Mr. Simple
Encyclopedia
Mr. Simple is the fifth studio album of South Korean boy band
Boy band
A boy band is loosely defined as a popular music act consisting of only male singers. The members are expected to dance as well as sing, usually giving highly choreographed performances. More often than not, boy band members do not play musical instruments, either in recording sessions or on...

 Super Junior
Super Junior
Super Junior is a South Korean boy band. Formed in 2005 by producer Lee Soo-man of SM Entertainment, the group comprised a total of thirteen members at its peak, and was once claimed to be the world's largest boy band...

, released on August 3, 2011 by SM Entertainment
SM Entertainment
S.M. Entertainment is an independent Korean record label, talent agency, producer, and publisher of pop music, founded by Lee Soo-man in South Korea...

 and KMP Holdings in South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

. This is the group's second album featuring ten members, the first being their previous album, "Bonamana
Bonamana
Bonamana is the fourth studio album by South Korean boy band Super Junior, released on May 13, 2010 in South Korea. Over 200,000 copies were pre-ordered a week after the release date was announced, setting a new high record for the group...

". The album sold over 79,000 units on its first week of release in South Korea, topping album charts throughout the country. It has since sold a total of 287,427 copies by the end of August 2011 according to South Korean Gaon charts
Gaon Chart
The Gaon Chart is a national record chart of South Korea. It is complied by the Korea Music Content Industry Association and sponsored by South Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism; with an aim to create a national chart for Korea similar to the Billboard charts and Oricon charts...

. The album was re-released as "A-CHa" on September 19, 2011.

As of late October 2011, the album has currently sold a cumulative total of 441,000 copies of all versions in South Korea alone.

Background and development

On March 31, 2011, leader Leeteuk
Leeteuk
Park Jung-su , better known by his stage name Leeteuk , is a South Korean idol singer, presenter, and occasional actor. He is the leader of the super boy band Super Junior. To prevent confusion with famous Korean veteran actress Park Jeong-su, he decided to use the name 'Leeteuk'...

 announced during the interview, "At the earliest, we’ll be coming out with our fifth album this summer." Leeteuk and Yesung
Yesung
Kim Jong-woon , better known by his stage name Yesung, is a South Korean idol singer and occasional actor. He is one of the four lead vocalists of the boy band Super Junior. He was once a radio host for his own radio program, M.I.R.A.C.L.E for You, which ended its broadcast in September 2007...

 confirmed on their radio show "Super Junior Kiss the Radio" on June 1, 2011 that they had begun recording their upcoming album that day. Heechul tweeted
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...

 on June 2, 2011 saying that the group "may be going crazy with preparations for our fifth album, but when it’s finally released, you’re all going to go mad. American dancer Kenny Wormald
Kenny Wormald
Kenny Wormald is an American professional dancer and actor. He is best known for his appearances on the MTV network show Dancelife, and his starring roles in Center Stage: Turn It Up and the 2011 version of the 1984 film Footloose.-Personal life:Wormald was born in Boston, to Melanie and Edgar K...

 posted on his official twitter on July 11, 2011 that he had started the choreography rehearsal for the group's upcoming new single. On the same day, Leeteuk and Eunhyuk
Eunhyuk
Lee Hyuk-jae , better known by his stage name Eunhyuk, is a South Korean idol singer, dancer, rapper, presenter, song writer, and occasional actor. He is a part of the thirteen member South Korean boyband Super Junior. His position in the group is the lead rapper and one of the three lead dancers...

 revealed on their radio show "Super Junior Kiss the Radio" that songwriter Jinu (hitchhiker) had contributed something for the new album. Shim Jae Won, current choreographer and former member of the disbanded SM group Black Beat
Black Beat
Black Beat was South Korean boy band. Black Beat belonged to SM Entertainment. A few of their members have appeared elsewhere. But for the most part their public appearances have been limited...

 tweeted a picture showing cups with Super Junior's names written on them., providing possible formation for the song's choreography, as well as two pictures of the choreography practice of the group the next day showing only the lower half of their bodies. A teaser photo was released on July 20, 2011, with the first photo featuring Eunhyuk. Other photos followed, in order: Donghae, Leeteuk, Shindong
Shindong
Shin Dong-hee , better known by his stage name Shindong, is a South Korean idol singer, actor, presenter, and one of the four lead dancers of the boy band Super Junior. He is a dancer but also a rapper, often co-writing rap lyrics with Eunhyuk...

