Vocals: 7 / 10
This song has around four phases, all with different tempo, melodies, etc. and the transitions are mediocre at best. Some of the earlier transitions are good, but towards the end everything seems to fall apart and collapse on itself. I don’t know why but S.M. really struggles with effective transitions compared to YG (2NE1’s “I Love You”) and JYP (JJ Project’s “Bounce”). I’d much prefer so called “plain” songs if it means bypassing the feel of three very different songs hashed together. Don’t forget there’s rap, which also really hurts the flow of the already choppy song. Line distribution, however, is at its best in “I Got A Boy”, with all the usual vocalists getting everything and everyone else just rapping, and since there’s a good amount of the latter, it feels even. A lack of adlibs, power notes, really anything interesting keeps this score average.
Appearance: 9 / 10
I can’t give this a perfect score because Sunny decided to dump large amounts of ice cream into her hair and then shape it into a bush. I cringe every single time she shows up in the MV. Ughh. That said, everyone else is flawless. Yuri, Taeyeon, and Jessica in particular stand at the top. Seohyun’s bangs look good, and definitely make her look younger (maknae forever). I noticed the use of coloured contacts to I guess intensify the eyes? The problem is I only really noticed the positive effects on Seohyun (everyone else just looked a little strange), and secondly, this is really KARA’s ype of thing, and SNSD kinda shows only KARA can pull it off well every time. The outfits were colourful enough, in comparison to the sets and energy of the song. Fix Sunny’s atrocity on her head and I’d be able to say no one stood out for good or bad.
Dance: 10 / 10
Confidence, and lots of! Everything was powerful and crisp. There’s plenty of synchronized moves and a healthy amount of individual and group bits. When Hyoyeon did not get a dance break I was disappointed, honestly but I guess the highlight of the choreography is the extended “Ohhh (you’re something else / you’re crazy)”. There’s even a little aegyo thrown in rather timely. Certainly feels rather strange to be praising the choreography of SNSD as the best part, but that’s what it is: the best part.
Rap: 7 / 10
The segments of rap were okay. Not awful, not amazing. I think had they been used at the end I’d have probably given this a much lower score since the end was messier. The English transitions by Tiffany and Jessica were probably the better ones but mehh not impressed. I’m not a fan of extended uses of random rap unless it’s either used full time in a verse or is rap singing and like I said, SNSD is okay at best when it comes to rapping. Tiffany’s description of “explosive rap” was misleading, I think “bright” or “energetic” was the more accurate term.
Music Video: 5 / 10
The girls were not lying when they said “I got a boy.” There’s only one, and there’s no additional material to the plot / non-dance parts that wasn’t shown in the teaser save the first 30 seconds. What was the point of all the clips of them sharing the single boyfriend? They kinda just hide together and leave him hanging after he shows up, perhaps unaware they all live in the same house? Are they angry at him for being probably the best playa in the world? Denying? More questions than answers with this one. Oh and S.M. really had to fucking use the slowmo pan because it’s apparently the coolest thing since canned bread. Guarantee you Super Junior M’s upcoming “Break Down” will have it, too.
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Overall: 76 / 100
Girls’ Generation is back with confidence and charisma, certainly, but the song truly is underwhelming. The transitions are not “Flower Power” level awful but still leave much to be desired. The rapping and choreography definitely help make up for what is essentially three songs rolled together without much vocal showing. “Genie” remains uncontested as the top SNSD song for me. If S.M. had stuck with one theme (the “Ooohhhh” one preferably) I think the success would have skyrocketed, but hey it’s GG, it’ll probably skyrocket anyway.
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