1. Background and composition

2. Release and promotion

3. Singles

4. Reception
    Critical  Chart performance 

5. Track listing

6. Personnel

7. Charts
    Weekly charts  Sales 

8. Release history

9. See also

10. References

• K-pop
• R&B
• dance
• neo soul}}

• Lee Soo-man (exec.)
• Yoo Young-jin
• Kenzie
• Hitchhiker
• Hiro Doi
• Hwang Hyun}}

Tense is the seventh Korean studio album (thirteenth overall) by South Korean pop duo TVXQ. It was released on January 6, 2014 by S.M. Entertainment. The record was promoted as a commemorative album for the duo's tenth debut anniversary,^[1] which fell on December 26, 2013. Tense consists of modern R&B and pop songs with components of neo soul. Its lead single, "Something", also has elements of swing jazz with big band arrangements. Lyrically, the album references the concepts of love, courage and hope. The repackage of Tense, Spellbound, was released on February 27, 2014.

Background and composition

In November 2013, Korean news portals reported that TVXQ were close to completing the recording for their seventh Korean studio album, which was described to be a special tenth anniversary album.^[3] Their Korean agency, S.M. Entertainment, announced that the duo had recorded twenty songs for the album, and that they may consider releasing it in two parts.^[3] TVXQ called back their frequent collaborators to write and produce the project, such as Yoo Young-jin, Kenzie, and Hitchhiker.^[1] Recording sessions for Tense coincided with the duo's seventh Japanese album Tree. In December 2013 the Korea Music Association webpage revealed the details of five new songs from the record, which included "Double Trouble", "Ten (10 Year)", "Always With You", "Your Man", and the lead single "Something", produced by Yoo Young-jin.^[4]

On December 26 and 27, TVXQ held their two-day tenth anniversary concert, Time Slip, at the Korea International Exhibition Center.^[5] At the concerts, the duo teased the new album with a performance of "Always With You", a pop-rock ballad.^[6] When introducing their new album to their fans at the concerts, Max Changmin stated that he considered Tense to be their proudest record from their catalog.

TVXQ further called Tense to be an album with "unique musicality".^[7] In the album, the duo included a mix of genres that they had not experimented with before, such as swing jazz.^[8] With its focus on more mature music styles, the album steers away from TVXQ's usual electronic sound, opting for more acoustic backing. Tense has also been described as "less powerful" than their previous albums.^[9]

The concept of time and TVXQ's own tenth anniversary is referenced throughout Tense, and the titles of TVXQ's older hit singles, starting from their debut single "Hug" (2004), are used in the lyrics for the album's opening track "Ten (10 Years)".^[10] A pop song with swing and big band influences,^[11] the album's lead single "Something" is intended to be a song with mass appeal.^[9] It is noted for being a major musical departure from TVXQ's earlier songs,^[12] which had heavy R&B, rock, and hip hop attributes. Continuing with the vintage theme set off from "Something", the album's third track "Your Man" is a retro pop punk song, and the dance pop song "Moonlight Fantasy" added gospel sounds for a more harmonious effect.^[13] The R&B pop number "Off-Road" is the Korean version of the English-language song "Runnin' On Empty", a song TVXQ recorded in 2011 for the film Make Your Move 3D. U-Know Yunho also made a cameo appearance in the film, dancing to the song.^[14] Changmin wrote the lyrics for the ballad "Rise".

Release and promotion

On December 25, 2013 the intro page of TVXQ's official website was changed to a teaser photo for an upcoming album, which was announced to be called Tense.^[15] S.M. Entertainment confirmed that the album would be released in the traditional CD and digital mediums on January 6, 2014, and that official physical sales would begin selling on January 7, 2014. In an interview with Oh My News, it was explained that Tense represented the phrases "anxiety", "tension", and "on the edge", signifying TVXQ unwavering collectiveness and strength in their performances and music throughout the years. Tense also has a similar pronunciation to "tenth".^[16]