, Kyuhyun, Sungmin, Ryeowook, Yesung, Siwon and Heechul. On the same day, it was announced that the album is set for an August 3 release. On July 22, 2011, the group began filming the music video for their new lead single. The filming for the music video wrapped up July 24, 2011, with Shim Jaewon consistently updating the group's filming activity. On July 25, Jeon Hoon of Sonic Korea Studio announced that he is mastering the new album. Two video teasers were released on August 1, 2011, in which the first teaser gained a million views on YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....

 a day after its release, the second teaser passing a million views by the second day. The first teaser, by the end of the second day, had surpassed 2,500,000 views. The digital single was released on the 2nd as well as the whole digital album format through various Korean online music sites like Melon, Dosirak and Bugs, where it became an instant digital chart-topper in South Korea in just an hour of release. That day it was also made available worldwide on iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....

, where it charted at #28. The physical format of the album was released on August 3. The group will also have a press conference regarding the new album on August 4 at the Imperial Palace Hotel in Seoul
Seoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...

, and the music video itself will be revealed the same day on the conference. The music video reaching more than half a million views within the first few hours of release, and comment numbers increasing by about 200 per minute. The music video passed 1.5 million views by the end of the first day, and 3 million by the end of the second, views and comments steadily growing all over the world. Currently, the music video has over 27 million views.

Music

The album is mostly synthpop
Synthpop
Synthpop is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, disco and particularly the "Kraut rock" of...

, with the title track, "Mr. Simple", being the last installation of the "SJ Funky" genre in which the group has been consistently pursuing since "Sorry, Sorry
Sorry, Sorry
Sorry, Sorry is the award-winning third studio album by South Korean boy band Super Junior, released on March 12, 2009 in South Korea. Sorry, Sorry was a critically and commercially successful hit in Asia, becoming 2009's best-selling Korean-language album in South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, China,...

" (2009) and "Bonamana
Bonamana
Bonamana is the fourth studio album by South Korean boy band Super Junior, released on May 13, 2010 in South Korea. Over 200,000 copies were pre-ordered a week after the release date was announced, setting a new high record for the group...

" (2010). Songs encompassed with synthpop elements include "Opera", "Be My Girl", "Walkin'" and "My Love My Kiss My Heart". Other tracks included in the album are the country-flavored tracks "Good Friends" and "Sunflower", an electropop number "Feels Good", a cover of a 1996 song by Jinu (hitchhiker) entitled "White Christmas", ballads "Storm" and "Memories", a Donghae
Donghae
Donghae can refer to:* Sea of Japan , the Korean name used in both Koreas* Donghae, Gangwon, a city in South Korea* Lee Donghae, a member of K-pop boy band, Super Junior...

-Chance
One Way (Korean band)
One Way is a contemporary South Korean R&B/Hip Hop group managed by YJ Media, also known as YJ Entertainment. The trio consists of Leader/vocals Chance ,vocals Peter and rapper YoungSky . They made their debut on March 6, 2010 on MBC’s Music Core with their promotional single, Magic...

-written track "Y", as well as the inclusion of subgroup Super Junior-M
Super Junior-M
Super Junior-M, often referred to as SJ-M or SJM, is the third official sub-unit of Korean boy band Super Junior. They are the first international music group in the Chinese music industry to have members of both Chinese and Korean descent, and is also the first group produced by Korea's CT ...

's Korean version of their 2011 title track "Perfection
Perfection (EP)
Perfection is the second extended play and third overall release by Mandopop boy band Super Junior-M. It was released in Taiwan on 25 February 2011 by Avex Taiwan, to be followed by other Asian countries in March 2011...

", in which it serves a purpose "to give a chance to Korean fans to enjoy the music of Super Junior-M which is appearing in various stages in Asia." Meanwhile, for the B-version of the album, a further-included track "Superman" is described to be "a minimalist hip-hop track which feature the members singing in a low vocal range."

Promotion and release

The group first held a press conference at the Imperial Palace Hotel in Seoul, which attracted about 200 reporters, including about 70 foreign journalists from Japan, China, Taiwan, Thailand, Hong Kong and Singapore and declared that this will be the group's current last studio release due to planned enlistment of group leader Leeteuk
Leeteuk
Park Jung-su , better known by his stage name Leeteuk , is a South Korean idol singer, presenter, and occasional actor. He is the leader of the super boy band Super Junior. To prevent confusion with famous Korean veteran actress Park Jeong-su, he decided to use the name 'Leeteuk'...

, as well as member Heechul in the army sometime in 2012. The group expressed that they will promote the album as long as possible since Leeteuk will be enlisting to the army and that they are in plans of a world tour. Leeteuk added that after his discharge from the army, they will go on to release an album afterwards. Super Junior had their debut performance of "Mr. Simple" and a non-album track called "Superman" at Music Bank on August 5, 2011, followed by Music Core on the 6th, Inkigayo
The Music Trend
The Music Trend is a South Korean music program broadcast by SBS. It airs live every Sunday at 3:50 PM KST. The show features some of the latest and most popular artists who perform on stage. It is currently hosted by Goo Ha-ra, IU and Nicole.- History :...

 on the 7th and M! Countdown on the 11th. However, promotions for the song will end on August 28 due to the enlistment of member Heechul to the army on September 1, 2011. On August 26, 2011, a music video for the album's supporting single, "Superman", was revealed via SM Entertainment's SMTOWN YouTube page, in which the music video shows various clips from their Super Show 3 tours as well as the photoshoots and music video making for "Mr. Simple".

