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20
Studio album by F.T. Island
Released	May 16, 2012 (2012-05-16)
Recorded	2011–12 South Korea
Genre	Rock
Length	44:02
Language	Japanese
Label	Warner Music Japan
F.T. Island chronology
Grown-Up (2012) 20 (2012) Five Treasure Box (2012)
Singles from 20
"Let It Go!" Released: July 27, 2011 "Distance" Released: November 30, 2011 "Neverland" Released: April 18, 2012

20 (stylized as 20 ) is the third studio album released in Japan by South Korean rock band F.T. Island. It is their second studio album under Warner Music Japan and third studio album overall in the country. Recorded in South Korea in the midst of the band's promotions there, the band aimed to make 20 their most mature album to date. The album spawned three singles prior to its release—"Let It Go!", "Distance", and "Neverland"—which all charted within the top ten spots of the weekly Oricon singles chart.

20 was released on May 16, 2012, in three editions: a CD-only edition, a CD and DVD edition, and a Lawson edition. In order to promote the album, the band held two release events shortly after the album's release. The album debuted at number four on the weekly Oricon albums chart and the Billboard Japan Top Albums. Selling over 41,000 copies in its first week, 20 earned F.T. Island their best first-week album sales in Japan. From June to July, they embarked on their F.T. Island Summer Tour 2012: Run! Run! Run! and performed in various venues across Japan.

Background and development

After performing at the Nippon Budokan in 2011, F.T. Island recorded the song "Let It Go!" in commemoration of the event. Recorded during the same period, "Neverland" was composed by Choi Jong Hoon. Described as an energetic song, he recorded the guitar as the final bit to make the instrument the most prominent in the recording. He penned the song "Stay", which is based on his personal relationship experiences. He initially wrote the lyrics in Korean, then translated them into Japanese, using a translator where he was unable to translate the lyrics by himself. The process between three and four hours.

Choi Min Hwan and Song Seung Hyun worked on the songs "Always" and "Compass" together while in high school. Discussing "Always", Choi Min Hwan compared the song to "Satisfaction" in that one may feel a similar "atmosphere and a strength", but noted that there was more emphasis of sorrow in "Always". "Paper Plane" is a medium-tempo song, which features a dense snare drum. "Distance" was written by Kenn Kato, Song Seung Hyun and Lee Jae Jin, and composed by Corin. Lead singer Lee Hongki had difficulty singing the song, stating that the key he sang in was very high.

20 was recorded while F.T. Island was in the midst of promoting in South Korea, which limited their time on the project. Determined to convey the proper emotions of the songs, they "made sure to stop and interpret every part of the lyrics". F.T. Island aimed to make 20 their most mature album to date. The title of the album refers to the average age of the band members.

Release and promotion

"Let It Go!" was released as the first single on July 27, 2011. The single peaked at number four on the weekly Oricon singles chart and sold over 41,500 copies in Japan. The second single "Distance" was released on November 30 in the same year, which also peaked at number four on the weekly Oricon singles chart, selling over 44,500 copies. On April 18, 2012, "Neverland" was the third single released from the album. It peaked at number 10 on the weekly Oricon singles chart and sold over 30,500 copies in Japan. The song "Stay" was used as the opening theme song for TV Asahi's Music Ru TV and TV Tokyo's Japan Countdown, and was used as the ending theme for Nippon Television.

20 was released on May 16, 2012, in three editions: a CD-only edition which features the bonus track "Hit the Sands", a CD and DVD edition which includes the Korean version of "Satisfaction" as a bonus track, and the music video for "Stay" and a special feature, and a Lawson edition which contains footage from March 2012 of F.T. Island's performances at Fuji-Q Highland. On May 19 and 20, 2012, F.T. Island held two release events for the album at Zepp Tokyo and the Hotarumachi Dōjima River Forum in Osaka, respectively. An estimate of 10,000 winners of a lottery were in attendance in both events, where the band performed five songs. On May 26, 2012, F.T. Island performed "Neverland" on Fuji Television's music show Music Fair. The following day, they performed acoustic versions of the songs "Stay", "Flower Rock", "Soyogi", and "Venus" on Space Shower TV.

From June 24 to July 8, 2012, the band embarked on their F.T. Island Summer Tour 2012: Run! Run! Run! and performed in various venues across Japan, including at the Sun Dome Fukui in Fukui and the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. Their shows drew in over 60,000 audience attendees in total.

Chart performance

20 debuted at number four on the weekly Oricon albums chart, selling 41,726 copies in its first week. The album earned F.T. Island their best first-week sales in Japan. On the Billboard Japan Top Albums, 20 also debuted at number four. The album has sold 44,603 copies in Japan.

