Remember is the seventh and special album, by South Korean girl group S.E.S.. It was released on January 2, 2017 through S.M. Entertainment. After disbandment in December 2002, the group reunited for the album's release to celebrate their twentieth anniversary since debut.Remember marks the first release of original material by the group since Choose My Life-U in 2002, and first official release since the compilation albumBeautiful Songs'' in 2003. After the release of the buzz single "Love " on November 28, the main singles "Remember" and "Paradise" were released on January 1and 2, respectively – the latter accompanying the album's release. The record peaked at number 7 on the Gaon Album Chart.
Background and development
After S.E.S. became inactive in 2002, they officially disbanded in 2003 due to the expiry of the contracts of Bada and Eugene, who decided to part ways with S.M. Entertainment. All of the three former members went on to pursue solo careers in music and acting. Shoo eventually also left the company in 2006. In 2007, the three members reunited to celebrate their 10th anniversary, and in 2008, they appeared as a group on the South Korean show Happy Sunday. On October 2009, they made another appearance together as a group on the show Come To Play. In 2014, the members, minus Eugene, who was pregnant at the time, reunited one more time for the Infinite Challenge 1990s-themed special Saturday, Saturday, I Am A Singer. At the occasion, Eugene was represented by Girls' Generation member Seohyun. On May 28, 2016, S.E.S attended the charity event Green Heart Bazaar. A few months later, on October, it was announced that S.E.S. would make an official comeback to the music scene in 2016, almost 20 years since the release of their debut album. On November 23, the group's schedule was revealed by their record label, with the official announcement of a special celebrative album.
Composition
The album has a total of ten tracks - six originals, three remakes of previous singles "Life", "The Light", and "Love ", and an English version of the title track "Remember". The album's first single "Love " is an R&B song. It is a remake of their previous songs "I'm Your Girl" and "Love". Second single "Remember" is a mid-tempopop ballad song written and composed by the members themselves, combining piano melody and string orchestra, while the third and final single "Paradise" is a new jack swing song produced by Mike Daley, Mitchell Owens, and Yoo Young-jin. The three producers were also involved in labelmate SHINee's fifth album 1 of 1 and its repackage 1 and 1, both released in 2016. The album also contains hints of jazz, most notably on the track "Candy Lane".
Release and promotion
On November 28, through S.M. Entertainment's digital music project SM Station, the group released "Love ". The track served as a buzz single for their upcoming official comeback. Later, on December 29, a music video for the song was uploaded onto SM Town's official YouTube channel, consisting of a series of old footage of the group. On the same day, music video teasers for the two main singles "Remember" and "Paradise" were released, and promotional photographs of the members were shared in social media. As scheduled, the music video for "Remember" was released on January 1, 2017. Promotions started with a ten-episode reality show called "Remember - I'm Your S.E.S.", airing in the mobile video app Oksusu, with first episode airing on December 5. The trio also appeared in You Hee-Yeol's Sketchbook, performing some of their earlier songs. The trio had also been scheduled to appear as hosts in an episode of Saturday Night Live Korea to be aired on December 17, but the appearance was cancelled because member Eugene injured her ankle while filming the group's comeback music videos. The trio also announced a special concert called "Remember, The Day", to be held on December 30 and 31 at the Daeyang Hall at Sejong University in Seoul, South Korea. It is their first solo concert since 2000. Before the first concert, the group held a press conference to discuss about the process of making the album. They've also performed in the 2016 MBC Gayo Daejejeon, which aired in December 31. It's their first time in the festival since 2002. They performed their 1997 debut single "I'm Your Girl" and the single "Remember". On March 1, they held a fanmeet called "I Will Be There, Waiting For You".
Singles
"Love " was released as a promotional buzz single and as part of SM Station on November 28, 2016 by S.M. Entertainment. The song entered and peaked at number 22 on the Gaon Digital Chart on the chart issue dated November 27–December 3, 2016 with 63,930 downloads sold. A music video was released on December 29, 2016, compiling scenes of their early days as a group. "Remember" was released as the first main single on January 1, 2017, along with its music video, with features Shoo's son Lim Yoo making a cameo appearance. The song entered and peaked at number 48 on the Gaon Digital Chart on the chart issue dated January 1–7, 2017 with 38,561 downloads sold. "Paradise" was released as the second and also final single on January 2, 2017, with its music video release. The song entered at number 95 on the componing Download Chart of the Gaon Digital Chart with 15,854 downloads sold. It also accompanied the album's release.
Commercial performance
Remember entered and peaked at number 7 on the Gaon Album Chart on the chart issue dated January 1–7, 2017. In its second week, the album fell to number 65.