The album was released in Taiwan
Republic of China
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan , is a unitary sovereign state located in East Asia. Originally based in mainland China, the Republic of China currently governs the island of Taiwan , which forms over 99% of its current territory, as well as Penghu, Kinmen, Matsu and other minor...

 digitally on August 15, 2011, followed by a physical release by September 2, 2011 by avex taiwan
Avex Taiwan
Avex Taiwan Inc is an entertainment and record label based in Taiwan. It was founded in July 1998 and is a foreign consolidated subsidiary of parent company Avex Group based in Japan...

. The album was supposed to be pre-released in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

 by Universal Records
Universal Records (Philippines)
Universal Records Philippines Inc. is a Filipino record label founded in 1977 as a part of Warner Music Group. Since 1992, it became independent.-History:URPI was founded in 1977 as WEA Records Philippines Inc...

 on October 1, 2011 but was moved to October 8th, citing manufacturing problems caused by typhoon Nesat
Typhoon Nesat (2011)
Typhoon Nesat was the most powerful tropical cyclone to directly impact China since 2005. It also struck the Philippines during the 2011 Pacific typhoon season, killing 83 people...

. The Type A album was officially released in the country on November 24th.

Sales and chart performance

The album debuted at the number one spot in the Hanteo Charts, selling 79,152 copies in its first week of release. Aside from this, the album also topped the Japanese Tower Records
Tower Records
Tower Records was a retail music chain that was based in Sacramento, California. It currently exists as an international franchise and an online music store....

' online album orders chart. The album's tracks, especially the title track, managed to occupy the top ten spots in various Korean online charts like Dosirak, Bugs and Melon, as well as the physical album itself topping the real-time charts in Hanteo, Hottracks and Yes24. The album is due for release in eleven Asian countries. The album also debuted 3rd on Billboard World Albums Chart. The album managed to sell a hundred thousand copies after two weeks of release, and further bringing these to a total of 130,000 copies in total of the album's initial version. By the end of August 2011, the album sold a total of 287,427 copies according to Gaon charts
Gaon Chart
The Gaon Chart is a national record chart of South Korea. It is complied by the Korea Music Content Industry Association and sponsored by South Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism; with an aim to create a national chart for Korea similar to the Billboard charts and Oricon charts...

. Meanwhile, the repackaged album, "A-Cha", which was released on September 19th, debuted at #1 in Hanteo real-time albums chart hours after its release. The repackaged album, according to Hanteo charts, sold a total of 52,000 copies by the end of September 2011, ranking at the number two spot, behind JYJ
JYJ
JYJ is a three-member pop group, formed by three members of the South Korean boyband TVXQ: Jaejoong, Yoochun and Junsu. Their group name is taken from the first letters of each members' names....

's In Heaven.

Tracklist

Charts and sales

Chart Peak
position
Reported
sales
South Korea Hanteo Albums
1
322,917+
South Korean Gaon
Gaon Chart
The Gaon Chart is a national record chart of South Korea. It is complied by the Korea Music Content Industry Association and sponsored by South Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism; with an aim to create a national chart for Korea similar to the Billboard charts and Oricon charts...

 Albums
1
441,227+
Japan Oricon
Oricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...

 Weekly Albums
17
30,000+ (Imports)
US Billboard
Billboard charts
The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard magazine...

 World Albums
3
N/A
Philippines Odyssey
Odyssey
The Odyssey is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is, in part, a sequel to the Iliad, the other work ascribed to Homer. The poem is fundamental to the modern Western canon, and is the second—the Iliad being the first—extant work of Western literature...

 Weekly Albums
1
N/A

Release history

Region Date Format Distributing Label
South Korea August 2, 2011
August 3, 2011 (Type A)
August 22, 2011 (Type B)
September 19, 2011 (Type C)
Digital download
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...

 
CD 
CD
CD, digital download
KMP Holdings
Japan August 6, 2011 CD (Korean import) Avex Trax
Avex Trax
, listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange as 7860 and abbreviated as AGHD, is the holding company for a group of entertainment-related subsidiaries based in Japan...

Taiwan August 15, 2011
September 2, 2011 (Type A)
Digital download
CD
Avex Taiwan
Avex Taiwan
Avex Taiwan Inc is an entertainment and record label based in Taiwan. It was founded in July 1998 and is a foreign consolidated subsidiary of parent company Avex Group based in Japan...

