Checkmate (song)

"Checkmate" is a song by South Korean musician Jung Yong-hwa of CNBLUE and Singaporean singer JJ Lin. A rock song, it is the sixth track on the former's debut solo album One Fine Day, which was released on January 20, 2015. Initially meeting in 2013, the pair decided to collaborate and record a song about mutual support in spite of their national differences.

For other uses, see Checkmate (disambiguation) § music.
"Checkmate"
Song by Jung Yong-hwa and JJ Lin
from the album One Fine Day
Language
ReleasedJanuary 20, 2015 (2015-01-20)
GenreRock
Length3:58
LabelFNC Entertainment
Songwriter(s)Jung Yong-hwa, JJ Lin

A collaborative album, JJ Lin was the final musician revealed to have worked with Jung on One Fine Day. Following its release, the duo performed "Checkmate" on Korean Broadcasting System's (KBS) Music Bank on January 23. A music video for "Checkmate" was released a week later.

Background and composition

JJ Lin attended CNBLUE's Blue Moon World Tour (2013) concert in Taiwan, where he first met Jung. They continued to meet at awards ceremonies that both parties attended.[1] Following their initial meeting, Jung began listening to JJ Lin's music and "felt good" about it and sought to collaborate with him.[2] Wanting to work with a foreign musician, Jung decided on JJ Lin to be the first collaboration for his debut solo album One Fine Day.[3] Upon being contacted the following year, Lin agreed to work with him.[4]

"We could be a pawn on the board, repetitively doing the same things for each game on the board. And many times we hope and think whether we can do more than what we were made to do."[5]

—JJ Lin on the song's theme

Jung and JJ Lin wrote the lyrics for "Checkmate" together, but recorded the song independently from one another.[6] The pair communicated via email to complete the song, which was recorded in Taiwan and South Korea.[7][8] The composition was crafted by Jung, who arranged the song with Lee Sang-ho.[9] According to JJ Lin, the duo wanted to conceive a song which illustrated that "life is often like playing a game of chess". He went on to explain that the track is "about that shout of frustration, and that longing for freedom.".[5] The lyrics convey the idea that "we'd always be there for each other although our nationalities are different". It is a "melodic" rock track with lyrics sung in Korean, Mandarin, and English.[6]

Release and promotion

On January 6, FNC Entertainment's homepage was redesigned into a teaser website for Jung's album.[10] Initiated on the following day, the four artists he collaborated with were revealed on an individual basis.[11] Jung's collaboration with JJ Lin was the final collaboration revealed on January 13.[12] One Fine Day was released on January 20, which includes "Checkmate" as track six.[13] It was later included on the special edition of JJ Lin's album Genesis.[14]

JJ Lin (pictured) performed "Checkmate" with Jung on various occasions

Jung and JJ Lin performed "Checkmate" on KBS's Music Bank on January 23, the latter becoming the first person to perform in Mandarin on the network.[7][15] Directed by Park Cheol-hwan, the song's accompanying music video was released on January 30.[9][16] JJ Lin had traveled to Seoul on January 11 to record the video with Jung. Filming lasted 27 hours, and it includes a scene of the two standing atop a 25-story building wearing "thin" suit jackets in temperatures as low as −8 °C (18 °F).[14] The duo portray lethargic salarymen; Jung's character is a recent hire "who questioned the simple works such as telephone answering and copying documents", in contrast to JJ Lin's "veteran employee who forgot the feeling when he had been a novice".[17]

Jung and JJ Lin performed "Checkmate" at the latter's Timeline: New Earth world tour concert in Beijing on May 9.[18] The song was used in the set list of the 2015 Jung Yong-hwa Live "One Fine Day" concert series, his first solo tour.[19][20] On June 20, during Jung's concert in Taipei, JJ Lin made an unscheduled appearance to celebrate Jung's forthcoming birthday at the time and perform the track alongside him.[21] "Checkmate" was also performed during the Jung Yong-hwa Japan Concert 2017 "Summer Calling" and the 2018 Jung Yong-hwa Live "Room 622" concert tours.[22][23]

