Eight (song)


"Eight" is a song recorded by South Korean singer-songwriter IU featuring Suga, the rapper of South Korean boy band BTS. 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. 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.
The song received generally positive review from music critics, who not only praised its lyrics and production, but also compared the song to the works of musicians such as Avicii, Zedd and Alessia Cara. Commercially, the single debuted at number one on the South Korean Gaon Digital Chart. It also entered the Billboard World Digital Song Sales chart at number one. The accompanying music video for "Eight" was directed by Kim Woogie and features IU revisiting various phases of her youth through her memories.

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. It is IU's first single to be released after six months, following her fifth EP Love Poem in 2019. 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 for streaming and digital download on May 6.

Composition and production

"Eight" was written and composed by IU and its producer Suga who also featured on the track. In an interview, IU said that she decided to work with Suga to deliver music that feels different from the music style that was previously presented to fans. Talking about the production process behind the song in a V Live broadcast, Suga stated that it was very smooth. He recalled, "There wasn’t a lot of back-and-forth. Shortly after I sent the beats to her, she sent it back with the melody."
"Eight" follows IU's previous singles "Twenty-three" and "Palette" which together comprise her "coming-of-age" series. The song's title derives from the last digit of the Korean age "twenty-eight" of both singers. Musically, "Eight" has been described as pop rock song that fuses acoustic EDM and trendy rock sounds with "delicate and emotional" vocals and "soothing rapping". The song is composed in the key of C♯ major with a tempo of 120 beats per minute. It runs for two minutes and forty-seven seconds. It derives from piano and guitar instrumentation and incorporates Suga's characteristic "airy" synths in its production for which the song invokes "feel-good" and "nostalgic" vibes. According to IU, the lyrics are a confession of a twenty-eight year old "using a virtual figure and various metaphors". It has a theme of "self-reflection." Teen Vogues Sara Delgado described "Eight" as "a narration between two characters in soliloquy form" that "dwells on memories and past encounters" and felt that the various analogies in the song are used "to transmit a sense of longing, all through the lens of youth and loss."

Critical reception

Reviewing for IZM, Hwang Sun-up gave the song a positive review, praising the lyrics and production and likened its musical direction to Avicii's "Wake Me Up" and Zedd and Alessia Cara's "Stay".

Chart performance

Shortly after its release, "Eight" topped the real-time charts of major Korean music platforms, including Melon, Soribada, Genie, Naver, Bugs and Flo and achieved a "perfect all-kill". On Melon, Korea's largest streaming music site, the song had 199,327 listeners in just one hour of release becoming the first "roof hit" and the largest number of listeners in its first hour since the chart reformulation breaking the record of "On". After 6 hours, the song reached 715,159 unique listeners. The song also reached number one on iTunes charts in 59 countries, including United States, France, Singapore, New Zealand, Finland and Malaysia. The song debuted at number 30 on the Spotify Global Top 50 the day after release. "Eight" debuted at number one on the Gaon Digital Chart. The song debuted atop the Billboard World Digital Songs Chart becoming IU and Suga's first song to chart at number one on the chart. It also entered the US Digital Song Sales Chart at number 13.

Music video

The song's accompanying music video premiered simultaneously with the release of the single. Directed by Kim Woogie, its synopsis follows IU as the protagonist, "growing out of her youth". The video opens with IU walking into a "futuristic" sci-fi room. She activates a "mysterious machine" and lays on a "stretcher". She then goes back to various phases of her life through her memories. The video alternates between "high-quality" 3D and 2D animated scenes and "live-action" clips of her travelling to different worlds. There are scenes where she strolls through a house, and in others she treasures a "gecko" in different forms of herself. The video ends with her waking up from her trance.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from Melon.

Awards and nominations

Release history