Track listing

Charts

Notes

• ^Note a: The sales figure of 41,500 copies is taken from accumulating the sales of the single during its first four charting weeks on the Oricon weekly chart (33,418, 3,106, 3,060, 1,954).
• ^Note b: The sales figure of 44,500 copies is taken from accumulating the sales of the single during its first three charting weeks on the Oricon weekly chart (39,120, 3,377, 2,055).
• ^Note c: The sales figure of 30,500 copies is taken from accumulating the sales of the single during its first two charting weeks on the Oricon weekly chart (28,219, 2,315).
• ^Note d: The sales figure of 44,603 copies is taken from accumulating the sales of the single during its first two charting weeks on the Oricon weekly chart (41,726, 2,877).

References

1. ^ "All Member Interview". B-Pass (in Japanese): 8–9, 11–17. June 2012.
2. ^ "FTISLAND、メジャーデビュー2周年をファンとお祝い" (in Japanese). Barks. May 21, 2012. Retrieved May 23, 2012.
3. ^ "FTISLAND 意外な一面が発覚！強がり、泣き虫、寂しがり屋のNo.1は…？!" (in Japanese). Oricon. pp. 1–2. Archived from the original (May 16, 2012) on February 25, 2018. Retrieved May 23, 2012.
4. Masafumi, Oku (May 22, 2012). "白熱のライブにぶっちゃけトークに貴重なプレゼントまで… 東京・大阪で計1万人が熱狂したFTISLANDの2ndアルバム 『20』リリース記念イベント大阪編に潜入レポート！" (in Japanese). PIA Corporation. Retrieved May 23, 2012.
5. "Distance" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved May 23, 2012.
6. "JAPAN COUNTOWNのゲストにFTISLANDが登場！" (in Japanese). MSN Japan. May 15, 2012. Archived from the original on July 16, 2012. Retrieved May 23, 2012.
7. ^ "2011年07月25日～2011年07月31日のCDシングル週間ランキング （2011年08月08日付）" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved May 23, 2012.
8. ^ "2011年11月28日～2011年12月04日のCDシングル週間ランキング（2011年12月12日付）" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved May 23, 2012.
9. ^ "2012年04月16日～2012年04月22日のCDシングル週間ランキング（2012年04月30日付）" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved May 23, 2012.
10. ^ "FTISLAND 5月発売2ndアルバムの収録曲にトリプルタイアップ！" (in Japanese). Biglobe. April 26, 2012. Archived from the original on May 14, 2012. Retrieved May 23, 2012.
11. ^ "FTISLAND 「20 （通常盤））」" (in Japanese). Warner Music Japan. Archived from the original on 2012-05-04. Retrieved May 23, 2012.
12. ^ "FTISLAND 「20 （初回限定盤））」" (in Japanese). Warner Music Japan. Retrieved May 23, 2012.
13. ^ "FTISLAND 「20 （ローソン限定盤））」" (in Japanese). Warner Music Japan. Archived from the original on 2012-05-04. Retrieved May 23, 2012.
14. "Mフェアでエレカシ×大知×2PMジュンス、あべま、ViViDら" (in Japanese). Natalie. May 23, 2012. Retrieved May 28, 2012.
15. "FTISLAND スペシャル" (in Japanese). Space Shower TV. Archived from the original on September 15, 2012. Retrieved May 28, 2012.
16. Kwan Min-gu (July 10, 2012). "FT아일랜드, 역대 최대 日 투어 '성황리 마무리'" (in Korean). Nate. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
17. ^ "2012年05月14日～2012年05月20日のCDアルバム週間ランキング （2012年05月28日付）" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved May 23, 2012.
18. Kim Ha-jin (May 23, 2012). "FT 아일랜드 '20(twenty)', 첫 주 판매량 역대 최대 기록 갱신" (in Korean). Naver. Retrieved May 23, 2012.
19. ^ "Top Albums - Japan Charts" (in Japanese). Billboard. Archived from the original on April 26, 2012. Retrieved May 23, 2012.
20. "2011年08月01日～2011年08月07日のCDシングル週間ランキング （2011年08月15日付）" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved May 23, 2012.
21. "2011年08月08日～2011年08月14日のCDシングル週間ランキング （2011年08月22日付）" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved May 23, 2012.
22. "2011年08月15日～2011年08月21日のCDシングル週間ランキング （2011年08月29日付）" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved May 23, 2012.
23. "2011年12月05日～2011年12月11日のCDシングル週間ランキング（2011年12月19日付）" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved May 23, 2012.
24. "2011年12月12日～2011年12月18日のCDシングル週間ランキング（2011年12月26日付）" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved May 23, 2012.
25. "2012年04月23日～2012年04月29日のCDシングル週間ランキング（2012年05月07日付）" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved May 23, 2012.
26. "2012年05月21日～2012年05月27日のCDアルバム週間ランキング （2012年06月04日付）" (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved June 1, 2012.

• 2012 albums
• F.T. Island albums
• 2010s Japanese-language albums
• Warner Music Japan albums
• FNC Entertainment albums