"Eyes, Nose, Lips"
Single by Taeyang
from the album Rise
ReleasedJune 3, 2014 (2014-06-03)
GenreR&B
Length3:50
LabelYG
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Taeyang singles chronology
"Ringa Linga"
(2013) 		"Eyes, Nose, Lips"
(2014) 		"1AM"
(2014)
Music video
"Eyes, Nose, Lips" on YouTube

"Eyes, Nose, Lips" (Korean: 눈, 코, 입; RR: Nun, ko, ip) is a song recorded by South Korean singer Taeyang, serving as the second single for his second studio album Rise (2014). It was co-produced by Teddy Park, Bekuh Boom, Dee.P and P.K, while it was written by Teddy and Taeyang. The song peaked atop the Gaon Digital Chart and the K-pop Hot 100, and went on to become the second best-performing single of 2014.

Background and composition

On May 29, 2014, YG Entertainment announced the song as the title track of the album, and will be released simultaneously with the album on June 3, with the music video. Taeyang talked about the song with Billboard, saying it was the last song that was completed from the album, and was the reason of releasing the album. He also described the process of creating the song, saying, "While Teddy was writing out the chords, Becca came along and wrote out the melody on the spot. I liked it so much, and I believed I could put a fresh feel to it with my voice. After finishing the demo recordings, I discussed my personal experiences with Teddy, which he thought would be cool to incorporate as lyrics. We were able to write a song together about missing an old lover, reminiscing about their eyes, nose and lips. It's a very emotional track.".[1][2]

"Eyes, Nose, Lips" was described as "an R&B-style song with a solid piano sound" accompanying the singer's "appealing vocals."[3] Composed using common time in the key of C major, with a moderate tempo of 72 to 76 beats per minute,[4] the song features the lyrics "I can’t erase you even when you’re gone / I still remember your eyes, nose, lips, touch and your small nails," and "Can I ever see you again just for a moment, or even by chance / I get anxious day by day" that expresses a faint longing for the past loved one.[3] The Star Online noted that the track is a "heartfelt love song that's heavy on the piano and low on audio enhancements."[5]

Promotion

Taeyang's performed the song for the first time[6] was on Inkigayo on June 6, 2014. His second comeback stage which was on M! Countdown.[7] He also performed it at the talk show You Hee-yeol's Sketchbook.[8]

On June 15, YG Entertainment announced a "cover project" in which its artists will be covering songs from others. Akdong Musician were the first to release a cover of "Eyes, Nose, Lips."[9] Tablo covered the song with a rap version and Taeyang appeared during its bridge part.[10] Lydia Paek was the third YG Family artist to cover the song for the project.[11]

Critical reception

"Eyes, Nose, Lips" received positive acclaim, being named one of the best songs of the year and winning many awards. Melody L. Goh from The Star Online wrote that Taeyang "may have just hit musical gold" with the song,[5] while Douglas Markowitz of Miami New Times stated that, "even if you can't understand the lyrics, you can feel the passion in his voice."[12] Jakob Dorof of Noisey described the single as "painfully pretty as must be the girl it describes" and complimented the single's "carefully counted build towards one of the year's most well deserved key change catharses."[13] Scott Interrante of PopMatters wrote that "Eyes, Nose, Lips" is "emotionally powerful" and admired Tayeang's vocals and the music video.[14] Additionally, Kult Scene said that Taeyang "lets the listeners feel the sadness and anger of the situation stated in the track" and added that "Eyes, Nose, Lips" is the most vulnerable song from the singer and "one that will go down as one of his best songs."[15]

"Eyes, Nose, Lips" on listicles
Critic/Publication List Rank Ref.
Channel V Asia 15 Best K-Pop Songs From 2014 1 [16]
IZM 2014 Singles of the Year 2 [17]
Melon Top 100 K-pop Songs of All Time 46 [18]
Music Y Top 10 Songs of 2014 4 [19]
Noisey The 20 Best K-Pop Songs of 2014 14 [13]
PopMatters The Best K-pop of 2014 8 [14]

