Let's Not Fall in Love

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"Let's Not Fall in Love"
Big Bang - Let's Not Fall In Love.jpg
Single by Big Bang
from the album Made
A-side
  • "Zutter"
  • "Let's Not Fall In Love"
ReleasedAugust 5, 2015 (2015-08-05)
Genre
Length3:32
LabelYG Entertainment
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Teddy
  • G-Dragon
Big Bang singles chronology
"Zutter"
(2015) 		"Let's Not Fall in Love"
(2015) 		"Fxxk It"
(2016)

"Let's Not Fall in Love" (Korean: 우리 사랑하지 말아요; RR: Uri saranghaji marayo) is a song recorded by South Korean boy band Big Bang. It was released through YG Entertainment on August 5, 2015, alongside the single "Zutter"; both tracks make up the single album E as part of the group's Made series. The recording was written and produced by long-time group collaborator Teddy Park and band member G-Dragon. Musically, the pop-rock infused dance track features a variety of vocal samplings, acoustic melodies, and hazy synths, while the lyrical content explores the subtle insecurities that come along with teenage love.

Following the release of "Let's Not Fall in Love", it was met with positive reviews from music critics, many of whom highlighted the track's unique and sentimental composition, and further praised the band's versatility with emotional and complex themes that are seldom seen in K-pop. A commercial success, the track topped both the Gaon Digital Chart as well as the US World Digital Songs and garnered nearly 1,400,000 downloads in South Korea by the end of 2016. The song's pastel-colored music video was released simultaneously with the release of E and depicts the band members in a hazily-lit school courtyard, each taking on the role of a boyfriend. Promotions for the single featured Big Bang performing the song live on the music program Inkigayo along with their ongoing Made World Tour (2015–16).

Composition and lyrical interpretation[]

Written and composed by member G-Dragon and Teddy Park, "Let's Not Fall in Love" is a pop-rock tune with a classic sentimental dance sound, that was compared to the group's early single "Blue".[1][2] The track also features "a variety of vocal samplings, acoustic melodies, and hazy synths."[3] The song was described as gentle and sweet unlike the previous releases from the band, having a solemn tone with a mid-tempo and gentle vocals with a sad mode.[4]

The lyrics speak of a young, hesitant romance that is ultimately more self-centered and defensive than caring, capturing the subtle insecurities of teenage love.[1] Billboard felt that the lyrical content of "Let's Not Fall in Love" encompasses "the scary moments that accompany the start of a relationship", depicting "the pressures and worries of starting a new relationship and committing to a person, and the potential pain that accompanies the risk of opening up to someone." The magazine concluded that the song gives a message "that if you like someone you still will want them to stay despite the fears."[5]

Music video[]

Acting as a complement of the lyrics, the music video highlights the happiness of falling in love through the use of bright colours, and fun and innocent depictions of dates, which is contradicted by the close up shots that emphasise the member's worried faces. While the under exposed and dreamy tone reflects the video as fragments of a memory.[6] The pastel-colored, dreamlike video features the five members running around a hazily-lit school courtyard, each taking on the role of boyfriend to five different models.[1]

Cast[]

Member Actress (Listed by order of appearance)
T.O.P Ha Yeon-soo
Taeyang Lauren Tse
Daesung Kim Yoon-hye
G-Dragon Seo Yea-ji
Seungri Lee Ho-jung (actress)

Critical reception[]

This song was well received by both the public and critics. Billboard said that "Let's Not Fall in Love" "showcases the boy band at their most sentimental", and has a classic Big Bang song feel but with a unique sound because of the "lack of a definitive chorus and T.O.P and G-Dragon showing off new vocal colors instead of their usual personality-driven raps."[7] The magazine chose the track as Big Bang's fourth best song,[3] praising the group versatility after nearly a decade on top.[2] Korean website Osen complimented "Let's Not Fall in Love" for being "filled with joyful and fluttering emotions with a young and fresh beauty that was expressed based on a sorrowful emotion."[8]

Fuse called the song "a gem" and praised its "lush production that evokes a range of emotions."[9] Philippine Daily Inquirer admired the group, stating "while most K-pop boy groups safely opt for either the sweet, forever-giving boyfriend role or the dangerously attractive bad boy image, Big Bang continues to explore more complex themes while still maintaining popular appeal" and commented that Big Bang "has struck a genuine and elusive emotional chord" with "Let's Not Fall in Love".[1]

Chart performance[]

"Let's Not Fall in Love" sold 314,944 digital copies in its first week on the Gaon Chart, the fourth highest first week sales of 2015, and peaked at number one in both the Digital and Download charts. The song debuted at the third position on the Streaming Chart with over 4.797 million streams, the fourth on Mobile Chart and eleventh on BGM Chart.[10][11][12][13][14] On the second week the song stayed at number one on Digital Chart, selling 145,026 copies, and raised to a new peak of number one on the Streaming Chart with over 6.263 million streams.[15][16]

The single charted first on Billboard's World Digital Songs chart, being it the group's third number one on the chart which made them the Korean act with the most songs that topped the World Digital Songs, along with Psy.[17][18]

