Universe: The Black Hall

Universe: The Black Hall is the first studio album and debut major Korean release by South Korean boy group Pentagon. It was released on February 12, 2020, by Cube Entertainment and distributed by Kakao M and U-Cube.[1] The album marks their longest gap between their previous extended plays since the ninth mini album Sum(me:r) released in July last year.[2] The group continue to promote as eight as Cube states Yan An did not participate in Pentagon's first full album promotions.[3]

Universe: The Black Hall
Upside Version
Studio album by
Pentagon
ReleasedFebruary 12, 2020
Recorded2020
GenreK-pop
Length37:06
LanguageKorean
Label
Pentagon chronology
Sum(me:r)
(2019)		 Universe: The Black Hall
(2020)		 Universe: The History
(2020)
Pentagon studio album chronology
Universe: The Black Hall
(2020)		 Universe: The History
(2020)
Alternative cover
Downside Version
Singles from Universe: The Black Hall
  1. "Dr. Bebe"
    Released: February 12, 2020
Music video
"Dr. 베베(Dr. BeBe)" on YouTube

The album contains eleven tracks with the lead single "Dr. Bebe" composed by member Hui with Nathan and Yunji.[4] The album features member Jinho, Hui, Wooseok, Kino, Yeo One, Hongseok, Shin Won, and Yuto who participated in the album process.

Background

It was revealed in GQ Korea's February 2020 interview with Pentagon that the title song for their upcoming studio album has been confirmed. Member Kino states that the song is produced by Hui and it is a concept that Pentagon has never done before.

Leader Hui stated the reason why it's "black hall" and not "black hole" is because it means it is the space in which Universe (fandom name) and Pentagon walk hand in hand together. According to member Kino, the album is the culmination of all their previous works and it also represents a new start for them.[5] Three months prior to its release, Hui written and thrown away 5 songs, and finished 9 songs which were not included, but 3 songs were included in the album.[5] During the group's album showcase, Wooseok revealed that his lower back hurts during practicing for the title song, but is in the midst of recovery.[6]

Release

On January 30, Cube shared the time schedule for the group upcoming comeback as "Pentagon's 1st Full Album [UNIVERSE : THE BLACK HALL]",[7] which the group revealed their group image on February 4 and 5,[8][9] and followed with audio snippet on February 6.[10] On February 10, Cube released the music video teaser for title track "Dr. Bebe".[11]

The album was released through several music portals, including MelOn, iTunes, and Spotify.[12][13][14]

Composition and lyrics

The title song "Dr. Bebe" is an electronic genre based on hip-hop rhythm. The song contains four themes 'Love, Fall, Hurt and Crazy' it is talking about repeated 'bridle of love' that everyone falls in love with, breaks up, get hurts, goes crazy and loves again. "Asteroid" is an up-tempo pop genre with synth-pluck sound, groovy drumbeats and unique synth line added to the song's ambience. The medium tempo "Shower of Rain" based on the hip-hop genre with easily with lyrics and lyrical melody portrays a man crying in the rain to hide the tears flowing from the heartbreak. "Die For You" contains a love story that happened after he was abandoned by his ex-lover.[12] The song is composed by member Kino with an inspiration of Harley Quinn from the movie Suicide Squad.[15][16] "Talk" is a sensual R&B ballad song featuring the stories of old lovers who don't dare to know each other's hearts. Member Jinho and Wooseok participated in the writing. "The Black Hall" is an EDM dance song made through a collaboration between Hui and duo Flow Blow who together produce "Never" and "energetic" in 2016. "Worship U" is a trendy and energetic medium tempo synth-pop that tells a story of a man whose life has changed through his love and promises to his lover that her love her until the end of his life. Oriental guitar and synth sound creates "Zoom Up" a dreamy and mysterious atmosphere with heavy bass and groovy rhythm song. "Camelia" is a modern rock ballad song produced and written by member Yuto. Through the meaning of camellia, the song depicts memories that Pentagon and Universe spent together in the past 3 years.[15] The album also contains two special tracks, "Someday" that has the vocals of Jinho and Hui, and "Happiness (Korean Ver.)" is a newly released Korean version of "Happiness" which was the double title song of Pentagon's 2nd Japanese single Happiness/Sha La La.[12]

