| "Genie" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Japanese single cover | ||||
| Single byGirls' Generation | ||||
| from the albumGenieandGirls' Generation | ||||
| Released |
| |||
| Studio | SM Studios (Seoul) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:52 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Composers | ||||
| Lyricists |
| |||
| Producer | Yoo Young-jin | |||
| Girls' Generation singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Japanese singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Genie" onYouTube | ||||
"Genie" (Korean: 소원을 말해봐;RR: Sowoneul malhaebwa;lit. Tell Me Your Wish) is a song recorded by South Korean girl groupGirls' Generation for their secondextended play (EP) of the same name (2009), released on June 22, 2009. Written and composed byDsign Music, Fridolin Nordsø and produced byYoo Young-jin, the song is the group's first collaboration with Western composers and producers.
Musically, "Genie" carried on the group's phase ofbubblegum pop music from their debut. Lyrically, the song discusses the elements of love andrelationships, alongside granting the wishes of their partner. It received generally positive reviews from music critics, many of whom highlighted the track as one of the highlights on the EP. The single was well received domestically, achieving the top spots on music programsInkigayo andMusic Bank.
A Japanese-language version of the song was recorded for the group'seponymous Japanese debut album and was released as their debut single in Japan on September 8, 2010. It was a commercial success in the country, peaking at number four on theOricon Singles Chart and number eight on theRIAJ Digital Track Chart. The single receivedcertifications by theRecording Industry Association of Japan on three platforms—physical sales (gold), digital sales (platinum), andchaku-uta (platinum). The song was included on the setlists of Girls' Generation's several concert tours, includingInto the New World (2010),The First Japan Arena Tour (2011), andGirls' Generation Tour (2011).
"Genie" was composed by Norwegian production teamDsign Music members Anne Judith Wik, Robin Jenssen, Ronny Svendsen, and Nermin Harambašić, alongside Fridolin Nordsø andYoo Young-jin.[2] The Korean lyrics was written by Yoo Young-jin, while the Japanese lyrics was written by Kanata Nakamura.[2] Dsign Music had originally composed the song for an American artist, however,SM Entertainment released it with Girls' Generation.[3]
The song was originally composed in English as "I Just Wanna Dance".[4] Both versions were the groups' first singles to be composed and produced by Western producers, and had continued with future musical releases.[5][6] Musically, both versions carried on the groups phase ofbubblegum pop music since their debut in 2007.[7]
According to Chucky Eddy fromSpin, he found that the composition was inspired by "super-light-footedItalo disco..."[8] A staff reviewer fromCD Journal noticed musical elements ofelectropop and said the lyrics incorporates metaphorical uses of a lamp, genie, and Aladdin as themes of love andlust.[9] Critic Lee Mun-won says that the song employs inspirations fromtrance and writes that the song itself is "more sophisticated than authenticeuropop."[10]
"Genie" was released digitally on June 22, 2009, in South Korea.[11][12] In Japan, the song was released on September 8, 2010, as the group's debut Japanese single.[13] The Japanese Maxi CD and DVD format of the single contains the Japanese version, the Korean version, and the karaoke version of the former.[2] A limited edition CD and DVD format was released in both Japan and Taiwan; it featured a 14-paged booklet of photos, lyrics, and credits to the single, the original Japanese Maxi CD and DVD tracks, all housed in adigipak.[14] The cover sleeve for both formats features Girls' Generation in different black and gold dresses, all standing in front of a white backdrop.[2][14]
"Genie" received generally positive reviews frommusic critics. Chucky Eddy fromSpin highlighted "Genie" as one of the best tracks from their self-titled album.[8] A staff reviewer fromCD Journal reviewed the group's debut greatest hits albumThe Best. The reviewer commended the track by labelling it an "impressive 'lets dance'" track with "high quality" vocal performances by each member.[15] Another reviewer from the same publication reviewed the single's release, and labelled it "sophisticated".[16] Chris True fromAllMusic reviewed the groups biography, and selected "Genie" as one of the best tracks throughout their career.[17]Billboard ranked the song as the best single in their career.[18]
Commercially, the song peaked at number four on the weeklyOricon Singles Chart in Japan.[19][20] The single sold 115,575 physical copies by the end of 2010 and was ranked the 58th best-selling single of the year.[21] It was selected byiTunes Japan as the "breakthrough pop album of the year".[22]
 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Genie" Girls' Generation song – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(May 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Rino Nakasone Razalan choreographed the dance in all the videos.[23] Like the album, the girls were given a "military" concept for their performance of "Genie", dressing mostly in tight military jackets,miniskirts, and/orhot pants. The colours were mostly white navy shirts,khaki brown, and red,[24] although various uniforms were shown.[25][26][27] The group wished to show a mature image, in comparison to the innocence portrayed during "Gee". Much of the choreography was focused on synchronization and seductive images; parts of it became popular in Korea, including the "Jegi-kicking dance" (제기차기 춤) and the "Leg-beauty dance" (각선미 춤).[28][29][30][31]
The teaser video was released on June 19, 2009.[32] Later, the original video was released on June 26, 2009. In this version,Yoona appears first sitting in a large lamp, the other members sitting around her. The music video cuts back and forth between the group performing the choreography and scenes from three separate rooms occupied by three different members each. Yoona,Yuri andJessica are in a large pink bedroom,Tiffany,Taeyeon andSunny are in a disco bar, whileSooyoung andHyoyeon are in a room with a large cake from whichSeohyun then pops out.
