Yellow, the Color of Sunshine

**Yellow, the Color of Sunshine** is the second mini album by The New Black. It was released on April 15, 2015 with **'바람꽃 / Windflower'** serving as the title track. After four weeks of promotion, **'Flower Dance'** was released as a follow-up track. Kim Bijoo is the center of this album. Thanks to the album's commercial success, they were given the title "3rd generation's representative".

## Background

> "This was an album that we took to the fore. Although Director Cho Kyuhwan managed it as a general producer, in practice, we had the strongest influence from album art to the smallest details." - Woojoo
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After their consecutive successes with Something, First Chapter and Five Colors: The Red, Woojoo was promised autonomy in producing their second mini album. The production of the album required the largest capital among the albums produced by Lemon Enter since its creation.
In January 2015, Woojoo and Bijoo began working on the album in Director Cho Kyuhwan's house. Kim Bijoo, the main dancer of the team, became the next center for this album. To Woojoo's surprise, Bijoo wanted a vocal-oriented track that transcends generations.

> "I want to sing. I want it to feel classic. Like the song of the 1st generation seniors, it can be liked by men and women of all ages. I hope it's a song that anyone can hum." - Bijoo
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## Release

#### Promotions

Along with the music video, a story film titled "Prologue: Before the Story Begins" was released as well.

#### Visuals

Album art: 'Like the title, it's a trendy album art that captures the sunlight in colors. A flower shaped like a hieroglyph was embedded in the middle. It was a painting by Bijoo himself.'

Concept photos: Taken in Singapore by Photographer Hwang Tae-sun. There were two versions of the concept photos: (1) members with their birth flowers in a flower garden; and (2) a CGI one with destruction as the theme.

* Woojoo: (1) 몰약의 꽃 / purple myrrh; and (2) staring far away with a bleak background;
* Bijoo: (1) 삼색제비꽃 / viola tricolor; and (2) lying in a reed field, turning his head and looking sadly at his birth flower;
* Junghyun: (1) 고욤나무 / date plums; and (2) sitting on an abandoned car bonnet;
* Leehyuk: (1) 좁은입배풍동 / solanum; and (2) touching the blood and scars around his mouth; and
* Jiho: (1) 벚나무 / cherry tree; and (2) hanging his coat on a reed.

#### Reception

As they were at the height of public recognition due to Masterpiece Discovery Team and Historical Expedition Team activities, their comeback was highly anticipated by the general public. Furthermore, the song became a "muggle pick" as it was very easy to listen to. Due to the intensity of success for a rookie boy group, it was marred with hoarding issues within the first two weeks of promotion.

* Real-time charts: #1 New Black - 바람꽃 Windflower
* #23, #27, #38: "Flower Dance", "Intro: Wind" and Unnamed track
* 3,034,612 MV views within 48hrs
* #1 바람꽃 Windflower - 7 music charts; perfect all-kill
* #1 and #10 on record charts in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam and Indonesia.
* Won 1st place during the second week of promotions.
* Removed the rookie tag and marked by media as a rising trend group.
* Initial chodong: 70,000; projected to sell 200,000 copies
* #1 on Mango Chart for five consecutive weeks
* #1 on music shows for six consecutive weeks

## Tracks

1. Intro: Wind
2. **바람꽃 / Windflower** (title)
3. **Flower Dance** (follow-up)
4. Unnamed track
5. Unnamed track
6. Unnamed track
7. Unnamed track
8. Unnamed track
9. Unnamed track
10. Unnamed track
11. Outro

11 tracks; 2 tracks composed by Junghyun; 5 tracks by Woojoo; 4 tracks outsourced (224)

## Intro: Wind

Intro: Wind is performed solely by Kim Junghyun.