Tamar Herman of Billboard magazine called the title track "dynamic in its propulsive angst with pounding choruses, rapidfire raps, and melodic showcasing the diverse tones of the eight members.[17]

Track listing
Universe: The Black Hall track listing
No.TitleLyricsMusicArrangementLength
1."Dr. BeBe" (Dr. 베베)
  • Hui
  • NATHAN
  • Yunji
  • NATHAN
  • Yunji
3:11
2."Asteroid" (소행성)
  • Andrew Choi
  • Coach & Sendo
  • minGtion
  • Oh Seung-eun
  • Andreas Baertels
  • minGtion
3:27
3."Shower of Rain" (빗물 샤워)
  • Hui
  • Wooseok
  • Hui
  • Minit
  • Minit
3:16
4."Die for You"
  • Kino
  • NATHAN
NATHAN3:35
5."Talk"
  • Albin Nordqvist
  • Sebastian Lestapier
  • Adam Alexander
  • Albin Nordqvist
  • Sebastian Lestapier
  • Adam Alexander
3:06
6."The Black Hall"
  • Hui
  • Wooseok
  • Hui
  • Flow Blow
  • Flow Blow
3:09
7."Worship U"
  • Wooseok
  • earattack
  • earattck
  • Jimmy Claeson
  • earattack
  • Larmook
3:17
8."Zoom Up"
  • CODE 9
  • PURAVIDA
  • CODE 9
  • PURAVIDA
  • PURAVIDA
3:16
9."Camellia" (동백꽃)
  • Yuto
  • Wooseok
  • FCM Houdini
  • FCM Houdini
  • Yuto
  • FCM Rimbaud
  • FCM Houdini
  • Yuto
  • FCM Rimbaud
3:28
10."Someday" (Song by Jinho and Hui) (Special)
  • IMAGES
  • POPKID
  • IMAGES
  • POPKID
  • IMAGES
  • POPKID
3:57
11."Happiness" (Korean ver. Special)
  • Kino
  • Yuto
  • Wooseok
  • Kino
  • 홍익인간
  • 멧돼지(S2 EVOLUTION)
  • 홍익인간
  • 멧돼지(S2 EVOLUTION)
  • Gayeoni(가여니)
3:24
Total length:37:06

Promotions

On January 28, 2020, Pentagon released a forty-one second-long album trailer video. The video revealed Pentagon's logo shining brightly into a black hole after several intersecting images of the universe, with the release date of Pentagon's first studio album.[18] The album was supposed to accompany by a fan showcase but Cube Entertainment decided to cancel it due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[19] Only a live showcase without the attendance of fans was broadcast live on Vlive.[20]

Cube held Uni Hall outside Cafe 20 Space: The Mint Universe from February 12 to March 1, 2020.[21]

On December 12, 2019, a media showcase was held to commemorate the release of the group's first regular album at YES24 Live Hall in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul.[22]

The group began promoting their title track "Dr. Bebe" on February 13 on Mnet's M Countdown performing together with "Camellia",[23] followed by performances on KBS' Music Bank,[24] MBC's Show! Music Core','[25] and SBS' Inkigayo.[26]

Pentagon continue their promotion activities with follow-up song "Shower of Rain" starting March 12, on MCountdown.[27]

Music video

The music video for the title track was released at midnight, 00:00 KST, on the 12th through Pentagon's official YouTube channel. The music video was meant to be released at the same time as the digital music release but due to the overwhelming response, it was brought forward to midnight on the 12th.[28] The music video showed the members facing terrors raging over love and encountering a variety of dangerous encounters.[17]

On February 14, the official lyrics and dance practice video for "Dr. Bebe" was released on both Pentagon's official YouTube and V Live channel.[29][30]

On February 16, the music video surpassed 10 million views making it their fastest music video to reach it since debut.[31] Pentagon also released "Dr. Bebe"'s performance version music video on February 17.[32]

Analysis

In M2, Kino stated that in "Dr. Bebe"'s music video, the remaining members are all his alter ego. The video presents two sides, Upside which means reality and Downside means inner feelings. The Upside shows how they are foolishly waiting for their loved ones and slowly turning into madness, while the Downside shows how they tried to escape from the pain of love. Both sides are connected by the metronome. Also, the trailer of the music video showed Hui during "Shine" with the paper aeroplane, and it changed colour as it landed on "Dr. Bebe"'s music video set. This represents how "A boy that wanted to experience love, finally experienced it, and feel the pain when he broke up".[33]

