Crayon (song)

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"Crayon"
Single by G-Dragon
from the album One of a Kind
ReleasedSeptember 17, 2012 (2012-09-17)
Genre
Length3:17
LabelYG Entertainment
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Teddy
  • G-Dragon
G-Dragon singles chronology
"That XX"
(2012) 		"Crayon"
(2012) 		"MichiGO"
(2013)
Music video
"Crayon" on YouTube

"Crayon" (Korean: 크레용; RR: Keureyong) is a song recorded by South Korean rapper G-Dragon, serving as the third single of his first extended play One of a Kind (2012). It was written and produced by G-Dragon and Teddy Park.

Composition[edit]

"Crayon" is mix between hip-hop and electronic music.[1] The title is a neologism made on the compound word "Crazy On".[1] The track was noted to showcase the experimental mind of the composers.[2]

One Of A Kind Album's second track title track, Crayon, is the first Korean mainstream music to introduce a trap genre.

Critical reception[edit]

Spin named "Crayon" the best K-pop single of 2012, with David Bevan commenting that the track "almost felt too big for the occasion, too brash to have come from the leader of a boy band."[3] Corban Goble of Pitchfork called "Crayon" "magnificent," writing the song represents "a logical collision of fluorescent, pound-the-alarm EDM, the tomahawk chop chant, and G-Dragon's referential, sharp rapping; every element throbbed with electricity."[4]

David Jeffries of Allmusic deemed the track "kinetic", feeling that it comes off "as a top production that somehow escaped the house of Mad Decent while Diplo was sleeping."[5] Jon Caramanica of The New York Times wrote that "Crayon" is a "pneumatic-intensity thumper with a Southern rap backbone" and added the song set "an almost impossibly high bar."[6] Nick Catucci of Rolling Stone gave the single three out of five stars.[7]

Jeff Benjamin of Fuse considered "Crayon" "one of G-Dragon's signature tracks", writing that the single's "crazy dance joint is guaranteed to make" audience in live performances "go nuts".[8] E. Alex Jung of Vulture.com felt that the track was "the best example of his chameleonic power" since it "demonstrated his ability to metabolize pop culture and fashion on a global scale and reform it into his own aesthetic."[9]

Commercial performance[edit]

Been released in the last day of the tracking week, "Crayon" managed to debut at number 13 in the Gaon Digital Chart.[10] The following week, the single rose to a peak position of number 3, charting behind G-Dragon's own song "Missing You".[11] That week, "Crayon" was the third best selling song and the second most streamed, with 363,647 downloads and 2,251,773 audio streams. The single remained at the Top 3 for two more weeks. In the Gaon Digital Monthly chart, "Crayon" charted at number eight for two consecutive months. The single finished 2012 with 1,746,682 downloads sold and over 20 million streams.[12][13]

Music video[edit]

In the music video for "Crayon", G-Dragon transforms himself into several characters: a psychologist and his patient, Pinocchio, a raver, a DJ, a pretty lady, an American football player, among others.[14] He is seen with multiple hairstyles, in several shades, such as pink, orange, neon yellow and a multicoloured "cotton candy" hair.[15]

Jon Caramanica of The New York Times described the video as a "cultural treasure — hilarious, dizzying, and full of retina-frying explosions of color."[6] Star2.com hailed the video "kaleidoscopic" with "head-turning" features and "larger-than-life outfits".[15] E. Alex Jung from Vulture.com felt that the music video was "full of jokes", with "nods to Korea's burgeoning fast fashion industry", in the opening with "a popping pink Wonder Woman robe before moving to jackets in holographic gold" to "Thom Browne's 2012 fall collection with its fun-house proportions."[9] Jung also noted that the music video references to the Joker of the movie The Dark Knight and G-Dragon appearing "in drag" are questioning the viewer "why are we taking any of this so seriously?".[9] Fuse chose "Crayon" as one of the rapper's "must-see music videos".[8]

Live performances[edit]

G-Dragon performed "Crayon", along with other tracks from his EP, on the talk show You Hee-yeol's Sketchbook. His appearance on the show resulted in an increase of 75% in the demand for audience tickets.[16] The rapper then performed the single on the music show Inkigayo to positive reception.[1] The Korea Herald hailed these performances a "joyful adventure" to the audience.[2] The members of G-Dragon's group, Big Bang, performed a remake of the song in the 2012 Mnet Asian Music Awards. T.O.P wrote new raps for the first verse, Daesung sang the first chorus, Taeyang rapped in the second verse and Seungri joined for the second chorus.[17] During his first world tour, G-Dragon performed a hybrid remix version of "Crayon" with BigBang's single Fantastic Baby.[18]

