On March 3, IU announced her fifth Korean-language studio album, entitled Lilac, will be released on March 25. It will mark her first studio album since Palette in April 2017. While working on the album, IU revealed in an interview with W Korea that she didn't felt the need to include a self-composed song and didn't hesitate to cut songs off the track list in order for the album to "feel" IU. The singer described "Lilac" as a bittersweet song reminiscent of a spring typhoon. In "Flu", she compares the feeling of being in love to a flu; "Ah Puh" is a hip hop track that conveys confidence, loneliness, and exhaustion, while "My Sea" an orchestral piece which combines "Dear Name", "Love Poem", and "Secret".

Title

In an interview with GQ Korea in November 2020, she shared that the release had been scheduled for 2021, and that the concept of the record is "greeting/farewell" (인사; insa): according to Korean age reckoning, the singer would turn 29 in 2021, so Lilac represents the last album of her twenties. IU explained her choice stating "Since I debuted at the age of 18 [sic], people have seen me from the middle of my teens, but they've seen me throughout my whole twenties. I'm making this album because I want to say goodbye to those who have been watching over my twenties, and thank you to those who watched until the very end. I want to have a glamorous goodbye. Something glamorous, without sadness. [...] I want to reach my thirties with a clean slate."

In the language of flowers, 'lilac' means 'memories of youth.' I wanted to include a farewell with the message 'I'm now going onward to my next chapter' while also greeting my upcoming 30s at the same time.

— IU on the album's title, "Lilac", W Korea

Release and promotion

The release and title of Lilac was announced on March 4, 2021; a comeback timetable was shared on March 8. Previously, IU shared visual and audio snippets titled "BYLAC" and "HILAC" on February 25 and March 1, respectively. IU unveiled the track list on her official SNS accounts on March 10, revealing K-R&B singer Dean as a featured artist, with AKMU's Lee Chan-hyuk, singer-songwriter Naul, and Penomeco taking part in production. Of the 10 tracks, IU served as the sole songwriter on eight tracks, two being co-written with Dean and Lee Chan-hyuk.

Lilac was released on March 25, 2021, through Edam Entertainment. The release marks the singer's first full-length album in nearly four years, following Palette (2017). IU appeared on South Korean music programs for the first time since promotions for Palette.

Singles

Lilac was preceded by the release of its lead single "Celebrity" and an accompanying music video on January 27, 2021. The single topped several South Korean music sites and debuted at number one on the Gaon Digital Chart, becoming the singer's 25th chart-topper and extending her record for the most number ones on the ranking. The single also entered the Billboard World Digital Song Sales chart in the United States at number three.

"Lilac" was simultaneously released alongside the album on March 25, 2021 as its second single and title track, also accompanied by a music video. The single debuted at number four on the Digital Chart with only four days of tracking. In the following week, single peaked atop the chart. It became IU's twenty-sixth number one in the country, extending her record as the artist with most number ones on the Gaon Digital Chart. IU first performed the song, along with "Epilogue", on Music Bank, marking her first performance on a music show since "Palette". The following day, she returned to Show! Music Core and Inkigayo to perform "Lilac" and "Coin".

The third single, "Coin", was released the day after the album, on March 26, 2021. It was accompanied by a retro-inspired music video that was uploaded to 1TheK's official YouTube channel. The single debuted at number seven on the Digital Chart. The following week, the song rose to number four on the chart. IU performed the song, together with "Lilac", on Music Core and Inkigayo on March 26 and 28 respectively.

Critical reception

Đánh giá chuyên môn
Nguồn đánh giá
Nguồn	Đánh giá
Beats Per Minute	81/100
IZM
NME

Sofiana Ramli of NME , awarded the album 4 out of 5 stars, describing the album as "a love letter to her 20s, the record is a farewell to the singer's defining decade." The reviewer commended the upbeat musical direction on this record as IU "swaps her subdued brand of sun-kissed pop for dancefloor hits." Writing for Beats Per Minute, Chase McMullen gave the album a score of 81/100, stating that "IU delves into a sound on LILAC that is at once varied and cohesive" but "never strays too far from what she knowingly calls "the IU sound". McMullen condluded that Lilac is "an album of rumination, prideful bliss tempered by melancholy, and, above all, acceptance."

Commercial performance

On its first day, according to the Hanteo chart, Lilac sold 216,319 copies, surpassing predecessor Love Poem's (2019) opening day sales. The album became the second highest-selling by a South Korean female soloist in its first week, having sold a cumulative 267,754 copies. Lilac debuted atop the weekly Gaon Album Chart issue for the period dated March 21–27, 2021, becoming IU's fifth release to do so. On the Gaon Digital Chart, all ten tracks from the album simultaneously appeared in the top 30. Additionally, several of IU's older songs re-entered the Digital chart following the album's release. In May 2021, Lilac was certified platinum by the Korean Music Content Association (KMCA) for selling over 250,000 copies.

Track listing

Tất cả các ca khúc được viết bởi IU, except where noted.

Lilac track listing
STT	Nhan đề	Phổ nhạc	Arrangement	Thời lượng
1.	"Lilac" (라일락; Ra-illak)	Im Soo-ho Dr.JO Ung Kim N!ko	Im Soo-ho Ung Kim N!ko	3:34
2.	"Flu"	Ryan S. Jhun Martin Coogan, Madilyn Bailey Zachariah Palmer London Jackson Jacob Chatelain	Jacob Chatelain London Jackson Ryan S. Jhun	3:08
3.	"Coin"	IU Poptime Kako	Poptime	3:13
4.	"Hi Spring Bye" (봄 안녕 봄; Bom annyeong bom; lit. Spring Hello Spring)	Naul	Kang Hwa-seong	5:24
5.	"Celebrity"	IU Ryan S. Jhun Jeppe London Bilsby Lauritz Emil Christiansen Chloe LatimerCeline Svanbäck	Ryan S. Jhun Jeppe London Bilsby Lauritz Emil Christiansen	3:15
6.	"Troll" (돌림노래; Dollimnorae; lit. Revolving Song; featuring Dean; writers: IU, Dean)	Dean Park Woo-sang JUNNY	Park Woo-sang	3:09
7.	"Empty Cup" (빈 컵; Bin keop)	Woogie Penomeco	Woogie	2:19
8.	"My Sea" (아이와 나의 바다; A-i-wa na-ui bada; lit. The Sea of a Kid & I)	Kim Je-hwi Kim Hee-won	Kim Je-hwi Kim Hee-won	5:16
9.	"Ah Puh" (어푸; Eopu; writers: IU, Lee Chan-hyuk)	Lee Chan-hyuk Peejay	Peejay	3:20
10.	"Epilogue" (에필로그; Epillogeu)	Shim Eun-ji Sumin Kim Soo-young Im Geum-bi	Shim Eun-ji Kim Soo-young	3:49
Tổng thời lượng:				36:27

Charts

Chart performance for Lilac

Chart (2021)	Peak position
Japan Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)	63
Album Nhật Bản (Oricon)	23
South Korean Albums (Gaon)	1
Hoa Kỳ Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)	18
US World Albums (Billboard)	9

Certifications and sales

Bản mẫu:Table end

Release history

Sales certifications for Lilac

Quốc gia	Chứng nhận	Doanh số
Japan	—	2,344
Hàn Quốc (KMCA)	Platinum	373,822

Release history for Lilac

Region	Date	Format	Label	Ref.
Various	March 25, 2021	Digital download streaming	Edam Entertainment