Accolades
Year-end lists
Critic/Publication List Work Rank Ref.
South China Morning Post Top 15 K-pop albums of 2020 Universe: The Black Hall N/A [34]
Dazed 40 Best K-pop songs of 2020 "Dr. Bebe" 31 [35]

Charts
Sales chart performance for Universe: The Black Hall
Chart (2020) Peak
position
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[36] 14
South Korean Albums (Gaon)[37] 3

Release history
Release formats for Universe: The Black Hall
Region Date Format Label
South Korea February 12, 2020
Various
  • Digital download
  • streaming

See also

References
  1. "Pentagon to release its first full album on February 12 Comeback Artwork Teaser". HeraldPop. 30 January 2020.
  2. Kim Ji-won (January 29, 2020). "[Q트랙] 펜타곤, 내달 12일 컴백 확정… 첫 정규앨범 트레일러 공개" [[Q Track] Pentagon Confirms Coming Back Next Month First album released]. SportsQ (in Korean).
  3. "펜타곤 측 "'활동 중단' 옌안, 정규 1집 불참"(공식)". Star News (in Korean). February 2, 2020.
  4. "펜타곤 정규 1집 트랙 리스트 공개…타이틀곡 'Dr. 베베' [공식]" [Pentagon's 1st Album List Title song 'Dr. Bebe' [Official]]. Sports Donga (in Korean). February 3, 2020.
  5. "[UNIVERSE : THE BLACK HALL] ALBUM COMMENTARY". vlive. February 11, 2020.
  6. Shin Mirae (February 12, 2020). "우석 "펜타곤 컴백 준비 중 허리 부상…무리가지 않는 선에서 활동"" [Woo-seok "Waist injuries while preparing for Pentagon comeback… Activities in good lines"]. Star MBN (in Korean).
  7. "펜타곤, 첫 정규앨범 'UNIVERSE : THE BLACK HALL' 발매..한층 더 성장한 매력" [Pentagon releases its first album 'UNIVERSE: THE BLACK HALL']. HeraldPop (in Korean). January 20, 2020.
  8. "펜타곤, 첫 정규앨범 'UNIVERSE : THE BLACK HALL' 콘셉트 이미지 공개". TvReport (in Korean). February 4, 2020.
  9. "펜타곤, 첫 정규앨범 `UNIVERSE : THE BLACK HALL` 두 번째 콘셉트 이미지 공개" [Pentagon unveils second concept image of its first full-length album 'UNIVERSE: THE BLACK HALL']. WowTv (in Korean). February 5, 2020.
  10. "펜타곤, 첫 정규앨범 오디오 티저 공개…'Dr. 베베' 포함 총 11곡 수록" [Pentagon Unveils First Full Album Audio Teaser 'Dr. 11 songs including Bebe]. HeraldPop (in Korean). February 6, 2020.
  11. Kim Ji-ha (February 10, 2020). "'컴백 D-2' 펜타곤, 타이틀곡 'Dr. 베베' MV 티저 공개" ['Come Back D-2' Pentagon, Title Song 'Dr. Bebe's MV teaser revealed]. TvDaily (in Korean).
  12. "UNIVERSE : THE BLACK HALL". www.melon.com (in Korean). February 12, 2020.
  13. "Universe : The Black Hall by Pentagon", www.itunes.com, February 12, 2020
  14. "Universe: The Black Hall By Pentagon", www.spotify.com, February 12, 2020
  15. Choi Eun-hee (February 12, 2020). "[현장] 펜타곤 유토 "수록곡 '동백꽃' 꽃말 예뻐서 사용하고 싶었다"". Single List (in Korean).
  16. "펜타곤(PENTAGON) - 펜토리 #94 (1st Full Album [UNIVERSE : THE BLACK HALL] 재킷 촬영 비하인드)│ENG". Youtube. Pentagon Official Channel. February 8, 2020.
  17. "Pentagon Haunted by a Dangerous Love in 'Dr. BeBe' Music Video". Billboard. February 11, 2020.
