Titleless

## Singles

1. "No Better"
Released: November 18, 2016
2. "Team"
Released: March 10, 2017
3. "Yellow Flicker Beat"
Released: July 3, 2017
4. "400 Lux"
Released: August 25, 2017

***Titleless*** (stylized in all lowercase) is the debut studio album by Korean-Ukrainian singer-songwriter Jisoo, which was released through Interscope Records on 16 June 2017. Following her departure from the girl group Inter Violet, Jisoo was paired with Joel Little, who assisted with the album's songwriting and production. Recording took place from September 2016 to March 2017. *Titleless* has been described as a dream pop, electronica and electropop album with minimalist production, deep bass and programmed beats.

The album received positive reviews from most critics, many of whom praised its songwriting, production, and Jisoo’s vocal delivery. It appeared on several year-end critics' lists, and was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards. *Titleless* deals with themes of youth and critiques mainstream culture, exploring wealth, fame, consumer culture, mental health and social status.

Jisoo promoted the album with many television performances, award shows and also in her first headlining tour, Titleless World Tour, from September 2017 to January 2018. The first two singles "No Better" and "Team" gained critical and commercial success, peaking number three and one on the US Billboard Hot 100 respectively. They were followed by "Yellow Flicker Beat" and "400 Lux". The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart with 177,000 album-equivalent units, of which 129,000 were pure sales. *Titleless* was one of 2017's best-selling albums. It was certified gold in the United Kingdom and double platinum the United States.

## Background and development

Since she was 13, Jisoo has written several songs that later served as demo material for *Titleless*. While signed to YG Entertainment, she wasn’t allowed to write her own music, she stated "..if they saw a notebook with lyrics they would take it away immediately. It wasn’t hell by any means, but they wasted so many good songs, [...] including mine. [...] I had all of my songs on my Mac[Book], so when I was home for the weekends I would lock up, produce and record songs on my own." In 2015, YG Entertainment signed a deal with Interscope Records. The executives Interscope Records wanted to see and develop personal sounds and artistic visions of the IV members, asking them prepare to play a few songs each. After the listening sessions, Interscope executives recognized Jisoo's talent and advised on pairing her with some of their songwriters, however YG Entertainment rejected the offer and pushed her as a band member.

Following her departure from the girl group IV in August 2016, Jisoo re-signed with Interscope Records once again. She was eventually paired with a New Zealand writer and producer Joel Little, and their working relationship clicked almost immediately. Before beginning work on *Titleless*, Jisoo said that she intended her debut album to be a "cohesive" work. Recording of the album was overseen by Jisoo and Little, and was described as a fairly-short process; most of what they created together ended up on the album. Jisoo wanted to write her own music, and the album's content was co-written with Little. Eleven songs were included in the album's final track listing, with seven or eight tracks not making the cut. Choosing songs to include on the final track listing, Jisoo and Little decided to keep it at eleven to avoid "filler material."

## Music and lyrics

Jisoo's vocals on *Titleless* have been noted for her range and powerful delivery. She said that she felt it essential for her vocals and production to be the album's focus, since she was insecure about her lyricism in English. *The A.V. Club* editor Kevin McFarland called the singer's voice the "alpha and omega of her talent. ... Her voice isn't booming or overpowering, but rather mystifying and alluring, both floating on its own in a sea of reverb and digital blips and awash in an army of chorused overdubs." According to *PopMatters'*s Evan Sawdey described Jisoo's vocals as being "unique and powerfully intriguing", while *Billboard* noted her vocals for being "smoky and restrained".

The album is built around Jisoo's and Little's production, which incorporates deep bass, loops, and programmed beats. During its recording, Jisoo said that she "didn't really have a specific sound in mind". Several publications noted its minimalist production, and compared its arrangements to singers such as Robyn and Santigold. *Titleless* has been described by critics as an electronica, dream pop, and electropop album.

It deals with youth and critiques mainstream culture, exploring wealth, fame, consumer culture, mental illness, and social status. Classic teen-pop themes such as social anxiety, romance, and "adolescent aggrievance and angst" are also present on the album. According to *NME*, its lyrics indicate that Jisoo is "bored". In an interview with the magazine, she said that she used words of inclusion (such as "we" and "us") throughout the album. The singer's lyrics detail "the mundanity of teenage life" and celebrate the "often ignored intelligence of the next generation." Jisoo also uses metaphors involving teeth, describing the "Hollywood smile", which several publications related to social class structures and economic inequality. In an analysis piece from *i-D*, writer Wendy Syfret states that *Titleless* presented suburban dreams and a realistic teenage life, saying the record is "perhaps the most direct and eloquent statement about the eternal teen juxtaposition of wanting it all, feeling desperate to grow up and start life, but knowing deep down that to leave this stage is to make an exit you can never undo."

## Songs

### Tracks 1–5

The album's opening track, "Tennis Court", addresses Jisoo's new fame and criticises the "high life." Described by critics as a downtempo hip hop and EDM-influenced alternative pop, art pop and electropop song, it uses synthesisers and electronic pulses in its arrangement. Little and Jisoo first wrote the music and beat, and the lyrics were written later. Nick Messtite of *Forbes* compared the track to the Postal Service's 2003 song "The District Sleeps Alone Tonight". "400 Lux" (named for the brightness of a sunset) was interpreted by critics as the album's first love song, with lyrics detailing suburban life. Lipshutz of *Billboard* described its instrumentation as "over canyon-sized bass and popping percussion".

