Never Gonna Dance Again (album)

Never Gonna Dance Again is the third Korean studio album by South Korean singer Taemin. It consists of two parts, Act 1 and Act 2, that were later collected together in the repackage album, Never Gonna Dance Again (Extended Ver.).

Never Gonna Dance Again
Cover of the compilation version.
Studio album by Taemin
Released	September 7, 2020 (see release history)
Genre	K-pop dance
Language	Korean
Label	SM Dreamus
Taemin chronology
Famous (2019) Never Gonna Dance Again (2020)
Singles from Never Gonna Dance Again
"2 Kids" Released: August 4, 2020 "Criminal" Released: September 7, 2020 "Idea" Released: November 9, 2020

Background and release

It was initially reported that Taemin was preparing to make a comeback in July 2020.[1] However, the comeback was delayed due to a wrist injury Taemin sustained while practicing choreography.[2] On July 29, 2020, SM Entertainment confirmed that Taemin would soon be releasing his third full album, Never Gonna Dance Again, starting with the release of prologue single "2 Kids" on August 4, 2020.[3] This was followed up by the release of the first half of the album, Never Gonna Dance Again: Act 1, on September 7, accompanied by title track "Criminal". The album features nine tracks, including "Criminal", "2 Kids" and a Korean version of the Japanese song "Famous", previously released by Taemin in 2019.[4]

The second half of the album, Never Gonna Dance Again: Act 2, was released on November 9, 2020. Lead single "Idea" was inspired by Plato's theory of forms and includes vocals by BoA.[5] The album also features the song "Be Your Enemy", a duet with Wendy of Red Velvet.[6] The two "acts" were later released together in an album repackage entitled Never Gonna Dance Again (Extended Ver.) on December 14, 2020, which includes all eighteen tracks.[7]

Track listing

Credits adapted from the official homepage.[8][9]

Act 1

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Arrangement	Length
1.	"Criminal"	danke (라라라스튜디오)	Lauren Aquilina Chloe Latimer Shae Jacobs SCORE (13) MEGATONE (13)	Jacobs SCORE (13) MEGATONE (13)	3:31
2.	"일식 (Black Rose) (Feat. Kid Milli)"	Kim Soo-jin (Jam Factory) Kid Milli	Greg Bonnick Hayden Chapman Deez Adrian McKinnon	LDN Noise Deez	3:39
3.	"Strangers"	Kim Min-ji (Jam Factory)	Daniel Davidsen Peter Wallevik Sarah Barrios Linnea Södahl	PhD	3:03
4.	"해몽 (Waiting For)"	Kim Min-ji (Jam Factory)	Noah Conrad Rollo Spreckley Jake Torrey	Conrad Spreckley Torrey Deez	2:57
5.	"Famous (Korean Ver.)"	Lee Seu-ran	Didrik Thott Daniel Kim	Kim	3:00
6.	"Clockwork"	Lee Seu-ran Bong Eun-young (Jam Factory)	Britt Burton Harvey Mason Jr.	Mason	3:47
7.	"Just Me And You"	Mola (makeumine works) JQ	Sam Gray Steve Manovski Jimmy Conway Ryan S. Jhun	Gray Manovski Conway Jhun	3:34
8.	"네모 (Nemo)"	Noday Lee I:ll Park Moon-chi	Lee Park Noday	Park Noday	3:56
9.	"2 Kids"	Jo Yoon-kyung Taemin	Matt Thomson Max Lynedoch Graham Ninos Hanna Jenson Vaughan Marlene Strand James F. Reynolds Tim Stuart	ARCADES BLUR	3:33