> "Calm and trendy jazz music. The rap began with the sound of the drum. The lyrics flowed out in an offbeat. It was about the wind finding a flower seed in an alley somewhere and struggling to move it to the soil. It's easy for a big wind to do so but difficult for a small one. The lyrics were about how difficult it was to plant even a single seed of a wild flower blooming on the side of the road. After the stage of "Wind," the music began to change as if it were immediately connected to him. The members came up next to Kim Joong-hyun, who was standing still on the stage. New Black's members, who flowed smoothly like flower seeds fluttering in the wind, began to settle down one by one. With brightly decorated costumes like boys in spring shining under the light. The stage of Windflowers has begun."
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## 바람꽃 / Windflower

**바람꽃 / Windflower** serves as the title track of their second mini album. It has a trendy pop feel that focuses on vocals. If **Wind** sung by Junghyun is the story of the wind holding the seed in his arms, then **Windflower** was about the story of the seeds that bloomed.

As previously done, Woojoo partnered with the center of the album to create the title track. However, the beginning was marred with difficulties as Bijoo was incapable of conveying into words the song he had in his head. After receiving advice from Director Cho Kyuhwan, they ended up taking an unconventional approach in composing the song, i.e. the choreography comes first before the song itself.

To their utmost surprise, it worked. The draft of the song was finished in 10 minutes: five spent for Bijoo's dance; and five for Woojoo's melody.

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> "Watching the impromptu choreography made by Bijoo, I began to think about the song. At first, I wondered if this would even work, but it worked really well. This method was easier to understand than spending hours trying to work on what he wanted on a midi program. As soon as I saw the choreography, I knew what he wanted to do. It's like a Canon variation. The beautiful melody changes, repeating itself, and giving a warm hug to the listener. It was a warm song like the sunshine in spring. While chasing the gently moving silhouette, a song was being completed in my head."
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After making the song, they played it for Leehyuk, who made some changes for live performances. They originally planned to outsource the lyrics, but he offered to write the lyrics himself as he "got the feeling as soon as I heard it." In writing the lyrics, Leehyuk got inspiration after their showcase tour in Taiwan:

> "'Things you can't see (invisible things)' is the theme of the lyrics. That experience touched me during our fan signing event and showcase. There were things happening where we can't see. To be honest, I never dreamed that we'd have overseas fans. But in places where we couldn't see, someone kept watching us. Someone waited for us. Looking back, I think all relationships are like that. There's always one side who looks at the other even when they're not looking at each other. You don't know about it, but they're taking care of you from afar. I got the idea from there. 'Even when you feel lonely and alone, there is someone who cares about you behind the scenes.' I want to write song lyrics that are comforting in that way." -Seo Leehyuk
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As for the creation of the title, Leehyuk wanted to name it as 'Dark matter' (암흑물질). After accepting suggestions from the employees, it was named Windflower:

> "I saw a pretty flower on the flower bed in my apartment. I didn't even know it existed until I saw it...Even if someone feels lonely and alone, there is a person who looks at you from an invisible place. Wildflowers are in a similar situation."
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### Stage Composition

The choreography was done by Kim Bijoo and refined and completed by Clay Tyler and Joey Tyler.

> "Members surrounding the main dancer. In the meantime, Biju's body sinks slowly. Like the seeds that were scattered by the wind fall to the ground. At the same time, the members bent over and wrapped the main dancer like an umbrella, as if the soil was supporting the seeds. After the intro, the members went out to the side as if my role was over. The main dancer, who was sitting alone, rose lightly. It was simply a movement that occurred, but fans' eyes were fixed on the beautiful gesture. The way he came up with his hand stretched out like a branch seemed to see the real seeds blooming."
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### Lyrics

[Intro] Bijoo

바람이 끝나고 After the wind is over

그 겨울도 멈췄어 That winter stopped

(missing lyrics)

[Verse] Woojoo

내가 있는 곳은 Where I am

너의 시작과 끝 Your beginning and end

[Verse] Junghyun

시선이 닿는 건 The thing that touches my eyes

기약 없는 cell a promiseless cell

차디 찬 밤하늘은 The cold night sky

무겁게 널 짓눌러 I'm weighing you down

[Verse] Leehyuk (Jiho harmonizing)

올려다볼 필요도 You don't have to look up

돌아설 필요도 없이 without having to turn around

그저 바라보면 돼 You just have to look at it

## Flower Dance

**Flower Dance** was released as a follow-up track on May 21, 2015. If Windflower is a song that focuses on vocals, Flower Dance focuses on dance. If Windflower was a gentle petal, Flower Dance was extremely lively. ~~Rip Leehyuk~~ Due to the strong melody, it was a song that feels like an extension of **Masquerade.** While **Windflower** was popular with the general public, **Flower Dance** was more popular with the soufflés.

