Gotta Go (Chung Ha song)
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"Gotta Go" (Korean:벌써 12시;RR:Beolsseo Yeoldu-si; lit. "Already 12 o'clock") is a song recorded by South Korean singer Chung Ha. It was released as a single on January 2, 2019, by MNH Entertainment and distributed by Genie Music, and was promoted as a single album. Adopting a darker style, the princess concept appears to be a shift away from the "girl crush" image of her previous albums Hands on Me and Offset.
Background and release
Chung Ha unveiled three teaser photos and two music video teasers for the song before its release. "Gotta Go" was released digitally and physically on January 2, 2019; the physical edition is a single album titled XII. The song was also released as a separate digital single through several music portals, including iTunes.
Composition
"Gotta Go" moves Chung Ha into a more sultry place than her past singles with its vibrant flute sounds and squelching synths acting as a backdrop to her rich vocals. Chung Ha mentioned she had always wanted to do a concept like this. Though “Gotta Go” shows a new and different side of Chung Ha, it also marks her return to collaborating with Black Eyed Pilseung and Jeon Goon, the team behind her 2018 hit "Roller Coaster." The song's Korean title literally translates to "Already Midnight". In an interview with Billboard, Chung Ha elaborated on the song's musical direction by saying:
"A summer vibe me was there during 2018, and sparkly Chung Ha was there, but this time it’s very different. I don’t have all that glitter. This is more of my personal style, I guess. I wanted to go very dark. There’s a very different side of me so I’m excited to show that to fans."
Reception
"Gotta Go" peaked at number two on the Gaon Digital Chart, number one on the Billboard K-Pop Hot 100 and number six on the World Digital Song Sales chart, becoming her most successful single to date and her first top 10 entry on the latter. It was the second most-downloaded, eighth most-streamed and overall the eighth best performing song of 2019 in South Korea. It also reached the charts in New Zealand and Singapore. The single also brought Chung Ha her first music program trophy at MBC Music's Show Champion on January 9 and went on to receive 7 total wins. As of June 2022, it has over 90 million views on YouTube and 108 million streams on Spotify.
| Critic/Publication | List | Rank | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Billboard | The 25 Best K-pop Songs of 2019 | 3 | |
| The 100 Greatest K-Pop Songs of the 2010s | 100 | ||
| BuzzFeed | Best K-pop Music Videos of 2019 | 14 | |
| Melon | Top 100 K-pop Songs of All Time | 51 | |
| Refinery29 | The Best K-Pop Songs Of 2019 | 12 |
Music video
The music video is less girlish than her prior ones, replacing the aforementioned sparkles and glitter with mature, bolder looks, such as power shoulders and a smokey eye and lip hues. Choreography-wise, things similarly shift away from the past, with the emphasis being on theatrical elements like hand moves emulating a clock striking midnight and intense footwork.
Accolades
| Year | Organization | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Melon Music Awards | Best Female Dance | Won | |
| Song of the Year | Nominated | |||
| Mnet Asian Music Awards | Song of the Year | Nominated | ||
| Best Dance Performance – Solo | Won | |||
| 2020 | Gaon Chart Music Awards | Song of the Year – January | Nominated | |
| Record Production of the Year | Won | |||
| Golden Disc Awards | Digital Bonsang | Won | ||
| Digital Daesang | Nominated | |||
| Seoul Music Awards | Dance Performance Award | Nominated |
| Program | Date | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| Show Champion | January 9, 2019 | |
| M Countdown | January 10, 2019 | |
| Show! Music Core | January 12, 2019 | |
| January 19, 2019 | ||
| February 16, 2019 | ||
| Inkigayo | January 13, 2019 | |
| Music Bank | January 18, 2019 |
Track listing
- CD / digital download
- "벌써 12시 (Gotta Go)" – 3:41
Chart performance
| Chart (2019) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Weekly charts Chart (2019) Peak position New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ) 23 Singapore (RIAS) 25 South Korea (Gaon) 2 South Korea Albums (Gaon) 4 South Korea (K-pop Hot 100) 1 US World Digital Songs (Billboard) 6 | Year-end charts Chart (2019) Position South Korea (Gaon) 8 |
| New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ) | 23 |
| Singapore (RIAS) | 25 |
| South Korea (Gaon) | 2 |
| South Korea Albums (Gaon) | 4 |
| South Korea (K-pop Hot 100) | 1 |
| US World Digital Songs (Billboard) | 6 |
| Chart (2019) | Position |
| South Korea (Gaon) | 8 |
Sales and certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| South Korea Single album | — | 10,000 |
| United States | — | 2,000 |
| Streaming | ||
| South Korea (KMCA) | Platinum | 100,000,000† |
| † Streaming-only figures based on certification alone. |