Act 2

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Arrangement	Length
1.	"이데아 (IDEA:理想)"	Moon Seo-lee	James Foye III Austin Owens Jimmy Claeson Adrian McKinnon Tay Jasper	Foye Owens TAK	3:!4
2.	"Heaven"	Taemin Yoo Young-jin	Klara Osk Eliasdottir Markus Videsäter Emanuel Abrahamsson Yoo	Email Yoo	3:02
3.	"유인 (Impressionable)"	Kim Woo-jung (Jam Factory)	MNEK Daniel Davidsen Peter Wallevik Lewis Blissett	PhD	3:02
4.	"Be Your Enemy (Feat. Wendy of Red Velvet)"	Park Tae-won Hwang Yu-bin	Noah Conrad Brooke Tomlinson David Brook	Conrad	3:35
5.	"안아줄래 (Think Of You)"	Taemin	Max Lynedoch Graham Matt Thomson Wilhelm Börjesson Marcus Holmberg James F. Reynolds	ARCADES	3:18
6.	"Exclusive (Korean Ver.)"	Mola (makeumine works) JQ	Fredrik Thomander Dennis Mansfeld Dani Paz	Thomander Paz	3:24
7.	"Pansy"	Jung Young-ah (Jam Factory) Taemin	Bram Inscore Alma Goodman Darin	Inscore	3:50
8.	"사랑인 것 같아 (I Think It’s Love)"	minGtion	Andrew Choi Kim Yeon-seo minGtion	minGtion	3:35
9.	"Identity"	Jo Yoon-kyung	Steven Lee	Lee	3:01

Charts

Chart (2020)	Peak position
	Act 1	Act 2	Extended Ver.
Japanese Albums (Billboard Japan)[10]	9	14	—
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[11]	11	29	—
South Korean Albums (Gaon)[12]	1	2	8
UK Digital Albums (OCC)[13]	34	63	—
US World Albums (Billboard)[14]	11	—	—

Accolades

Year-end lists

Critic/Publication	List	Work	Rank	Ref.
Time	The Songs and Albums That Defined K-Pop's Monumental Year in 2020	Never Gonna Dance Again: Act 2	N/A	[15]
Sputnik	Best K-Pop Comebacks in 2020	Never Gonna Dance Again	N/A	[16]
Rhythmer	10 Best Korean R&B/Soul Albums of 2020		5	[17]
South China Morning Post	The Best K-pop Solo Albums of 2020		N/A	[18]
Paper	The 40 Best K-pop Songs of 2020	"Criminal"	3	[19]
Dazed	The 40 best K-pop songs of 2020		3	[20]
Refinery29	Music Saved 2020: The 29 Best Songs Of The Year		N/A	[21]
Billboard	The 20 Best K-Pop Songs of 2020: Critics' Picks		12	[22]
Metro	The Best K-pop Comeback Songs of 2020		7	[23]
BuzzFeed	Best K-Pop Songs of 2020		1	[24]
South China Morning Post	The best 15 singles from K-pop groups in 2020		N/A	[25]
CNN Philippines Life	Our Best K-pop Songs of 2020		N/A	[26]
MTV	The Best K-Pop B-sides of 2020	"Clockwork"	2	[27]
Rolling Stone India	20 Best K-pop Music Videos of 2020	"Idea"	5	[28]

Music program awards

Song	Program	Network	Date	Ref.
"Idea"	Inkigayo	SBS	November 22, 2020	[29]

Release history

Edition	Date	Region	Format	Label
Act 1	September 7, 2020	South Korea	CD digital download	SM Entertainment Dreamus Company
		Various	Digital download
Act 2	November 9, 2020	South Korea	CD digital download
		Various	Digital download
Extended Ver.	December 14, 2020	South Korea	CD

