Illusion

## ***Illusion***Studio album by Jisoo

* Standard
* Deluxe

### Producer(s)

Jisoo · Al Shux · Tim Anderson · Arca · DJ Dahi · Finneas · Aron Forbes · Emile Haynie · Illangelo · Sohn · Chris Spilfogel · Alison Wonderland

## Singles

1. "Trainwreck"
Released: March 23, 2018
2. "Church"
Released: June 22, 2018
3. "Bellyache"
Released: October 1, 2018
4. "Gemini Feed"
Released: January 7, 2019
5. "Perfect Illusion"
Released: February 1, 2019

***Illusion*** is the second studio album by Korean-Ukranian singer-songwriter Jisoo. It was released through Interscope Records on September 21, 2018. In the album's production, Jisoo worked with a host of producers and co-writers, including Al Shux, Tim Anderson, Arca, DJ Dahi, Finneas, Aron Forbes, Emile Haynie, Illangelo, Sohn, Chris Spilfogel and Alison Wonderland.

Lyrically, *Illusion* revolves around love, fame, destructive relationships and self-image. The album is primarily an electropop and R&B record, with EDM and jazz influences. It received generally favorable reviews from music critics, with many praising the music and Jisoo's vocals. Several music publications included the album in their year-end best-of lists. The album was nominated for five Grammy Awards at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards (2019), including Album of the Year, Record of the Year and Song of the Year. It won Best Pop Solo Performance.

*Illusion* topped the charts in various countries worldwide, including the US *Billboard 200*, where it recorded 216,000 first-week album-equivalent units. It has since been certified quintuple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Four of the album's singles — "Trainwreck", "Church", "Bellyache", and "Gemini Feed"—charted in the top ten of the *Billboard* Hot 100 in the US, where the lead single stayed atop for three weeks. A deluxe reissue of the album was released through Interscope on February 1, 2019, along with the fifth single, "Perfect Illusion", which charted within the top 30 in the United States. To support the album, Jisoo embarked on the Illusion World Tour in 2019, which grossed over $182 million upon completion.

## Background and development

Jisoo released her debut album *Titleless* on June 16, 2017. It was met with critical acclaim and commercial success, and spawned the *Billboard* Hot 100-topping single "Team", her first number-one on the chart. The album and the single helped Jisoo win five awards at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards, including the "big four" Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best New Artist. A number of releases followed the album, including the Vince Staples and Kendrick Lamar collaboration "Yeah Right" (2017), the Tyler, the Creator collaboration "See You Again" (2017) and the Clean Bandit collaboration "Rather Be" (2017), the last one of which won the Best Dance Recording at the 61st Grammy Awards.

## Music and lyrics

The albums open with "Ocean Eyes", a dream pop, pop, synth-pop, indie pop and R&B ballad. The song features percussion, bass guitar and a synthesizer. "Ocean Eyes" is a love letter to Jisoo's crush with her lover's "ocean" eyes. According to Baeble Music's Olivia Lewis, "My Boy" begins with a "chiller, jazz-like vibe, and a layer of darkness and mystery". It features hip hop-influenced production, using a hi-hat and keyboard. Musically, the track is a pop song. With "Watch", described as a pop ballad, Eilish sends a message to her former lover, saying she is leaving their toxic relationship. The track begins with the sound of a match strike that continues throughout the song as its main beat. "Copycat" is a hip hop-influenced electronica and pop track. It features minimalist production consisting of a bass guitar and piano. The song is Jisoo's response to people she felt kept copying everything she was doing. "Trainwreck" is an electropop song with rap influences, and Jisoo described the lyrics as a "stream of consciousness." According to Kellan Miller of Drowned in Sound, "Jisoo is hardly stuck in the victim role, as many songs feature her spoon−feeding hard doses of perspective and truth down her ex−lovers' throats." Musically, "Church" is an electronic song with EDM influences. Lyrically, it is about breaking out of a toxic relationship and realising your own self-worth.

