The Wonder Years: Trilogy

The Wonder Years: Trilogy is the first extended play by South Korean girl group Wonder Girls. The mini-album was released on September 30, 2008 in South Korea through JYP Entertainment after their three months of hiatus. It would be the last release to feature Sunmi before her temporary departure from Wonder Girls.

The Wonder Years: Trilogy
From left to right: Yubin, Sunye, Sohee, Yeeun, Sunmi
EP by Wonder Girls
Released	September 30, 2008
Recorded	2008
Genre	K-pop dance R&B soul
Length	29:47
Language	Korean
Label	JYP
Producer	Bag Cham Gil Eun-gyeong Hong Ji-sang K String Lyu Yeong-min Rainstone Sim Eun-ji Sin Seog-cheol Sin Hyeon-gwon The AsianSoul (exec.) Yeeun
Wonder Girls chronology
The Wonder Years (2007) The Wonder Years: Trilogy (2008) 2 Different Tears (2010)
Singles from The Wonder Years: Trilogy
"Nobody" Released: September 22, 2008

Background

This album contains total five songs including "Nobody", the promotional single. The official website of Wonder Girls was updated in mid-September 2008, after pictures of the group were leaked, showing a 1960s Motown concept. A teaser video for "Nobody" was then released on September 18, 2008, showcasing a ballad version of the song and scenes from the music video.[1] The full video was then released on September 22, 2008 on the official website, and then to YouTube.[2]

The song continued the retro theme of Wonder Girls songs, including the 1980s feel of "Tell Me" and "So Hot". However, "Nobody" is inspired by older music from the 1960s and 1970s,[2] specifically Motown girl groups.

Release and promotion

After the release of the video, "Nobody" was released to various digital outlets. Within hours, the song quickly became the #1 streamed and sold song online, to the surprise of even their management.[3] On the day of its release, the music video was also featured on blogger Perez Hilton's website.[4]

On September 30, 2008, the EP was released, with the title The Wonder Years: Trilogy. In addition to "Nobody", the single also had two new songs — "I Tried" and "Saying 'I Love You'" — in addition to a remix of "Nobody" and instrumental versions of all four songs. The intro track was featured in the teaser music video.

A remix of the song, titled "Anybody", featured hip-hop group Dynamic Duo, San E, and Park Jin Young. The song was given a digital release on November 18, 2008.[5]

"Nobody" music video

The music video begins with Park Jin-Young performing a Motown-style concert with the Wonder Girls as his backup singers. After the show, a couple of record executives give Park sheet lyrics to the song "Nobody", which he prepares to debut on his next show.

Minutes before his show begins, Park is in the men's restroom using a toilet stall when he realizes that there is no toilet paper available. As he frantically calls for help, everyone on stage begins to wonder where he is as the show starts. The executives then motion the Wonder Girls to bring their microphone stands forward and take center stage. At the end of their performance, Park finally appears on stage to congratulate the group for their performance. While the song plays, the video becomes a montage of the group's career progressing to superstardom.

At the end of the video, Park enters another toilet stall and sees that there is toilet paper available. Unfortunately for him, he pulls the last sheet off the dispenser and once again has to call for help.

Commercial performance

In the month of September 2008, the mini-album sold 28,160 copies.[6] "Nobody" went #1 on KBS' Music Bank program in early October, then remained there for four consecutive weeks.[7] The song also won Cyworld's "Song of the Month" award in September and October 2008, giving them a total of 5 "Song of the Month" awards, tying Big Bang.[8] At the 2008 MKMF Awards, "Nobody" won awards for "Song of the Year" and "Best Music Video".[9]

Track listing

The Wonder Years: Trilogy – Standard edition

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Intro"	Park Jin-young	The AsianSoul Rainstone Sim Eun-ji Sin Seog-cheol Sin Hyeon-gwon Gil Eun-gyeong Lyu Yeong-min K String	0:36
2.	"Nobody" (featuring background vocals by J.Y. Park)	Park	Park Rainstone	3:33
3.	"I Tried"	Hong Ji-sang	Ji-sang	3:35
4.	"Saying I Love You"	Park Ye-eun	Yeeun Eun-ji Seog-cheol Hyeon-gwon Eun-gyeong Yeong-min K String	3:55
5.	"Nobody" ("Rainstone" remix)	Park	Park Rainstone Bag Cham	4:32
6.	"Nobody" (instrumental)		The AsianSoul Rainstone	3:34
7.	"I Tried" (instrumental)		Ji-sang	3:36
8.	"Saying I Love You" (instrumental)		Yeeun Eun-ji Seog-cheol Hyeon-gwon Eun-gyeong Yeong-min K String	3:55
9.	"Nobody" ("Rainstone" remix) (instrumental)		Park Rainstone Bag Cham	4:31
Total length:				29:47

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Label
South Korea	September 30, 2008	CD digital download	JYP

References

1. WonderGirls M/V trailer. JYP Entertainment/YouTube. September 18, 2008. Retrieved September 23, 2008.
2. (in Korean)원더걸스 ‘노바디’, 2시간만에 1위 ‘깜짝’ (Wonder Girls' "Nobody", #1 in Two Hours, Surprise). September 23, 2008. Retrieved September 23, 2008.
3. (in Korean)nobody 원더걸스 깜짝 반응 소속사도 놀랐다! ("Nobody" (by the) Wonder Girls Surprise Hit, Even Management Surprised). SportsSeoul. September 24, 2008. Retrieved September 23, 2008.
4. How The Koreans Do It. Perez Hilton. September 22, 2008. Retrieved September 23, 2008.
5. 원더걸스 Anybody "빵빵한데" (Wonder Girls' Anybody is Explosive) Archived 2012-02-20 at the Wayback Machine. SportsSeoul.com. November 18, 2008. Retrieved November 18, 2008.
6. September 2008 album sales Archived February 21, 2009, at the Wayback Machine. Recording Industry Association of Korea. Retrieved November 28, 2008.
7. 원더걸스 JYP 선배 비 제치고 뮤직뱅크 1위 등극. Newsen/Joins.com. October 24, 2008. Retrieved November 6, 2008.
8. 원더걸스 2달 연속 싸이월드 어워드 수상 ‘총5회 빅뱅과 동률’. Newsen/Joins.com. November 6, 2008. Retrieved November 6, 2008.
9. Kim, Shi-eun. ‘MKMF 3관왕’ 원더걸스 “변치 않는 원더걸스 되겠다” (MKMF Triple Winner Wonder Girls "Will Never Change"). HanKyung.com. November 16, 2008. Retrieved November 16, 2008.

External links

• Wonder Girls – Official website