Snowflake (EP)

Snowflake
EP by GFriend
Released	January 25, 2016 (2016-01-25)
Genre	K-pop
Length	21:42
Label	Source Music LOEN Entertainment
GFriend chronology
Flower Bud (2015)Flower Bud2015 Snowflake (2016)
Singles from Snowflake
"Rough" Released: January 25, 2016

Snowflake is the third extended play (EP) by South Korean girl group GFriend. It was released by Source Music on January 25, 2016 and distributed by LOEN Entertainment. The album contains five songs, including the single "Rough", and two instrumental tracks. The album debuted at number two on the Gaon Album Chart and has sold more than 30,000 units. GFriend promoted the album with a series of televised live performances on South Korea's music shows, winning a total of 15 music show awards. "Rough" was also commercially successful, topping the Gaon Digital Chart and selling more than one million digital downloads. Musically, the album is similar in style to K-pop from the late 1990s and 2000s.

Release and promotion

GFriend's third EP was much-anticipated after the group won Rookie of the Year at the Golden Disk Awards and Best New Female Artist at the MelOn Music Awards for their hit singles "Glass Bead" and "Me Gustas Tu". The album's title, Snowflake, and track list were revealed on January 14, 2016. It was released on January 25, in both CD and digital formats. The accompanying music video for lead single "Rough" was produced by Zanybros and released the same day. "Rough" is the final song in the group's "school series" and represents the end of a school year. They maintained their "powerful-innocent" concept, wearing school uniforms and showcasing "perfectly synchronized fierce and powerful" dance choreography.

Hours after the album's release, the group held a showcase at AX Korea in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, which was broadcast live via Naver's V app. They performed songs from the album for the first time at the showcase. The group then promoted the album with performances of "Rough" on various music shows, starting with SBS MTV's The Show on January 26. In their second week of promotion, the song won first place on every music show with a chart system. By February 28, "Rough" had won a total of 15 music show trophies, including "triple crowns" on M! Countdown, Music Bank, Show Champion, and Inkigayo. With these wins, GFriend is in second place for number of wins by a girl group for a single song, behind Apink's 17 wins for "Luv".

Composition

The album opens with a dramatic intro track, "Snowflake". The lead single, "Rough", is a dance song described as "lyrical, catchy, and melodic" with "powerful beats and emotional lyrics". Its Korean title literally translates to "Running Through Time", and the lyrics are about a girl's desire to "run through time and grow up" so she can be with the one she loves. "Say My Name" features drums, acoustic guitar, and synthesizer riffs. "Luv Star" is a medium-tempo dance song with string instrumentation and "Someday" was described as an "energetic cheer song". "Trust" is a medium-tempo pop ballad that portrays the love story of a "shy but serious girl". "Rough" and "Say My Name" were written by Iggy and Seo Yong-bae, who also wrote both of GFriend's previous singles. Seo is an in-house producer at Rainbow Bridge World.

Reception

The album entered the weekly Gaon Album Chart at number two, selling 11,165 physical copies in one week. It was also number ten on the Billboard World Albums chart. As of April 2016, it has sold more than 30,000 copies. All five songs from the album charted on the Gaon Digital Chart, with "Rough" peaking at number one the third week of release. "Rough" has sold more than 1.2 million digital downloads as of May 2016. During the month of January, the music video for "Rough" was the third most watched K-pop music video globally.

Won Ho-jung of The Korea Herald said the album's musical style is similar to K-pop from the late 1990s and 2000s, and can appeal to fans who still want the "old-style feel" of classic Korean pop idol groups. Won described "Rough" and "Say My Name" as powerful and dramatic, and "Luv Star" and "Someday" as adorable and "sugary sweet". Won called GFriend's vocals "on point" and noted that the members were able to adeptly switch between "powerful, soaring voices" and "cutesy, nasal voices" for the two types of songs. Overall, Won said the album "demonstrates GFriend's potential to move beyond the cliché schoolgirl concept and do something interesting of their own, bringing classic girl groups to 21st-century K-pop."

Track listing

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Arrangement	Length
1.	"Intro (Snowflake)"		Hong Beom-gyu Kim Woong	Hong Kim	1:16
2.	"Rough" (Hangul: 시간을 달려서; RR: Siganeul Dallyeoseo)	Iggy Seo Yong-bae	Iggy Seo	Iggy Seo	3:29
3.	"Say My Name" (내 이름을 불러줘; Nae Ireumeul Bulleojwo)	Iggy Seo	Iggy Seo	Iggy Seo	3:08
4.	"Luv Star" (사랑별; Sarangbyeol)	E.ONE	E.ONE	E.ONE Jo Jae-seok	3:08
5.	"Someday" (그런 날엔; Geureon Naren)	Heuk Tae	Heuk Tae Jun Ta Park Chan	Heuk Tae Park Chan	3:37
6.	"Trust"	No Ju-hwan	No Lee Won-jong	No Lee	3:35
7.	"Rough" (Instrumental)		Iggy Seo	Iggy Seo	3:29
Total length:					21:42

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart	Peak position
South Korean Albums (Gaon)	2
US World Albums (Billboard)	10

Monthly charts

Chart	Peak position
South Korean Albums (Gaon)	7

Year-end charts

Chart	Peak position
South Korean Albums (Gaon)	TBA

Sales and certifications

Provider (2016)	Amount
Gaon physical sales	31,044+

Awards and nominations

Music program awards

Song	Program	Date
"Rough"	The Show (SBS MTV)	February 2, 2016
		February 16, 2016
	Show Champion (MBC Music)	February 3, 2016
		February 17, 2016
		February 24, 2016
	M! Countdown (Mnet)	February 4, 2016
		February 11, 2016
		February 18, 2016
	Music Bank (KBS)	February 5, 2016
		February 12, 2016
		February 19, 2016
		February 26, 2016
	Inkigayo (SBS)	February 7, 2016
		February 21, 2016
		February 28, 2016

External links

• Album highlight medley on YouTube
• "Rough" on YouTube

• Cumulative sales for "Rough":

• Cumulative sales for "Snowflake":