Delight is the second extended play by South Korean singer Baekhyun. It was released on May 25, 2020, by SM Entertainment, and features seven tracks, including the lead single, "Candy". The album is available in four versions: Cinnamon, Honey, Mint, and Chemistry, which was released on June 29. The album sold over 1,000,000 copies, making it the first South Korean soloist album to do so in 19 years, and one of the best-selling albums in South Korea.
Background and release
Baekhyun debuted as a solo artist in July 2019, with City Lights, which was commercially successful and sold over half-a-million copies in 2019. On April 22, 2020, it was reported that he was preparing for a second solo album and participated in various aspects of the production process. SM Entertainment later confirmed the statement and announced the release of Baekhyun's second EP in late May. On May 6, the album's title and release date were announced. SM Entertainment began releasing teasers and mood-sampler videos on May 12 through EXO's official social media accounts. On May 13, the album's notable producers were revealed, consisting of South Korean producer Kenzie, and American producers Mike Daley, Omega Deez and Colde. The album and its title track's music video were released on May 25 at 6PM KST both digitally and physically. On May 29, the live video for "Love Again" was released on YouTube via the SM Station channel.
Composition
Delight features seven songs of different R&B subgenres. The title track "Candy" is described as a future R&B song with addictive synth instrumentation and a trendy melody. Lyrically, it expresses Baekhyun's colourful charms like various tastes of candy. It was written by songwriter Kenzie, while production was handled by Mike Daley, Mitchell Owens, DEEZA and Adrian McKinnon with additional arrangement by Yoo Yeong-jin. "R U Ridin'?" is an urban R&B hip hop song with a chill trap-based instrumentation and melody with love-whispering lyrics that make you feel like you're driving through the downtown of a city. The third track "Bungee" is a mid-tempo R&B song with a piano melody. The lyrics are a metaphor for falling in love and swimming in the sea. "Poppin'" is characterized as an urban R&B hip hop song, with lyrics expressing the overwhelming feelings of happiness that burst out while in love. "Underwater" is a dreamy mid-tempo R&B song with lyrics about the feeling of ones heart submerged in an ocean of sadness after losing someone they loved, while "Ghost" is described as an alternative R&B song featuring lyrics about comparing a lover to a ghost in order to endure the hardships of separation from them. The last song "Love Again" is a lyrical contemporary R&B song with lyrics about longing to love a partner once more at the end of a relationship.
Promotion
An hour before the music video and album's release, Baekhyun appeared on a live broadcast through the Naver app V Live, where he promoted and discussed the album. On June 3, Baekhyun won his first Show Champion trophy with "Candy", despite not attending nor performing at the show. Baekhyun had his first music show performance for the lead single on Music Bank, followed by his promotion on Inkigayo. The song has since achieved a total of three trophies, tying with "UN Village" as his most winning title on such television music shows.
Commercial performance
On May 25, it was reported that the pre-order sales of Delight had surpassed 732,297, making it the most pre-ordered album by a soloist in South Korean history. Shortly after its release, Delight claimed its number one iTunes position in 69 countries while sweeping various domestic album charts. The EP achieved an "all-kill" on Melon, making Baekhyun the first solo artist and second artist overall to achieve such status in 2020. Delight went on to debut at number one on Gaon Album Chart for the week of May 30, 2020, becoming his second chart-topper. It eventually became the top-selling album of May 2020 on Gaon Album Chart with a total of 660,000 sales. Upon the release of Chemistry version, the album spent a second week atop of the chart. In June, the album achieved a cumulative sales of over 971,000, thus making Baekhyun the first solo artist to qualify for a Triple Platinum KMCA cerification. On July 1, it was announced that the album had surpassed 1 million sales, making it the first soloist album in South Korea to do since Another Days by Kim Gun-mo. The EP also attained international success by debuting at number five on the Billboard World Album Chart, becoming his second top-five entry. It also charted at number 6 on the Oricon Album Chart. In China, Delight reached a sales volume of 3 million Yuan on QQ Music on May 28, making it the first Korean album to be certified Triple Platinum this year.