  18. "펜타곤, 2월 12일 첫 번째 정규앨범 발매 예고…트레일러 영상 공개" [Pentagon Announces First Full Album Release on February 12… Trailer footage released]. WowTv (in Korean). January 29, 2020.
  19. "'2월 컴백' 펜타곤 측 "팬 쇼케이스 취소..관중 없이 온라인 생중계 진행" [공식]". Sports Trends (in Korean). January 29, 2020.
  20. Hwang Hye-jin (January 31, 2020). "큐브 측 "펜타곤 팬 쇼케이스 취소, 관객 없이 생중계 진행"(공식)" [Cube side “Pentagon fan showcase canceled, live stream without audience” (official)]. Newsen (in Korean).
  21. "PENTAGON 1st Full Album Release Commemoration '#UNI_HALL' OPEN 🎉". Twitter. February 11, 2020.
  22. "[종합] 펜타곤 "3년 4개월 만 정규 '더 블랙 홀'… 자신 있을 때 내고 싶었다"". The Voice of People. February 12, 2020.
  23. "펜타곤, 오늘 '엠카' 출격…신곡 'Dr. 베베'＆'동백꽃' 무대 공개" [Pentagon, Today's 'M Countdown' stepping up... new songs 'Dr Bebe' & 'Camellia Flower' stages released]. HeralPop. February 13, 2020.
  24. "[뮤직뱅크] 어마어마한 퀄리티의 첫 정규앨범☆ <Dr. 베베> <동백꽃> -펜타곤". KBS Media. February 14, 2020.
  25. "'쇼 음악중심(음중)' 펜타곤, Dr 베베-동백꽃과 마마무 문별의 달이 태양을 가..." TopStarNews. February 15, 2020.
  26. "'인기가요' 펜타곤, 컴백 무대…180도 다른 매력". TV Daily. February 16, 2020.
  27. "펜타곤, '빗물 샤워'로 활동 이어간다...오늘(12일) '엠카'서 최초공개". Single List. March 12, 2020.
  28. Kang Hyo-jin (February 11, 2020). "[단독] 펜타곤 신곡 'Dr 베베' 뮤비, 깜짝 선공개 결정…'18시간 먼저 본다'" [[Exclusive] PENTAGON new song 'Dr Bebe' music video, a surprise decision to release early…'18 hours ahead of time']. SpotvNews (in Korean).
  29. "펜타곤, 'Dr. 베베' 리릭 비디오 공개…신비+몽환적 분위기 '시선집중'" [Pentagon, 'Dr. Bebe 'Lyrics Video Revealed… Mysterious + dreamlike atmosphere]. Hankookilbo (in Korean). February 15, 2020.
  30. "펜타곤, 'Dr. 베베' 안무 연습 영상 공개 '블랙홀 같은 강렬 퍼포먼스'" [Pentagon, Dr. Bebe's choreography practice video released 'Intense performance like the black hole']. TvDaily (in Korean). February 14, 2020.
  31. "펜타곤 'Dr. 베베' MV, 4일만에 천만뷰 돌파…데뷔 후 최단 시간" [Pentagon 'Dr. Bebe' MV breaks 10 million views in four days Shortest time after debut]. News1 (in Korean). February 17, 2020.
  32. "펜타곤, 신곡 'Dr. 베베' 퍼포먼스버전 뮤직비디오 공개" [Pentagon, the new song 'Dr. Bebe 'performance version music video released]. NBNNews (in Korean). February 17, 2020.
  33. "[출발! 뮤직비디오 여행] 펜타곤 홍석이 48시간 동안 물도 끊은 사연은!? Dr. 베베 MV 찐해석 들어갑니다". Mnet M2. March 6, 2020.
  34. Herman, Tamar (December 15, 2020). "The top 15 K-pop albums of 2020: BTS, Twice, NCT 127, Monsta X, Super M, Gfriend and many more". South China Morning Post.
  35. Glasby, Taylor (2020-12-19). "The 40 best K-pop songs of 2020". Dazed. Retrieved 2020-12-24.
  36. "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 2020-03-09" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved March 4, 2020.
  37. "Gaon Album Chart – Week 7, 2020". Gaon Chart (in Korean). Retrieved February 20, 2020.
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