Good Day (IU song)

"Good Day" (Korean좋은 날; RRjoheun nal) is a song recorded in two languages (Korean and Japanese) by South Korean singer IU. The Korean version was released on December 9, 2010, as the lead single for IU's third extended play (EP) Real. It was written by Kim Eana, while production was handled by Lee Min-soo. The Japanese version was originally included on IU's first Japanese extended play I□U, released on December 14, 2011, before being released on March 21, 2012, as IU's first single album Good Day.

"Good Day"
Regular and digital edition Japanese single cover
Single by IU
from the album Real and Good Day
Language
  • Korean
  • Japanese
ReleasedDecember 9, 2010 (2010-12-09)
Length3:53
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Lee Min-soo
  • Cho Young-Chul
  • Hidenobu Okita
IU singles chronology
"Nagging"
(2010)
"Good Day"
(2010)
"Only I Didn't Know"
(2011)
IU Japanese singles chronology
"Good Day"
(2012)
"You and I"
(2012)
Music video
"Good Day" on YouTube

"Good Day" received generally positive reviews by music critics. Billboard magazine crowned it as the best K-pop song released in the 2010s. Commercially, the song debuted atop the Gaon Digital Chart, topping the chart for five weeks and becoming the sixth best-selling single in South Korea, selling more than 4.4 million digital units. The Japanese version reached the top five on the Oricon Singles Chart, and sold more than 30,000 physical copies in the country.

Background and release

"Good Day" was released on December 9, 2010, simultaneously with the singer's third extended play (EP) Real. On November 15, 2011, Loen announced, that IU was signed to EMI Music Japan and was set to release an extended play with her greatest hits recorded in Japanese, on December 14, 2011, titled I□U.[1]

Music and lyrics

The Korean version of "Good Day" was written by Kim Eana, while production was handled by Lee Min-soo. In terms of musical notation, the song is composed in the key of A♭ Major, with a tempo of 128 beats per minute, and runs for 3:53.[2]

Reception

Writing for New Straits Times, Bibi Nurshuhada Ramli described "Good Day" as IU's breakout song.[3] South China Morning Post's Sylvia Issa described the songs as a "unique musical phenomenon".[4] In November 2019, Billboard magazine compiled a list of the 100 Greatest K-Pop Songs of the 2010s, with the single "Good Day" ranking at number one.[5]

Commercially, "Good Day" debuted at number one of the South Korean singles chart on the 51st issued week of 2010.[6] It topped the chart for five consecutive weeks, falling to no. four on the fourth issued week in 2011. The song held the record for the most weeks at number one until 2018, when it was beaten by iKon "Love Scenario". Furthermore, the single topped the monthly singles chart in December 2010.[7] It was selected as Gallup Korea's Song of the Year in 2011.[8]

"Good Day" on critic lists
PublicationListRankRef.
Billboard100 Greatest K-pop Songs of the 2010s: Staff List1[5]
MelonTop 100 K-pop Songs of All Time15[9]
Rolling Stone100 Greatest Songs in the History of Korean Pop Music3[10]
Star News10 Best Digital Hit Songs in the Past 10 YearsNo order[11]

Accolades

Awards and nominations
YearOrganizationAwardResultRef.
2011Cyworld Digital Music AwardsSong of the Month – DecemberWon[12]
Melon Music AwardsNetizen Popular SongNominated[13]
Song of the YearWon[14]
Mnet Asian Music AwardsBest Vocal Performance – SoloWon[15]
Song of the YearNominated[16]
Seoul Music AwardsBest Song AwardWon[17]
2012Korean Music AwardsSong of the YearWon[18]
Best Korean Pop SongWon
Music program awards
ProgramDateRef.
InkigayoDecember 19, 2010[19]
December 26, 2010
January 2, 2011
M CountdownDecember 23, 2010[20]
Music BankDecember 24, 2010[21]
December 31, 2010
January 7, 2011[21]

Track listing

Digital download / streaming – Korean version
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Good Day" (Korean좋은 날; RRJoheun Nal)Kim EanaLee Min-soo3:53
Total length:3:53
Digital download / Regular CD Edition – Japanese version[22][23]
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Good Day"
  • Kim Eana
  • Lee Min-soo
  • Emi Minakata
  • Cho Young-Chul
  • Hidenobu Okita
3:55
2."Rain Drop"
  • Natsumi Kobayashi
  • G. Gorilla
  • Cho Young-Chul
  • Hidenobu Okita
3:50
3."Good Day" (Instrumental) 
  • Cho Young-Chul
  • Hidenobu Okita
3:55
4."Rain Drop" (Instrumental) 
  • Cho Young-Chul
  • Hidenobu Okita
3:50
Total length:15:30
Limited Edition A (CD + DVD + Booklet) – Japanese version[24][23]
No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."Good Day"
  • Kim Eana
  • Lee Min-soo
  • Emi Minakata
  • Cho Young-Chul
  • Hidenobu Okita
3:55
2."Rain Drop"
  • Natsumi Kobayashi
  • G. Gorilla
  • Cho Young-Chul
  • Hidenobu Okita
3:50
3."Lost Child" (Live version)  3:42
4."Rain Drop" (Live version)  3:50
5."Good Day" (Live version)  3:50
6."Last Fantasy" (Live version)  6:07
7."Aishiteru" (Live version)  3:34
8."Lovin' You" (Live version)  3:09

Chart performance

Year-end charts

Chart (2011)Position
South Korea (Gaon)[26]17

Sales

CountrySales amount
South Korea (digital)4,450,508[27]
Japan (physical)30,634[28]

Release history

RegionDateVersionFormatLabelRef.
VariousDecember 9, 2010KoreanDigital downloadKakao M[29]
JapanMarch 21, 2012JapaneseCD, Digital downloadEMI Music Japan[30]

References