On December 26, 2013, the day of TVXQ's tenth debut anniversary, a sixteen-second teaser trailer for the music video of "Something", the album's first lead single, began airing on television and other broadcast media around South Korea.^[17] Through the trailers, it was announced that Tense would be released on January 6, 2014. Their official Korean website was also uploaded with an image of the album's digital cover, which was a picture of a golden coin engraved with the silhouettes of the duo. The image also included a message that thanked the fans for walking together with TVXQ in the past ten years.^[18]

Teaser pictures of the duo smartly dressed in black and white checkered suits were released to Korean media agencies throughout the week, and on December 30, a highlight medley of the songs from the album was uploaded to their official YouTube channel.^[19] Their official Korean website was also updated with a new teaser photo,^[20] and online pre-orders for the album were made available that same day. Two different covers of the album – red and black – were printed. Pre-orders peaked at number-one on various real time charts, and by December 31, pre-orders were sold out on the online medium Synarra.^[21] Selling over ten million albums in the last ten years, S.M. Entertainment published an ad of the duo's milestone, which also promoted for the upcoming release of Tense.^[22] On December 31, the Japanese version of the "Something" teaser, which includes an extra ten seconds of footage, was uploaded to Avex Trax's official YouTube account. S.M. Entertainment allegedly spent over 167.1 million won on the commercial ads.

The official music video for "Something" premiered on January 1, 2014 at 6pm KST. TVXQ debuted their first live performance of "Something" on January 3, 2014 on Music Bank, and continued their comeback tour with performances on Show! Music Core and The Music Trend, respectively on January 4 and 5.^[23]

Singles

"Something" was announced to be the lead single through a teaser that aired on December 26, 2013.^[24] The music video premiered on January 1, 2014 at 6pm KST and the song was officially released on January 6, 2014. In Japan, the Japanese version of "Something" was released as a double A-sided single with "Hide & Seek" on February 5, 2014.^[25]

Reception

Critical

Korean music critics provided Tense with positive ratings, calling it coherently diverse and musically complete.^[27] Sticking to acoustics rather than electronic sounds, Kwon Suk-jung of Tenasia commented that the album was more mature yet less ambitious than TVXQ's earlier releases.^[27] IZM: Neo Music Community praised that Tense was the best album released by the duo, and felt that the album was "tattooed" with all the happiness and hardships that Yunho and Changmin have endured through the years.^[28] Jeff Benjamin of Billboard K-Town gave the album a favorable review, describing the project to be an album with "throwback-inspired pop and sultry R&B productions", also adding that the album would "sure to delight" even fans of Michael Jackson, Bruno Mars and general R&B fans.^[29]

Chart performance

On the first day of release, the album debuted at number one on South Korea's digital charts. One day after release, it ranked at number one on the iTunes Stores in Japan and Vietnam, and was charted in the top 10 on the iTunes Stores of seven other countries. It also debuted at number 253 on the iTunes top album chart in the United States.^[30] According to South Korea's Hanteo Album Charts, Tense sold over 73,100 physical copies on its first week of release, debuting at number one. Tense was also the number-one K-pop album of the week in Taiwan.^[31] Demand for the album among Japanese fans was also high, with Tense debuting at number four on the Oricon Weekly album charts with sales of 13,895 imported copies.^[32]

Track listing

• Yoo Young-jin
• Yoo Han-jin}}

• Kenzie
• Kim Jung-bae}}

• Coach & Sendo
• Alexander Holmgren}}

• Albi Albertsson
• Ricky Hanley
• Stephan Elfgren}}

• Peter Habib
• Marc Joseph
• Adam Nierow
• Yaroslav Vynnytsky}}

• Brian Kennedy
• Dewain Whitmore}}

• Kim Tae-sung
• Andrew Choi
• Fast Lane
• Sky Beatz}}

• Im Gwang-wook
• Andrew Jackson
• Martin Hoberg Hedegaard}}

• Jarkko Ehnqvist
• Pessi Levanto
• Martin Mulholland
• Deez}}

• Hwang Hyun
• Agnes Shin}}

• Im
• Jackson
• Hedegaard}}
• | length12 = 3:55

Personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Tense.^[33]

