
Girls’ Generation’s “I Got A Boy” album was released worldwide on January 1st at 5PM KST, and only a few days later, its international impact is already evident. The positive response from the American media is noteworthy, especially with the girls’ visit to the United States as part of their American “The Boys” promotions.
An article on the website of the Los Angeles Times described “I Got A Boy” as something “as strange and structurally progressive as anything in the current commercial pop realm”, likening the song to a crossword puzzle or a “modern-day ‘Bohemian Rhapsody'”. The author also compared “I Got A Boy” to the works of popular artists in the American music industry today, including Skrillex and Ellie Goulding. These songs all share the “structural dissonance” that makes “I Got A Boy” a “beautiful mess”, one that the author theorized responds to the theme of impatience that is so prevalent in current American society.
MTV Style, meanwhile, looked at a different aspect of “I Got A Boy”: the girls’ fashion sense. The article declared the music video to be a “fashion whirlwind” and “total TREASURE TROVE of outfit inspiration”, featuring items from popular labels including Lazy Oaf, Stussy, and Obey. The article also pointed out specific pieces for the readers’ enjoyment, such as Taeyeon’s “Good Vibe” tee and Sooyoung’s Batman shirt.
Girls’ Generation was also featured on GRANTLAND, a sports and pop culture website owned by ESPN. The site listed “I Got A Boy” first in its “Songs of the Week” article. The author mentioned K-Pop’s significant break into the American music scene with PSY’s “Gangnam Style” and continued by commenting on “I Got A Boy”‘s musical complexities and unique lyrics.
Billboard.com released a review for “I Got A Boy”, which is the first Billboard track-by-track review of a non-English album. The title song got high praise as “one of the most-forward thinking lead pop singles heard in any country” for its intense mix of different sounds and melodies. Jeff Benjamin, the author, commended Girls’ Generation for “[setting] the bar truly high for pop in 2013” with “I Got A Boy”. Benjamin greeted the remaining nine tracks of “I Got A Boy” with praise. Billboard.com retweeted a shout-out tweet by Benjamin to over 700,000 followers, thanking SONEs for their warm reception.
Sources: Los Angeles Times, MTV Style, GRANTLAND, Billboard.com, [email protected]
Written by: moonrise31@soshified
Edited by: bhost909@soshified, Grizzlei@soshified, MoonSoshi9@soshified
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SNSD<3
SOSHI JJANG…
right now is soshi ^^
Looks like the GG phenomena is going hit the whole world HARD~! GG Hwaiting~! <3
Our girls deserve this attention. The praise was enough to make us SONEs proud, but anything can make us SONEs proud. 소녀시대 화이팅!!!
They totally deserve it.
MTV Style meanwhile, looked at a different aspect of “I Got A Boy”: the girls’ fashion sense. The article declared the music video to be a “fashion whirlwind” and “total TREASURE TROVE of outfit inspiration”, featuring items from popular labels including Lazy Oaf, Stussy, and Obey.
Billboard.com released a review for “I Got A Boy”, which is the first Billboard track-by-track review of a non-English album. The title song got high praise as “one of the most-forward thinking lead pop singles heard in any country” for its intense mix of different sounds and melodies. Jeff Benjamin, the author, commended Girls’ Generation for “[setting] the bar truly high for pop in 2013″ with “I Got A Boy”.
Be ready for Soshi Global Generation
yeah you’re right they’re totally deserve it . conquering the world of music in United states and the hearts of Kpop Ksones fans there are great achievement for them especially for this new year. Honestly me personally pround of for this newest album because we also actually witnessed their different talents and efforts for “I Got a Boy” MV. awesome and fantastic comeback this year. I’m so really proud of them . please all the SONEs out there , i know you’re proud of them also so please continue supporting our Girls’ this year. i know they have a lot of blessings this year and that are still I’m waiting for now. I hope they are now thinking to make an English song Album this year. hahaha Excited for the 2013 MAMA this year. GO Go fighting .I surely you can get an award this year , hahah I’m already predicting it. Kansamida Sones . so Proud of them
The comment from the LA Times about IAGB bein a modern day “Bohemien Raphsody” is truly astounding, as that song is a transcendant song: a song that is relevant 40-plus years after being released. SM has its hands on the first true female “Supergroup.” Our girls make the Spice Girls and Pussycat Dolls look like rank amatuers.
I do have conflicting sentiments about their possible upcoming English album and invasion of America. I am an older Sone and I don’t know if my heart can take our angels being so close physically. I’ll be honest, I stayed up late and watched their Letterman appearance. For me, GG has always been the girls inside my computer monitor and I-pod. The moment the camera showed Letterman introducing the girls, you could see Sunny in the background. The tears began flowing down my face. I was so proud of them….I cried like a little schoolgirl….not good for a guy my age. I fear to think what I would do if they were to have a show anywhere in Texas. Hope they have 9-1-1 nearby!!
