[Single Review] Girls’ Generation – I Got a Boy

When I first played Girls’ Generation‘s comeback single, “I Got a Boy”, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. It doesn’t sound like what a Girls’ Generation single is supposed to sound like, nor does it even remotely resemble what any commercial pop single –K-pop or otherwise– generally sounds like today.

For starters, “I Got a Boy” is more like five songs than one. The chaotic production never stops changing, shifting from subdued electro-hop to crashing Diplo-esque hipster club crunk within seconds, sparing no time for a rest break before the next beat drops. Girls’ Generation keep up with the endless changes by constantly switching up their delivery to match the music, posturing like bubblegum b-girls as they rap at a mile a minute, dropping cheerleader chants like they did in “The Boys”, and even belting out like it’s TTS all over again.

Earlier this year, rival group, 2NE1, garnered a lot of praise from Western music press for their supposed experimentation on their hit single, “I Love You”, but all that song contains is a few minor production changes carried out safely within the confines of top forty dance-pop. On “I Got a Boy”, Girls’ Generation hurl the rulebook out the window with reckless abandon — airplay be damned! The last time a major girl group got this bold was when Girls Aloud released the brilliant “Biology”. While “I Got a Boy” is far too hip-hop to ever come from Girls Aloud or Xenomania, it does contain the same kind of fearlessness that the British girl group embodied on their pop masterpiece, Tangled Up, which is something that I never thought I’d say about an SNSD record.

With both Girls’ Generation and K-pop in general garnering more and more global spotlight, The Divine Nine’s drastic transformation is clearly a calculated effort for them to further break away from their cookie cutter image and to gain some more international credibility, just as much as it is a natural evolution for the group. They’ve certainly pulled it off effortlessly, with the flashy music video showing just how much they’ve grown as performers and pop stars, but I also can’t help but think that “I Got a Boy” would’ve also been perfect for their labelmates, f(x). The concept is essentially just a more urbanized f(x), while the song’s eclectic left-field production is exactly what I was expecting the surprisingly formulaic “Electric Shock” to be. If f(x) had released “I Got a Boy”, K-poppers everywhere would’ve likely fallen for its wild unpredictability from the first listen, instead of going through the initial shock that came from seeing Girls’ Generation suddenly go from being the girls next door to K-pop’s crunkest hipster hotties. SNSD are going to have to work much harder to sell their new style to the masses than some of their contemporaries would, but with a product this ridiculously good, it shouldn’t be too difficult.

Leave it to Girls’ Generation to set the bar impossibly high for every other artist making a comeback in 2013.

Score: 4.5/5

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 1st, 2013 at 6:38 pm and is filed under Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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  • MrsTOP
  • http://www.facebook.com/chibijoshie Josh Chinnery

    Hmm… I have to agree that Alone is a lot better than this, but idk… Something about SNSD just makes me want to stan for this song XD

  • http://www.facebook.com/chibijoshie Josh Chinnery

    Your statement confuses me; please enjoy why Proph can’t stan for BEG *and* be a SONE?

  • Roxane

    I Love this Song! I love how it doesn’t follow a traditional structure. I know that’s why most people hate it but they really need to remember the key theme and intent of this song is “girl talk”. The song changes so many times because they’re changing the type of girl talk from hating their boy, to bragging about them, to wondering why this girl has changed so much because of the boy.At first, my opinions of this song was the same as others, a complete mess, but I definitely understand now where SM and the producers were going. I think people would get why this song is all over the place if they were to look at it as a song from a broadway musical and that each section is a different character talking about their boy. And I highly recommend listening to the song a couple times without the MV. What do you think Prophet?

  • http://www.facebook.com/chibijoshie Josh Chinnery

    That’s surprising o.O Some people talk about Gee like it revolutionized K-Pop or something; it was just a really good pop song. Veteran K-Poppers, please stop confusing the Jebesus out of me XD

    Anyway, IGAB’s album was a step forward for SNSD. I could hear a lot of the improvements in the vocals (I’ve cringed at early Oh! and RDR performances) and they seem to be trying to find a new niche for themselves to occupy since the aegyo act is becoming a bit unnatural. Overall, I was hyped for the song, but blown away at the album. It was a bit like their 2nd Japanese album, Girls and Peace, except that one had some moderately enjoyable tracks with a few standouts.

  • http://www.facebook.com/chibijoshie Josh Chinnery

    I’m definitely not as musically rounded as you (my oddest experience with genre fusion is Japanese screamo), but this song sounds fine to me, as well. I just think the structure is too off the wall for some to handle.

  • ctf

    Tiffany=STIFFany, she can’t pop a hip even if her life depends on it

  • Austin

    So glad you love this song as much as I do!!! Seems like a lot of people don’t recognize it’s brilliance

  • http://www.facebook.com/chibijoshie Josh Chinnery

    OH MY GOD, THANK YOU!!! I’m so sick of people trashing Proph and saying his opinion is wack just because they disagree with him. I know this is the internet, but agree to disagree and turn the hate down.

