User:ReVeluv02/sandbox/2021 Winter SM Town : SMCU Express

2021 Winter SM Town: SMCU Express (stylized as 2021 Winter SMTOWN : SMCU EXPRESS) is the ninth winter album by SM Town. The studio album was released by SM Entertainment on December 27, 2021, and is available in 13 different versions. It features 10 songs, including the double lead singles, "Hope from Kwangya" and "Dreams Come True".

Background and release
Through the SM Town 2022: SMCU Express project, 2021 Winter SM Town: SMCU Express was announced along as the first SM Town winter record by SM Entertainment in 10 years since 2011. According to SM, the album will feature various artists under the label and an "interesting combination of artists" aside from the track of existing groups. Prior to the album release, the jazz version of "The Promise of H.O.T." was pre-released on November 26, 2021, through SM Station and was added to the track listing on December 24. "Dreams Come True", which was also pre-released at SM Station on December 20, became one of the album's lead singles. The pre-order period for the album started from December 10 and was scheduled for release on December 27.

Composition
One of the lead singles, "Hope from Kwangya", was described as a song with a "rich" sound of a "beautiful" string melody. It is a remake of SM Town's "representative" song, originally released from H.O.T.'s third album in 1998. Kangta wrote and composed the original music and directly supervised the vocals. Another lead single, "Dreams Come True", was described as a pop dance song remade by Aespa from S.E.S.'s second album released in 1998. It combines the group's "spiritual energy and hip hop vibe" with the "mysterious and dreamy sound" with BoA participating in the song's production.

"Dinner", sung by TVXQ, was described as a "warm" pop ballad about the moment of preparing dinner and sharing small happiness for a precious person at the end of a hard day. The song features a "dramatic" arrangement of "colorful" string melodies over an "emotional" piano performance. "Melody", sung by Girls' Generation-Oh!GG, was described as a medium tempo pop song with a retro jazz atmosphere. The lyrics remind "beautiful and ecstatic" moments, creating a warm atmosphere in the cold winter with a retro jazz atmosphere created by various acoustic instruments. "Magical", sung by TVXQ and Super Junior, was described as a "cheerful" pop song with the lyrics, "Our friendship is destiny [and] miracle". "Snow Dream 2021", sung by Red Velvet's Yeri, NCT's Haechan, Chenle, and Jisung, and Aespa's Ningning, was described as a song that is "enough to feel the joy and happiness you have been waiting for in winter". It is a remake of the lead single from SM Town's winter album, Snow Dream, released in 2006. "Goodbye", sung by Girls' Generation's Sunny and NCT's Jungwoo and Renjun, was described as a medium R&B pop song with winter bell sounds, added acoustic bass, and jazzy keyboard sounds. "Ordinary Day", sung by Super Junior's Kyuhyun, Shinee's Onew, and NCT's Taeil is about a "deep love" for lovers, friends, and family, who are always by one's side in the season when one realizes that every day is "special and precious". "Zoo", sung by NCT's Taeyong, Jeno, Hendery, and Yangyang and Aespa's Giselle, was described as a hip hop song with "unique" synths and "fast" tempo beats. The jazz version of "The Promise of H.O.T." was performed by the SM Classics Town Orchestra with Yohan Kim and Hogyu 'Stiger' Hwang and drummer Shin Dong-jin. It was reinterpreted in the form of a jazz trio featuring "groovy" piano, bass, and "rhythmical" drum sounds.