"Sober" (
Korean: 맨정신) is a song recorded by South Korean boy band
Big Bang. It was released
digitally on July 1, 2015 by
YG Entertainment, as the third single from Made, being included in the single album D. "Sober" was written by
Teddy,
G-Dragon and
T.O.P, and was produced by the first two with
Choice37.
Background
The first poster of "Sober" was released on June 27, 2015, revealing the name of the song and the production credits.[1] The single was released on July 1.[2] The release was supported by a live countdown on
Naver Starcast on June 30, 11 pm.[3] An exact verse that
G-Dragon sings towards the end of "Sober" was actually first performed during the
2013 Mnet Asian Music Awards as a prelude to his song "
Crooked".[4] The music video was directed by Han Sa Min, who worked before with Bigbang on "Loser", "Bad Boy" and "Blue".
Composition and reception
"Sober" has a "more rock-driven sound", an unusual genre for BigBang, who usually go for electronic and hip hop-based sounds. The track shows off lush guitars mixed with banging percussion, and incorporates a "very high energy rock vibe" with a spunk delivery.[5]Fuse said that the song fits on alternative radio and it's something you can hear on the
Warped Tour, that is famous of alternative and punk rock music.[6] The Korean website Osen called it "an exciting summer song that perfectly fits the [season]."[7]
The music video was described by Billboard as "going mad in a colorful world."[5]China Topix noted that "Sober" was filmed in a unique style, keeping the summer mood in mind.[8]
Chart performance
"Sober" sold 276,180 downloads in its first week on the
Gaon Chart, and debuted at number two in the
Digital and Download charts, seven on both the BGM and Streaming charts with over 3.9 million streams.[9][10][11][12]
The song charted at number three on
Billboard World Digital Songs,[13] The song ranked at eleven on the most popular Korean singles of 2015 in Taiwan by music streaming service
KKBOX.[14]