It was released on July 18, 2016, by Ocean Butterflies and later acquired by Xue's own label Chaoshi Music.

[2] The album was released in CD and LP formats and included the six songs from the Gentleman and Half.

The title track, written and composed by Xue, incorporates strong rock and high drama elements that work well with lyrical imagery to steadily build the song up.

"[3] Beginner is the focus of Xue's I Think I've Seen You Somewhere Tour, named after the third track on the album, and symbolizes Xue's determination to return to music after detouring to hotpot restaurant, streetwear store, and variety show star in order to fund his music.

A year after its release, Beginner returned to the sales chart and ranked third on YinYueTai's best-selling albums in mainland China chart along with Xue's 2017 album The Crossing which ranked first.