Commercial performance

Upon its release, the song debuted at number one on Gaon's Digital and Download charts, selling 322,577 copies on its first week.[20][21] On the Streaming Chart, the single reached a peak position of number one on its second week, following a top three debut. "Eyes, Nose, Lips" remained at the first position in the Streaming Chart for five consecutive weeks.[22] The song topped the June monthly Digital, Download and Streaming charts, with 765,833 downloads with 21.7 streams.[23] "Eyes, Nose, Lips" was the second best performing single of 2014 in South Korea, with 1,613,109 downloads and 74.7 million streams by the end of the year.[24]

"Eyes, Nose, Lips" debuted on Billboard's K-Pop Hot 100 at number 34. The following week the song jumped to number one on the chart, giving Taeyang his first solo chart-topper and his third overall, counting with his band Big Bang's two number ones. The song charted third on Billboard's World Digital Singles.[25]

Accolades

Awards and nominations for "Eyes, Nose, Lips"
Ceremony Year Award Result Ref.
Melon Music Awards 2014 Song of the Year Won [26]
Best R&B / Soul Award Nominated
Mnet Asian Music Awards 2014 Song of the Year Won [27]
Best Vocal Performance – Male Won
Philippine K-pop Awards 2014 Song of the Year Won [28]
Gaon Chart Music Awards 2015 Best Song of June Won [29]
Golden Disc Awards 2015 Digital Daesang Won [30]
Digital Bonsang Won
Myx Music Awards 2015 Favorite K-pop Video Nominated [31]
Music program awards
Program Date Ref.
M! Countdown June 12, 2014 [32]
June 19, 2014 [33]
July 3, 2014 [34]
Show! Music Core June 14, 2014 [35]
Inkigayo June 15, 2014 [36]
June 22, 2014 [37]
July 6, 2014 [38]
Music Bank June 20, 2014 [39]

Charts

Sales

Country Sales
South Korea 2,500,000[44]