Performers and musicians

• TVXQ (Yunho, Changmin) – vocals, background vocals
• Yoo Young-jin – background vocals (tracks 1, 2)
• Kim Hyeon-ah – background vocals (tracks 2)
• Andrew Choi – background vocals (tracks 4, 5, 7, 9, 11)
• Park Ah-sul – background vocals (track 12)
• Kang Su-ho – drums (track 2)
• Jeon Sung-sik – double bass (track 2)
• Sam Lee – guitar (track 2)
• Kim Dong-ha – trumpet (tracks 2–4)
• Lee Han-jin – trombone (tracks 2–4)
• Kim Sang-il – saxophone (tracks 2–4)
• Choi Hun – bass (tracks 3, 4)

• Kim Jung-bae – guitar (track 3)
• Kenzie – piano (track 3)
• Yong – strings (tracks 3, 11)
• Jung Dae-han – organs (track 4)
• Hitchhiker – bass, guitar, keyboard (track 6)
• Im Jung-kyu – drums (tracks 11, 12)
• Kim Ki-wook – bass (track 11)
• Go Tae-young – guitar (track 11)
• Kim Min-woo – keyboard (track 11)
• Kim Byung-suk – bass (track 12)
• Kang Su-won – guitar (track 12)

Technical personnel

• Yoo Young-jin – direction, mixing, recording (tracks 1, 2)
• Kenzie – direction (track 3)
• Hitchhiker – direction, additional vocal editing (track 6)
• Hiro Doi – direction (track 9)
• Hwang Hyun – direction, additional vocal editing (tracks 10, 12)
• Yoo Ji-sang – vocal direction, vocal editing (track 4)
• Kim Jin-hwan – vocal direction (tracks 5, 8)
• Lee Jae-myung – vocal direction (tracks 5, 7, 8, 11)
• Kim Tae-sung – vocal direction (track 7)
• Lee Yun-jae – vocal direction (track 8)
• Jung Eun-kyung – additional vocal editing (track 4), recording (tracks 3, 9, 11)
• Lee Min-kyu – additional vocal editing (track 5, 7, 8, 11), recording (track 5)

• Lee Ji-hong – additional vocal editing (track 9), recording (track 11)
• Oh Sung-geun with assistant Song Ju-yong – recording (track 2)
• Kwang Jung-sin with assistant Jung Mo-yeon – recording (track 2)
• Jung Ki-hong with assistant Park Mu-il – recording (tracks 3, 4)
• Jung Wi-suk – recording (tracks 4–6, 11), mixing (tracks 5, 6, 10)
• Park Eun-jung – recording (tracks 4, 8, 10)
• Kim Hyun-gon with assistant Jang Woo-young – recording (tracks 4, 11, 12)
• Lee Sung-ho – recording (track 5)
• Goo Jong-pil – recording (tracks 5, 12), mixing (tracks 4, 8, 9)
• Nam Gung-jin – recording (tracks 7, 8, 12), mixing (tracks 3, 7, 8, 12)
• Kim Chul-soon – recording (tracks 7, 8)
• Kim Ji-eun – recording (track 10)

Charts

Weekly charts

Sales

Release history

See also

• TVXQ albums discography
• List of number-one albums of 2014 (South Korea)

References

• Trapped in the Closet 13-22
• Trapped in the Closet (South Park)
• Trapped in the Drive-Through
• Trapped in the Drive-Thru
• Trapped in the Drive Thru
• Trapped in the Sky
• Trapped in the Towers: The Elevators of 9/11
• Trapped in the USSR
• Trapped ion quantum computers
• Trapped (Movie)
• Trapped null surface
• Trapped (The Honeymooners)
• Trapped (TUGS episode)
• Trapped (Tupac Shakur song)
• Trapped! (TV series)
• Trapped (TV series)
• Trapped Under a Boulder
• Trapped under Ice
• Trapped with a Vengeance
• Trappenkamp
• Trapper (comics)
• Trapper Creek
• Trapper Creek Wilderness
• Trapper (Hockey)
• Trapperkeeper