  • shannie4888

    I didn’t like the song. The faux rapping, the terrible transitions, and the arrangement. The song is just not cohesive. Even if you switch it up, a song has to have a thread that holds it together. SNSD can experiment if they want to, but when the audience starts questioning the shit you’re putting out, you need to be careful.

    I’ll listen to the rest of the album and think of this single as a very small piece of a bigger and hopefully better picture.

  • http://twitter.com/Myrmicinae Brendicienta

    I expressed badly I think but, I just clarified he´s not reviewing this being biased but being objetive. He said on twitter his main bias is BEG, but likes other groups like SNSD.

  • http://twitter.com/Myrmicinae Brendicienta

    True, the intital reaction to Gee was they were trying to hard to be the next thing, and the song was childish and annoying especially compared with Into The New World. Now its a legend for SNSD. Musical tastes are umpredictable tbh.

  • http://twitter.com/Myrmicinae Brendicienta

    It reminded me of a musical number, too. When Hyo and Yuri confrontate each other, with Taeny ranting their boyfriend bad ways between the spazz about being in a relationship which is the chorus, and sorts.

  • dubuonrida

    Love the song and love this review!

    I really don’t get why it’s garnering such strong negative reactions – I mean, I can see why some people might not like/get it, and they’re entitled to that opinion but damn, you’d think it was 4 minutes and 31 seconds of howler monkeys screeching while scraping nails against a chalkboard the way people are reacting to it.

  • barf

    I was ready to hate it but it’s actually kind of awesome.

  • UncleFan

    Still can’t believe the quantity and ferocity of negative reactions to this song!

    I guess some people just can’t handle IGAB’s brilliant unpredictability and consider it some sort of flaw. It’s as if they got off a roller-coaster and complained, “That was the worst train ride of my life!”

  • http://www.facebook.com/chibijoshie Josh Chinnery

    Thank you for clarifying ^^ I can see what you mean, but Proph is definitely stanning his face off for this song. I can see it as plain as day, even though this song just might become my fave SNSD single.

  • http://www.facebook.com/chibijoshie Josh Chinnery

    While I don’t agree with that sentiment, I can see where those K-Poppers are coming from XD You go from Into the New World, which is an incredibly inspiring R&B power ballad, to Gee, an uptempto aegyo infested bubblegum flavored pop song. Even after I came close to crying my eyes out watching the music vid for Into the New World, I still love Gee. They’re two different sides of SNSD and I always did like multidimensional artists ^^

  • LucianK

    This song is soo all over the place. After a 1st listen i feel like i’ve been playing some 10-track EP. There’s way too much going on in 5 minutes.

  • Chris

    Different people, different taste ^_^

  • Eater

    Crayon pop have super catch dance moves.. i’m all for crayon pop

  • gotgotgone

    Obsessed. When I first watched the video all i could think was how SNSD were jacking other Kpop girl groups style, but by third watch I see it as a translation stage for them like when Britney released Im a Slave 4 U. As for the song it took me a couple of listens but I cant stop playing it. Proph I agree with your comparison to Biology, they are the type of songs you go WTF on first listen but slowly they creep up on you and take over your body. Also both were completely left field at time of release and had unconventional song structures.

  • http://www.facebook.com/kj4ever12 Kellen Sims

    please tell me they are making an english version this time around!!! eek!

  • http://twitter.com/Myrmicinae Brendicienta

    I think is the only way to stay relevant, but while they change concepts, dance styles, rhythms, they still keep sounding like SNSD to me, even on their most progresive work, their 1st japan album. I was afraid with this release, since its hiphop oriented, but they managed it very well deviating the attention from the rapping (which was used more like a conversational break) to the vocals which were very consistent and SNSD like.

  • http://twitter.com/norimixtoo Norimix

    You are such a FAIL.. Now deal with it!

  • FreakyFlyBri

    Meh, there were certain parts of the song I enjoyed and certain parts I didn’t. I am kind of disappointed because over the past year I’ve REALLY been getting into SNSD, and I guess I’m one of the few that actually really enjoyed The Boys (still in rotation on my iPod to this day), but this was just rough, especially for them. I totally agree that this may have been more expected from a group like f(x), although I’m not sure I’d really like it coming from them either (coincidentally, I loved Electric Shock). It’s better than Hoot or ITNW (my least favorite title tracks from them) but Genie, Gee and The Boys are still much better in my opinion.
    Concept-wise, I enjoyed the dancing (although it has nothing on the slick moves they were busting in The Boys), but the styling seems more like a throwback to the more colorful clothing they wore in the Gee video, taken up to eleven.
    All that aside, I think it’s absolutely wonderful that SM stopped shafting SNSD in the album tracks department and finally gave them an album with more than just one or two good songs. This is, in my opinion, their strongest Korean album to date, and I hope that trend continues.

  • cat

    Honestly speaking, my initial thoughts toward the song were not great at all. I was a bit bummed. But, I decided to listen to it a couple more times (because the video was just full of glory) and it grew on me. There’s still parts that I don’t particularly love. The “choppy” parts in my opinion, would be better if they were separate songs. However, SNSD really pulled off the OUTFITS and DANCE well.

    As for the album, compared to the other songs, IGAB is at the bottom. The album’s other songs are so good and I especially love the two ballad-like songs.

