Behind the Song: Tiffany 'I Just Wanna Dance'

[88-pea.livejournal.com]

Song: "I Just Wanna Dance" by Tiffany
Album: I Just Wanna Dance - The 1st Mini Album
Composer: MZMC, Timothy 'Bos' Bullock, Saara Forsberg , Michael Jiminez
Lyricist: Hwang Hyun
Arranger: Timothy 'Bos' Bullock

KPN: How long was the writing session for "I Just Wanna Dance"?
MZMC: I think we finished it in 6 to 7 hours. Normally, we'll have producers come prepared with pre-made tracks so that we can jumpstart each session. In this case, we started from scratch because Bos is super musical and I knew he would be able to come up with a track on the spot depending on what the songwriters felt like writing at that moment.

KPN: Have your co-writers worked on Kpop music or with SM Entertainment before?
MZMC: We actually wrote this song at the same song camp we wrote 일곱 번째 감각 (The 7th Sense). Bos was the producer and Michael was one of the songwriters. Saara recently wrote the Girls' Generation single, You Think.

KPN: How did you guys come up with the concept?
MZMC: Saara, one of the writers on the song, has a very strong, unique voice, which is her strength. So, the songs that she's involved in end up mirroring that style — very strong, high energy pop songs. But because Bos is really good at vocal producing and getting the best out of someone's vocals, we wanted to try something different. We thought it would be interesting to write a song that allowed her to build towards her strength instead of going for it right off the bat. The more smokey style verse gave the song some dynamics and accentuated her strengths. To give you an analogy, you start off with an appetizer and work your way towards the main course. We wanted to highlight her voice by starting off soft.

KPN: Did Tiffany have any influence over this song being the single?
MZMC: I can't say for sure, but I heard that when she listened to our demo, she fell in love and really pushed for it to be the single. There was actually another song that was being seriously considered, which is actually a dope song, but she wanted this to be her single. And keep in mind, this is SM Entertainment. They're not necessarily known for just letting their artists do whatever they want. So, I think Tiffany had to fight pretty hard to convince them. I think she even arranged to record the vocals herself with her own people. She didn't just record it at the SM studio. And the music video being shot in California was her idea too because she wanted to give the video that retro feel. It was really cool to hear that she took initiative and put a lot of effort into fighting for what she believed in and making something that she can be proud of.

KPN: Is it normal for an idol to have that much influence over what songs they sing?
MZMC: The thing about Korea is that boy groups almost always outsell girl groups. That's just the nature of Kpop; female fans are more likely to pay for music than male fans. However, Girls' Generation is one of the few girl groups to outsell the majority of the boy groups. So, they have a lot more influence than most idol groups.

KPN: If you can go back in time and change anything about the song, what would you change?
MZMC: I prefer the original title, which was, "Dance the Night Away." But the label didn't think non-English speakers would understand what that meant, so we changed it to the current title. Honestly, they're both a little generic, but I think "Dance the Night Away" has a different feel that's more in line with the general concept of the song. I'd also want to add more variations to the rhythm section because it's a little stagant throughout the song right now. There are subtle changes in the pre-chorus (section before the chorus), but I think it needs to be a little more in your face. Other than that though, I'm happy with the final product.

KPN: If you have an opportunity to work with Tiffany again, in what style would you want to write her song?
MZMC: There's a song called, "Never Forget You," by Zara Larsson and MNEK. It starts off sounding like a piano ballad and turns into a future bass style song. It's very cool and I think Tiffany would do well with a vibe like that.

KPN: Which song on the album is your favorite, other than yours?
MZMC: TALK. I like how it starts off as a dark, electro hiphop song and transforms into an electro dance song with a Michael Jackon-esque rhythm. Plus, I know the producer of that song and I know he's dope.

KPN: What other songs do you have coming out this year?
MZMC: The ones that have been confirmed are Taeyeon's solo project and EXO's comeback album.


KPop Nerd: Behind the Song: Tiffany 'I Just Wanna Dance', I Just Wanna Dance, Tiffany, I Just Wanna Dance - 1st Mini Album, The 7th Sense, Girls' Generation, You Think, TALK, Taeyeon, EXO

Comments

[sub-divided.livejournal.com]

That was really interesting, thanks for sharing!

[88-pea.livejournal.com]

Thank you for reading and commenting on it! ^^

[shiroki-tenshi.livejournal.com]

Hey OP, I believe the interview was already posted here: http://omonatheydidnt.livejournal.com/18186484.html.

Don't blame you, though, was behind a cut if you didn't notice it ^^

[88-pea.livejournal.com]

Ah! Thanks... I definitely didn't see it.

ETA: I'm doing a bit of catching up today, heh! But thank you so much for the heads up, I really do appreciate it!

[shiroki-tenshi.livejournal.com]

haha I understand that feeling completely! but you're welcome :) happens to all of us but hopefully you're all caught up!

[unicornios.livejournal.com]

This was cool to real!
And yeessss at the name drop of my queen Zara Larsson and the iconic Never Forget You <3