Love Scenario

"Love Scenario" (Korean: 사랑을 했다; RR: Sarang-eul haetda) is a song recorded by South Korean boy group iKon. It was released as the lead single of their second studio album, Return.^[2] The song won "Song of the Year" at the 2018 Melon Music Awards and 33rd Golden Disc Awards. It is recognized as iKon's signature song.

"Love Scenario"
Japanese version digital cover
Single by iKon
from the album Return
Released	January 25, 2018 (2018-01-25)
Genre	K-pop hip hop
Length	3:29
Label	YG YGEX
Composer(s)	B.I Millenium Seung
Lyricist(s)	B.I[1] Bobby Mot Mal
Producer(s)	B.I
IKon singles chronology
"New Kids: Begin" (2017) "Love Scenario" (2018) "Rubber Band" (2018)
Music video
"Love Scenario" on YouTube

Background and composition

"Love Scenario" is described as a mellow, yet relatively upbeat, with a circuitous melody that guides the rhythmic dance track.^[3]

"I wanted to express what I found regrettable, neither sad nor happy, in the warm farewell which inspired me by the last 10 minutes of the film La La Land," group leader and songwriter B.I stated. He continued, "The main protagonist smiles at his past lover in the end, and I felt, 'That's enough.'"^{[citation needed]}

Chart performance

Upon its release, "Love Scenario" topped China's QQ Music's real-time chart. It also entered the top 10 on QQ Music's weekly chart. In South Korea, the song debuted at 12 on the Gaon Weekly Chart.^[4][5][6] It topped the chart for six weeks straight, becoming the longest-running number-one song in Gaon history. On February 5, it reached number one on numerous digital platforms such as iChart, Melon, Genie, Bugs, Mnet, Naver, and Soribada, and also number one on the weekly overall chart, Instiz's iChart. They are the second boy band to ever have achieved number one on more than seven music charts since iChart began ranking songs in 2010, with Big Bang having previously accomplishing a similar feat. The group managed to achieve 204 hourly Perfect All Kills, where a song is number one on all charts for a certain amount of time. The song spent 913 hours at number one on the Melon Chart and 40 days at number one on the Melon daily chart.^[7]

The group was named top artists of the first half of 2018 by Genie Music, as they topped their daily chart for 35 days.^[8]

"Love Scenario" became the first song to receive a Gaon platinum certification from the Korea Music Content Industry Association in the streaming category after surpassing 100 million streams.^[9]

Critical reception

Billboard praised the song, saying it "is guided by a gentle cowbell-style beat and swaying vocals. The song relays a mellow, yet relatively upbeat, reaction to breaking up, with a circuitous melody that guides the rhythmic dance track. It's more emotional than their boisterous most-recent singles, and serves as a subtle directional change and maturing for iKON."^[10] "Love Scenario" was also chosen as Apple Music's Best of the Week.^[11]

Year-end lists

Critic/Publication	List	Rank	Ref.
Billboard	The 20 Best K-pop Songs of 2018: Critics' Picks	7	[12]
BuzzFeed	30 Songs That Helped Define K-Pop In 2018	10	[13]
The Dong-a Ilbo	Best Songs of 2018	1	[14]
HK01	20 Must Listen to K-Pop Songs of 2018	2	[15]
Paper	PAPER's Top 20 K-Pop Songs of 2018	4	[16]
Sanook	10 Popular Songs From 2018	—	[17]
SBS PopAsia	Top 100 Asian pop songs of 2018	3	[18]
YouTube Rewind	Top 10 Most Popular Music Videos In Korea From 2018	1	[19]

Impact

The song achieved substantial popularity, especially from kindergarteners and elementary schoolers due to its easy-to-follow melodies and lyrics.^[20] Some elementary schools banned students from singing "Love Scenario" in classrooms because of its inappropriate content and students showing signs of addiction to catchy tunes.^[21] It was featured in several popular Korean TV shows, including Running Man and Infinite Challenge.^[22]

The song was also made into an exclusive in-game emote in Fortnite that fans can get by purchasing any Galaxy S10 series smartphone through the partnership between Epic Games and Samsung Mobile.^{[citation needed]}

Music video

The "Love Scenario" music video was shot with a motion control camera. The background displays nostalgic scenery and props; each scene consists of naturally connected shots, and the Korean media said that this production method adds "fun" to the film.^[23] The music video also shows the synchronized dance of seven members, with love stories shown in the background to reflect the lyrics. Among them, the film presents a period from top to bottom, showing iKon's star-shaped dance, which was called the highlight of the music video by Billboard.^[3]

On May 24, 2021, the music video reached 500 million views on YouTube.^[24]

Chinese and Japanese version

On 12 July, the Chinese version of the hit song was released, with the lyrics being written by Tiger Hu.^{[citation needed]} While in 2019, the Japanese version was released on 27 February.

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2018) Peak position China (QQ Music Single Chart) 10 South Korea (Gaon) 1 US World Digital Songs (Billboard) 4

Year-end charts Chart (2018) Position South Korea (Gaon)[25] 1

Accolades

Awards and nominations for "Love Scenario"

Year	Organization	Category	Result	Ref.
2018	Melon Music Awards	Best Rap/Hip-hop	Nominated	[26]
		Song of The Year (Daesang)	Won
	MBC Plus X Genie Music Awards	Rap/Hip Hop Music Award	Won	[27]
		Best Song of The Year	Nominated	[28]
	Mnet Asian Music Awards	Song of The Year (Daesang)	Nominated	[29]
		Best Vocal Performance Group	Won
2019	Golden Disc Awards	Digital Song Division (Bonsang)	Won	[30]
		Digital Song of The Year (Daesang)	Won
	Seoul Music Awards	Record of the Year in Digital Release	Won	[31]
	Gaon Chart Music Awards	Song of the Year – January	Won	[32]
		Long-Run Song of the Year	Won
	The Fact Music Awards	Best Song	Won	[33]