"White Teeth Teens", influenced by doo-wop music, incorporates military drums with lyrics detailing the differences between the appearance and true character of a white-toothed teen. In a *PopMatters* analysis, Scott Interrante describes the use of teeth in the song's lyrics as "preppy, popular teens, using their white teeth as their defining characteristic." Jisoo cited her fear of ageing and a party she threw at her house while her parents were away as the main inspirations behind "Ribs", described by critics as a deep house-influenced electronica and electropop song. "Buzzcut Season", influenced by tropical music, has "light percussive snaps" and "trickling xylophone" instrumentation. Its lyrics, describing the "ridiculousness of modern life", include themes of refuge and reassurance.

### Tracks 6–11

The album's sixth song, "Team", is a hybrid alternative pop and electro-hop song which features synthesiser, bass, and snare drum instrumentation over a handclap-based beat. Written when Lorde was traveling the world, the song was a "tribute to her friends and country". Lily Rothman wrote for *Time* that the lyrics "we sure know how to run things" in "Team" were a response to "We run things, things don't run we" from Miley Cyrus' "We Can't Stop" (2013). The next song, "No Better" is an electropop and trip hop ballad with elements of hip hop, in which Jisoo discusses an infatuation.

"Skinny Legs" is an indie electronic song about Jisoo's battle with mental illness. The song details an eating disorder or addiction, as the narrator describes her struggle to resist harmful habits. In "Precious Metals" Jisoo sings about her fame and addiction to “glamorous life”. "Yellow Flicker Beat" is an art pop and electropop song with an electronic production with minimal synthesisers and rattling drums in its instrumentation. "A World Alone", the album's closing track, was described as a "dark disco diamond". It begins with a "lonely guitar note" before transitioning into a "roaring dance beat". The song's final line, "Let 'em talk", was cited by critics as a call and response to the album's opening line, "Don't you think that its boring how people talk?" in "Tennis Court".

## Singles

"No Better" was released as the album's lead single commercially worldwide on November 18, 2016, through digital distribution. The song was critically acclaimed with reviewers complimenting its electropop and trip hop ballad with elements of hip hop nature. It achieved commercial success by topping charts in Iceland, Ireland, Lebanon and Malaysia.

"Team" was released as the second single from the album. The song was critically acclaimed by critics who praised its catchy production and "club-ready" atmosphere. The single achieved greater success than "No Better" by topping the charts in almost all the countries it was released to. "Team" became Jisoo's first number one single on the Hot 100.

"Yellow Flicker Beat" was announced as the third single from the album. The song was well received by music critics, who praised its lyrical content for being more mature than that of Jisoo's previous releases. Commercially, the song was a success as well, reaching top 10 in 22 countries.

"400 Lux" was released to modern rock and contemporary hit radio stations on September 1, 2017, as the fourth and final single. The track peaked at number seventeen on the *Billboard* Hot 100 on the week of December 16, 2017 where it remained for the next two weeks before declining to number nineteen in its eighteenth week on the chart.

### Promotional singles

The first promotional single, "Skinny Legs", was released on January 13, 2017. The song debuted and peaked at number 84 on the US *Billboard* Hot 100.

The second promotional single, "Tennis Court", was released on May 26, 2017 debuting and peaking at number 71 on the Billboard Hot 100.

## Critical reception

*Titleless* received generally positive reviews from critics; aggregating website Metacritic reports a normalized rating of 79, based on 28 reviews. Jason Lipshutz of *Billboard* described it as "immaculate" and an "exploration into the soul of a quiet girl in the Internet age, trying to feel something and not envy everything." In his favorable A− review, Ray Rahman of *Entertainment Weekly* said the album's production, vocal performance and lyricism "signals the arrival of a new kind of star." In contrast, *Spin* reviewer Maura Johnston suggested that Jisoo used her age as a "clumsy ploy", declaring her music "aggressively okay" and washed in "(possibly fake) teen-pop-star ennui". Lindsay Zoladz, writing for *Pitchfork*, described Jisoo as a "correspondent on the front lines of elegantly wasted post-digital youth culture".

James Reed of *The Boston Globe* said *Titleless* was similar to the production aesthetic of R&B singers the Weeknd and Jessie Ware. Evan Sawdey of *PopMatters* suggested that the "album's production... [evokes] an ethereal, nighttime soundscape that just so happens to congeal into sturdy pop songs, sometimes in exciting, unexpected ways." *The New Zealand Herald'*s Lydia Jenkin concluded, "[Jisoo's] knack for combining her insights, with strong phrasing, and ear-worm phonaesthetics ... make her a musical heroine ... The impressive level of self-awareness is what makes her youthful commentary so compelling." Conversely, Adam Offitzer of *Pretty Much Amazing* awarded the album a B grade, asserting it was "no masterpiece", but engaging enough to keep Jisoo relevant. Robert Christgau gave the album a two-star honourable mention (★★) and said, "Her ambition's in the right place, but the reason she always co-writes is that 17-year-olds don't just crank out hits."

## Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.

* Jisoo – vocals, production, instrumentation
* Joel Little – production, mixing, engineering, instrumentation
* Stuart Hawkes – mastering
* Elohim – production (track 8)
* Paul Epworth – production (track 10)
* Matt Wiggins – mixing (track 10)

## Certifications

 Indonesia
 Japan (RIAJ)
 Malaysia (RIM)
 Philippines (PARI)
 Singapore (RIAS)
 South Korea (Gaon)
 Taiwan (Gaon)
 United Kingdom (BPI)
 United States (RIAA)