Milky Way (BoA song)

"Milky Way" is a song recorded by South Korean singer BoA from her third studio album, Atlantis Princess, released through SM Entertainment on May 30, 2003. The song was composed, written, and arranged by SM songwriter Kenzie.

"Milky Way"
Single by BoA
from the album Atlantis Princess
Language
  • Korean
  • Japanese
ReleasedMay 30, 2003 (2003-05-30)
Recorded2003
Length3:20
Label
Songwriter(s)Kenzie
Producer(s)Kenzie
BoA singles chronology
"Atlantis Princess"
(2003)
"Milky Way"
(2003)
"Double"
(2003)
Music video
"Milky Way" on YouTube

Background and release

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"Milky Way" was released as the third single from BoA's third studio album, Atlantis Princess, on May 30, 2003. It followed the promotional single "The Lights of Seoul" and the title track "Atlantis Princess". BoA recorded the song in Japanese as "Milky Way ~Kimi No Uta~" for her 10th Japanese single "Double", which was released on October 22, 2003.[1] The Korean release of "Double" includes a club remix version of "Milky Way".[2]

Usage in media

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The Japanese version of "Milky Way" was used as the theme song for TV Tokyo's coverage of the 2003 Rugby World Cup, which was held in October and November.[3]

Release history

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Release dates and formats for "Milky Way"
RegionDateLabelRef.
South KoreaMay 30, 2003SM Entertainment[4]
JapanOctober 22, 2003
[5]

Red Velvet version

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"Milky Way"
Promotional single by Red Velvet
LanguageKorean
ReleasedAugust 21, 2020
Recorded2020
StudioSM Studios (Seoul)
GenreJazz
Length3:38
Label
Songwriter(s)Kenzie
Producer(s)Kenzie
Music video
"Milky Way" on YouTube
Audio sample
30-second sample

"Milky Way" is a remake song recorded by South Korean girl group Red Velvet. It was originally recorded by BoA for her album Atlantis Princess (2003). It remade by the group as part of SM Station's tribute project in celebration of BoA's 20th anniversary. It was released as Red Velvet's sixth digital single on August 21, 2020, marking their first release with member Wendy who was hospitalized after a stage accident in December 2019.

Background and composition

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On August 19, 2020, SM Entertainment announced that Red Velvet would be the fourth runner for SM Station 'Our Beloved BoA'.[6] "Milky Way" was originally recorded and released by BoA in 2003 from her third Korean studio album Atlantis Princess.[7] In addition, Wendy, who had a hiatus from group activities due to injury, participated in the song for the first time in about eight months.[8][9]

Musically, "Milky Way" is described as a combination of "colorful acappella and jazz scat with harmonious vocals".[10] The song is composed in the key of A♭ Major with a tempo of 98 beat-per-minute.[11] The song was produced and written by Kenzie, who worked on the original song, and arranged the song herself to recreate it into a "fresh jazz pop" song.[12] Lyrically, the song tells a story of unfolding a "dark night" with someone just like a "milky way".[13]

Credits and personnel

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Credits adapted from Melon.[14]

  • Red Velvet (Irene, Seulgi, Wendy, Joy, Yeri) – vocals, background vocals
  • Kenzie – background vocals
  • Choi Hoon – bass
  • Hong Joon-ho – guitar
  • Song Young-joo – piano
  • No Min-ji (SM Yellow Tail Studio) – recording engineer
  • Lee Chang-sun (prelude studio) – recording engineer
  • Jung Yu-ra – digital editing
  • Kang Eun-ji (SM SSAM Studio) – mixing engineer
  • Kim Chul-soon (SM Blue Ocean Studio) – mixing engineer
  • Kwon Nam-woo (821 Sound Mastering) – mastering

Track listing

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Digital download / streaming[15][16]

  1. "Milky Way" – 3:38
  2. "Milky Way" (Instrumental) – 3:38

Charts

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Weekly charts
Chart (2020)Peak
position
South Korea (Gaon)[17]119
South Korea (K-pop Hot 100)[18]64

Release history

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Release dates and formats for "Milky Way"
RegionDateFormatLabelRef.
VariousAugust 21, 2020Digital download, streaming[14]

References

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