    “I may not agree with what you say but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” -Evelyn Beatrice Hall

  • leesigh3

    Dammit proph, you win. It took like 9-10 listens but now I really like this song.

  • scpure88

    To be honest, I was sooo excited to hear about SNSD comeback and I can tell you that I was utterly disappointed to hear this piece of garbage. I don’t want SNSD to be like f(x) or to lose their image as “girls next door”! That’s the reason why I liked them in the first place – they were different from a lot of the girl groups out there. And furthermore, for those that say that I should give the song a few listens – don’t really understand why I have to listen to a song 5 times before I like it. Good songs are good from the start – not 30 minutes later after forcing yourself to get used to it!

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1718760905 Carl Mark Pat

    I repeatedly listened to this and found the chorus of the song and the dance very amazing. But the transitions…well I have nothing good to say about that. The song just doesn’t flow naturally at parts.

  • http://twitter.com/_ULTRA_BLUE_ Luke

    LOL I can’t… this song is a clusterfuck mess and the video is totally generic and the look is so fake on them and so 2NE1… “I love you” shits on this.

  • http://twitter.com/bcBrunaSouza Call

    WFT?????

  • Andrea MT

    I really like this song with or without the video.

  • joon

    Why dont you try to make your own song, and see what and how people judge you. huft, if you dont like then dont see it. leave it. forget it.
    they are from the same ent. of course if the song has a connected. they are average from the same composer. other company are the same.
    every girlband and boyband has their own style.

  • Pingback: Why SNSD's "I Got A Boy" Should Have Been f(x)'s

  • Critical

    don’t really like this song personally think is trash worse out of all their releases but everyone have their own opinions not gonna judge you but damn this song is shit.

  • http://twitter.com/ilurvefidz 조앤 드레온

    I like “The Boys” better than this “IGAB”… right, the concept doesn’t suit GG, it’s more of F(x) thing…

  • Shina

    I agree and disagree with some of the review and some of the comments. While I agree that this would work wonderfully for F(x) I think that fact that SNSD has such a big group it gave them a bit more diversity to play with which is what i think is the reason it worked for them. And while it does sound like multiple sounds it has a similar feel throughout all of them and with the lyrics and the voices mashing well with the quick change in the beat and tempo it makes the song work. I admit I wasnt a fan of the song when I heard it. I was more like..uh…but i LOVED the looks and colors. After awhile I wanted to listen to the song again and it just hooked. So while it might not be an instant hook it has an overall hook which is what makes it great. Since it is SUCH a drastic change to SNSD I understand people’s reservations but I believe that as long as a song flows well and does what it is suppose too then thats all that matters. This song is suppose to inspire happiness and joy and to get up and dance. maybe not the lyrics but the beat definitely! So if you dont like it thats fine but dont judge others because they liked it. Of course that’s just my opinion.

  • http://www.facebook.com/honeyloveoranges Rebecca Ann Folkes

    I loved it because of the multiple beat changes, it’s not overly repetative and majorly mainstream sounding.

  • Athens

    Despite the big transformation, I was not really shocked since SNSD changes concept for almost every single. I, though, admit that IGAB is a very far cry from “The Boys” and any other song released by the group.

    I personally like the song…this is a concept I never thought they can pull off until IGAB happened.

    The song is not meant for easy listening, what with so many things and changes happening, but it is an exciting one for me. I still believe that the whole song could have been better if the TaeTiSeo part is not included and instead cut straight to Jessica’s “Let’s bring it back to 140″ bit…which I still don’t get anyway.

    Both SM and SNSD took quite a big risk when they released IGAB, but the risk is definitely worth it.

  • Athens

    Can’t agree with you more. I don’t get why people label something crappy just because they don’t like it.

  • Athens

    Similar story here. I was one of those who disliked K-Pop with a passion…until SNSD released The Boys in English. I backtracked from their 2011 songs and got interested, but once I got to know the group and individual members more, I got buried deep. I don’t know if you’re a SONE but I became one not just because of SNSD’s music, but because of the entire package.

  • http://www.facebook.com/chibijoshie Josh Chinnery

    Idk if I can call myself a SONE because I still don’t know everyone’s name (I’M SORRY, I CAN’T HELP THAT THEY ALL LOOK SO SIMILAR TO ME!!!!) and I’m not up to date on their doings in the idolsphere (that stuff does not interest me and I would not want someone observing me like I’m an animal 24/7), but I really enjoy their music; even after I got over the shock that the image they had in the Boys wasn’t their normal look.

    Also, I’m not trying to be a jerk here, I’m just curious – how can you hate K-Pop? I know people that do, but that’s because they hate anything that sounds mainstream and/or they hate music that ain’t in English. So tell me, what’s your reason :3

  • kpopalypse

    How did I only find this just now. Prophet stop writing stuff I agree with all the time, I feel my angst levels getting unhealthily low.

  • http://www.facebook.com/chibijoshie Josh Chinnery

    She’s referring to the tempo; when she says, “Let’s bring it back to 140″, she’s saying crank the tempo back to 140bpm

  • PinkJEXUX

    This song made me a Sone, so sit down, dumb bitch.

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