Philippines October 8, 2011 (Type A; pre-release)
November 24, 2011 (Type A; official release)
December 17, 2011 (Type B & C; pre-release)
CD Universal Records
Universal Records (Philippines)
Universal Records Philippines Inc. is a Filipino record label founded in 1977 as a part of Warner Music Group. Since 1992, it became independent.-History:URPI was founded in 1977 as WEA Records Philippines Inc...

Singapore September 29, 2011 (Type C) CD Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...

Malaysia September 12, 2011 (Type B)
October 10, 2011 (Type C)

Album personnel

Credits are for the Type A of the album, unless where indicated.
  • Super Junior - vocals, background vocals
    • Leeteuk - vocals, rap
      Rap
      Rap may refer to:*Rapping, performance in which rhyming lyrics are used, with or without musical accompaniment ; while an MC performs spoken verses in time to a beat/ melody**Hip hop subculture**Hip hop music...

    • Heechul - vocals
    • Yesung - lead vocals, background vocals
    • Shindong - vocals, rap
    • Sungmin - lead vocals, background vocals
    • Eunhyuk - vocals, rap
    • Siwon - vocals
    • Donghae - vocals, rap
    • Ryeowook - lead vocals, background vocals
    • Kyuhyun - lead vocals, background vocals
  • Super Junior-M
    Super Junior-M
    Super Junior-M, often referred to as SJ-M or SJM, is the third official sub-unit of Korean boy band Super Junior. They are the first international music group in the Chinese music industry to have members of both Chinese and Korean descent, and is also the first group produced by Korea's CT ...

     - vocals, background vocals (Perfection
    Perfection (EP)
    Perfection is the second extended play and third overall release by Mandopop boy band Super Junior-M. It was released in Taiwan on 25 February 2011 by Avex Taiwan, to be followed by other Asian countries in March 2011...

    )
    • Zhoumi
      Zhou Mi (entertainer)
      Zhou Mi is a Chinese pop singer, emcee, and actor. He is a member of the Mandopop boy band Super Junior-M.Aside from providing lead and background vocals, he contributed to the group's first Chinese album "迷 " by writing the Chinese lyrics for "愛你愛你 ", "Marry U" and "渴望 "...

       - vocals
    • Henry
      Henry Lau
      Henry Lau , better known mononymously as Henry, is a Chinese Canadian singer songwriter. He is a member of the Mandopop boy band Super Junior-M....

       - vocals
  • Yoo Youngjin - background vocals
  • Kang Sungho - background vocals
  • Park Il - background vocals
  • Chance (One Way)
    One Way (Korean band)
    One Way is a contemporary South Korean R&B/Hip Hop group managed by YJ Media, also known as YJ Entertainment. The trio consists of Leader/vocals Chance ,vocals Peter and rapper YoungSky . They made their debut on March 6, 2010 on MBC’s Music Core with their promotional single, Magic...

     - background vocals
  • Hitchhiker - background vocals, guitar, keyboard, synth and beat
    Beat
    -Film:*Beat , the smallest unit of dramatic action in a play*Beat , a film about writer William Seward Burroughs*Beat , a 1998 Japanese film*Directorial beat, an exchange of behavior between characters in a screenplay...

     arrangements, bass
    Bass (instrument)
    Bass describes musical instruments that produce tones in the low-pitched range. They belong to different families of instruments and can cover a wide range of musical roles...

    , sound processing
  • Thomas Troelsen - background vocals
  • TST - brass section
  • Choi Wonhyuk - bass
  • Kim Jungbae - guitar
    Guitar
    The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

  • Lee Hwa - piano
    Piano
    The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

  • Yoong - string section
    String section
    The string section is the largest body of the standard orchestra and consists of bowed string instruments of the violin family.It normally comprises five sections: the first violins, the second violins, the violas, the cellos, and the double basses...

  • Shin Seokchul - drums
  • Choi Hoon - bass
  • Cho Jeongchi - guitar
  • Go Gyeongchun - keyboard
  • Lee Sungryeol - guitar
  • Park Cham - guitar
  • Super D - keyboard
  • Kim Kyuwon - pro-tools editing
    Pro Tools
    Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation platform for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems, developed and manufactured by Avid Technology. It is widely used by professionals throughout the audio industries for recording and editing in music production, film scoring, film, and television...

  • Goo Jongpil - mixing
    Audio mixing (recorded music)
    In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...

  • Nam Koongjin - mixing
  • Lee Seungho - mixing
  • Jeon Hoon - mastering
    Audio mastering
    Mastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...

    (mastering done at Sonic Korea)
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