iKON have returned to the music scene with the EP [FLASHBACK], the fourth for the group since their debut in 2015. [FLASHBACK] follows their third digital single ‘Why Why Why’ released in March 2021 and their first album in over two years since i DECIDE in February 2020.
[FLASHBACK] is a six-track EP, with ‘But You’ as the title track, and sees iKON embracing a new sound, in which all the members’ unique colours shine brighter than before. The six members – Jay, Song, Bobby, DK, Ju-ne and Chan – have contributed to the album, with Bobby writing the lyrics for all six songs, DK is credited with the composition of three tracks and Jay, DK and Bobby appear as songwriters for the track ‘Dragon’ – with Bobby contributing to the composition – is a song that expresses the playful side of the members and compares them to a dragon. The song has an EDM arrangement and it’s a stadium anthem; it will be interesting when performed live.
In a press conference held in Seoul ahead of the EP release, Song said about [FLASHBACK], “Through the genres of the tracks and the order in which they are listed, we wanted to show the iKON that reminisces on the past, lives in the present and sets forward towards the future. And the single word that could deliver this message was ‘flashback’. The album carries songs of all different styles and genres, and flashback was also the word that could encompass such a huge spectrum of music.”
The title track ‘But You’ is an ’80s dance-pop tune, a sound far from iKON’s previous hip-hop heavy releases.
The physical version of the album includes the track ‘At Ease’, Bobby’s single featuring WINNER’s Mino; the song was performed during Mnet’s K-pop survival TV show Kingdom: Legendary War in 2021. WINNER’s Yoon teamed up with Bobby for the lyrics of ‘Gold’, a chill song that fits summertime.
Fans have surely missed iKON as [FLASHBACK] debuted No.1 on the Worldwide iTunes Album Chart and No.2 on the European iTunes Album Chart. [FLASHBACK] debuted No.1 on the iTunes Top Album charts in over 18 countries, including Brazil, New Zealand, Singapore and Thailand. The lead single ‘But You’ debuted at No.23 Worldwide iTunes Song Chart.
iKON will meet fans during their concerts in Seoul in June (25-26) at the Olympic Hall in the Olympic Park in Jamsil and Japan in July.