On the Chinese music service QQ Music the song took the number one spot on the music video chart.[19] In Taiwan, the song ranked fifth on the most popular Korean singles list of 2015 by music streaming service KKBOX.[20]

Charts[]

Sales[]

Chart Sales
South Korean Gaon Download Chart[23] 1,399,315+
US World Digital Songs (Billboard)[18] 7,000
China's Kugou[24] 2,157,600

Accolades[]

Music program wins for "Let's Not Fall in Love"
Program Date Ref.
Inkigayo (SBS) August 16, 2015
August 23, 2015 [25]
Music Bank (KBS) August 21, 2015 [26]
Show! Music Core (MBC) August 15, 2015 [27]
August 22, 2015 [28]

Release history[]

Region Date Format Label
South Korea August 5, 2015 Digital download YG Entertainment, KT Music
Worldwide
Japan August 12, 2015 YG Entertainment, YGEX

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "Review: Big Bang's new releases are disturbing, emotional". Inquirer.net. Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b "Happy 10-Year Anniversary, BIGBANG! 10 Must-Listen Songs from the Boy Band". Billboard K-Town. Billboard. Retrieved February 14, 2017.[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b "The 10 Best BIGBANG Songs: Critics' Picks". Billboard K-Town. Billboard. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  4. ^ "K-Pop Boy Band Face-Off: Big Bang's 'Let's Not Fall in Love' Vs. GD&TOP's 'Zutter'". Kpop Starz. 5 August 2015. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  5. ^ "25 K-Pop Love Songs for Valentine's Day". Billboard K-Town. Billboard. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
  6. ^ "HELLO ASIA! NEW MUSIC VIDEO REVIEW: BIGBANG - "LET'S NOT FALL IN LOVE" (SOUTH KOREA, 2015)". The AU Review. Archived from the original on February 15, 2017. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  7. ^ "BIGBANG Are at Their Most Tender on 'Let's Not Fall in Love,' While GD&T.O.P Are at Their Craziest on 'Zutter'". Billboard. 5 August 2015. Retrieved 9 August 2015.
  8. ^ "[Midnight New Song] BIGBANG's two extremes "Sweet vs. Bold"… "Crazy energy"". OSEN. YG Life. 5 August 2015. Retrieved 12 August 2015.
  9. ^ "11 BIGBANG SONGS THAT DESERVE MORE LOVE". Fuse. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b "Gaon Digital Chart - Week 33". Gaon Chart. 13 August 2015. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  11. ^ "Gaon Download Chart - Week 33". Gaon Chart. 13 August 2015. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  12. ^ "Gaon Streaming Chart - Week 33". Gaon Chart. 13 August 2015. Retrieved 13 August 2015.
  13. ^ "Gaon Mobile Chart - Week 33". Gaon Chart. 13 August 2015. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
  14. ^ "Gaon BGM Chart - Week 33". Gaon Chart. 13 August 2015. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
  15. ^ "Gaon Digital Chart - Week 34". Gaon Chart. 20 August 2015. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  16. ^ "Gaon Streaming Chart - Week 33". Gaon Chart. 20 August 2015. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  17. ^ "Billboard's World Digital Singles Chart: Singles". Billboard. Billboard. August 11, 2015. Retrieved August 11, 2015.
  18. ^ Jump up to: a b c "BIGBANG Tie PSY for Most No. 1s on World Digital Songs Chart". Billboard. Billboard. August 11, 2015. Retrieved August 12, 2015.
  19. ^ "빅뱅 중화권 돌풍…QQ 뮤비 차트 1, 2위 석권 (in Korean)". Donga Sports. August 13, 2015. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  20. ^ "2015韓語年度單曲/專輯榜TOP 20 (in Chinese)". KKbox Taiwan. February 3, 2016. Retrieved February 5, 2016.
  21. ^ "Digital Chart - August". Gaon Chart. Gaon Chart. Retrieved 10 September 2015.
  22. ^ "Yearly Digital Chart - 2015". Gaon Chart. Gaon Chart. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
  23. ^ Cumulative sales for "Let's Not Fall in Love"
  24. ^ "酷狗单曲畅销榜" (in Chinese). KuGou. January 3, 2016. Retrieved December 8, 2017.
  25. ^ "'인기가요' 빅뱅, 1위 차지…지디앤탑 버전 '우리 사랑하지 말아요' 깜짝 공개". Ten Asia. Retrieved 2017-03-11.
  26. ^ "'뮤직뱅크' 빅뱅, B1A4 누르고 '우사말'로 1위 차지". Ten Aia. Retrieved 2017-03-11.
  27. ^ "'음악중심' 빅뱅, 출연 없이 샤이니·원더걸스 누르고 1위.."역시 탑 지드래곤 태양 승리"". EToday. Retrieved 2017-03-11.
  28. ^ "'음악중심' 빅뱅, 방송 없이도 1위 차지 '우리 사랑하지 말아요'". Ten Asia. Retrieved 2017-03-11.

External links[]

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