Eve, Psyche & the Bluebeard's Wife

"Eve, Psyche & the Bluebeard's Wife"
English version cover
Single by Le Sserafim
from the album Unforgiven
ReleasedMay 23, 2023 (2023-05-23)
Genre
Length3:05
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)13
Le Sserafim singles chronology
"Unforgiven"
(2023) 		"Eve, Psyche & the Bluebeard's Wife"
(2023) 		"Perfect Night"
(2023)
Demi Lovato singles chronology
"Swine"
(2023) 		"Eve, Psyche & the Bluebeard's Wife" (remix)
(2023) 		"Penhasco2"
(2023)
Rina Sawayama singles chronology
"Frankenstein"
(2022) 		"Eve, Psyche & the Bluebeard's Wife" (remix)
(2023) 		"Kiss Me"
(2023)
Music video
"Eve, Psyche & the Bluebeard's Wife" on YouTube

"Eve, Psyche & the Bluebeard's Wife" (Korean: 이브, 프시케 그리고 푸른 수염의 아내; RR: Ibeu, Peusike geurigo Pureun Suyeom-ui Anae) is a song by South Korean girl group Le Sserafim. It was released on May 23, 2023, as the second single from their debut studio album, Unforgiven.[1] It is a Jersey club song that addresses themes of girl power, self-empowerment, and breaking taboos. The release of its music video, which features the members of Le Sserafim dancing and playing children's games, prompted an increase in attention for the song; it peaked at number two on the Circle Digital Chart in South Korea the following month.

Various versions of the song were released: a remix featuring singer Bibi and rappers Mirani and Camo on June 27, 2023; an English version on July 6, 2023; a remix featuring singer Upsahl on July 14, 2023; a remix featuring Japanese-British singer Rina Sawayama on July 28, 2023; and a version featuring American singer-songwriter Demi Lovato on August 4, 2023.

Release, music video, and remixes

Benjamin West's 1791 painting The Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise is featured in the music video for "Eve, Psyche and the Bluebeard's Wife".

"Eve, Psyche and the Bluebeard's Wife" was included on Le Sserafim's debut studio album, Unforgiven, which was released on May 1, 2023.[2] It was written by Score and Megatone, both members of the production collective 13; Hybe Corporation founder Bang Si-hyuk; rapper Supreme Boi; Maia Wright; Max Thulin; Benjmn; Gusten Dahlqvist; Arineh Karimi; Le Sserafim member Huh Yunjin; Lee Hyung-seok (PNP); and Danke.[3] A teaser for the music video of "Eve, Psyche and the Bluebeard's Wife" was released on May 22, 2023, while the music video itself was released on May 24, 2023.[4][5] It features the group doing intricate dance moves and playing children's games, such as rock paper scissors and red light, green light, with a group of rollerskating boys.[6][7] The 1791 painting The Expulsion of Adam and Eve from Paradise by American painter Benjamin West is also featured in the video.[3] To promote the song, Le Sserafim performed it on various South Korean music shows, including on M Countdown on May 25.[8]

A YouTube Short featuring South Korean singer Bibi rapping a verse on the song was posted to the group's YouTube account on June 20, and a remix for the song featuring Bibi with South Korean rappers Mirani and Camo was uploaded to the group's SoundCloud account on June 27, 2023.[9] The instrumental track of the song was also posted to Le Sserafim's social media accounts on June 20 as part of their "Eve, Psyche, and _" social media campaign, which encouraged fans to upload their own verses to the song over the instrumental.[10]

An English version of the song was released on July 6, 2023,[11] followed by remixes featuring American singer Upsahl on July 14 and Japanese-British singer Rina Sawayama on July 28.[12][13] A new version featuring American singer-songwriter Demi Lovato was released on August 4.[14]

Composition

"Eve, Psyche and the Bluebeard's Wife" is an uptempo K-pop and Jersey club[15] song with a "classic" 1990s-inspired[16] electro beat.[17] Its lyrics, such as "Fearless, say yes, we don't dress to impress", cover themes of self-empowerment and breaking away from stereotypes and taboos.[6][7][8] Its title uses the names of Eve, a biblical figure who ate the forbidden fruit, Psyche, the Greek goddess of the soul who watched Cupid while he slept to see his true form, and Bluebeard's wife, a character in the French fairy tale "Bluebeard" written by Charles Perrault who marries a man whose wives keep disappearing and whose family defeats him and takes his fortune, to emphasize the song's message of breaking taboos.[3]