During K-Net's K-pop Concert in Japan, Woojoo revealed that the melody and choreography for Flower Dance is Windflower in reverse.

### Stage Composition

> "Five people reached for the air. In the calm electric pole, the wrist twirled once, and then twirled again, and the arm slowly descended. Like dandelion seeds fluttering in the wind. Soon, the main dancer of New Black reached out towards the front. For a moment, the music stops. His lips opened with a melody that changed the mood.
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> "As the calm introduction quickly turned into fast-tempo dance music, the main dancer withdrew his hand. At the same time, the members dispersed around him. Like petals, four members surrounded the main dancer, followed by a dance break. Within seconds, the choreography was so intense that sweaty faces were caught on the electronic display. It's lighter than heavy. Each gesture and foot gesture gave off a flexible and pleasant coolness.
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> "As soon as one moves and there is an empty space, another member's hand filled the space. Even though there are no dancers, the stage is filled with only five people. 'It's like the shadow is dancing, too.’ I don't know if it's because of the lighting effect, but I felt like even the shadows were dancing.
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> "Is it an optical illusion?" Of course, it was not an illusion. There were many hidden details in the choreography of Flower Dance. The dance line from the back, the overall composition from the top, and even the movement considering the lighting. The main vocalist appeared ahead of the chorus. While the other members sat on the floor and reached out to him, the main vocalist stretched out his hand and hit the high notes. The main choreography has been transformed with the lyrics to bloom together."
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### Lyrics

[Intro] Bijoo

기억해 Remember

너와 나의 별빛을 The starlight between you and me

[Pre-chorus] Leehyuk

뒤돌아 서지 마 Don't turn around

이대로 멈춰 Stop like this

Stay

It’s our time to bloom

## References

1. ↑ Episode 258 | After 7 weeks of promotions, the title given to us was the "3rd generation representative idol group". In the current situation where TNT, a 2.5 generation group, is at the top, and other 2nd generation senior singers dominate the music market, 3rd generation idols have not been able to stand out. Among them, we, New Black, were the only 3rd-generation idol groups to be evaluated as having grown to a scale equivalent to that of the 2nd generation. In particular, in the case of this third album, it is predicted that the total sales will exceed 200,000 copies, so it is said that it will unconditionally be in the top 10 of the year.
2. ↑ Episode 239
3. ↑ Episode 230
4. ↑ Episode 168 | They were temporarily staying there after suffering from a saesang invasion during their break and prior their move.
5. ↑ Episode 169
6. ↑ Episode 169
7. ↑ Episode 238
8. ↑ Episode 239
9. ↑ Episode 229
10. ↑ Episode 236
11. ↑ Episode 241
12. ↑ Episode 253
13. ↑ Episode 239
14. ↑ Episode 239
15. ↑ Episode 241
16. ↑ Episode 241
17. ↑ Episode 243
18. ↑ Episode 243
19. ↑ Episode 243
20. ↑ Episode 253 | As of May 2015, they have the second highest initial chodong in 2015 after top boy group Teen Spirit's 160k copies. They sold higher than top girl group Daylight.
21. ↑ Episode 258
22. ↑ Episode 258
23. ↑ Episode 240
24. ↑ Episode 241
25. ↑ Episode 170
26. ↑ Episode 171
27. ↑ Episode 171
28. ↑ Episode 171
29. ↑ Episode 183
30. ↑ Episode 183 | “It fits perfectly. Matter that exists in the outer space where we live, but is invisible. What's wrong?"
31. ↑ Episode 227
32. ↑ Episode 230
33. ↑ Episode 241
34. ↑ Episode 255
35. ↑ Episode 263
36. ↑ Episode 263