Maps of Music

Sexy, Free & Single (2012)

Where the lyrics of Sexy, Free & Single take you, and where it was really made.

The album's first-week story began with teaser photos, not songs: one member a day was revealed from June 21, 2012, before the album went on sale.

Key places

Recording location listed for this album (2012)

Recording site T (Seoul) — Listed as a recording location for this album in the candidate records. The point is placed at building-level coordinates. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Sixth Korean studio album by South Korean boy band Super Junior
• Released 4 July 2012 by SM Entertainment, distributed by KMP Holdings
• Available from online music portal sites at midnight on 1 July 2012
• First album in 11 months, following Mr. Simple (August 2011)
• Version B followed on 16 July with a different cover showing the 10 members in their teaser photo makeup
• Repackaged edition titled Spy released on 6 August with four new tracks, including follow-up single "Spy"

Background

• Marks the return of member Kangin, discharged from mandatory military service in April 2012
• First time with Super Junior in three years, since October 2009
• First album without Heechul, who enlisted in September 2011
• Last album with leader Leeteuk and Yesung before their military service
• Leeteuk enlisted on 30 October 2012; Yesung enlisted on 6 May 2013
• Third album featuring ten of the group's 13 members, after Bonamana (2010) and Mr. Simple

Recording

• Leeteuk said the group wanted to try different music and dance styles, since songs from the third to fifth albums had been similar
• Sungmin said the new songs moved toward ballads, R&B and covers of old songs, relying less on special audio effects
• Title track is a soulful Eurohouse song composed and arranged by Danish songwriters

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Formed by SM Entertainment founder Lee Soo-man in 2005 as a 12-member group with rotational members.
• The rotational concept was abandoned after Kyuhyun joined in 2006, and the group became known as Super Junior.
• Debuted on November 6, 2005 with the single "Twins (Knock Out)" on Inkigayo.
• Media dubbed them the "Kings of Hallyu Wave" for their contribution to the Korean Wave.

Members

• Current active members: Leeteuk, Heechul, Yesung, Shindong, Eunhyuk, Siwon, Donghae, Ryeowook, Kyuhyun.
• Han Geng left in 2011, Kibum in 2015, Kangin in 2019.

Career

• "Sorry, Sorry" (2009) brought international recognition and was the group's best-selling single in South Korea.
• Formed multiple subgroups, including Super Junior-M, Super Junior-T and Super Junior-K.R.Y.
• Won Teen Choice Awards' International Artist and Best Fandom in 2015.
• Released the 11th studio album The Road in 2023 and the 12th studio album Super Junior25 in 2025 for the 20th anniversary.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Won Album of the Year at the 14th Mnet Asian Music Awards
• Won Disc Daesang at the 27th Golden Disc Awards
• Peaked at number three on the Billboard World Albums chart
• According to Hanteo, Super Junior became the first artist in 2012 to surpass 200,000 copies sold with this album
• Sold 335,744 copies in one month according to Gaon, reaching first place on all album charts
• Super Junior ranked first on Hanteo's "Top 5 K-Pop Artists" for 2012, winning the Hanteo Singer Award and the 2012 Hanteo Album Award

Records

• Domestic cumulative sales of 510,000 copies by the end of December 2012, according to the Gaon Album Chart
• Repackaged edition Spy ranked number one on the Gaon Weekly Album Chart in its first week, stayed in the top three for five weeks
• Spy also ranked number one on the Gaon Monthly Album Chart for August
• Japanese version of the "Sexy, Free & Single" single, released 22 August, sold over 118,902 units and was certified Gold

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The first teaser, themed on "Beautiful men", was released on 21 June 2012, followed by a teaser for a different member each day
• A press conference with the 10 active members was held on 3 July; reporters came from Taiwan, China, Japan and Kazakhstan
• The press conference was Kangin's first official activity since his discharge
• The group made its official comeback on Mnet's M! Countdown on 5 July, performing the title track and "From U", with Kangin back on stage
• The music video for the title track reportedly reached 1,000,000 views in only 12 hours
• A popular Polish news station covered the group's press conference for the sixth album

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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