Babe (Hyuna song)

"Babe"
Single by Hyuna
from the EP Following
ReleasedAugust 29, 2017
Genre
Length3:13
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Shinsadong Tiger
  • Beom x Nang
Hyuna singles chronology
"How's This?"
(2016) 		"Babe"
(2017) 		"Lip & Hip"
(2017)
Music video
"Babe" on YouTube

"Babe" (Korean: 베베; RR: bebe; stylized in all caps) is a song recorded by South Korean singer-songwriter and rapper Hyuna, and is the lead single of her sixth extended play, Following (2017). It was written by Hyuna, Shinsadong Tiger and Beom X Nang, and produced by the latter two. The singer performed the song in several South Korean music programs, including Music Bank and Inkigayo.

Commercially, "Babe" debuted at number 16 on the Gaon Digital Chart and rose three positions to number 13 where it peaked the following week. It was nominated for Best Dance Performance – Solo at the 2017 Mnet Asian Music Awards.

Composition

"Babe" was written by Hyuna, Shinsadong Tiger and Beom X Nang and was produced by the latter two.[1][2] At the surface-level, the song appears to be written about a relationship, but it draws parallels to her experiences in the music industry with the hook revolving around needing approval, changing against her will, and being infantilized. The lyrics where she counts her age backwards shows Hyuna getting progressively younger and younger, seemingly referencing the expectation that she needs to continue to act and appear young as she grows older.[3]

Commercial performance

Following the song's release, Hyuna trending on several domestic real-time search engines.[4] It debuted at number 16 on the Gaon Digital Chart, on the chart issue dated August 27 – September 2, 2017, with 65,334 downloads sold and 1,356,010 streams.[5][6][7] It also debuted at number 3 on the Gaon Social Chart on the same week.[8] On the issue between September 3 and 9, 2017, the song peaked at number 13.[9] The song placed at number 17 on the chart for the month of September 2017, as a hot track, with 193,586 downloads sold.[10][11] It also debuted at number 43 on Billboard Korea's K-pop Hot 100. In its second week, the song rose to number 17 and peaked at number 13 a week later.[12]

Music video and promotion

"Babe" – Full music video

A music video teaser was released on August 27, 2017, through Hyuna's official YouTube channel.[13] The music video was officially released two days later and garnered 1 million views in a day.[14] The 1990s-inspired video has the singer dancing in different scenarios, one of them being outer space.[15][16]

The singer started live performances on MBC Music's Show Champion on August 30[14] and continued on Mnet's M Countdown on August 31, KBS' Music Bank on September 1, MBC's Show! Music Core on September 2 and SBS' Inkigayo on September 3.

Charts

Chart (2017) Peak
position
South Korea (Gaon)[5] 13
South Korea (K-pop Hot 100)[12] 13
US World Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[17] 10

References

  1. ^ Ang, Estee (August 28, 2017). "What We Know About HyunA's "Babe" Comeback So Far". Hype Malaysia. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  2. ^ "Hyuna – 베베 (BABE)" (in Korean). Melon. August 29, 2017. Retrieved September 10, 2017.
  3. ^ "HyunA's "Babe" is her version of IU's "Twenty-Three" and it makes quite the statement". Asian Junkie. August 30, 2017. Retrieved September 9, 2022.[better source needed]
  4. ^ Peterson, Jacques (August 30, 2017). "How is HyunA's "BABE" doing on the charts?". SBS PopAsia. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Digital Chart – Week 36 of 2017". Circle Chart (in Korean). September 3–9, 2017. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  6. ^ "국내 대표 음악 차트 가온차트!". Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Retrieved September 11, 2017.
  7. ^ "국내 대표 음악 차트 가온차트!". Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Retrieved September 11, 2017.
  8. ^ "국내 대표 음악 차트 가온차트!". Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Retrieved September 11, 2017.
  9. ^ "국내 대표 음악 차트 가온차트!". Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Retrieved September 23, 2017.
  10. ^ "국내 대표 음악 차트 가온차트!". Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Retrieved October 13, 2017.
  11. ^ "국내 대표 음악 차트 가온차트!". Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Retrieved October 13, 2017.
  12. ^ a b "Babe – K-pop Hot 100". September 18–24, 2017. Archived from the original on December 23, 2017.
  13. ^ HyunA 현아 (Official YouTube Channel) (August 27, 2017), HyunA(현아) - '베베 (BABE)' M/V Teaser, retrieved September 10, 2017
  14. ^ a b "HyunA's 'Babe' MV Reaches 1 Million Views in 1 Day…First Performance Today (30th)". Yahoo! Singapore. August 30, 2017. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  15. ^ Martin, Annie (August 30, 2017). "Hyuna returns with new album, 'Babe' music video". United Press International. Retrieved September 9, 2022.
  16. ^ HyunA 현아 (Official YouTube Channel) (August 29, 2017), HyunA(현아) - '베베 (BABE)' Official Music Video, retrieved September 10, 2017
  17. ^ "Hyuna Chart History: World Digital Song Sales". Billboard. Retrieved November 10, 2019.