Two runway-like stages were used, one with a large heart in the background and the other featuring the words "GIRLS' GENIE" in the background; the girls wear white uniforms consisting of marine hats, coats, short-shorts, and heels on the former, while they don khaki uniforms in the latter. The music video frequently shows the girls interacting with the camera and with arms that sometimes extend from either side of the screen to give the impression that the girls are interacting with the viewer personally whereas stage sequences have heavy, flashy lights and moving spotlights to give strong and bright effects.[33] The music video was uploaded on SMTOWN's YouTube channel on February 26, 2010.
On October 24, 2010, a 3D music video of the Korean version, was released forSamsung PAVV LED TV. The video begins with all nine girls sitting down, looking into crystal balls, then cutting into the beginning of the song with "Girls Generation" written in pink, sparkly lettering. The video features three dance sequences, one of which features a floor with cosmic-like sparkles coming out of it. During the video, it cuts to solo scenes of the girls playing with the crystal balls, inside are a man and a woman standing awkwardly beside each other at a bus stop, beside them is a poster with "I Wish" printed on it, and a redMini Convertible is below it. The girls are then seen changing the couples clothes, and making the Mini appear out of the poster, signifying the girls are 'genies' and granting their wishes. The video ends with the girls waving goodbye to the couple, who then drive off in the car, with the number '37' printed on the side. Like the original video, the "marine girl" concept is used, with the reuse of the white uniforms and the navy blue uniforms replacing the khakis.
The music video teaser was released August 16, 2010, and the full music video was released August 25, 2010, it was also their first video to be filmed in Japan. It begins with a young boy (Exo'sChanyeol) who found an old lamp and a scale model of a circus tent in an old attic. After rubbing the lamp, the camera zooms inside the tent where the Girls' Generation can be seen coming to life as the song begins to play. The girls then alternately switch to different costumes as the boy rubs the lamp once again, where in they are seen on an old television screen with a huge candy cane and colorful balloons. The music video ends with the boy rubbing the lamp again before magically disappearing into another scene where he is walking out of a limousine with Girls' Generation members meeting him on the red carpet at a premiere event. It is implied that his wish had been granted by lamp.
The song has been performed on twoSM Town tours, In2010, using the "Rock Tronic" remix, which was also used on theirfirst tour, and then again in 2011 for the continuation of the 2010 SMTown tour. The remix contains a rock inspired dance-break, where the girls perform in-sync routines. The group's first performance for the mini-album was on June 26 onMusic Bank.[34] Within a few days, the song topped on 10 different digital music charts.[35] The song also topped the weekly ringtone downloads chart.[36]
"Genie" was featured as the opening number for the Girls'first Japan tour, and on the2nd Asia tour. The performance begins with the girls appearing from an odd-shaped cocoon-like prop, where they are assembled in the shape of a pyramid.
Issues ofplagiarism were caused byUzbek singer Dineyra's song "Raqsga Tushgin." It was revealed that although the release of her song preceded the release of Girls' Generation's second mini-album, the Uzbekistan singer's song was recorded without obtaining proper permission fromUniversal Music, thus plagiarizing "Genie".[37][38][39] On June 3, 2011, British singerC.J. Lewis released an English version of "Genie".[40]
By popular demand, developerRiot Games created an official equivalent based on it, Popstar Ahri, which was released worldwide on November 25, 2013, and has the dance from "Genie" as the dance emote.[41]
| Year | Organization | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Melon Music Awards | Song of the Year | Nominated | [42] |
| 2010 | Korean Music Awards | Best Pop Song | Nominated | [43] |
| 2011 | MTV Video Music Awards Japan | Video of the Year | Nominated | [44] |
| Best Group Video | Won | [45] | ||
| Best Karaoke Song | Won | |||
| Space Shower Music Awards | Best Pop Music Video | Won |
| Program | Date | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| Music Bank | July 10, 2009 | [46] |
| Inkigayo | July 12, 2009 | [47] |
| July 19, 2009 | [48] |
Credits are adapted from Korean album and Japanese CD single liner notes.[49][50]
Studio
Personnel
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Japan (RIAJ)[59] physical single | Gold | 151,042[58] |
| Japan (RIAJ)[60] PC download | Platinum | 250,000* |
| Japan (RIAJ)[61] Full-length ringtone | Platinum | 250,000* |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link){{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link){{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link){{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link){{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link){{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)Girls' Generation songs | |
|---|---|
| Korean singles | |
| Japanese singles | |
| English |
|
