‘The Power of a Hero’... Surpasses 1.2 Million Copies of Full-Length Album Sold

Lim Young-woong, First Full-Length Album in 6 Years Since Debut... Sweeps 'Top 10' Music Charts
Surpasses 1.2 Million Copies as of the 4th, Nationwide Tour Concert Starts from the 6th

Singer Lim Young-woong, who is releasing his first full-length album six years after his debut, poses at the press conference for the full-length album 'IM HERO' held online on the 2nd. Photo by Mulgogi Music [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] Singer Lim Young-woong's first full-length album, 'I'm HERO (IM HERO),' has surpassed 1.2 million pre-orders.

On the 4th, Dreamus Company, the distributor of Lim Young-woong's album, stated, "As of the 2nd, the total domestic and international pre-order volume of the album, which began pre-sale on the 1st of last month, exceeded 1 million copies," adding, "On the first day of pre-sale, many fans rushed to purchase the album, causing the sales page server to be overwhelmed." The order volume has steadily increased, reaching 1.2 million copies as of 9 a.m. that day.

This is the highest figure in the history of solo albums since the 2000s. Unlike the 1990s, when 'million-seller albums' were common, the music market has changed, and since 2001's Kim Gun-mo 7th album, only Baekhyun, a member of the group EXO, had surpassed 1 million copies for a solo album. Lim Young-woong has newly set this record with this album.

'I'm HERO (IM HERO)' swept the number one spot on major music sites' album sales charts immediately after release. The album was released in four versions, with the digipack version alone recording sales of 368,629 copies. Following were the jewel case version with 379,944 copies, photobook version with 79,826 copies, and gift version with 62,586 copies, totaling 920,985 copies. The initial sales volume, counted over seven days after the album release, is expected to exceed 1 million copies.

Dreamus Company, the distributor of Lim Young-woong's first full-length album, announced on the 3rd that the pre-order volume of Lim Young-woong's first full album 'I'm Hero' (IM HERO) has exceeded 1 million copies, making it a 'million seller.' The photo is an image of Lim Young-woong's 'I'm Hero' album. Photo by Mulgogi Music [Image source=Yonhap News]

Lim Young-woong's first full-length album 'IM HERO' gained attention with the title track 'Can We Meet Again,' written and composed by singer Lee Juck and featuring string arrangements by Jeong Jae-il, famous as the music director of 'Squid Game.' This song is a ballad, not trot, reflecting Lim Young-woong's identity as a ballad singer, a dream he has had for a long time despite gaining fame as a trot singer after winning TV Chosun's 'Mr. Trot' in 2020.

Additionally, the album includes 12 tracks spanning various genres such as ballad, pop, dance, hip-hop, folk, and trot, including 'Our Blues,' pre-released as a drama OST last month; 'I Love You,' written and composed by singer Seol Woon-do; 'I Really Love You,' revealed at KBS's year-end special 'We Are HERO'; 'Love Letter,' written and composed by Song Bong-ju of Bicycle Riding Scenery; and 'You Had Such Beautiful Hands,' featuring Kim Hyun-woo of Dickpunks.

At a press conference on the 2nd, Lim Young-woong said, "I wanted to show that I am a singer who can present various genres naturally, not limited to one genre," adding, "I thought a lot about wanting to get closer to the public through my songs."

Following the album's enthusiastic response, Lim Young-woong will meet fans directly through a nationwide tour concert starting from Goyang on the 6th, followed by Daejeon, Incheon, Daegu, Seoul, and other cities.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.