T.O.P. is the second Korean studio album by South Korean boy band Shinhwa. It was released on April 15, 1999, by SM Entertainment. The album title T.O.P. stands for Twinkling Of Paradise. The album spawned two singles: the title track "T.O.P. (Twinkling of Paradise)", which incorporated elements of Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake", and "Yo!". The album saw greater levels of success in comparison to their debut album Resolver (1998), selling over 377,000 copies in 1999. Both of its singles ranked atop the music program charts for multiple weeks.
Reception The album garnered much success, climbing the charts quickly (debuting at number four and peaking at number three on the MIAK monthly album chart). Although they promoted their first album well, Shinhwa did not do many promotions for their second album, and instead began working on their third album. Despite the lack of promotions, the single "T.O.P." was a success, and spent 24 weeks on the charts before it dropped. "T.O.P." represented Shinhwa's first significant commercial success and was noted for its use of Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake" music.
SM Entertainment labelmate S.E.S. released a cover of "T.O.P. (Twinkling of Paradise)" as their fourth Japanese single on October 27, 1999. Years after its original release, "T.O.P." has been performed on television with its original choreography by groups such as Girls' Generation, Spica, Super Junior, and BTS.
Music video The music video for "T.O.P." shows the six Shinhwa members in white suits with a bright fantasy-like back-drop. The music video for "Yo!" tells the story of vocalist Lee Minwoo, as a trouble-maker boy who falls in love with a girl, played by Kim Bo-mi.
Accolades The second single "Yo!" collected seven number one wins on live music programs, a record it held until "This Love" from their eleventh album The Classic, won eight first place wins in 2013. This record was broken again by "Sniper" from their twelfth album We, which won ten first place wins in 2015.
In 2021, Melon and Seoul Shinmun ranked "T.O.P. (Twinkling of Paradise)" number 81 in their list of the Top 100 K-pop Songs of All Time. Critic Park Hee-ah called it a main prototype of how "idols can freely embrace any genre of music, can generate great interest by twisting existing perspectives, and can also provide fun in interpreting the narratives hidden in albums or songs. In other words, 'T.O.P.' was a track that contained all the factors that has helped made K-pop popular these days."
+Music program awards SongProgramDate"T.O.P."Music BankJune 8, 1999June 22, 1999June 29, 1999Music CampJune 26, 1999InkigayoJuly 4, 1999July 18, 1999"Yo!"Music BankJuly 13, 1999July 20, 1999July 27, 1999August 10, 1999August 24, 1999InkigayoAugust 15, 1999August 22, 1999
Track listing
Credits and personnel Credits are adapted from the album liner notes.
Shinhwa Eric Mun – main rap, chorus Andy Lee – rap, chorus Lee Min-woo – sub vocal, chorus Jun Jin – lead rap, chorus Kim Dong-wan – sub vocal, chorus Shin Hye-seong – main vocal, chorus
T.O.P. duet Jun Jin – lead rap, chorus Kim Dong-wan – sub vocal, chorus
Session Groovie K – electric guitar (2, 5, 10) Taeyoon Lee – bass guitar (2, 5) Yoo Young-jin – chorus (2) S.E.S. – chorus (2) Oh Hansol – electric guitar (4) Hyosoo Kim, Yuna Shin – chorus (4) Seongsu Park – various instruments / sequencer / chorus (5) Borana Kim – chorus (5, 10) Geun-hyung Lee – electric guitar (6, 11) Park Ki-ho – chorus (6) Sam Lee – electric guitar (7) Shin Hyeon-kwon – bass guitar (7) Lim Ki-hoon – chorus (7) Dongwan Kim – electric guitar (8~9) Hyunah Kim, Jihwan Moon – chorus (11)
Staff Lee Soo-man – executive producer KAT, Younghoon Kim, Duhyeon Yeo – recording, mixing Jeon Hoon (BLS), Hong Hyun-ah – mastering Kyungwook Kim – production Kim Ki-beom, Lee Soo-yong, Park Kwon-young, Jeong Yu-jin, Choi Yun-jeong – production assistant Jeong Hae-ik – manager Lee Min-woo, Jun Jin – choreography Seong Moon-seok, Kim Eun-ah, Choi Mi-sook, Lee Sang-hee – stylist Seonyoung Shim – photography Seunggyu Kook – album design Myungjin Art Co., Ltd. – printing SM Entertainment – executive producer
Charts and sales Monthly charts Chart (May 1999)PeakpositionSouth Korean Albums (RIAK)3
Sales RegionSalesSouth Korea (RIAK)377,500
Release history Country Date Distributing label Format South Korea May 5, 1999 SM Entertainment, Synnara Records CD (KSC-9014) Japan September 19, 2001 Avex Trax CD (AVCD-18016)
References