"Again & Again" is a Korean song by South Korean boy band 2PM. It is the title track of the group's second single album 2:00PM Time for Change, released on April 16, 2009 via JYP Entertainment. The song was 2PM's first number-one single and has won the group several accolades, including the 2009 MAMA Award for Artist of the Year.
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Background
"Again & Again" is a dance-pop song with R&B elements composed and written by Park Jin-young. The song was recorded over the course of a week at JYP Entertainment's New York branch, where local staff members including Grammy Award-nominated Vlado Meller assisted in the post-production and mastering process. The lyrics of the song are from the perspective of a man who cannot stop thinking about and going back to a woman who broke his heart.
The track would later be included in 2PM's first studio album, 01:59PM, released on November 10, 2009. Another version of the song was recorded without former 2PM member Jaebeom's vocals to be included in the 2012 compilation album 2PM Member's Selection.
Music video
Two teasers for "Again & Again" were released on April 13 and 14, 2009. The music video, directed by Jang Jae-hyuk, was released on April 16, 2009. Both a teaser video and the music video itself were the most viewed YouTube videos in the music category on April 14 and April 17 respectively.
The music video alternates between scenes of the members individually following and watching a woman, who walks with another man into her house, and scenes showcasing the song's choreography with three different backdrops: one with radiating lines of lights, one with nested squares at different angles, and one with a curved backdrop. The ending features a dance break sequence involving acrobatic stunts and breakdancing.
Promotion
2PM performed "Again & Again" for the first time on the music program M Countdown on April 23, 2009. They continued promoting the song on the TV music programs M Countdown, Music Bank, Show! Music Core, and Inkigayo for seven weeks. On the May 7 episode of M Countdown, "Again & Again" earned the group their first Mutizen Song award on a TV music program for being the show's top-charting song. The song would go on to win the group their first triple crown on M Countdown, followed by another triple crown on Inkigayo. 2PM would then promote their B-side track "I Hate You" from the same single album in June, becoming the first act on M Countdown to win two triple crowns for songs from the same album in July. 2PM has also performed "Again & Again" on TV shows such as Kim Jung-eun's Chocolate and Infinite Challenge, as well as end-of-year award ceremonies.
Reception
"Again & Again" debuted at number 56 on Melon's Weekly Chart, but climbed up to the top of the chart over the course of four weeks. The song also topped other domestic music charts including Cyworld, Muse, Hanteo, and Dosirak. Upon the release of the song's music video in Thailand in June, the song also topped Thai music charts such as the Channel V Thailand Asian Chart and MTV Thailand International Chart.
By the end of 2009, "Again & Again" placed fifth in Melon's Year-End Chart. In addition, in Gallup Korea's annual survey, "Again & Again" was voted the fourth most popular song of 2009 in South Korea. The song also won the fan-voted Song of the Year award at the 2009 KBS Song Festival.