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The Story is the debut studio album by South Korean singer and songwriter Kang Daniel. It was released on May 24, 2022, by Konnect Entertainment and distributed by Sony Music Korea. The Story contains ten tracks with "Upside Down" as its lead single. A repackage of the album, titled The Story: Retold, was released on November 24, 2022. Three new songs and two iterations were added to the track listing with "Nirvana" as its lead single.
Background and composition
On May 2, 2022, Konnect Entertainment posted a surprise comeback trailer video for what would be Kang Daniel's first full-length album The Story, set for release on May 24. Two days later, pre-orders for three different versions (Arch-Plot, Anti-Plot, and Non-Plot) of the album began. Serving as the storyteller, Kang is credited as the main lyricist of all of the album's songs. Having previously revealed the purpose behind his color series as wanting to share "the different stages of self-discovery as an artist with fans", Kang noted that he now feels " own color has been established" through all that he has released thus far. Yellow was based on Kang's personal experiences and revolved around inner sanctity, which forced confrontation. Subsequently, The Story acts as "the balm to soothe yourself in the aftermath of laying yourself bare".
A repackage of the album, titled The Story: Retold, was released on November 24, 2022. The reissue includes five new tracks along with the original 10-song track list that is rearranged in a way that "adds completeness to the plot". Of the newly added tracks, Kang revealed during his documentary filmKang Daniel: My Parade (2023) that "Ghost" is a song dedicated to a family member (grandfather) who had passed away.
Promotion
A press conference was held on May 24 at the Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas for the release of Kang's first full-length album. To further commemorate the album's release, he held an album countdown V Live show on the same day as well as both offline and virtual fan-sign events. He also made an appearance on the May 27 episode of the third season of Sixth Sense with Noh Sa-yeon and the May 29 episode of MBC's Blockbuster. Following a week of promotions, Konnect announced that Kang would be taking a break after being diagnosed with spinal disc herniation due to the b-boy performance included in the music video for "Upside Down" and subsequent music show performances.
Commercial performance
The Story surpassed 316,630 physical album sales within a week. Lead single "Upside Down" peaked at number two on the Gaon Digital Chart for the chart issue dated May 22 to 28 in 2022.
Critical reception
Bollywood entertainment website Bollywood Hungama included the album in a list titled "20 Best B-side Korean Songs of 2022" where Nandini Lyengar said Kang "stands firm on his promise of delivering the best". In an article collecting Brazilian entertainment website Omelete's favorite albums of 2022, Kang's catalogue of music was described as having a theatrical edge that was enhanced with the release of The Story and its repackage The Story: Retold due to the composition, music video, and choreography attached to the different tracks of the album. Writing for the publication, Caio Coletti highlighted certain tracks by describing "Parade" as "a melodically mesmerizing elegy" and "Nirvana" as "evoking an intoxicating urban romance".
Kang performed "Parade", the fourth track of the album, on the June 16 episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show as the first K-pop male solo artist to appear on the varietytalk show. This marked his US television debut with host Kelly Clarkson introducing him as "one of the most successful K-pop solo acts to date".
"강다니엘이 온다" [Kang Daniel is coming]. Sports Khan (in Korean). May 4, 2022. Archived from the original on May 4, 2022. Retrieved May 4, 2022 – via Naver.
"'컴백' 강다니엘, 솔로 3년의 음악 서사…독보적 존재감 예고" ['Comeback' Kang Daniel, a 3 year solo musical narrative... prediction of unique presence]. Newsen (in Korean). May 24, 2022. Archived from the original on May 24, 2022. Retrieved May 24, 2022 – via Naver.
"강다니엘, 첫 정규앨범 10곡 전곡 작사 참여" [Kang Daniel participated in writing lyrics for all 10 songs in his first full-length album]. Maeil Business Newspaper (in Korean). May 13, 2022. Archived from the original on May 13, 2022. Retrieved May 13, 2022 – via Naver.
"'컴백' 강다니엘, "나에 대한 믿음 많이 생겨"…13개월 동안 앨범에 공들였다" ['Comeback' Kang Daniel says "I have gained a lot of faith in myself"... worked on the album for 13 months]. Xports News (in Korean). May 15, 2022. Archived from the original on May 17, 2022. Retrieved May 17, 2022 – via Naver.
"강다니엘, 타이틀곡은 '너바나'" [Kang Daniel, title track "Nirvana"]. Financial News (in Korean). November 14, 2022. Archived from the original on November 20, 2022. Retrieved November 20, 2022 – via Naver.
"강다니엘 첫 정규앨범 발매 기자간담회" [Kang Daniel's first full album release press conference]. Yonhap News (in Korean). May 24, 2022. Archived from the original on May 24, 2022. Retrieved May 24, 2022 – via Naver.
"[단독]강다니엘·노사연, '식스센스3' 게스트 출격" [ Kang Daniel·Noh Sa-yeon, 'Sixth Sense 3' guest appearance]. Sports Seoul (in Korean). May 10, 2022. Archived from the original on May 10, 2022. Retrieved May 10, 2022 – via Naver.
"강다니엘, '블록버스터' 스페셜 게스트…RC카 대결 관심↑" [Kang Daniel 'Blockbuster' special guest... interest in RC car showdown↑]. iMBC (in Korean). May 27, 2022. Archived from the original on May 28, 2022. Retrieved May 28, 2022 – via Naver.
"강다니엘, 허리디스크로 '뮤뱅' 출연 취소…"충분한 휴식 필요"" [Kang Daniel cancels his 'Music Bank' appearance due to herniated disc... "Need enough rest"]. News1 Korea (in Korean). June 3, 2022. Archived from the original on June 3, 2022. Retrieved June 5, 2022 – via Naver.
"'본업 컴백' 강다니엘 "비보잉은 또 다른 나의 표현"[종합]" ['Comeback to main job' Kang Daniel "B-boying is another expression of me" ]. Star News (in Korean). May 24, 2022. Archived from the original on March 17, 2023. Retrieved March 17, 2023 – via Naver.
^ "Os 10 melhores álbuns de k-pop de 2022" [Top 10 k-pop albums of 2022]. Omelete (in Portuguese). December 22, 2022. Archived from the original on December 24, 2022. Retrieved December 24, 2022.
"강다니엘, 美 '켈리 클락슨 쇼' 출연… 클락슨 "가장 성공적인 솔로 아티스트"" [Kang Daniel to appear on the US 'Kelly Clarkson Show'... Clarkson "most successful solo artist"]. Ten Asia (in Korean). June 17, 2022. Archived from the original on June 17, 2022. Retrieved June 23, 2022 – via Naver.
"강다니엘, 美 '켈리 클락슨 쇼' 압도적 무대..클락슨도 감탄" [Kang Daniel, overwhelming performance at the US 'Kelly Clarkson Show'.. Clarkson is also impressed]. Ten Asia (in Korean). June 17, 2022. Archived from the original on June 17, 2022. Retrieved June 23, 2022 – via Naver.
Digital cover
Digital cover