See also

References

  1. ^ "YANG, "TAEYANG's sole title track of 2nd full album 'EYES, NOSE, LIPS': Excited"". YG Life. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  2. ^ Benjamin, Jeff; Oak, Jessica (September 7, 2014). "Taeyang Gives Track-By-Track Review of Record-Breaking 'Rise' Album (Exclusive Video)". Billboard. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  3. ^ a b "[JUKE BOX] 'RISE,' the Evolution of TAEYANG…. Reveals the Secret of His Comeback in 4 Years". YG Life. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  4. ^ ""Eyes, Nose, Lips" Sheet Music (Piano Solo) in C Major". MusicNotes.com. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
  5. ^ a b "Taeyang releases latest album, 'Rise'". The Star. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  6. ^ "'인기가요' 태양, 솔로 컴백 무대…지드래곤 지원사격". hankyung. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved June 8, 2014.
  7. ^ "[Photo] Taeyang Rises to No. 1 on ′M COUNTDOWN′". Mwave. Mnet. Archived from the original on July 30, 2017. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
  8. ^ "[Exclusive] TAEYANG's first "Sketchbook" since comeback: Filming on 24th". YG Life. Star News. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
  9. ^ "G-Dragon calls AKMU 'cute'". Korea Herald. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
  10. ^ "TABLO X TAEYANG – "EYES, NOSE, LIPS(눈, 코, 입)" COVER VIDEO & LYRICS". YG Life. Retrieved June 25, 2014.[permanent dead link]
  11. ^ "LYDIA - '눈,코,입(EYES, NOSE, LIPS)' COVER VIDEO". YouTube.
  12. ^ Markowitz, Douglas (July 18, 2017). "A K-Pop Primer to Prepare You for G-Dragon's Miami Show". Miami New Times. Retrieved July 18, 2017.
  13. ^ a b "The 20 Best K-Pop Songs of 2014". Noisey. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  14. ^ a b "The Best K-pop of 2014". Pop Matters. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  15. ^ "Top 20 K-Pop Songs of 2014". Kult Scene. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  16. ^ "15 BEST KPOP songs from 2014". Facebook. Retrieved January 27, 2016.
  17. ^ "2014 올해의 가요 싱글". IZM Magazine (in Korean). Retrieved August 25, 2017.
  18. ^ "Top 100 K-pop songs of all time revealed". Manila Bulletin. August 29, 2021. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
  19. ^ "올해의 싱글 4위 태양 [Rise]" [4th place Single of the Year – Taeyang [Rise]]. Music Y (in Korean). December 29, 2014. Retrieved October 20, 2023.
  20. ^ a b "2014년 24주차 Digital Chart" [2014 Digital Chart - Week 24] (in Korean). Gaon Chart. Archived from the original on September 28, 2015. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  21. ^ "2014 Gaon Download Chart - Week 24". Gaon Chart. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  22. ^ "Eyes, Nose, Lips" on Gaon Streaming Chart
  23. ^ "Eues, Nose, Lips" on Monthly Charts
  24. ^ "Eyes, Nose, Lips" on Yearly Charts
  25. ^ a b "K-Pop Star Taeyang Hits Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  26. ^ "Winners from the '2014 MelOn Music Awards'!". Retrieved July 8, 2017.
  27. ^ "Mnet Asian Music Awards 2014 Winners". Mnet Asian Music Awards. Archived from the original on May 4, 2015. Retrieved January 28, 2014.
  28. ^ Hicap, Johnathan (January 5, 2015). "Sistar looks forward to an amazing 2015". Manila Bulletin. Archived from the original on January 7, 2015. Retrieved April 11, 2022.
  29. ^ "Winners from the 4th Gaon Chart K-POP Awards". Retrieved January 27, 2016.
  30. ^ "Winners from the '29th Golden Disk Awards' (Day 1)!". Retrieved January 27, 2016.
  31. ^ "FULL LIST: Winners, Myx Music Awards 2015". Retrieved January 27, 2016.
  32. ^ Kim, Young-jin (June 12, 2014). 태양, 인피니트 제치고 '엠카' 1위 "양사장님 감사" [Taeyang surpasses Infinite and ranks 1st in 'M-Countdown']. StarNews (in Korean). Naver. Archived from the original on December 13, 2020. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
  33. ^ Jung, Hee-seo (June 19, 2014). 태양, '엠카운트다운' 2주 연속 1위 등극 [Taeyang, ranked No. 1 in 'M Countdown' for 2 consecutive weeks]. X Sports News (in Korean). Naver. Archived from the original on December 13, 2020. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
  34. ^ Kim, Hyun-rok (July 3, 2014). 태양 '눈코입', '엠카' 1위 탈환 "시련과 사랑에 감사" [Taeyang's 'Eyes, Nose and Mouth', 'M Countdown' Recaptured 1st Place]. StarNews (in Korean). Naver. Archived from the original on December 28, 2020. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
  35. ^ "'쇼 음악중심' 태양, '눈, 코, 입' 1위" ['Show Music Core' Taeyang wins first place for 'Eyes, Nose, Lips']. Herald Pop (in Korean). Naver. June 14, 2014. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  36. ^ <6월 셋째주 인기가요 차트> [Inkigayo chart for the 3rd week of June]. SBS (in Korean). June 18, 2014. Archived from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
  37. ^ <6월 넷째 주 인기가요 차트> [Inkigayo chart for the 4th week of June]. SBS (in Korean). August 8, 2014. Archived from the original on April 28, 2021. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
  38. ^ <7월 첫째 주 인기가요 차트> [Inkigayo chart for the 1st week of July]. SBS (in Korean). September 24, 2014. Archived from the original on April 17, 2022. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
  39. ^ 6월 3주 순위 [Music Bank ranking for the third week of June]. KBS Music Bank (in Korean). June 22, 2014. Archived from the original on July 2, 2022. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
  40. ^ "Eyes, Nose, Lips & 1AM (US World)". Billboard.
  41. ^ "Gaon Digital Chart (June)". Gaon Music Chart. Retrieved March 19, 2022.
  42. ^ "2014년 Digital Chart". Gaon Chart (in Korean). Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  43. ^ "World Digital Song Sales - Year-End 2014". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 18, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2021.
  44. ^ "GAON's observation notes". Gaon Chart. Retrieved September 12, 2018.
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