User:Mazic/Going Crazy

"Going Crazy" (Korean: 미친거니) is a song recorded by South Korean idol singer Song Jieun. It is released as a Digital single on January 6, 2011 through TS Entertainment. The song's inspiration came from the producers who have felt they needed to showcase a more darker side of Jieun thus coming up with the idea of a stalking relationship. The song features B.A.P's Bang Yong Guk and sings the rap parts of the song. The song's lyrics tells of a relationship in which the protagonist couldn't stand the stalking of her obsessed ex-lover.

The song was composed and produced by Kang Jiwon and Kim Kibum, the same composers of Secret's hits such as Magic, Madonna and Shy Boy. "Going Crazy" is a midtempo hip hop ballad with guitar, piano and violin instrumentation. Featured singer, Bang Yong Guk participated in the song's production by writing the lyrics of his rap parts in "Going Crazy".

The single was promoted with live performances and a music video. Jieun and Yong Guk promoted the song on M! Countdown, Music Bank, MTV's The Show, Music Core and Inkigayo. In December 2011, a remix version of "Going Crazy" was performed on MBC's 2011 Gayo Daejaejun!. They also performed the song on B.A.P's debut showcase in January 2011. The accompanying video, directed by Johnny Bro's Hon Won Ki and filmed in February 2011, stars Min Hyorin and B.A.P's Kim Himchan in a kidnapping scene as Jieun and Yong Guk perform in an abandoned building and a deserted farm land.

"Going Crazy" was well received by music critics and among netizens, and charted strongly throughout various music charts. Fans praised the song for its matured lyrics as well as Jieun's vocal performance and Yong Guk's rapping skills. The song managed to peak at number one on the Gaon Single Chart despite strong competition from Big Bang and IU.

Background and release
In February 2011, TS Entertainment revealed that after Secret concluded their promotion for Shy Boy, member Song Jieun will have a solo debut. Through Korean online music portal site, Bugs! coming soon page, it was revealed that Jieun will be releasing her solo single, “Going Crazy,” on March 3, 2011 through various music portal sites. In February 27, TS Entertainment revealed the music video teaser for "Going Crazy" which features a girl setting up a car on fire in a middle of nowhere. The same day, TS Entertainment released the concept photo for the song and revealed that the girl from teaser video was the South Korean actress Min Hyorin. Through Naver, TS Entertainment released their statements on Jieun's single:  “Song Jieun prepared for her solo album consistently throughout her group activities. She’s prepared music that she’s never been able to show before [.....]”  With the release of the concept photos, Song Jieun created a buzz on her "radical transformation" with her hair dyed in blue as she went from a "cutesy bubble-pop concept (with "Shy Boy") to a more hardcore street-punk style". On March 3, 2011 TS Entertainment released the music video for "Going Crazy" with the rap parts sung by Bang Yong Guk from the then unknown group B.A.P.

Composition and theme
"Going Crazy" is a mid-tempo R&B/Hip hop track that runs for 3:50 (3 minutes, 50 seconds). Kang Ji Won and Kim Ki Bum produced and wrote Jieun's part while Bang Yong Guk sung and wrote the rap parts of the song. The song incorporates various instruments, including piano, drums and violin. The song's inspiration came from the producers who have felt they needed to showcase a more darker side of Jieun thus coming up with the idea of a stalking relationship. According to TS Entertainment, the song is an "emotional ballad track" with a dark concept. The song's lyrics tells of a relationship in which the protagonist couldn't stand the stalking of her obsessed ex-lover.

Chart performance
In South Korea, "Going Crazy" entered the Gaon Single Charts at number twenty during the week of March 5, 2011. The following week the song jumped 19 places and peaked at number one the Gaon Single Charts despite strong competition from Big Bang's "Tonight" and IU's "Only I Didn't Know". "Going Crazy" also became their first number one song on the Gaon Single Chart. The song also peaked at number one in Gaon's Streaming and Digital Chart. "Going Crazy" ranked at number forty seven on Melon's 2011 year-end charts.

Live performances
Song Jieun and Bang Yong Guk first performed "Going Crazy" on Mnet's M! Countdown on March 3, 2011. The pair also performed the song on KBS's Music Bank, MBC's Music Core and SBS's Inkigayo in the first week of March, 2011. TS Entertainment initially planned for a two-week promotion period for "Going Crazy" but due to unexpected success of the song, they planned to push it back further until the end of March, 2011. The pair concluded their music shows promotion for "Going Crazy" in the last week of March, 2011. On December 31, 2011, a remix version of "Going Crazy" was performed on MBC's 2011 Gayo Daejaejun!. On January 28, 2012, Jieun and Yong Guk also performed "Going Crazy" on B.A.P's debut showcase held in Seoul, South Korea.

