Maps of Music

Mr. Simple (2011)

Where the lyrics of Mr. Simple take you, and where it was really made.

The title track's music video took until 1 November 2015 to pass 100 million YouTube views, years after the album came out.

Key places

Recording site HUB — The source links this album's recording to HUB in Seoul, recorded at this location. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Mr. Simple: fifth studio album by South Korean boy band Super Junior
Released 3 August 2011 by SM Entertainment, digital release on 2 August, distributed by KMP Holdings
Mostly synthpop; the title track is the last installment of the 'SJ Funky' genre the group had pursued since 2009
Repackaged edition A-Cha released 19 September 2011 with four new tracks
Second album featuring ten of the original 13 members
Previous album: Bonamana (2010)

31 March 2011: leader Leeteuk announced a fifth album for the summer in an interview
Leeteuk and Eunhyuk confirmed on their radio show that recording had begun on 1 June 2011
Choreographer Shim Jae Won posted practice footage in July 2011
First teaser photo released on 20 July 2011, with the release date announced the same day
Teaser photos were released one member at a time

Songwriter Jinu contributed to the album, according to radio remarks
Core sound: synthpop, with ballads 'Storm' and 'Memories'
Country-flavored tracks 'Good Friends' and 'Sunflower'
Cover of Jinu's 1996 song 'White Christmas'
Korean version of Super Junior-M's 'Perfection' included to give Korean fans access to the subgroup's music

Formed by SM Entertainment founder Lee Soo-man in 2005 as a 12-member group with rotational members.
The rotational concept was abandoned after Kyuhyun joined in 2006, and the group became known as Super Junior.
Debuted on November 6, 2005 with the single "Twins (Knock Out)" on Inkigayo.
Media dubbed them the "Kings of Hallyu Wave" for their contribution to the Korean Wave.

Current active members: Leeteuk, Heechul, Yesung, Shindong, Eunhyuk, Siwon, Donghae, Ryeowook, Kyuhyun.
Han Geng left in 2011, Kibum in 2015, Kangin in 2019.

"Sorry, Sorry" (2009) brought international recognition and was the group's best-selling single in South Korea.
Formed multiple subgroups, including Super Junior-M, Super Junior-T and Super Junior-K.R.Y.
Won Teen Choice Awards' International Artist and Best Fandom in 2015.
Released the 11th studio album The Road in 2023 and the 12th studio album Super Junior25 in 2025 for the 20th anniversary.

Music critic Han Dong-yoon of webzine IZM was bored by the title track, citing repeated lyrics and 'techno-type electronic sounds'
Han also criticized distorted vocals that made it hard to tell the members apart, 'except for a few people'
Han found similar patterns in 'Opera' and 'Be My Girl'
Han was more favorable toward the ballads 'Memories', 'Sunflower' and 'Y'
Han said these ballads 'clean up the place they left'

Billboard World Albums Chart: debut at number 3 for the week of 20 August 2011
Gaon Album Chart: number 1 for August 2011 with 287,427 copies sold
Repackaged A-Cha debuted at number 3 with 97,210 copies sold
Gaon year-end 2011 album sales: second best-selling album of the year with 343,348 copies sold
Repackaged version at number 7 on the year-end list with 129,894 copies sold
Gaon cumulative total in South Korea: 473,242 copies in 2011
Gaon reported 502,830 copies by the end of March 2012, the first album in four years to exceed half a million
Awards: Disk Daesang at the 26th Golden Disk Awards and 21st Seoul Music Awards; Album of the Year at the 13th Mnet Asian Music Awards
Philippines: number 1 on Odyssey Weekly Album Chart; gold after one week with 7,500 sales

The press conference at the Imperial Palace Hotel in Seoul on 4 August drew over 200 reporters, including 70 foreign journalists.
Super Junior made its debut performance of 'Mr. Simple' and the non-album track 'Superman' on Music Bank on 5 August 2011.
Promotions for the song ended on 28 August because Heechul enlisted in the army on 1 September 2011.
The Philippine pre-release was moved from 1 October to 8 October 2011, citing manufacturing problems caused by typhoon Nesat.
The Japanese single album included the travel-themed mid-tempo ballad 'Way', plus a Japanese music video and a making-of DVD.