Critical reception

The song was subject to positive reviews from music critics. It was described by Crystal Bell of Nylon as one of several "girl-power anthems with sophisticated themes" from Unforgiven.[16] Sara Delgado of Dazed called the song a standout track from the album,[18] while Taylor Glasby from the same publication named it one of the 50 best K-pop tracks of the year.[19] Business Insider ranked it number 5 in their list of the best K-pop songs of 2023, calling it a "rare B-side that completely superseded its accompanying single".[20]

NME included the song at number 32 on their year-end list of the 50 best songs of 2023.[21] Billboard ranked the song number 6 in their list of the 25 Best K-pop Songs of 2023, praising the group's vocal delivery and the track's production.[22] Music webzine Music Y ranked it number five in their ranking of the 10 best songs of 2023.[23]

Commercial performance

In South Korea, "Eve, Psyche and the Bluebeard's Wife" entered the Circle Chart at number 121 on May 1, 2023, upon the release of Unforgiven before promptly going down on the chart in the following weeks. After the release of its music video, it entered the chart's top-100 for the week dated May 24, 2023, and rose to number 34 the following week.[24] It peaked at number two for the week dated June 25, 2023.[25]

Accolades

"Eve, Psyche & the Bluebeard's Wife" received one music program award on Inkigayo on July 16, 2023, winning against Ive's "Kitsch" and Aespa's "Spicy".[26]

Credits and personnel

Adapted from the album liner notes.[27]

  • Le Sserafim – vocals
  • Score (13) – production, keyboards, drums, digital editing, vocal arrangement
  • Megatone (13) – production, bass, drums, digital editing, vocal arrangement
  • Kim Jun-yeong – digital editing
  • Arineh Karimi - background vocals
  • Young Chance - background vocals
  • Belle - background vocals
  • Feli Ferraro - background vocals
  • James F. Reynolds – mix engineering
  • Lee Yeon-soo – engineering
  • James Cunningham – mix engineering assistance
  • Chris Gehringer – mastering

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for "Eve, Psyche and the Bluebeard's Wife"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Japan (RIAJ)[37] Platinum 100,000,000†

