Summary
All About Luv is the sixth and the first English-language studio album by the South Korean boy group Monsta X which features guest appearances from French Montana, Pitbull, and will.i.am. It was released and distributed by Epic Records on February 14, 2020.[2] Its release was preceded by several sporadically released singles, including the songs "Who Do U Love?" featuring French Montana and "Love U".[3] The album also ranked number five on the US Billboard 200 and number seven on the US Rolling Stone Top 200.[4][5]
| All About Luv | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | February 14, 2020 | |||
| Genre | Pop[1] | |||
| Length | 33:05 | |||
| Language | English | |||
| Label | Epic | |||
| Monsta X chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from All About Luv | ||||
| ||||
Background edit
It is a pop-oriented album with "electro-pop and R&B melodies", a noted difference from the dance music on their Korean releases.[1] It also features the vocals of Wonho, who left the group in October 2019.
Promotion edit
Monsta X performed at various locations in and around Los Angeles on the day of the album's release, also holding meet-and-greet and Q&A sessions at Tower Records and The Roxy. Several events on the east coast of the United States were held on February 19 and 20—a release party at the Paramount in Huntington, New York and appearance at the Live Nation store in Manhattan, also a performance at the Chelsea Music Hall.[6]
Monsta X was supposed to tour the United States, throughout June and July 2020 in support of the album,[3] but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[7]
Critical reception edit
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Consequence of Sound | B−[8] |
| Metro |    [9] |
Tamar Herman of Billboard called the album a "pure blown pop album full of tracks that relay the emotions of romance" with a focus on "an overwhelming sense of sentimentality and smoothness".[1] Jason Lipshutz of Billboard also described it as "an effective and often charming throwback to the harmonizing and hook construction of a bygone era", and as "a time machine worth returning to in recent months".[10]
Sarah Deen, writing for Metro, said that the album "not only shakes off the 'cute' image but boots it up the backside off a cliff" while "the buzzy, EDM sound from their Korean albums has been traded in for club-friendly pop".[9]
Reviewing the album for Variety, Jae-ha Kim wrote that while it was released on Valentine's Day, "its most powerful tracks deal with breakups and deceits" and that the album is "[f]ull of throbbing beats [and] inquisitive lyrics", adding that it's "a sleek production that seamlessly blends soulful pop with elements of hip-hop and EDM". Kim also added that "the Korean group's powerful vocal delivery doesn't get lost in translation", summarizing that with its release, the group "has proven that K-pop transcends language barriers and that is something to be happy about".[11]
Listicles edit
| Critic/Publication | List | Work | Rank | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Album | ||||
| Billboard | The 50 Best Albums of 2020 | All About Luv | Placed[a] | [10] |
| PopCrush | 25 Best Albums of 2020 | [12] | ||
| Time | The Albums That Defined K-pop's Monumental Year in 2020 | [13] | ||
| Song | ||||
| BuzzFeed | 30 Songs That Helped Define K-pop in 2019 | "Someone's Someone" | 24 | [14] |
Commercial performance edit
The album debuted at number five on the US Billboard 200 with 52,000 album-equivalent units, including 50,000 pure album sales on its first week. It is the group's first entry on the chart, although not their first on Billboard charts overall.[4]
It also debuted at number seven on the US Rolling Stone Top 200 with 41,600 album-equivalent units, including 38,400 pure album sales on its first week. It is their first entry on the chart.[5]
Track listing edit
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Who Do U Love?" (feat. French Montana) |
| 3:09 | |
| 2. | "Love U" |
|
| 2:40 |
| 3. | "Happy Without Me" |
|
| 2:58 |
| 4. | "Got My Number" |
| Rob Grimaldi | 2:51 |
| 5. | "Someone's Someone" |
| Connor McDonough | 2:21 |
| 6. | "Middle of the Night" |
| Ali Payami | 2:46 |
| 7. | "She's The One" |
| Conrad | 3:19 |
| 8. | "You Can't Hold My Heart" |
|
| 3:01 |
| 9. | "Misbehave" |
| 3:24 | |
| 10. | "Beside U" (feat. Pitbull) |
| Team | 3:08 |
| 11. | "Who Do U Love?" (will.i.am remix; feat. French Montana) |
| will.i.am | 3:28 |
| Total length: | 33:05 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12. | "Beside U" (I.M rap version; feat. Pitbull) |
| Team | 3:33 |
| Total length: | 36:38 | |||
Charts edit
|
|
|
Awards and nominations edit
| Award ceremony | Year | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MTV Video Music Awards | 2019 | Best K-pop | "Who Do U Love?" feat. French Montana | Nominated | [31] |
| 2020 | "Someone's Someone" | Nominated | [32] |
See also edit
Notes edit
- ^ All the albums and songs listed are either unranked or just alphabetically ranked.
