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Not Friends

"Not Friends"
Promotional single by Loona
LanguageKorean
ReleasedSeptember 3, 2021
Genre
Length3:15
Label
Lyricist(s)
Producer(s)Ryan S. Jhun
Special edition cover
The special edition contains three new remixes of the song
The special edition contains three new remixes of the song
Music video
"Not Friends" on YouTube

"Not Friends" is a song by the South Korean girl group Loona.[a] It was released as the second song from Ryan Jhun's "Maxis By Ryan Jhun" project.[2][3] Kim Lip is credited as a songwriter on the song making her the first Loona member to co-write a song for the group. The song peaked at number seven on the US World Digital Songs becoming the group's eighth top ten hit and also appeared on the Gaon Download Chart. On October 27 three new versions of the song were released along with the song's instrumental.

Background

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Jhun and Loona first announced the collaboration in August 2021, alongside several teaser images of the four members. The first teaser poster released featured the four members in pink set image. 'Keep Music Alive' was sprawled in bold letters across the teaser with the lyrics for the song revealed at the bottom. The cover for the single with a pink and green gun with the group's name on it was released on August 30. A 'project spoiler' where the behind-the-scenes of the group members at the recording was shared by Jhun the next day. A teaser for the music video was released a day before the song's release.[4]

"Not Friends" is the second installment of the "MAXIS By Ryan Jhun" project, a collaboration between Jhun, Big Ocean ENM and Kakao Entertainment which started in August with the single "Maniac" featuring NCT's Doyoung and Haechan.[5]

Composition

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"Not Friends" mixes and meshes aspects of pop, acoustic rock and hip hop. Lyrically, the song boldly expresses the wish to break down the barrier between friendship and romance.

Music video

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In the action-packed music video, the Loona members go up against each other in a fight to the end. JinSoul and HeeJin silently hunt one another down with sniper rifles, while Kim Lip and Yves take down hordes of armed fighters in their attempts to face-off in hand-to-hand combat.

Track listing

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  1. "Not Friends" (Alawin remix) – 4:31
  2. "Not Friends" (Tido remix) – 3:31
  3. "Not Friends" (Orbit remix) – 3:28
  4. "Not Friends" (Original mix) – 3:15
  5. "Not Friends" (instrumental) – 3:15

Charts

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Weekly chart performance for "Not Friends"
Chart (2021) Peak
position
US World Digital Songs (Billboard)[7] 7

Notes

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  1. ^ Only members Heejin, Kim Lip, Jinsoul and Yves take part in the song, although Loona as a group is credited on the song.

Release history

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Release date and format for "Not Friends"
Region Date Format Version Label
Various September 3, 2021
Original
October 27, 2021 CD
Alawn remix
Tido remix
Orbit remix

References

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  1. ^ "LOONA and Ryan Jhun's collab track 'Not Friends' achieves THIS record on iTunes charts". Pink Villa. September 7, 2021. Retrieved September 7, 2021.
  2. ^ Yeo, Gladys (September 3, 2021). "LOONA square up in the action-packed MV for 'Not Friends'". NME. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
  3. ^ "LOONA Bak Bintang Film Laga Dalam MV 'Not Friends'". K-pop Charts. September 3, 2021. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
  4. ^ "LOONA joins hands with famous producer Ryan Jhun for his MAXIS project". Pink Villa. September 2, 2021. Retrieved September 3, 2021.
  5. ^ "LOONA lança o videoclipe de seu novo single 'Not Friends'". Lorena. September 6, 2021. Retrieved September 7, 2021.
  6. ^ "Not Friends Special Edition". Spotify. Retrieved October 30, 2021.
  7. ^ "Loona, TXT, STAYC, BTS And Monsta X's I.M: Hits Making Moves On The World Songs Chart". Forbes. September 14, 2021. Retrieved September 15, 2021.