This Christmas: Winter Is Coming is the first winter extended play and the third overall by South Korean singer Taeyeon. The extended play is marketed as a special Christmas album release.[1] It was released by SM Entertainment on December 12, 2017.
| This Christmas: Winter Is Coming | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Digital cover artwork | ||||
| EP by | ||||
| Released | December 12, 2017 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 30:08 | |||
| Language |
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| Label | SM | |||
| Producer | Lee Soo-man (exec.) | |||
| Taeyeon chronology | ||||
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| Singles from This Christmas: Winter Is Coming | ||||
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Release and promotion
editThis Christmas: Winter Is Coming and the music video for "This Christmas" were released on December 12, 2017.[2] To promote the album, Taeyeon held a three-night concert titled "The Magic of Christmas Time" on December 22, 23 and 24, 2017 at Kyunghee University, Seoul.[3]
Composition
editThe EP consists of eight tracks, of which a variety of genres and the Christmas atmosphere is expressed through Taeyeon's powerful voice.[4] The opening track "The Magic of Christmas Time" is a sweet English pop ballad song reminiscent of a beautiful animation set in a pure white snowy winter. The title track "This Christmas" is an authentic ballad song featuring a magnificent orchestral sound and the delicate and explosive singing ability of 'Taeyeon' and an instrumental version is also included.[5] While "Let It Snow" is a swing genre song that provides bright energy with colorful guitar performances and brass, string sounds, and you can feel the excitement of Christmas. In addition, "Candy Cane" is a retro pop R&B song that creates a year-end festival atmosphere with jingle bells and rich wind instruments creates an even more joyous mood.[6] "Shhhh" takes inspiration from jazz and blues that was written by poet Won Tae-yeon, who draws attention with its sexy, cute and fun lyrics about a girl looking for a gift hidden by Santa Claus.[6] It contains an emotional pop ballad song "Christmas without You", a sentimental pop ballad song that contains a sad feeling of longing for a lover while looking at the happy scenery of Christmas. The closing track of this winter album is "I'm all ears", which Tamar Herman from Billboard described the track as "swaying", "sentimental pop-rock tune" that her vocal offering herself up as a shoulder to lean on.[7] "I'm all ears" was also released as the EP's second and final single a month after the EP was released.
Reception
editThis Christmas: Winter Is Coming debuted at number 2 on the South Korean Gaon Album Chart, and at number 6 on the Billboard World Albums Chart.[8][9] "This Christmas" debuted at number 2 on the South Korean Gaon Digital Chart.
Critical reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| IZM |   [10] |
| Idology | Positive[11] |
| The Korea Herald | Positive[6] |
This Christmas: Winter Is Coming received generally positive reviews from media outlets. Hong Dam-young from The Korea Herald considered the album's musical styles as "not like Mariah Carey's classic "All I Want for Christmas Is You". Instead of jingle bell sounds and flamboyant upbeat synths, the eight-track album is drenched in the singer’s calm and undeniable vocal prowess, an instrument on its own".[6] While Idology's editor-in-chief Mimyo praised Taeyeon for creating new Christmas songs, "this album creates a 'new song' by taking the microscopic elements of the Western Christmas season song tradition (beyond 'salt shaker', jazz, etc.) in detail and combining them elegantly".[11]
Awards and nominations
edit| Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Golden Disc Awards | Disc Bonsang | Nominated | [12] |
Track listing
editCredits adapted from Naver
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Arrangement | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Magic of Christmas Time" |
|
|
| 2:47 |
| 2. | "This Christmas" |
|
|
| 4:27 |
| 3. | "Let It Snow" |
|
|
| 3:18 |
| 4. | "Candy Cane" |
|
| 3:24 | |
| 5. | "Christmas Without You" | 4:19 | |||
| 6. | "Shhhh" (Korean: 쉿; RR: Swit) |
|
|
| 3:48 |
| 7. | "I'm All Ears" (Korean: 겨울나무; RR: Gyeounnamu; lit. Winter Tree) |
|
|
| 3:35 |
| 8. | "This Christmas" (Instrumental) |
|
| 4:27 | |
| Total length: | 30:05 | ||||
Charts
editRelease history
edit| Region | Date | Format | Label | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Korea | December 12, 2017 |
|
SM Entertainment | [16] |
| Various | Digital download, streaming | [13] |
References
edit- ^ "Taeyeon Releases Seasonal 'This Christmas - Winter Is Coming' EP". Billboard. December 13, 2017.
- ^ "Taeyeon celebrates Christmas with special album". The Korea Herald. December 7, 2017. Retrieved December 13, 2017.
- ^ "Taeyeon to return with Christmas record, concert in December". The Korea Herald. November 16, 2017. Retrieved December 13, 2017.
- ^ "겨울에 돌아온 태연, 'This Christmas'로 음원차트 상위권 안착". Hankyung News. 2017-12-12. Archived from the original on November 12, 2023. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
- ^ "태연, 12일 겨울 앨범 컴백…크리스마스 콘서트 3회 매진". JTBC News. 2017-12-07. Archived from the original on November 12, 2023. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
- ^ a b c d "[Album review] Taeyeon's Christmas ballads heaven to ears". The Korea Herald. December 13, 2017. Archived from the original on December 15, 2022. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
- ^ "Taeyeon Surprises Fans with Intimate 'I'm all ears' Music Video". Billboard. 2018-12-01. Archived from the original on November 12, 2023. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
- ^ a b "Gaon Album Chart – Week 50, 2017". Gaon Chart (in Korean). Retrieved December 21, 2017.
- ^ a b "World Albums, December 30, 2017". Billboard. Retrieved December 24, 2017.
- ^ Jung, Yu-na. "This Christmas – Winter is Coming 2017 - 태연". IZM. Korea. Archived from the original on December 15, 2022. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
- ^ a b Mimyo (11 December 2017). "This Christmas – Winter is Coming 2017 - 태연". Idology. Korea. Archived from the original on December 15, 2022. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
- ^ "33rd Golden Disc Awards nominees announced". SBS PopAsia. December 7, 2018. Archived from the original on December 27, 2020. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
- ^ a b "This Christmas – Winter is Coming – The 3nd Mini Album by Taeyeon". iTunes Store. 12 December 2017. Retrieved December 13, 2017.
- ^ "Album Chart - 2017.12 Month". Gaon. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
- ^ "2017년 Album Chart". Gaon. Retrieved September 19, 2022.
- ^ "This Christmas – Winter Is Coming – The 3nd Mini Album by Taeyeon". Melon. Retrieved December 13, 2017.
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