References edit
- ^ a b c Herman, Tamar (February 14, 2020). "Monsta X Breaks Down First All-English Album 'All About Luv,' Including a Special Song Dedicated to the Fans". Billboard. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
- ^ Kaufman, Gil (February 14, 2020). "Monsta X Seduce, Tease and Break Hearts on Full-Length English-Language Debut, 'All About Luv': Listen". Billboard. Retrieved February 14, 2020.
- ^ a b Tracy, Brianne (February 14, 2020). "Monsta X Talks Their New Album All About Luv — and Promises Joohoney Will Return for Tour". People. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
- ^ a b c Caulfield, Keith (February 23, 2020). "Justin Bieber Earns Seventh No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart With 'Changes'". Billboard. Retrieved February 24, 2020.
- ^ a b c "Rolling Stone Top 200 Albums Chart". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on January 10, 2021. Retrieved January 8, 2021.
- ^ Kim, Soo (February 14, 2020). "#AllAboutLuv Trends as K-Pop Group Monsta X Releases New Album on Valentine's Day". Newsweek. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
- ^ Yang, Yu-jin (May 14, 2020). [공식] 몬스타엑스, 월드투어 북미 공연 연기…코로나19 여파. My Daily (in Korean). Retrieved January 12, 2021 – via Naver.
- ^ Zheng, Jenny (February 19, 2020). "Album Review: MONSTA X - ALL ABOUT LUV". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
- ^ a b Deen, Sarah (February 14, 2020). "Monsta X All About Luv album review: K-pop purists might clutch their pearls as group get fun and flirty". Metro. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
- ^ a b Lipshutz, Jason (June 9, 2020). "The 50 Best Albums of 2020 (So Far): Staff Picks". Billboard. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
- ^ Kim, Jae-ha (February 13, 2020). "Monsta X's 'All About Luv': Album Review". Variety. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
- ^ "25 Best Albums of 2020". PopCrush. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
- ^ Moon, Kat (December 11, 2020). "The Songs and Albums That Defined K-pop's Monumental Year in 2020". Time. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
- ^ Han, Sarah (January 1, 2020). "30 Songs That Helped Define K-pop in 2019". BuzzFeed. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Monsta X – All About Luv" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 2020-02-22.
- ^ "Monsta X Chart History: Billboard Canadian Albums". Billboard. Retrieved February 24, 2020.
- ^ "Lista prodaje 12. tjedan 2020. (16.03.2020. - 22.03.2020.)". HDU (in Croatian). Retrieved November 14, 2020.
- ^ "Top Albums (Week 8, 2020)". Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (in French). Retrieved February 24, 2020.
- ^ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2020. 26. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 2020-07-03.
- ^ Billboard Japan Hot Albums: 2020/02/19 公開. Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved September 25, 2020.
- ^ 週間 アルバムランキング - 2020年03月02日付 [Weekly Album Ranking for March 2, 2020]. Oricon News (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
- ^ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved February 27, 2020.
- ^ "Portuguesecharts.com – Monsta X – All About Luv". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2020-03-05.
- ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2020-02-22.
- ^ "Top 100 Albumes – Semana 8: del 14.2.2020 al 20.2.2020" (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved February 26, 2020.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Monsta X – All About Luv". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2020-02-26.
- ^ "Official Albums Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. February 27, 2020. Retrieved November 6, 2020.
- ^ "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. February 27, 2020. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
- ^ "Monsta X Chart History: The Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
- ^ a b "Monsta X Chart History: Pop Airplay". Billboard. Retrieved March 24, 2020.
- ^ Minsker, Evan (July 23, 2019). "MTV VMAs 2019: See The Full List of Nominees Here". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
- ^ Hosken, Patrick (July 30, 2020). "YOUR 2020 VMA NOMINATIONS ARE HERE: LADY GAGA, ARIANA GRANDE, BILLIE EILISH, AND THE WEEKND LEAD THE PACK". MTV. Retrieved August 7, 2020.