The Wonder Begins is the debutsingle album by South Korean girl groupWonder Girls, released on February 13, 2007, throughJYP Entertainment. It contains the main track "Irony", written and produced byPark Jin-young. The release also contains three additional tracks: "Bad Boy", "It's Not Love", and a remix of "Irony".[1] An accompanying music video for "Irony" features membersSohee,Yeeun,Sunmi andHyuna getting revenge onSunye's unfaithful boyfriend by using avoodoo doll to embarrass him.The Wonder Begins is the group's only release that was promoted with member Hyuna, who left the group in July 2007.
"Irony" was pre-released onMelon on February 6, 2007.[2][3] The original studio version featuring the original line-up (Min Sunye, Park Yeeun, Lee Sunmi, Kim Hyuna and Ahn Sohee) is available onThe Wonder Begins and on their debut studio albumThe Wonder Years. The song was later re-recorded for the Japanese release of their greatest hits albumWonder Best and features the line-up consisting of Min Sunye, Park Yeeun, Ahn Sohee,Kim Yubin andWoo Hyerim, with the vocals of the former members removed.
Amusic video was produced for "Irony" to promoteThe Wonder Begins. The video begins by showing the group members casually hanging out at a house, whenSunye enters in a depressed state. Her groupmates sit around her and Sunye tells them about her cheating boyfriend. Sunmi locates him through their computer, Sohee activates a satellite dish for remote surveillance, and Hyuna uses avoodoo doll to embarrass him in front of his new girlfriend. The girls later enter a club where he is with his friends. Sunye blows him away, causing a gust of wind, and he falls down a wall. The video ends with the girls laughing at him and walking away.
The Wonder Begins received generally mixed reviews frommusic critics. Jeong Seong-ha, Han Dong-yoon, Yoon Jee-hoon of Korean web magazineIZM gave "Irony" unfavorable reviews, who felt that the song lacked innovation, comparing the song to works of older artists such asg.o.d andRain.[4]YesAsia wrote a positive review of the single album, describing "Irony" as a "catchy, up-tempo hip hop number" and "Bad Boy" as an "innovative electronic R&B song". They concluded that, "The Wonder Begins marks a very promising start for K-pop's newest sensation."[5] In a retrospective review,Billboard wrote that "'Irony' is pretty dated with its R&B-pop styling and redundant beat, but the sleek, hook-filled chorus was filled with promise."[6]
^"박진영이 키운 원더걸스, 6일 음원-사진 베일 벗는다" [Wonder Girls, raised by Park Jin-young, take off their veil on the 6th].Osen (in Korean). Naver. February 6, 2007. RetrievedDecember 19, 2022.
^"원더걸스, 6일 첫 싱글 전격 공개" [Wonder Girls unveil their first single on the 6th].JoyNews24 (in Korean). Naver. February 6, 2007. RetrievedDecember 19, 2022.
^2007.02월 – 가요 음반 판매량 [2007.02 – Sales volume] (in Korean). Music Industry Association of Korea. Archived fromthe original on February 26, 2009. RetrievedMay 16, 2021.
^2007년 가요음반판매량 [2007 Album Sales Figures] (in Korean). Recording Industry Association of Korea. Archived fromthe original on October 14, 2017. RetrievedOctober 14, 2017.
^2008.06월 – 가요 음반 판매량 [2008.06 – Sales volume] (in Korean). Music Industry Association of Korea. Archived fromthe original on July 18, 2008. RetrievedMay 16, 2021.