Same goes with me. The first time I saw them live at SMTOWN Indonesia, my brain automatically said ‘OMG.. They are real ?!? For sure, they are real ?!? OMG.. Seriously, they are real ?!? Yesss.. They are real. OMG.. They are very beautiful..” LOL.. Before that show, SNSD is just like anime (japanese cartoon) for me. I only saw them from my computer screen, so what’s the different between SNSD and anime. LOL..
One more thing, beware of this. After you see our girls alive, you can’t get over the euphoria for a few days or weeks. Also, you will feel that you want to see another SNSD’s concert sooo badly. LOL.. I am not exaggerating. LOL..
They deserved it <3
nice
Hope the world is ready for SNSD GLOBAL GENERATION!!!
awesome!
Ooooh! I hope they get more recognition since I am a us citizen
Wow, I don’t think I saw that coming…….. The fact that SNSD got recognition in the USA is something awesome! And definitely, with a little more adjusting/changing just a bit, they could potentially challenge the US market, but only time will tell…
this was a a awesome comeback .the girls really deserve all the good things they have work hard for, looking back to know how much they have work it just can’t tell how proud i am of them ,wish the best always. SONES KEEP THE SUPPORT!
I am absolutely proud of the girls getting so much praise for “I Got A Boy” from the American media because I knew that everyone in the United States began to love the album and title track. And with all of the praise and success of the song, I know for sure that Girls’ Generation will have a very successful American debut when they officially debut in the US later this year. I don’t have any concerns or doubts about the girls’ upcoming American debut, I just know that everyone will love the girls even more when they make their mark in the American music market for sure. The ladies of Girls’ Generation are now becoming global superstars and there’s no doubt about it. All of the haters out there better not be messing around with the girls because of course they are absolutely not kidding around this time. I shall be waiting patiently for the girls’ return to the United States
GIRLS’ GENERATION FIGHTING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So proud of the girls and looking forward to much more!
Way to go GG ! I never expected this kind of review from the American Media and this makes me proud of you ^O^
would some one tell me what “good vibe”???!!!!
Hell yeah! Once you make it in America. You’ve made it.
Whoo! Yeah Go GG! Didn’t expect IGAB to get this kind of response from the American Media. Way to go GG! Final thing I want to mention, wasn’t it Jessica who was wearing the batman shirt?
Sooyoung also wore a batman shirt in the intro part!
I think we really have to give a lot of credit to Girl’s Generation, and SM Entertainment. So many Pop acts that have success, spend the rest of their careers trying to recreate that magic. But, not the Girls. Each of their albums has been a progressive growth and venture into new territory. Certainly IGAB was a risk. I personally, had a very mixed reaction on my first listen. But, to borrow a term from Jeff Benjamin’s Billboard review, it had some “earworms” that I couldn’t get out of my head. And, my enjoyment of the song has grown with each successive listen. I definitely prefer the live performances to the MV. Watching Music Core last night clearly pointed out how far ahead GG is, compared to most other K-Pop acts.
It is also pretty obvious that SM Entertainment has put a lot of faith and hope on GG. They spared no expense on this album, bringing in international writers and producers to work with the Girls. Early on, it seems to be paying off. I still believe that cracking the US market is going to be tougher than most Sones think. I believe most Americans saw PSY as a novelty act. And all those YouTube views did not translate into record sales. Still, the Girls could attain a modest success here, just don’t expect a top-10 result.
One way this new album affected me personally… As a Windows user and IT support guy in a corporate Windows IT shop, I hate iTunes “with the passion of a thousand burning suns”. But, I broke down and installed it (well, parts of it, not the whole bloated package) so that I could purchase the album. Please SM, get together with Amazon! Soon!
I was not expecting IGAB to be talked about a lot in the American Media, that just goes to show how amazing the girls are. I’m really happy about it though and I hope with this they will do well in America, if they ever debut there.
i never thought that the girls will gain a lot of praise thought, especially with the review from the billboard.
but i really like the comment of the author; “setting the bar too high”, that’s really make me proud :D :D :D
unlike many who think this song is a complete bad mix of beats, i actually think its quite structured. if you actually listen carefully to the later parts of the song, they are mixed together from the parts at the start. this is something new for the kpop industry i think and the song sounds pretty good to me. i can’t even get it out of my head now and the loop is on few hundred now, just in 3 days…. I don’t see how this song is “not good” or “bullshit” as other kpop fans have commented.
oh, not to mention the lyrics.. dayum gurl! 2013 soshi year!