Music program awards Program Date (11 total) Ref. M Countdown (Mnet) February 1, 2018 [34] March 1, 2018 [35] March 8, 2018 [36] Inkigayo (SBS) February 18, 2018 [37] February 25, 2018 [38] March 4, 2018 [39] Show! Music Core (MBC) February 24, 2018 [40] March 3, 2018 [41] March 10, 2018 [42] Music Bank (KBS) March 2, 2018 [43] Show Champion (MBC Music) March 7, 2018 [44]

Melon Popularity Award Award Date Ref. Weekly Popularity Award February 5, 2018 [45] February 12, 2018 February 19, 2018 February 26, 2018 March 5, 2018

Certifications

Certifications for "Love Scenario"

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
South Korea (KMCA)[46]	Platinum	2,500,000*
Streaming
South Korea (KMCA)[47]	2× Platinum	200,000,000†
* Sales figures based on certification alone. † Streaming-only figures based on certification alone.

See also

• List of M Countdown Chart winners (2018)

References

1. "[V Report] iKon's B.I reveals production process of 'Love Scenario'". Kpop Herald.
2. "iKON Introduces 'Love Scenario' & 'Return' Album: Watch this Billboard Exclusive". Billboard.
3. "iKon 'Return' with New Album & 'Love Scenario' Single". Billboard. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
4. "Gaon 2018년 04주차 Digital Chart". Gaon. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
5. "QQ Music: Love Scenario".
6. ""돌아온 음원강자" 아이콘, '사랑을 했다' 6일째 1위". Chosun. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
7. "iKON's 'Love Scenario' Becomes First 2018 Track To Achieve Perfect All-Kill". Soompi. Retrieved February 4, 2018.
8. "[DA:차트] 아이콘·모모랜드, 2018 상반기 최고 남녀그룹". Naver News. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
9. "가온 인증(Gaon Certification)". Gaon Chart.
10. "iKon 'Return' with New Album & 'Love Scenario' Single". Billboard. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
11. "iKON's 'LOVE SCENARIO' at No. 1 For 2 Days... First Performance Today (27th) At 'Music Core'". YG Life. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
12. "The 20 Best K-pop Songs of 2018: Critics' Picks". Billboard. December 17, 2018. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
13. "30 Songs That Helped Define K-Pop In 2018". BuzzFeed. January 2, 2019. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
14. Lim, Hwi-yoon (December 13, 2018). "최고 가수는 BTS, 최고 프로듀서는 방시혁". doongA (in Korean). Retrieved January 6, 2019.
15. Yuyuan, Li (December 31, 2018). "盤點2018年20首必聽k-pop冠軍歌 BTS、EXO等天王之年". HK01 (in Chinese). Retrieved January 6, 2019.
16. Benjamin, Jeff (December 21, 2018). "PAPER's Top 20 K-Pop Songs of 2018". PAPER. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
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19. "Top 10 Most Popular Music Videos In Korea From 2018". YouTube. December 6, 2018. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
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29. Lee, Hoyeon (November 1, 2018). 방탄소년단부터 워너원…'2018 MAMA', 투표 시작. Hankook Ilbo (in Korean). Retrieved November 5, 2018.
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31. "Winners of the '28th Seoul Music Awards'!". allkpop. January 15, 2019. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
32. "Winners Of 8th Gaon Chart Music Awards". soompi. January 23, 2019. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
33. "방탄소년단, 더팩트뮤직어워즈 대상..4관왕 영예(종합)". star.mt.co.kr (in Korean). April 24, 2019. Retrieved April 24, 2019.
34. "'엠카운트다운' 아이콘, 선미 꺾고 1위… 보아·수지·레드벨벳, '걸크러시' 컴백 (종합)". Ten Asia (in Korean). February 1, 2018. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
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36. "'엠카' 아이콘, 1위 10관왕..마마무·정일훈·NCT드림 컴백 [종합]". Chosun (in Korean). March 8, 2018. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
37. "[SBS Star] VIDEO: iKON's 'LOVE SCENARIO' to Its Unstoppable Popularity Scenario!". SBS News.
38. "'인기가요' 아이콘, 모모랜드 꺾고 1위…음방 4관왕 달성 [종합]". Chosun (in Korean). February 25, 2018. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
39. "아이콘, '인기가요' 첫 트리플크라운 "새 싱글, 사랑 부탁"". Chosun (in Korean). March 4, 2018. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
40. "'음악중심' 아이콘, 모모랜드 꺾고 1위…보아·양요섭 컴백[종합]". Chosun (in Korean). February 24, 2018. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
41. "'음악중심' 아이콘, 2주연속 1위 7관왕". YG Life (in Korean). March 3, 2018. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
42. "'음악중심' 아이콘, 11관왕 대기록(종합)". YG Life (in Korean). March 10, 2018. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
43. "아이콘, '뮤직뱅크' 1위… 음악방송 6관왕". Ten Asia (in Korean). March 2, 2018. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
44. "'쇼챔피언' 아이콘, 불참에도 1위 9관왕 달성…성규·우주소녀 컴백[종합]". Chosun (in Korean). March 7, 2018. Retrieved October 10, 2018.
45. "Melon Weekly Award". www.melon.com (in Korean). Retrieved June 11, 2018.
46. "South Korean single certifications – iKON – Love Scenario" (in Korean). Korea Music Content Association (KMCA). Retrieved November 8, 2018.
47. "South Korean single streaming certifications – iKON – Love Scenario" (in Korean). Korea Music Content Association (KMCA). Retrieved May 10, 2023.