Darl+ing

Following the conclusion of their "Power of 'Love'" project, the song marks Seventeen's first full-group release in 2022. Previously, as a part of Attacca, their ninth EP, released in May 2021, American-born Seventeen members Vernon and Joshua released "2 Minus 1", a song fully recorded in English. In January 2022, another member, Woozi released his solo song "Ruby", also fully recorded in English, despite not having an English-language background. "Darl+ing" marks Seventeen's first song fully recorded in English performed by all members of the band. The use of the plus sign in the song's title points to the theme of togetherness, with multiple meanings, including the link between the band and their fans, as well as the link between individuals in a relationship. == Release and promotion ==

In March, Pledis Entertainment confirmed that Seventeen would release their fourth studio album in May, three years after their previous studio album, An Ode and seven months after their previous EP, Attacca. In early April, Seventeen partnered with Apple for a "Today at Apple" remix session highlighting "Darl+ing" and the band's creative process. On April 7, Pledis Entertainment released the title of the song, along with its promotional poster and date of release. Pastel concept photos were released to tease the song on April 9. On April 13, Seventeen posted a video of text messages with the song's lyrics and a voice message of a 10-second audio snippet of the song. The following day, a teaser video was released on YouTube, featuring short snippets from their music video. The song was released as a digital single on April 15, accompanied by a music video featuring dreamy scenes in a sunlit wheat field and a mystical house. On April 26, the band performed the song on Japanese shows: Sukkiri and CDTV Live! Live!. The song was re-released as the first track on the studio album Face the Sun on May 27. After the release of the album, Seventeen performed "Darl+ing" on several South Korean music shows, including Music Bank and M Countdown. "Darl+ing" also appears as the fifth track of Face the Suns reissue, Sector 17. A holiday version of the song was released as part of Seventeen's Japanese EP, Dream, on November 9. == Music and lyrics ==

The song's lyrics were written by Woozi, Bumzu, and Shannon Bae and composed by Woozi, Bumzu and Hwang Hyun of Monotree. The song is characterized by its guitar and synth sounds. == Critical reception ==

The song was met with mixed reviews. Sara Delgado from Teen Vogue likened the song to Seventeen's previous fresh sound, describing the song as "playful and feel good." On the other hand, NME's Abby Webster criticized the song for being "anti-climactic" and being "a tad too muted to strike a chord." The South China Morning Post ranked "Darl+ing" as number three on their list of "15 best K-pop songs of 2022", describing it as a "sweet and uplifting song." Sarina Bhutani from MTV praised the song's musical composition, writing that it "perfectly layers instrumental elements, like plucky acoustic guitars and melodic pianos, with soft electronic sounds to create the sonic equivalent of a warm hug." == Commercial performance ==

"Darl+ing" marked Seventeen's first entry on the Canadian Digital Song Sales chart, at number 50. In South Korea, the song debuted on the weekly Circle Digital Chart at number 96, and charted for 20 consecutive weeks, reaching its peak at 54. On the monthly Circle Digital Chart, the song charted for five consecutive months. == Charts ==

Weekly charts Monthly charts Yearly charts == Certifications ==