| "I Got a Boy" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single byGirls' Generation | ||||
| from the albumI Got a Boy | ||||
| Released | January 1, 2013 (2013-01-01) | |||
| Recorded | 2012 | |||
| Studio | SM Booming System, Seoul | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:31 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Composer(s) |
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| Lyricist(s) | Yoo Young-jin | |||
| Producer(s) |
| |||
| Girls' Generation singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "I Got a Boy" onYouTube | ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Rolling Stone |    [1] |
"I Got a Boy" is a song recorded by South Korean girl groupGirls' Generation for their fourth Korean-languagestudio album of the same name. It was released on January 1, 2013, bySM Entertainment andKT Music. Produced by the group's long-time collaboratorYoo Young-jin and Will Simms, the song is described as a hybrid of various genres includingbubblegum pop,dance, andelectropop.
"I Got a Boy" was met with critical acclaim from music critics, who praised its eclectic sound and noted it as a "phenomenon" that could challenge popular Western artists likeKaty Perry orOne Direction. It was a commercial success domestically, debuting at top of theGaon Digital Chart and has sold over 1.3 million digital copies in South Korea in 2013. Internationally, the single peaked at number 98 on theJapan Hot 100 and number 3 on the USWorld Digital Songs.
A music video for the song was filmed in October 2012. It featureship hop-inspired dance moves choreographed byNappytabs. It won the award for Video of the Year at the firstYouTube Music Awards in 2013, which generated much attention for beating other popular nominees likeJustin Bieber andPsy despite the fact that the group was considered lesser-known to the Western audience at the time.[2]
“I Got a Boy” was composed and arranged by European composers Will Simms, Sarah Lundbäck Bell, Anne Judith Wik, and South Korean composerYoo Young-jin, with the Korean lyrics written by Yoo Young-jin, who is also the group’s longtime collaborator. The song was recorded atSM Entertainment studio, SM Booming System, and was produced by Will Simms and Yoo Young-jin.[3] The song was almost given toMissy Elliott before it was acquired by SM, where the A&R team “came up with various ideas by editing the song day and night.”[4] Girls' Generation memberTiffany said the song's eclectic structure was in part inspired by the group's managers, who encouraged them to release bolder music that suited them more as they aged, saying, “We had discussed that we wanted to do something more challenging. This felt like it was it, because I had never heard anything like it yet. The song is a song that keeps giving.”[4]
"I Got a Boy" is aK-pop anddubstep-type song that is described as an eclectic mix of various genres. According to U.S. magazineBillboard, the track features elements ofelectropop and minimaldrum and bass.[5] The song also features nine distinct tonal shifts in the song, with Lundbäck Bell saying that SM Entertainment wanted it to sound like a musical showtune song, adding, "They said they really wanted to make the song into a musical feel, in the storyline. Because they really wanted the song to be about a girl that meets a boy and all her friends are telling her, like, ‘You’re an idiot. What can you see in this boy? He’s not good for you,’ and she's like ‘Well, I got a boy.’”[4] On reviewingI Got a Boy album for the same publication, Jeff Benjamin noteddubstep elements on the song.[6] Meanwhile,Rolling Stone's Nick Catucci opined that "I Got a Boy" was made up of a range of genres from minimalR&B to "high-BPM"dance.[7] Writing forTime, Douglas Wolk described the track as a "monomaniacally charming" hybrid ofbubblegum pop, dubstep, andhard rock.[8] Meanwhile,AllMusic's David Jefferies characterized "I Got a Boy" as a mix of dubstep,EDM, andpop-rap.[9] The song was composed in thekey ofE minor, with atempo of 98 beats per minute.[10]
On January 1, 2013, Girls' Generation performed "I Got a Boy" for the first time on theirMBC comeback specialGirls’ Generation’s Romantic Fantasy.[11] To further promote the song, the group appeared on several South Korean shows in 2013 includingMnet'sM! Countdown,KBS'Music Bank, MBC'sMusic Core, andSBS'sInkigayo.[12][13][14]
The music video for the song was directed by Hong Won-ki forZanybros, and was choreographed byNappytabs, who had worked with the group's labelmatesTVXQ andBoA. It aired onMnet and was released on SM Entertainment'sYouTube channel on January 1, 2013.[15]
According toMTV's Liza Darwin, the costumes featured in the music video included streetwear fashion such as Kenzo x Opening Ceremony, Adidas Collection byJeremy Scott and printed leggings;Stüssy's "Good Vibe" T-shirt, Obey's "OG Basic" crewneck, and Joyrich varsity jacket. In the sleepover scene, the girls are seen wearing clothes by UK independent label Lazy Oaf, such as a Batman shirt, a "fruity" T-shirt, and a "pizza crewneck". The fashion style in the visual was hailed as "a kaleidoscopic streetwear explosion", and the music video itself "a fashion whirlwind ... jam-packed with rad clothes".[16] Clyde Barretto fromPrefix magazine opined that the video was "more colorful than a rainbow" and featured "alluring" and "bombastic" dance moves.[17]
The video became an instant success onYouTube, achieving over 20 million views within six days and becoming the fastest K-pop video to achieve such a feat at its time of release.[18] It reached 200 million views on November 3, 2017,[19][unreliable source?] and has since amassed over 247 million views on YouTube as of September 2021.