Pitchfork's Patric Fallon described "Two Weeks" as "a beguilingly straight-laced cut of silken R&B" and "a commanding blast of raw sexual power." The song deals with the topics of lust, sex, and ecstasy. "Underdog" is an electropop track, with upbeat and ferocious production. Jisoo details a relationship in which her partner had little confidence in himself and saw himself as an “underdog,” a person who has little status. "Hostage" is a stripped-down pop track. Lyrically, the track is about an intense love that Jisoo feels for someone and an overwhelming desire she has for them. The alternative-pop "Gemini Feed" features a heavy bass and electronic influences. Jisoo depicts a relationship with an emotionally manipulative ex-lover. The following track, "Idontwannabeyouanymore", is a pop and R&B song, with a jazz and neo soul-influenced melody. The track features Jisoo singing about self-doubt and low self-esteem. "Party Favor" is a folk track with Eilish playing the ukulele. The song addresses Jisoo's break up with her boyfriend on his birthday with a phone call. *Illusion* closes with "Bellyache" is a mid-tempo electropop and R&B song with influences of hip hop, deep house and Latin macabre in its instrumentation. The song's lyrics were written from the perspective of a psychopath who kills those close to her, including her friends and lover.

The Japanese edition, the Target exclusive edition and the deluxe reissue feature 4 new songs. Revolving around a destructive relationship, "Rattlesnake" is an electronic song. "That Other Girl" is a minimalistic alternative and electronic track. Lyrically Jisoo addresses the endless cycle of consumerist culture and how that can affect personal relationships. "You Should See Me in a Crown" is a trap-influenced electropop song which features Jisoo singing over "blaring synths and rapid-fire hi-hats." According to Mark Savage of BBC Music, "Perfect Illusion" is a disco-rock song, composed around a "building chord sequence", which he felt leads to a "compelling sense of urgency". The singer's vocals are kept "raw" and "untreated", "eschewing Auto-Tune". The composition consists of "pulsing verses" and a "guitar-and-vocals breakdown before the final chorus", where Jisoo sings the title multiple times.

## Singles

1

"Church" was released as the album's second single on June 22, 2018. The song debuted at number 9 and in its tenth week on the chart, dated September 8, the song further climbed to a new peak of number 4 in the US. Consequently, this became her second top five single from *Illusion* in the country. Internationally, it reached number 5 in the New Zealand charts, number 4 on the Canadian Hot 100 and on the Australian charts, as well as number 3 on the UK Singles Chart.

3

4

"Perfect Illusion" served as the fifth and final single from *Illusion*. It received mixed to positive reviews from music critics, many of whom complimented its catchiness, the song's key change and Jisoo's vocal delivery. The song debuted at number 52 on the Hot 100 and peaked at number 29, becoming the only single from the album to not reach the top ten.

### Promotional singles

"Two Weeks" was released on May 4, 2018 as the only promotional single from the record. The song debuted at number 43 on the *Billboard* Hot 100 and later peaked at number 31, following the release of the parent album.

## Commercial performance

*Illusion* debuted at number-one on the US *Billboard* 200 with 238,000 album-equivalent units, of which 141,000 represented traditional album sales. It marked Jisoo's second consecutive number one album in the US and her fastest-selling album at the time. Among female artists, *Illusion* scored the second-largest US sales debut of 2018, behind Cardi B's Invasion of Privacy (255,000 album-equivalent units). On the US *Billboard* Hot 100 chart, issue dated October 6, 2018, ten of Jisoo's songs charted simultaneously, placing her as the fourth female artist with the most simultaneous entries on the chart for a female soloist, tied with Ariana Grande. The same week, Jisoo ascended to number one on the Artist 100 chart, due to strong album sales and song streams.

In the United Kingdom, the album debuted at number one on the Official Albums Chart, her second number one album in the country. The album also reached the top of the charts in several other markets, including Australia, Canada, and Japan.

In Australia, the album became Jisoo's second consecutive number one on the ARIA Albums Chart. All 13 of the album's tracks placed on the ARIA Singles Chart simultaneously, becoming Jisoo's first album to do so. Additionally, two *Illusion* singles, "Trainwreck" and "Church", landed in ARIA's annual top singles chart for the same year.

## Certifications

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