"Telephone" () is a song recorded by South Korean duo Exo-SC, a subgroup to the boy band Exo, and features 10cm as the guest vocalist. It was released on July 7, 2020, by SM Entertainment and distributed by Dreamus as a pre-release single for their debut studio album, 1 Billion Views.
Background Shortly after releasing their debut EP the previous year, Exo-SC embarked on Exo's fifth headlining concert tour, Exo Planet 5 – Exploration, performing "What a Life", "Closer to You".
On June 23, 2020, SM announced that the group will release their debut studio album, 1 Billion Views in July.
On July 1, SM uploaded a schedule poster of the comeback, which features the track list of the album, where "Telephone" is included among the nine tracks. The song and its music video was released on July 7.
The release of "Telephone" was described as "surprising" since the song was previously unannounced. Chanyeol said it was a way for the duo to gift the fans who were patiently waiting for the comeback — so they played the song in advance during their live broadcast before officially announcing what just happened.
Composition "Telephone" is a hip-hop song with a cheerful piano riff and heavy bass. It was co-composed and co-written by member Sehun, Gaeko, and Studio 159.
The song is about someone hiding their phone obsession and the feelings that come with it.
It was produced and arranged by Studio 159 in the key of F minor with the tempo of 90 beats per minute.
During their V Live broadcast on July 13, Chanyeol revealed that he was "excited" and danced on the spot after hearing the song for the first time.
Music video The music video was released on July 7, 2020. It mixes 70s, 90s, and 2000s styles for a retro feel, showing Chanyeol and Sehun's funny struggle with waiting for a text message on a Blackberry phone.
Live performance The song is included in Chanyeol's "2024 Chanyeol Live Tour: City-scape".
Chart + Chart performance for "Telephone" Chart (2020) Peakposition South Korea (Gaon) 72 US World Digital Song Sales (Billboard) 23
Credits and personnel Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.
Studio SM Big Shot – recording, digital editing, engineered for mix PYT Studio – recording SM Blue Ocean Studio – mixing 821 Sound Mastering – mastering
Personnel
SM Entertainment – executive producer Lee Soo-man – producer Studio 159 – producer, composition, lyrics, arrangement Loey – vocals, composition, lyrics, arrangement, background vocals, vocal direction MQ – composition, lyrics, arrangement Jeon Yong-joon – composition, lyrics, arrangement, piano Yunji – composition, lyrics, arrangement, drum, strings, keyboards, bass Gaeko – composition, lyrics, vocal direction, programming, synthesizer Oh Se-hun – vocals, composition, lyrics 10cm – vocals, background vocals Chancellor – recording, background vocals Lee Min-gyu – recording, digital editing, engineered for mix, mixing Lee Yo-han – recording Kim Chul-soon – mixing Kwon Nam-woo – mastering
Release history + Release history for "Telephone" Region Date Format Label South Korea July 7, 2020 Various SM
References