"I Got a Boy" received critical acclaim frommusic critics. TheLos Angeles Times music critic Randall Roberts called it a "scattered anthem" and a "gleefully chaotic" song that could "indicate pop music's future trajectory."[20]Billboard K-Town columnist Jeff Benjamin praised the song as "one of the most-forward thinking lead pop singles heard in any country"[6] for its intense mix of different sounds and melodies, and commended Girls’ Generation for "[setting] the bar truly high for pop in 2013."[5][6] Staff writers ofEntertainment Weekly picked "I Got a Boy" as Girls' Generation "key track" and recommended the group as one of the fifteen "artists to watch" in 2013.[21]
Rolling Stone's contributor Nick Catucci described the song as a "musical gymnastics routine."[7] Upon reviewingI Got a Boy album forAllMusic, David Jefferies named "I Got a Boy" a highlight on the album.[9]Time named "I Got a Boy" the 5th best song on their Top 10 Songs of the Year list, calling it a "pop phenomenon" that rivals the likes ofOne Direction andKaty Perry.[8] In August 2014,Pitchfork Media's Jakob Dorof listed the song as part of his 20 Essential K-Pop Songs Lists, writing that "I Got a Boy" helped "prove the adventurousness of K-pop’s listenership," and believed it was "perhaps the most structurally variable mega-hit since 'Bohemian Rhapsody'."[22] In 2017,Billboard named the song number 21 on their list of 100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time.[23] At the end of 2019, the publication named the song as one of the 100 songs that defined the 2010s[4][24] as well as their fifth best K-pop song of the 2010s.[25]
| Publication | Year | List | Rank | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Billboard | 2013 | 20 Best K-pop Songs of 2013: K-Town Picks | 10 | [26] |
| 2017 | The 100 Greatest Girl Group Songs of All Time | 21 | [23] | |
| 2019 | The 100 Greatest K-pop Songs of the 2010s | 5 | [25] | |
| 100 Songs That Defined the Decade | No order | [4] | ||
| 2023 | 100 Best Pop Songs Never to Hit the Hot 100 | 27 | [27] | |
| The Dong-a Ilbo | 2016 | Best female songs according to experts | 6 | [28] |
| Melon | 2021 | Top 100 K-pop Songs of All Time | 33 | [29] |
| Pitchfork | 2014 | 20 Essential K-pop Songs | No order | [22] |
| Time | 2013 | Top 10 Songs of 2013 | 5 | [8] |
The song was nominated forSong of the Year at the2013 Mnet Asian Music Awards.[30] The music video for "I Got a Boy" won the award for Video of the Year at thefirst YouTube Music Awards, held on November 3, 2013, at Pier 36 in New York City.[2] Following the event, Girls' Generation received a considerable amount of negative feedback from Western audience as the group was not well known in the United States compared to other nominees for the same category includingPsy,Justin Bieber andLady Gaga.[31][32] As a result of the controversial event, the music video gained 86,000 views on the awards day, up from 25,000 the day before. The following five days, it achieved an increase of 327% in viewership.[33]
| Year | Organization | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Gaon Chart Music Awards | Song of the Month (January) | Won | [34] |
| Mnet 20's Choice Awards | Hot Online Music | Nominated | ||
| Mnet Asian Music Awards | Song of the Year | Nominated | ||
| YouTube Music Awards | Video of the Year | Won | [35] | |
| 2014 | Golden Disc Awards | Digital Bonsang | Nominated | |
| Myx Music Awards | Favorite K-Pop Video | Nominated | [36] |
| Program | Date | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| M Countdown | January 10, 2013 | [37] |
| January 17, 2013 | [38] | |
| January 24, 2013 | [39] | |
| Music Bank | January 11, 2013 | [40] |
| January 18, 2013 | ||
| January 25, 2013 |
"I Got a Boy" was a domestic success; it debuted atop the South KoreanGaon Digital Chart on the week commencing December 30, 2013, selling 319,824 copies within its first week of release.[41] The following week, the single dropped to number four, selling 242,803 copies.[42] The single sold over 1.35 million copies in South Korea in 2013, becoming the 13th best-selling single of the year in the country.[43] On theK-pop Hot 100, "I Got a Boy" debuted at number 36 on the week of January 12, 2013.[44] The following week, the single charted at number one on the chart and remained its peak for a further week.[45][46] Furthermore, the song hit number 1 on the monthly Gaon Digital Chart for the month of January.[47] It was also a success on South Korea'smusic programs, achieving the top spot onM Countdown (three consecutive weeks),[48] andMusic Bank (three consecutive weeks).[49] Internationally, "I Got a Boy" became the fourth best-selling K-pop single in the United States in 2013, behindPsy's "Gangnam Style" and "Gentleman" andBig Bang's "Fantastic Baby".[50]
Credits adapted fromI Got a Boy album liner notes.[3]
Weekly charts[edit]
Monthly charts[edit]
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Girls' Generation songs | |
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