Charts
Chart (2015) Peak
position
Gaon BGM Chart[24] 37

References
  1. Kim, Ji-min (January 13, 2015). 정용화, 양동근·버벌진트·윤도현·임준걸과 '4人4色' 콜라보. Metro Seoul (in Korean). Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  2. 鄭容和專訪：音樂記錄美好的日子 (in Chinese). KKBox. April 1, 2015. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  3. Park, Su-jeong (January 6, 2015). 정용화가 전하는 음악 여행 '어느 멋진 날' 감상 가이드북. 10asia (in Korean). Korea Entertainment Media. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  4. Han, Xingwang (January 13, 2015). 鄭容和邀來好友金曲歌王林俊傑 跨刀合作打造新曲〈Checkmate〉. Korea Star Daily (in Chinese). Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  5. Checkmate (花絮版第一则) (in Chinese). Tencent QQ. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  6. Keeyun, Tan (April 1, 2015). "JJ Lin and Jung Yong Hwa: Friends, not rivals". AsiaOne. Singapore Press Holdings. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  7. Lin, Shujuan (January 23, 2015). 林俊傑靠鄭容和「罩」！首度登韓國KBS《Music Bank》. ETtoday (in Chinese). Eastern Broadcasting Company. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  8. JJ韓國合體鄭容和 1秒變新人. China Times (in Chinese). Want Want China Times Group. January 23, 2015. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  9. One Fine Day (liner notes). Jung Yong-hwa. FNC Entertainment. 2015. 1038074158.CS1 maint: others (link)
  10. Choi, Jin-shil (January 6, 2015). 정용화, 실력파 아티스트 4인과 콜라보 진행 '4색 콜라보 기대'. 10asia (in Korean). Korea Entertainment Media. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  11. Kwon, Seok-jeong (January 7, 2015). 정용화 첫 솔로앨범 콜라보 첫 주자는 YDG 양동근. 10asia (in Korean). Korea Entertainment Media. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  12. Park, Su-jeong (January 12, 2015). '솔로 출격' 정용화, 세 번째 콜라보 아티스트는 윤도현. 10asia (in Korean). Korea Entertainment Media. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  13. Park, So-yeong (January 20, 2015). [영상] 정용화 '어느 멋진 날' MV 속 달콤 키스신…팬들 '심쿵'. The Fact (in Korean). Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  14. Shujuan, Lin (January 27, 2015). 林俊傑為鄭容和27小時不睡覺！-8度C冷到鼻水貢貢流. ETtoday (in Chinese). Eastern Broadcasting Company. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  15. Choi, Ji-hyeon (January 23, 2015). '뮤직뱅크' 정용화, '어느 멋진 날' 로 강렬 핫 솔로데뷔. 10asia (in Korean). Korea Entertainment Media. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  16. 鄭容和與林俊傑的合作曲《Checkmate》MV公開！. Korea Star Daily (in Chinese). Fine Key Media Limited. January 30, 2015. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  17. CNBLUE ジョン・ヨンファがサラリーマンに変身！「Checkmate」MV公開. Kstyle (in Japanese). Line Corporation. January 31, 2015. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  18. Chen, Lìyan (May 10, 2015). 鄭容和站台JJ 偶像跨國聯誼. Liberty Times (in Chinese). Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  19. Seon, Mi-gyeong (February 28, 2015). 정용화, 첫 단독콘서트 성료..아시아 투어 시동. Osen (in Korean). Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  20. 「イベントレポ」ジョン・ヨンファ　初のソロツアー大成功で終了！5/6には日本武道館でアンコール公演開催決定！. Korepo (in Japanese). March 29, 2015. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  21. Seong, Geen-ie (June 22, 2015). 정용화, 글로벌 팬과 뜻깊은 생일파티 "국경초월 남신". The Chosun Ilbo (in Korean). Chosun Ilbo Company. Archived from the original on November 1, 2018. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  22. Sakamoto, Yukari (October 11, 2017). CNBLUEのジョン・ヨンファ、ソロツアーが感動のファイナル「もっと大きくなる。これからもずっと一緒に！」. Musicman-NET (in Japanese). F.B.Communications, Magnet Company. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  23. CNBLUE ジョン・ヨンファ、入隊前の単独公演「ROOM 622」を収録したDVDを11月に発売！. Kstyle (in Japanese). Line Corporation. August 7, 2018. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
  24. 2015년 05주차 BGM Chart (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
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