References

1. Hwang, Hye-jin (June 5, 2020). "SM 측 "샤이니 태민 7월 컴백, 신곡 발표+여러 활동 계획 중"(공식)". Newsen (in Korean). Retrieved January 2, 2021.
2. Yoon, Sang-geun (July 8, 2020). "샤이니 태민 손목 골절상 "솔로 컴백 재조정"[공식]". StarNews (in Korean). Retrieved January 2, 2021.
3. Ahn, Jin-yong (July 29, 2020). "태민, 8월 4일 정규 3집 프롤로그 싱글 '2 KIDS'". Munhwa (in Korean). Retrieved December 21, 2020.
4. Shim, Eon-kyung (August 28, 2020). "'컴백' 태민, 정규 3집 트랙리스트 공개..타이틀곡은 'Criminal' [공식]". Osen (in Korean). Retrieved January 2, 2020.
5. Choi, Hee-jae (November 6, 2020). "보아, 태민 솔로 타이틀곡 '이데아' 가창 참여..역대급 케미 '기대감 UP'". Xports News (in Korean). Retrieved December 22, 2020.
6. Hwang, Hye-jin (November 2, 2020). "태민, 정규 3집 3곡 작사 참여..레드벨벳 웬디 피처링까지(공식)". Newsen (in Korean). Retrieved December 22, 2020.
7. Hwang, Hye-jin (December 7, 2020). "샤이니 태민, 14일 정규 3집 합본 앨범 'Never Gonna Dance Again' 발매(공식)". Newsen (in Korean). Retrieved December 22, 2020.
8. "TAEMIN The 3rd Album 'Never Gonna Dance Again : Act 1'". taemin.smtown.com. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
9. "TAEMIN The 3rd Album 'Never Gonna Dance Again : Act 2'". taemin.smtown.com. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
10. Charted albums:
    • Act 1 - "Hot Albums". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). September 21, 2020. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
    • Act 2 - "Hot Albums". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). November 23, 2020. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
11. Charted albums:
    • Act 1 - "週間　アルバムランキング 2020年09月21日付". Oricon (in Japanese). September 21, 2020. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
    • Act 2 - "週間　アルバムランキング 2020年11月23日付". Oricon (in Japanese). November 23, 2020. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
12. Charted albums:
    • Act 1 - "2020년 37주차 Album Chart". Gaon Chart (in Korean). Retrieved December 20, 2020.
    • Act 2 - "2020년 46주차 Album Chart". Gaon Chart (in Korean). Retrieved December 20, 2020.
    • Extended Ver. - "2020년 51주차 Album Chart". Gaon Chart (in Korean). Retrieved December 24, 2020.
13. Charted albums:
    • Act 1 - "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. September 11, 2020. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
    • Act 2 - "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. November 13, 2020. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
14. "Taemin Chart History (World Albums)". Billboard. September 19, 2020. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
15. Moon, Kat (December 11, 2020). "The Songs and Albums That Defined K-Pop's Monumental Year in 2020". Time. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
16. Yiling, Martha (January 2, 2021). "Best K-Pop Comebacks in 2020". Sputnik. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
17. "2020 국내 알앤비/소울 앨범 베스트 10". Rhythmer (in Korean). 4 January 2020. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
18. Herman, Tamar (December 17, 2020). "TThe Best K-pop Solo Albums of 2020". South China Morning Post. Retrieved January 5, 2021.
19. Bell, Crystal (December 18, 2020). "The 40 Best K-pop Songs of 2020". Paper. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
20. Glasby, Taylor (December 19, 2020). "The 40 Best K-pop Songs of 2020". Dazed. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
21. Morin, Natalie; Komonibo, Ineye (December 21, 2020). "Music Saved 2020: The 29 Best Songs Of The Year". Refinery29. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
22. "The 20 Best K-Pop Songs of 2020: Critics' Picks". Billboard. December 23, 2020. Retrieved December 24, 2020.
23. "From BTS to GOT7 and BLACKPINK – the best K-Pop comebacks of 2020 ranked". Metro. December 28, 2020. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
24. "Best K-pop Songs of 2020". BuzzFeed. 31 December 2020. Retrieved 31 December 2020.
25. Herman, Tamar (January 1, 2021). "The Best 15 K-Pop Songs and Albums of 2020". South China Morning Post. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
26. "Our best K-pop songs of 2020". CNN Philippines. January 1, 2021. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
27. "The Best K-Pop B-sides of 2020". MTV. 30 December 2020. Retrieved 30 December 2020.
28. Chakraborty, Riddhi (January 1, 2021). "20 Best K-pop Music Videos of 2020". Rolling Stone India. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
29. Jeong, Han (November 22, 2020). "'인기가요' 태민, '이데아'로 1위". Hankook Ilbo (in Korean). Retrieved January 2, 2021.