I Got a Boy (song)
"I Got a Boy" is a song recorded by South Korean girl group Girls' Generation for their fourth Korean-language studio album of the same name. It was released on January 1, 2013, by SM Entertainment and KT Music. Produced by the group's long-time collaborator Yoo Young-jin and Will Simms, the song is described as a hybrid of various genres including bubblegum pop, dance, and electropop.
"I Got a Boy"
January 1, 2013
2012
SM Booming System, Seoul
4:31
- Will Simms
- Sarah Lundbäck Bell
- Anne Judith Wik
- Yoo Young-jin
- Will Simms
- Yoo Young-jin
"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 like Katy Perry or One Direction. It was a commercial success domestically, debuting at top of the Gaon Digital Chart and has sold over 1.3 million digital copies in South Korea in 2013. Internationally, the single peaked at number 98 on the Japan Hot 100 and number 3 on the US World Digital Songs.
A music video for the song was filmed in October 2012. It features hip hop-inspired dance moves choreographed by Nappytabs. It won the award for Video of the Year at the first YouTube Music Awards in 2013, which generated much attention for beating other popular nominees like Justin Bieber and Psy despite the fact that the group was considered lesser-known to the Western audience at the time.[2]
Background and composition[edit]
“I Got a Boy” was composed and arranged by European composers Will Simms, Sarah Lundbäck Bell, Anne Judith Wik, and South Korean composer Yoo Young-jin, with the Korean lyrics written by Yoo Young-jin, who is also the group’s longtime collaborator. The song was recorded at SM Entertainment studio, SM Booming System, and was produced by Will Simms and Yoo Young-jin.[3] The song was almost given to Missy 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 member Tiffany 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 a K-pop and dubstep-type song that is described as an eclectic mix of various genres. According to U.S. magazine Billboard, the track features elements of electropop and minimal drum 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 reviewing I Got a Boy album for the same publication, Jeff Benjamin noted dubstep 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 minimal R&B to "high-BPM" dance.[7] Writing for Time, Douglas Wolk described the track as a "monomaniacally charming" hybrid of bubblegum pop, dubstep, and hard rock.[8] Meanwhile, AllMusic's David Jefferies characterized "I Got a Boy" as a mix of dubstep, EDM, and pop-rap.[9] The song was composed in the key of E minor, with a tempo of 98 beats per minute.[10]
Commercial performance[edit]
"I Got a Boy" was a domestic success; it debuted atop the South Korean Gaon Singles 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 the K-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 3 different main charts on Gaon: digital chart, streaming chart, download chart in January chart.[47][48][49] It was also a success on South Korea's music programs, achieving the top spot on M Countdown (three consecutive weeks),[50] and Music Bank (three consecutive weeks).[51] Internationally, "I Got a Boy" became the fourth best-selling K-pop single in the United States in 2013, behind Psy's "Gangnam Style" and "Gentleman" and Big Bang's "Fantastic Baby".[52]