Maps of Music

I GOT A BOY (2013)

Where the lyrics of I GOT A BOY take you, and where it was really made.

'Dancing Queen' was first recorded in 2008 as a comeback song, but the plan was scrapped over copyright issues and the group released 'Gee' instead.

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I GOT A BOY: fourth Korean studio album and sixth overall by Girls' Generation
Released for digital download on 1 January 2013 by SM Entertainment; physical sales followed the next day through KT Music
Musically combines a wide range of genres, including R&B, new wave, and EDM
Last Korean studio album with founding member Jessica before her dismissal from the group in 2014 and departure from SM Entertainment in 2015
Lead single 'Dancing Queen' was a remake of Duffy's 2008 single 'Mercy', released 21 December 2012
Second single, the title track 'I Got a Boy', released 1 January 2013

SM Entertainment revealed the group intended to return in January 2013
MBC announced on 11 December 2012 that the group would receive a separate broadcast depicting the album process
Seohyun said before the release that the album was very different from the group's usual releases
Full album released on 2 January 2013
'Dancing Queen' was recorded in 2008 as a comeback song after a nine-month hiatus, but the plans were dropped over copyright issues and the group went with 'Gee'
The title track's music video and the album were released at the same time, 5 p.m. KST, on 1 January 2013

Composers from Dsign Music, the group behind the hit 'Genie', took part in making the album
Europe-based top composers Will Simms and Sarah Lundback, and Korean composer Young-Jin Yoo, also participated
The title track is an electronic dance song mixing pop, retro, and urban genres
'Talk Talk' is the Korean version of 'Boomerang', first recorded in 2008
'Baby Maybe' lyrics were written by Sooyoung, Yuri, and Seohyun
'XYZ' was also written by Yuri and Seohyun
'Lost in Love' is a duet by Taeyeon and Tiffany
'Promise' was composed and arranged by British songwriter Joseph Belmaati in his debut collaboration with the group
'Romantic St.' is a swing jazz style song

The physical edition came with ten different covers, one for each member and one for the whole group

Formed by SM Entertainment; known as SNSD and SoShi
Originally a nine-member group; Jessica departed in September 2014, leaving eight members
Members: Taeyeon, Sunny, Tiffany, Hyoyeon, Yuri, Sooyoung, Yoona, Seohyun
Debuted August 5, 2007 with "Into the New World"

2009 breakthrough with "Gee", a record nine consecutive weeks at No. 1 on KBS Music Bank
Oh! (2010) won the Disk Daesang at the Golden Disc Awards, the first and only female act to win the Album Daesang
Japanese debut in 2011; first non-Japanese girl group to have three number-one albums on the Oricon Albums Chart
Called "The Nation's Girl Group" in South Korea
First Asian girl group to reach five YouTube music videos with over 100 million views
Subgroups TTS, Girls' Generation-Oh!GG, and Girls' Generation-HRS; members have pursued solo careers since 2017
Reunited for the 15th anniversary in 2022 with Forever 1

Reviews were mixed; critics praised the album's eclectic musical styles, while others liked only a few songs
AllMusic's David Jeffries called the album an 'explosion'
Billboard's Jeff Benjamin said the musical styles 'satisfy not only K-pop fans but also listeners of all types of popular music'
IZM's Hwang Seon-eop was less enthusiastic about the 'experimental' styles and singled out 'Baby Maybe' and 'Romantic St.' as the two better songs
Weiv's critic Choi Min-woo wrote that in the end, the only thing that stands out is 'I Got a Boy'
Idology's Mimryo praised the musicality of the title track but said he was bored by the rest of the record

Topped the South Korean Gaon Album Chart
Became the second best-selling album of 2013 in South Korea
Charted at number seven on the Japanese Oricon Albums Chart
Charted at number three on the Taiwanese G-Music chart
Debuted at number two on Billboard's World Album Chart
Placed 2nd on the Heatseekers Albums Chart and 23rd on the Independent Albums Chart
'Dancing Queen' was number one on the Gaon Single chart a week after its release

'Dancing Queen' was recorded in 2008 as a comeback song, but the plans were dropped over copyright issues and the group went with 'Gee'
'Talk Talk' is the Korean version of 'Boomerang', which appeared on the Japanese album Girls & Peace
'Express 999' refers to the anime Galaxy Express 999
The title track drew major attention from Western media after winning Video of the Year at the inaugural YouTube Music Awards
Girls' Generation held an hour-long virtual concert broadcast live on Naver Music on 5 January 2013
The physical edition came with ten different covers, one for each member and one for the whole group