Reception
After the song's release, "Going Crazy" quickly grabbed the number one spot on major real time charts in South Korea. "Going Crazy" was number one on Gaon Singles chart in the week of March 12, 2011. Fans have praised the song for Jieun's vocal performance and its matured lyrics. In an interview through Nate and Naver, Jieun shared her sentiments on the song's unexpected popularity:  “I never expected such a response. Our agency had initially expected to be met with a loss for the album, but pushed forward anyway. Our goal was to rank in the top 30 on digital charts, since we were just aiming to show that I had other images aside from what I show with SECRET. The response I’ve been receiving actually amazes me,” she further added “I didn’t have a lot of expectations for my solo promotions, so I’m glad that the public showed so much love for the song. I just wish that I had a bit more time to promote it."  Other highlights of "Going Crazy" was the featured rapper Bang Yong Guk, whom fans praised his performance for his "husky and fiery delivery". The song garnered him popularity as he was on top of major portal search rankings in South Korea after the song's release. After the release of “Going Crazy”, Yong Guk has been requested for multiple broadcast appearances, as representatives expressed interest in his "handsome looks and professional stage performances". But TS Entertainment declined the offer and stated that “He’s still a trainee so he’s not set to appear in broadcasts other than for ‘Going Crazy’ promotions. However, thank you for giving your support to a new singer“. Representatives from TS Entertainment shared their views on Bang Yong Guk's performance and said, “Despite being a rookie, he received the opportunity to participate in Song Ji Eun’s solo album. He may be lacking, but thank you for showing him your interest.” Through Naver, Yong Guk shared his sentiments on promoting "Going Crazy":  “I’ve realized that actually being on stage is vastly different from everything I’ve rehearsed for and that I still have more to learn. If there’s anything I’m disappointed in, it’s that I wish I had written the lyrics a bit better. I knew that I didn’t express the actions of a true stalker as well as I could have, and I’m regretful that I couldn’t show more on stage.”  In July 2011, The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family of South Korea compiled a list of songs going to be banned for their harmful content to the youth. Among those was "Going Crazy" because both the song and its music video were encouraging crime. With this, songs that are banned cannot be sold to minors under the age of 19 and cannot be aired before 10 PM KST through radio or television.

Sypnosis
The music video opens with a woman (Min Hyorin) parking a car in a highway at night. After the woman opens the trunk of her car, the video flashes back in the morning where the woman was driving in a highway. Jieun proceeds to sing the first verse of the song while playing a piano in an abandoned building. Then Yong Guk begins to rap in a red wall and in a misty rice field while Jieun keeps playing the piano in the abandoned building. After the inter-changing shots between the three, Jieun proceeds to sing the chorus in the rice field and there were also shots were she sings at the back seat of the car. After the first chorus, the woman stopped the car to check her lighter then returns to drive to her destination.

Jieun returns to sing the second verse of the song with interchanging scenes from the abandoned building, the misty rice field and at the back seat of the car. Yong Guk proceeds to rap in the misty rice field but this time his hands are tied up with ropes while sitting in a chair and blindfolded in the scene where he raps in a red wall. The video returns back at the present where the woman parked her car in a road near a rice field at night. When Jieun starts to sing the second chorus, the woman opened up the trunk of car in a front view, therefore revealing a man (Kim Him Chan) who had been blindfolded and tied up in ropes. The woman takes a jug of gasoline in the trunk of the car and kissed the man. She later spilled amounts of gasoline on the man and then walked at a distance from the car. The video ends with the woman lighting up her lighter and throwing it in the car but cutting out the explosion part.

Music Bank special
On March 3, 2011 Jieun debuted on music programs with her first solo single, ”Going Crazy“. She continued her round of promotions, but on March 11, 2011 she prepared a "special treat" for fans watching KBS‘s “Music Bank“. Jieun and Yong Guk were set to perform the song in the usual setting, but instead of a live stage, a special alternative music video for “Going Crazy” was aired. Song Ji Eun acted out a scenario where she was being stalked by an obsessive man played by Yong Guk who also plays as a police investigator – leaving the idea that perhaps Jieun's character tried to free herself from the "manic clutches' of her stalker in a "less-than-legal manner".

Track listing
Korean Single:

Credits and personnel
These credits were adapted from the Going Crazy (CD) liner notes.


 * Song Jieun - vocals
 * Bang Yong Guk - vocals, rap, songwriting
 * Kang Jiwon - producer, songwriting, music
 * Kim Kibum - producer, songwriting, music