Thinking is the first studio album by South Korean rapper and producer Zico. This is the first work from Zico released by his own agency, KOZ Entertainment, and distributed by Kakao M. Thinking is made up of 2 EPs, which were released separately to digital music and streaming platforms. The first EP, Thinking Part.1, was released on September 30, 2019, and the second EP, Thinking Part.2, was released on November 8, 2019. The physical version of the album, with the combined EPs, was released on November 8, 2019.[1][2]

Thinking
Part.1 digital cover
Studio album by
ReleasedSeptember 30, 2019 (2019-09-30) (Part 1)
November 8, 2019 (2019-11-08) (Part 2)
Genre
Length18:18 (Part 1)
18:10 (Part 2)
Language
  • Korean
  • English
Label
Zico chronology
Television
(2017)
Thinking
(2019)
Random Box
(2020)
Singles from Thinking Part.1
  1. "Daredevil"
    Released: September 30, 2019
  2. "Human"
    Released: September 30, 2019
Part.2 digital cover
Singles from Thinking Part.2
  1. "Being Left"
    Released: November 8, 2019

His first full-length album in eight years, Zico, in an interview said he poured his true emotions into this album. He said, "I guess I’ve been mistreating myself. In the course of feeding 'Zico,' I found out that human 'Woo Ji-ho' [Zico's real name] was worn out, unaware of how to live, how to feel when left alone. I wanted to talk about those feelings in my new album. I always knew that I was struggling from my two distinct identities, but tried to ignore it and brush it off since I didn’t want to accept it. I didn’t want to ruin my character as 'Zico'. So I kept upping the tension, sometimes exaggerating my punky, wild image. I guess it was my way of confirming my self-esteem. But the gap grew wider and my emotions piled up to the point where I couldn’t breathe. So I decided to be honest to myself, show my vulnerability for the first time in my career."[3] He added, “Some of the emotions were frankly some things that I didn't want to face. As 'Zico', there's the bright and energetic side. But as a human being, you have some sides to yourself that you don’t want to show. This is about that.” Thinking Part.1 is about "laying out the different emotions and thoughts people commonly have in their everyday lives", while Thinking Part.2 is more about the "detailed and intricate feelings or reactions that I have of those moments".[4]

Thinking peaked third on the Gaon Music Chart.[5]

Track listing

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Thinking Part.1 track listing
No.TitleLyricsMusicArrangementLength
1."Daredevil" (feat. Jvcki Wai & Yumdda)
  • Zico
  • Jvcki Wai
  • Yumdda
  • Zico
  • Peejay
  • Jvcki Wai
  • Yumdda
Peejay4:12
2."Actually"Zico
  • Zico
  • Peejay
Peejay3:37
3."Human"Zico
  • Zico
  • Poptime
  • Zico
  • Poptime
3:57
4."Extreme"Zico
  • Zico
  • Poptime
  • Zico
  • Poptime
2:27
5."One-man Show" (feat. Sik-K)
  • Zico
  • Sik-k
  • Zico
  • Poptime
  • Zico
  • Poptime
4:04
Total length:18:18
Thinking Part.2 track listing
No.TitleLyricsMusicArrangementLength
6."Another Level" (feat. Penomeco)
  • Zico
  • Penomeco
  • Zico
  • Penomeco
  • GooseBumps
  • GooseBumps
  • Zico
2:43
7."Being Left" (feat. Dvwn)Zico
  • Zico
  • Brightenlight
  • Dvwn
  • Zico
  • Brightenlight
3:38
8."Dystopia"Zico
  • Zico
  • Poptime
  • Zico
  • Poptime
3:57
9."Balloon"Zico
  • Zico
  • Stay Tuned
  • Zico
  • Stay Tuned
3:38
10."The Language of Flowers" (feat. Jehwi)ZicoZico
  • So-jin Hong
  • Young-chan Kwon
4:12
Total length:18:10

Charts

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Chart (2020) Peak
position
South Korean Albums (Gaon)[5] 3

Sales

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Sales Ref.
KOR: 12, 906 [6]

Release history

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Release dates and formats for Thinking
Region Date Format(s) Label Notes Ref.
Various September 30, 2019 KOZ Entertainment Thinking Part.1 [7]
November 8, 2019 Thinking Part.2
South Korea CD Full album [8]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Dong, Sun-hwa (November 11, 2019). "Rapper Zico's 'double life'". The Korea Times. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  2. ^ Han, Sarah (January 8, 2020). "Zico Opens Up About Disrupting His Image As A "Rebel In Hip-Hop" With His Deeply Vulnerable Album, "Thinking"". BuzzFeed. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
  3. ^ Hong, Dam-young (November 8, 2019). "Zico returns with new reflective album 'Thinking'". The Korea Herald. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  4. ^ Yoon, So-yeon (November 7, 2019). "Zico reflects on his feelings: Second part of the rapper's 'Thinking' project is his most emotional work yet". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  5. ^ a b "Gaon Album Chart – Week 46, 2019". Gaon Chart (in Korean). Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  6. ^ 2019년 11월 Album Chart [November 2019 Album Chart]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  7. ^ Lilly (November 10, 2019). "K-pop Comeback Spotlight: Zico-First Full Length Album". Hellokpop. Retrieved February 10, 2023.
  8. ^ "ZICO The 1st LP [THINKING] Pre-Order". Facebook. November 4, 2019. Retrieved February 10, 2023.