Accolades[edit]

Awards for "Crayon"
Year Organization Award Result Ref.
2012 Melon Music Awards Digital Bonsang Nominated
Mnet Asian Music Awards Best Male Artist Won [19]
Singapore Entertainment Awards Most Popular K-pop Music Video Nominated [20]
Music program awards
Program Date
M Countdown (Mnet) September 27, 2012
October 4, 2012
October 11, 2012

Charts and sales[edit]

Sales[edit]

Country Sales
South Korea (digital) 1,954,834[25]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "'인기가요' 지드래곤, '화려한 퍼포먼스' 눈길". Segye (in Korean). October 10, 2012. Archived from the original on August 10, 2017. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  2. ^ a b "'인가' 지드래곤, 시선 압도하는 파격-광란의 무대 '명불허전'". The Korea Herald (in Korean). September 30, 2012. Archived from the original on August 10, 2017. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  3. ^ Bevan, David (January 21, 2013). "K-Pop's New Style: G-Dragon Blazes a Cray Path". Spin. Archived from the original on June 3, 2017. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  4. ^ Goble, Corban (September 20, 2013). "G-Dragon: Coup d'Etat Album Review". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on October 23, 2013. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  5. ^ Jeffries, David. "One of a Kind - G-Dragon". AllMusic. Archived from the original on November 15, 2018. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  6. ^ a b Caramanica, Jon (September 16, 2013). "K-Pop's Antic Emissary Raids the Cupboard". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 19, 2013. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  7. ^ Catucci, Nick (October 10, 2012). "G-Dragon: "Crayon"". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on September 2, 2017. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  8. ^ a b Benjamin, Jeff (August 8, 2014). "G-DRAGON HEADLINES KCON 2014: 5 MUST-SEE VIDEOS BEFORE HIS CONCERT". Fuse TV. Archived from the original on August 8, 2017. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  9. ^ a b c Jung, E. Alex (August 2, 2017). "G-Dragon's World Tour Marks the End of an Era in K-Pop". Vulture. Archived from the original on August 2, 2017. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  10. ^ "Gaon Digital Chart Week 38 of 2012". Archived from the original on March 7, 2015. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  11. ^ a b "Gaon Digital Chart Week 39 of 2012". September 22, 2012. Archived from the original on June 9, 2020. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  12. ^ "Gaon Download Chart 2012". Archived from the original on July 27, 2017. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  13. ^ "Gaon Streaming Chart 2012". Archived from the original on October 29, 2020. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  14. ^ "지드래곤 '크레용' 뮤비서 팔색조 매력 공개". BTN News (in Korean). September 18, 2012. Archived from the original on August 10, 2017. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  15. ^ a b "Are these G-Dragon's craziest, coolest haircuts?". Star2.com. July 13, 2017. Archived from the original on July 24, 2017. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  16. ^ "GD보자! '스케치북' 방청권 경쟁률 75대1 '역대최고'". EDaily (in Korean). October 10, 2012. Archived from the original on August 10, 2017. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  17. ^ "빅뱅, MAMA서 5명 뭉쳤다!..파격 퍼포먼스 여전". Star News (in Korean). November 30, 2012. Archived from the original on August 10, 2017. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  18. ^ Oak, Jessica; Benjamin, Jeff (April 4, 2013). "G-Dragon Opens Up at World Tour Kickoff: Exclusive Video Interview". Billboard K-Town. Archived from the original on February 11, 2017. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  19. ^ "2012 Mnet Asian Music Awards (MAMA) List of Winners Announced". The Summit Express. November 30, 2012. Archived from the original on February 27, 2021. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  20. ^ "Singapore e-Awards 2013 / 《新加坡e乐大赏》". Archived from the original on June 23, 2016. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
  21. ^ "G-Dragon Korea K-Pop Hot 100 Chart History". Billboard. Archived from the original on September 25, 2017. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  22. ^ "World Digital Singles – Crayon". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 23, 2016. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
  23. ^ "Circle Digital Chart – 2012". Circle Chart (in Korean). Retrieved January 3, 2023.
  24. ^ "Billboard Korea K-pop Hot 100 – 2012". Billboard. Archived from the original on January 2, 2021. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
  25. ^ Cumulative sales for "Crayon":
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