For Life

For Life is the fifth extended play of the South Korean boy band EXO. It is scheduled to be published on December 19, 2016 at 12am (KST) by S.M. Entertainment and distributed by KT Music.[1] The EP contains five songs, including the single of the same name,[2] in the Korean and Mandarin versions.[3]

For Life
For Life logo.png
EP by
ReleasedDecember 19, 2016 (2016-12-19)
Recorded2016
GenreK-pop, balad, christmas
Length17:59
LanguageKorean, Chinese
LabelS.M. Entertainment, KT Music
ProducerLee Soo-man
Exo chronology
''Lotto
(2015)
For Life The War
(2016)
Singles from For Life
  1. "For Life"
    Released: December 19, 2016

Release and background

On November 30, 2016, a agent of S.M. Entertainment announced that EXO was preparing for the release of its fifth mini album and third special winter album, after Miracles in December, released in 2013, and Sing for You, released in 2015.[4] He also said that the members had already finished recording the video for the single with the same name.[5] Two weeks later, on November 13, S.M. Entertainment updated the group's official website with a teaser image.[6][7] On the same day, it was revealed that the EP, titled For Life, would contain five songs.[2] Its release was December 19, and the music videos of the single included the appearance of the Japanese actress Nanami Sakuraba and three members of the group: Chanyeol, Suho and Kai.[1][8] Inspired by the donations they made last year with Sing for You, it was reported that the group this time donated all the benefits for charity.[9] Unlike their previous albums, which were released in two separate versions, one in Korean and one in Mandarin, For Life was released with both versions included.[3]

Commercial performance

Even without any promotion in music programs, over 300,000 copies were sold in its first week of sales, thus surpassing Sing for You[10][11] and becoming the EXO album with the second largest amount of sales in the first week of Sales and the third album with the most sales in the history of the South Korean musical list Hanteo.[11][12] For Life became Gaon's third best-selling album in 2016, with 438,481 copies sold, having topped the list.[13] The album was also ranked "the world's second best selling album in the week of January 4," according to the United World Chart.

Track listing

For Life – Korean version
No. TitleWriter(s)Arrangement Length
1. "For Life"   Kenzie, Matthew Tishler, Aaron Benward 3:58
2. "Falling for You"   DOM, Richard Garcia, Andreas Stone Johansson, Allison Kaplan 3:24
3. "What I Want for Christmas" (sung by: Suho, Baekhyun, Chen, D.O.) BUM, Chek Parren 3:22
4. "Twenty Four" (sung by: Xiumin, Chanyeol, Kai, Sehun) Joseph "Joe Millionaire" Foster 3:40
5. "Winter Heat"   Maria Marcus 3:35
Total length:
17:59
For Life – Chinese version
No. TitleWriter(s)Arrangement Length
1. "For Life (一生一事)"   Kenzie, Matthew Tishler, Aaron Benward 3:58
2. "Falling for You (亿万分之一的奇迹)"   DOM, Richard Garcia, Andreas Stone Johansson, Allison Kaplan 3:24
3. "What I Want for Christmas (再续冬季)" (sung by: Lay, Baekhyun, Chen, D.O.) BUM, Chek Parren 3:22
4. "Twenty Four (二十四小时)" (sung by: Xiumin, Chanyeol, Kai, Sehun) Joseph "Joe Millionaire" Foster 3:40
5. "Winter Heat (暖冬)"   Maria Marcus 3:35
Total length:
17:59

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2016) Peak
position
South Korean Albums (Gaon)[13] 1
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[14] 7
US World Albums (Billboard)[15] 9

Monthly charts

Chart (2016) Peak
position
South Korean Albums (Gaon)[16] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (2016) Peak
position
South Korean Albums (Gaon)[17] 3
Chinese Albums (YinYueTai Vchart)[18] 5

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominated work Result
2017 6th Gaon Chart Music Awards Artist of the Year (Album) – 4th Quarter For Life Nominated

Music program awards

Song Program Date
"For Life" Music Bank' (KBS) December 30, 2016

Release history

Region Date Format Label
South Korea December 19, 2016
  • CD
  • Digital download
Worldwide Digital download S.M. Entertainment

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 "Watch: EXO Gifts Fans With "For Life" MV And Winter Special Album". Soompi. December 18, 2016. Retrieved December 18, 2016.
  2. 2.0 2.1 "엑소, 12월19일 겨울 스페셜음반 'For Life'로 컴백 확정". Osen (in 한국어). December 13, 2016. Retrieved December 14, 2016.
  3. 3.0 3.1 "For Life - 겨울 스페셜 앨범, 2016". Naver Music (in 한국어). Retrieved January 22, 2017.
  4. Lee, Mi Hyun (November 30, 2016). "SM 측 ”엑소, 겨울 스페셜 앨범 아직 발매일 미정”[공식"] (in ko). Ilkan Sports. http://isplus.live.joins.com/news/article/article.asp?total_id=20947629. Retrieved December 14, 2016. 
  5. "EXO Reveals Plans And Completes Filming MV For Special Winter Album". Soompi. November 30, 2016. Retrieved December 14, 2016.
  6. "EXO begin teasing for a new winter album!". Allkpop. December 10, 2016. Retrieved December 14, 2016.
  7. "EXO Kicks Off Countdown To Winter Special Album With Mysterious Teaser". Soompi. December 13, 2016. Retrieved December 14, 2016.
  8. "EXO release two new MV's 'For Life'". Allkpop. December 18, 2016. Retrieved December 18, 2016.
  9. "Album details". Weibo (in 中文). December 16, 2016. Retrieved December 22, 2016.
  10. "엑소, 겨울 스페셜 앨범 ‘For Life’ 주간 음반 차트 1위" (in ko). mk.co.kr. December 26, 2016. http://star.mbn.co.kr/view.php?no=891476&year=2016&refer=portal. Retrieved December 30, 2016. 
  11. 11.0 11.1 (in ko) 겨울에도 엑소 열풍, 스페셜 앨범으로 주간 음반 차트 1위. December 27, 2016. http://m.entertain.naver.com/read?oid=241&aid=0002626007. Retrieved December 30, 2016. 
  12. "엑소, 겨울 스페셜 앨범 ‘For Life’ 주간 음반 차트 1위" (in ko). mk.co.kr. http://star.mbn.co.kr/view.php?no=891476&year=2016&refer=portal. Retrieved January 22, 2017. 
  13. 13.0 13.1 "2016 Gaon Album Chart". www.gaonchart.co.kr. Retrieved 2017-01-13.
  14. (in ja-JP) オリコン週間 CDアルバムランキング 2016年12月19日~2016年12月25日. http://www.oricon.co.jp/rank/ja/w/2017-01-02/. Retrieved 2016-12-29. 
  15. World Music: Top World Albums Chart. http://www.billboard.com/charts/world-albums/2017-01-07. Retrieved 2016-12-28. 
  16. "Gaon Album Chart - December, 2016". Retrieved 2017-01-13.
  17. "2016 Gaon Album Chart". Retrieved 2017-01-13.
  18. "YinYueTai Vchart 2016 Yearly Chart". Archived from the original on 2017-03-29. Retrieved 2017-01-13.