"Milky Way" is a song recorded by South Korean singer BoA from her third studio album, Atlantis Princess, released through SM Entertainment on May 30, 2003. The song was composed, written, and arranged by SM songwriter Kenzie.
Background and release "Milky Way" was released as the third single from BoA's third studio album, Atlantis Princess, on May 30, 2003. It followed the promotional single "The Lights of Seoul" and the title track "Atlantis Princess". BoA recorded the song in Japanese as "Milky Way ~Kimi No Uta~" for her 10th Japanese single "Double", which was released on October 22, 2003. The Korean release of "Double" includes a club remix version of "Milky Way".
Usage in media The Japanese version of "Milky Way" was used as the theme song for TV Tokyo's coverage of the 2003 Rugby World Cup, which was held in October and November.
Release history +Release dates and formats for "Milky Way"RegionDateLabelSouth KoreaMay 30, 2003SM EntertainmentJapanOctober 22, 2003
Red Velvet version
"Milky Way" is a remake song recorded by South Korean girl group Red Velvet. It was originally recorded by BoA for her album Atlantis Princess (2003). It remade by the group as part of SM Station's tribute project in celebration of BoA's 20th anniversary. It was released as Red Velvet's sixth digital single on August 21, 2020, marking their first release with member Wendy who was hospitalized after a stage accident in December 2019.
Background and composition On August 19, 2020, SM Entertainment announced that Red Velvet would be the fourth runner for SM Station 'Our Beloved BoA'. "Milky Way" was originally recorded and released by BoA in 2003 from her third Korean studio album Atlantis Princess. In addition, Wendy, who had a hiatus from group activities due to injury, participated in the song for the first time in about eight months.
Musically, "Milky Way" is described as a combination of "colorful acappella and jazz scat with harmonious vocals". The song is composed in the key of A♭ Major with a tempo of 98 beat-per-minute. The song was produced and written by Kenzie, who worked on the original song, and arranged the song herself to recreate it into a "fresh jazz pop" song. Lyrically, the song tells a story of unfolding a "dark night" with someone just like a "milky way".
Credits and personnel Credits adapted from Melon.
Red Velvet (Irene, Seulgi, Wendy, Joy, Yeri) – vocals, background vocals Kenzie – background vocals Choi Hoon – bass Hong Joon-ho – guitar Song Young-joo – piano No Min-ji (SM Yellow Tail Studio) – recording engineer Lee Chang-sun (prelude studio) – recording engineer Jung Yu-ra – digital editing Kang Eun-ji (SM SSAM Studio) – mixing engineer Kim Chul-soon (SM Blue Ocean Studio) – mixing engineer Kwon Nam-woo (821 Sound Mastering) – mastering
Track listing Digital download / streaming
"Milky Way" – 3:38 "Milky Way" (Instrumental) – 3:38
Charts +Weekly charts Chart (2020) PeakpositionSouth Korea (Gaon)119South Korea (K-pop Hot 100)64
Release history +Release dates and formats for "Milky Way"RegionDateFormatLabelVariousAugust 21, 2020Digital download, streaming
References