Mileage (song)

"Mileage"
Single by Jung Yong-hwa with YDG
from the album One Fine Day
ReleasedJanuary 9, 2015 (2015-01-09)
Recorded2014
Length4:03
LabelFNC Entertainment
Songwriter(s)Jung Yong-hwa, YDG
Jung Yong-hwa singles chronology
"You, My Star"
(2014) 		"Mileage"
(2015) 		"One Fine Day"
(2015)

"Mileage" (마일리지; Mailliji) is a song by South Korean musicians Jung Yong-hwa of CNBLUE and Yang Dong-geun (YDG). Released on January 9, 2015, it serves as the pre-release single of the former's debut solo studio album One Fine Day (2015). While filming the television series The Three Musketeers (2014), Jung was inspired by YDG's affection towards his family on set to compose the song. Upon release of Jung's album, the two performed "Mileage" on music programs and talk shows. The song debuted and peaked at number 57 on South Korea's national Gaon Digital Chart, selling over 78,000 digital downloads since its release.

Background and composition

In May 2014, Jung was in talks to take part in TVN's television series The Three Musketeers.[1] He was officially cast the following month and would star alongside actors Lee Jin-wook and Yang Dong-geun.[2] As recording for the series took place, Yang conveyed endearment to his family on set; Jung took this as inspiration to write the melody for "Mileage". After listening to the track, Yang immediately wrote his rap.[3] He stated that "it formed connections in my head right away", further expressing that Jung was a "musician who has overcome genres".[4]

"Mileage" was written and composed by Jung; YDG contributed the lyrics of his rap.[5] The song is composed in the key of E major using common time with a tempo of 90 beats per minute.[6]

Release and promotion

On January 6, 2015, FNC Entertainment's homepage was redesigned into a teaser website for One Fine Day.[7] The following day, it was revealed that Jung had collaborated with YDG on the track "Mileage".[8] It serves as a pre-release single to the album.[5] One day prior to its release, a music video teaser for "Mileage" was revealed;[9] the full version was uploaded on January 9.[10] It features the duo dressed in hip hop apparel with "cartoon-esque" imagery, along with "comical, straight-faced acting".[5]

Jung performed "Mileage" alongside YDG on Seoul Broadcasting System's (SBS) music show Inkigayo,[11] as well as on the January 30 broadcast of KBS2's talk show You Hee-yeol's Sketchbook.[12] Jung also performed the song the January 15, 2016 broadcast in midst of promoting "Empathy" with Sunwoo Jung-a; the episode was ranked among the top seven performances on the show's history by online music store Melon.[13]

Critical reception

Writing for Ize magazine, music critic Kim Yeong-dae noted how "Mileage" was able to "elegantly advance the recurring thematic progression by controlling the tension through length of notes while minimizing harmonic shifts", which he claimed "attests to the fact that [Jung's] songwriting capability has stepped up to a standard".[14]

An Sang-wook and Yeolshimhi of Y magazine rated the song two out of three stars. Both reviewers noted similarities to Jason Mraz's music, with An particularly highlighting the "groovy" and "simple" instrumentation, which made him feel that it could "pass" as a CNBLUE track. An spoke positively of YDG's rapping, which "complements nicely, functioning to focus the tone of the track". He felt that "Mileage" as a pre-release single was "not a bad choice", but expressed that the song "sticks out" on One Fine Day. Yeolshimhi described the song as "something familiar" which leaves the listener "wanting more of memorable parts or melodies". He stated that, as a composer, Jung was "less inclined to provide entertainment or leave an 'impression'".[15]

Commercial performance

On the chart dated January 4 – 10, 2015, "Mileage" debuted at number 57 on South Korea's national Gaon Digital Chart,[16] selling 27,638 downloads in its first two charting days.[17] The song sold 68,555 downloads throughout January and an additional 9,951 downloads the following month, totaling 78,506 downloads by the end of February.[18][19]

Charts

Chart (2015) Peak
position
Gaon Digital Chart[16] 57

References

  1. ^ Jeong, Jee-won (May 23, 2014). '삼총사' 측 "정용화 캐스팅? 출연여부 미정". Newsen (in Korean). Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  2. ^ Park, Hyeon-min (June 6, 2014). 이진욱-양동근-정용화, '삼총사' 윤곽 드러났다. Osen (in Korean). Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  3. ^ Park, Su-jeong (January 9, 2015). 정용화, 솔로 앨범 베일 벗다…양동근과 콜라보 '마일리지'로 유쾌한 변신. 10asia (in Korean). Korea Entertainment Media. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  4. ^ Choi, Jin-shil (January 12, 2015). 윤도현, 정용화 극찬 "장르 뛰어넘은 뮤지션". 10asia (in Korean). Korea Entertainment Media. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  5. ^ a b c Jeon, Won (January 8, 2015). 정용화, 양동근과 콜라보한 '마일리지' 선공개…솔로가수로 첫출발. MyDaily (in Korean). Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  6. ^ 정용화(씨엔블루) 마일리지 (Mileage) (With YDG) 악보. Akbobada (in Korean). Mediaround. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  7. ^ Choi, Jin-shil (January 6, 2015). 정용화, 실력파 아티스트 4인과 콜라보 진행 '4색 콜라보 기대'. 10asia (in Korean). Korea Entertainment Media. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  8. ^ Kwon, Seok-jeong (January 7, 2015). 정용화 첫 솔로앨범 콜라보 첫 주자는 YDG 양동근. 10asia (in Korean). Korea Entertainment Media. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  9. ^ Park, Su-jeong (January 8, 2015). 정용화, 첫 솔로앨범 수록곡 '마일리지' 선공개..양동근 콜라보. 10asia (in Korean). Korea Entertainment Media. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  10. ^ Kim, Hyeong-woo (January 9, 2015). 씨엔블루 정용화 '마일리지'로 성과도 차곡차곡 쌓을까. Seoul Shinmun (in Korean). Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  11. ^ Kim, Min-jeong (January 25, 2015). '인기가요' 씨엔블루 정용화, 그레이 코트로 댄디남 등극+비주얼 폭발…양동근과 '마일리지' 환상호흡. eStar (in Korean). eToday. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  12. ^ Choi, Ji-hyeon (January 31, 2015). '유희열의 스케치북' 정용화 양동근 동반 출연 "드라마에서 인연돼 함께 음악 작업". 10asia (in Korean). Korea Entertainment Media. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  13. ^ Han, Dong-yun (May 20, 2016). 유희열의 스케치북 다시보기 서비스 개시 기념 - 명공연 TOP7 리와인드!. Melon (in Korean). LOEN Entertainment. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  14. ^ Kim, Yeong-dae (January 30, 2015). 종현의 솔로 VS 정용화의 솔로. Ize (in Korean). Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  15. ^ An, Sang-wook; Yeolshimhi (January 26, 2015). [Single-Out #27-4] 정용화 「Mileage (feat. YDG)」. Y (in Korean). Music Taste Y. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  16. ^ a b 2015년 03주차 Digital Chart (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  17. ^ 2015년 03주차 Download Chart (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  18. ^ 2015년 01월 Download Chart (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  19. ^ "ko:2015년 02월 Download Chart" (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. Archived from the original on October 9, 2016. Retrieved February 20, 2017.