† Streaming-only figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ Peters, Mitchell (August 6, 2023). "Fans Choose Le Sserafim & Demi Lovato's 'Eve, Psyche & The Bluebeard's Wife' as This Week's Favorite New Music". Billboard. Retrieved August 6, 2023.
  2. ^ Rutherford, Kevin (May 31, 2023). "LE SSERAFIM, Tina Turner Pace Hot Trending Songs Chart". Billboard. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  3. ^ a b c Jae-hoon, Lee (June 25, 2023). "르세라핌 '이브, 프시케 그리고 푸른 수염의 아내', '여성 서사'를 만나다". Newsis. Retrieved July 1, 2023 – via Daum.
  4. ^ "LE SSERAFIM excites fans with 'Eve, Psyche & The Bluebeard's wife' MV teaser". Allkpop. May 21, 2023. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  5. ^ O'Connor, Siobhain (May 24, 2023). "LE SSERAFIM have shared their visual for 'Eve, Psyche &The Bluebeard's Wife' - watch". Dork. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  6. ^ a b Ziwei, Puah (May 24, 2023). "LE SSERAFIM drop enchanting 'Eve, Psyche & The Bluebeard's Wife' music video". NME. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  7. ^ a b Cruz, Jashley Ann (May 24, 2023). "LE SSERAFIM drops groovy music video for 'Eve, Psyche & The Bluebeard's Wife'". Retrieved June 30, 2023 – via GMA Network.
  8. ^ a b Cha, E. (May 23, 2023). "Watch: LE SSERAFIM Is Back With Exciting MV For "Eve, Psyche & The Bluebeard's Wife"". Soompi. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  9. ^ Ziwei, Puah (June 27, 2023). "LE SSERAFIM, BIBI drop remix of 'Eve, Psyche & the Bluebeard's Wife'". NME. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  10. ^ Hye-min, Hong (June 21, 2023). "LE SSERAFIM drops new remix in collaboration with Bibi". The Korea Times. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  11. ^ Ziwei, Puah (July 6, 2023). "LE SSERAFIM release English version of 'Eve, Psyche & the Bluebeard's Wife'". NME. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  12. ^ Armstrong, Sam (July 15, 2023). "LE SSERAFIM Recruit Upsahl For 'Eve, Psyche And The Bluebeard's Wife' Remix". uDiscover Music. Retrieved July 26, 2023.
  13. ^ Ziwei, Puah (July 27, 2023). "LE SSERAFIM tease Rina Sawayama remix of 'Eve, Psyche & the Bluebeard's Wife'". NME. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  14. ^ Ziwei, Puah (August 3, 2023). "Demi Lovato joins LE SSERAFIM on remix of 'Eve, Psyche & the Bluebeard's Wife'". NME. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
  15. ^ "The 15 best K-pop songs of 2023 – so far". NME. June 28, 2023. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  16. ^ a b Bell, Crystal (May 16, 2023). "Le Sserafim On 'Unforgiven' & Making Their Own Rules". Nylon. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  17. ^ Jaleru, Cristina (May 1, 2023). "Review: K-pop's Le Sserafim offer a diabolically good time". Retrieved July 1, 2023 – via Associated Press.
  18. ^ Delgado, Sara (May 16, 2023). "LE SSERAFIM, the k-pop breakout act soaring to new heights". Dazed. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  19. ^ Glasby, Taylor (December 15, 2023). "From Jung Kook to NewJeans and aespa, we look back on the K-pop tracks that ruled the last 12 months". Dazed. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
  20. ^ Haasch, Palmer (December 26, 2023). "The best K-pop songs of 2023, ranked". Business Insider. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
  21. ^ "The 50 best songs of 2023". NME. December 4, 2023. Retrieved December 4, 2023.
  22. ^ Unterberger, Andrew; Benjamin, Jeff; Bowenbank, Starr; Lynch, Joe; Oak, Jessica (December 28, 2023). "The 25 Best K-Pop Songs of 2023". Billboard. Retrieved December 29, 2023.
  23. ^ "403 Forbidden" 올해의 싱글 5위 르세라핌 (Le Sserafim) 『Unforgiven』 – 「이브, 프시케 그리고 푸른 수염의 아내」. Music Y (in Korean). December 28, 2023. Retrieved January 17, 2024.
  24. ^ Myungseok, Kang (June 12, 2023). "'이브, 프시케 그리고 푸른 수염의 아내', 후속 곡의 기세를 보여주다 - 위버스 매거진". Weverse (in Korean). Retrieved July 1, 2023.
  25. ^ a b "Digital Chart – Week 26 of 2023". Circle Chart (in Korean). Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  26. ^ Kim Na-yeon (July 16, 2023). 르세라핌, 컴백 동시 '인기가요' 1위..엑소→뉴진스 컴백[종합] [Le Sserafim, No. 1 on 'Inkigayo' at the same time as comeback...EXO → New Jeans comeback [Comprehensive]]. Osen (in Korean). Retrieved July 16, 2023 – via Naver.
  27. ^ UNFORGIVEN (Booklet). Source Music. 2023. 8809929740019.
  28. ^ "Billboard Global 200: Week of July 15, 2023". Billboard. Retrieved July 11, 2023.
  29. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot 100 – Week of July 12, 2023". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved July 12, 2023.
  30. ^ "Oricon Top 50 Combined Singles: 2023-07-17" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved July 14, 2023.
  31. ^ "NZ Hot Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. May 8, 2023. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
  32. ^ "RIAS Top Charts Week 28 (7 - 13 Jul 2023)". RIAS. Archived from the original on July 18, 2023. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
  33. ^ "World Digital Song Sales: Week of August 19, 2023". Billboard. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  34. ^ "Digital Chart – July 2023". Circle Chart (in Korean). Retrieved August 10, 2023.
  35. ^ "Billboard Global Excl. U.S. – Year-End 2023". Billboard. Retrieved November 22, 2023.
  36. ^ "Digital Chart 2023". Circle Chart. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  37. ^ "Japanese single streaming certifications – Le Serrafim – Eve, Psyche and the Bluebeard's Wife" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved November 27, 2024. Select 2024年10月 on the drop-down menu