Im Hero

Im Hero is the debut studio album by South Korean singer Lim Young-woong, released on May 2, 2022, through Mulgogi Music and distributed by Dreamus. It was preceded by the single "Our Blues, Our Life", which topped the Gaon Digital Chart on release,^[1] and accompanied by the second single "If We Ever Meet Again", which also debuted atop the Gaon Digital Chart.

Im Hero
Digital cover
Studio album by Lim Young-woong
Released	May 2, 2022 (2022-05-02)
Genre	K-pop
Length	43:48
Language	Korean
Label	Mulgogi Music
Lim Young-woong chronology
Newness of Trot (2020) Im Hero (2022)
Singles from Im Hero
"Our Blues, Our Life" Released: April 17, 2022 "If We Ever Meet Again" Released: May 2, 2022

The album was released in four physical versions and debuted atop the Gaon Album Chart upon release. According to Gaon, Im Hero sold over 772,000 copies in South Korea in its first week of retail availability. It won Album of the Year at the 2022 Melon Music Awards.^[2]

Background

Im Hero, Lim's first album, comes six years after his debut. He stated that he "did [his] best to put in a wide variety of songs" and "really wanted to get it right. Just when I thought I'd completed it, something would make me think it's not enough, and I'd go back to the beginning on several occasions."^[3]

Commercial performance

The album became available for pre-order on April 7, 2022, and its jewel case version sold out quickly.^[4] The album debuted atop the Gaon Album Chart^[5] and sold over 772,000 copies at retail stores in South Korea in its first week of availability, according to Gaon.^[6] According to Hanteo, Lim broke the record for first-day CD sales by a solo singer, selling 940,600 copies on its first day and over 1.1 million in total in its first week.^[7]

Accolades

Awards and nominations

Organization	Year	Category	Result	Ref.
Genie Music Awards	2022	Album of the Year	Nominated	[8]
Melon Music Awards	2022	Album of the Year	Won	[2]

Track listing

Im Hero track listing

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Arrangement	Length
1.	"If We Ever Meet Again" (다시 만날 수 있을까)	Lee Juck	Lee J.	Yang Si-on	4:34
2.	"Rainbow" (무지개)	Kim Si-on Maddoaeji	Maddoaeji Kim S.	Kim S. Maddoaeji Chung Soo-wan	3:16
3.	"Lovely Touch" (손이 참 곱던 그대)	Foresko Kim Hyun-woo Glody Myung Seung-won	Kim H. Foresko Glody Myung	Foresko Kim H. Glody Myung	3:15
4.	"Our Blues, Our Life" (우리들의 블루스)	Ji Hoon	Lee Seung-ju Choi In-hwan	Lee S. Choi	3:27
5.	"Father" (아버지)	Woo Ji-min	Woo Ji-min	Jang Jae-won	3:58
6.	"A bientot"	Gong	Gong	Gong	4:16
7.	"Love Station" (사랑역)	Park Jeong-ran	Park Yong-jin	Park Y.	3:11
8.	"Nest" (보금자리)	Park Jin-bok	Park Sang-cheol	Lee Chang-woo (Fly Cat)	2:52
9.	"I Love You" (사랑해 진짜)	Jisoo Park (153/Joombas)	J. Park	J. Park	3:59
10.	"Love Letter" (연애편지)	Son Bong-ju [ko] (Jantapung [ko])	Son	Park Yong-joon	3:35
11.	"Loving You" (사랑해요 그대를)	Sul Woon-do [ko]	Sul	Song Ga-young	3:32
12.	"A Psalm of Life" (인생찬가)	Yoon Myung-sun [ko]	Yoon Haegu	Haegu Lim Mi-ran	3:53
Total length:					43:59

Charts

Weekly charts Chart performance for Im Hero Chart (2022) Peak position South Korean Albums (Gaon)[9] 1

Monthly charts Monthly chart performance for Im Hero Chart (2022) Peak position South Korean Albums (Gaon)[10] 3 Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for Im Hero Chart (2022) Position South Korean Albums (Circle)[11] 15

References

1. Lee, Ji-eun (April 28, 2022). 임영웅 '우리들의 블루스', 17주차 가온차트서 5관왕 차지 [Lim Young-woong's 'Our Blues' wins 5 crowns on Gaon Chart for the 17th week]. Newspim (in Korean). Retrieved May 12, 2022.
2. Park, Sang-hoo (December 18, 2022). "'2022 MMA' 임영웅 5관왕 주인공 우뚝… BTS·아이브 4관왕[종합]" ['2022 MMA' Lim Young-woong, the main character with 5 awards ... BTS, Ive wins 4 awards [comprehensive]]. JTBC (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
3. Yang, Haley (May 2, 2022). "Korean Trot singer Lim Young-woong releases album 'Im Hero'". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
4. Kim, Myung-mi (April 7, 2022). 임영웅 정규 1집 'IM HERO' 예판 시작…글로벌 트롯팬 들썩 [Lim Young-woong's 1st full album 'IM HERO' pre-order begins... Global Trot Fans are excited]. Newsen (in Korean). Retrieved May 12, 2022.
5. Jeon, Hyo-jin (May 12, 2022). 빅뱅, 4월 가온차트 디지털·스트리밍 1위…임영웅 4관왕·아이브 앨범 1위 [Big Bang topped the Gaon Chart Digital and Streaming in April... Lim Young-woong 4 crowns, Ive's album 1st place]. Sports Dong-a (in Korean). Retrieved May 12, 2022.
6. "2022년 19주차 Retail Album Chart". Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Retrieved May 12, 2022.
7. Yang, Haley (May 9, 2022). "Lim Young-woong's 'Im Hero' album sold more than 1.1 million copies in first week". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
8. "2022 GMA – Album of the Year Nominees". Genie Music (in Korean). Retrieved October 6, 2022.
9. "Gaon Album Chart – Week 19, 2022". Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Retrieved June 9, 2022.
10. "Gaon Album Chart – May 2022". Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Retrieved June 9, 2022.
11. "Album Chart 2022". Circle Chart. Archived from the original on January 13, 2023. Retrieved January 14, 2023.