Tiffany: “Aha listen boy. My first love story.”

(chorus sings)

Jessica: “My angel and my girls. My sunshine. ”

(chorus sings: “Oh oh, let’s go!”)

Those opening lyrics sounded too familiar. I still remember the day well: January 10th, 2009. The date is still tattooed within my memory like the letter “A” in the Scarlet Letter, only with the letter “G” in its place. Several days earlier, the new Girls Generation (SNSD - So Nyuh Shi Dae) song, “Gee,” was unleashed onto the public. For hours the Korean media would replay this song on 24/7 repeat, every Asian college student would bump this song in their apartment, and friends would do their best “Rickroll”₁ intimidation by “Gee” rolling me instead. “Gee” was taking over California the way the song devoured Korea. I had to escape this song and fast. So I hopped into my car, drove to the local supermarket, and turned up Wonder Girls “Tell Me” on the way there. I finally found the solace I needed from this “So Nyuh Shi Dae” plague. Or so I thought.

I quietly strolled into the grocery store with the food I had in mind. After buying some fruit, bread, and milk, I headed to the counter to pay for my items. As I waited in line, everything seemed normal: customers unloading their produce, people looking at gossip and weight loss magazines, while others were talking. Then I heard a ring tone that broke all forms of normality: “gee gee gee baby baby baby…” Expecting an Asian to have this sirens’ call of a ring tone, I frantically looked around for the cell phone to see it come from none other than a tall, well-mannered Caucasian person. Gee… this song even transcends national boundaries too. But I guess I shouldn’t be resisting this song’s influence any longer – after all, as Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg would say, it ain’t “Nuthin’ but a ‘Gee’ thang.” What’s with the Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg reference, you ask? Well, if songwriters can just repeat Gee over and over and make it work, there's no harm in me making a non-sensical analogy right?

After nine months of being on hiatus, the nine ladies of Girls Generation were responsible for one of the biggest crazes in Asian music in last year. They made singing about the seventh letter of the English alphabet over and over again cool. The Bubblegum themed song depicts a girl that has fallen in love for the first time and not knowing what to do. The title itself, “Gee,” plays on this girl’s feelings when meeting her Prince Charming, as the phrase translates to “oh my goodness” (어머나!" – Eomeona!) The Korean public was instantly addicted to this song, as it sold 100,000 copies only two months after its release. But how did this poppy melody manage to capture music listeners’ hearts while similar songs failed? Why was this song so special in 2009?

Their management company, SM Entertainment, knew the trends in Korean music. Unlike American Bubblegum pop, which was at its peak in the late 1990s and since died out, this genre is still extremely popular in Korea. They created an easy, yet solid plan to promote Girls Generation – reusing the Bubblegum pop formula of years past, only making it more polished. While having beautiful girls prancing around accompanied by a catchy beat is always a plus, these traits alone will not differentiate “Gee” from the other pop songs. Simple choreography that people can learn on the fly and simple lyrics that anyone can hum to are the difference makers. Korea has been looking for a new, catchy, danceable pop song since Wonder Girls’ “Tell Me (2007)” two years ago and “Gee” was it.

Where Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg’s “Nuthin but a G thang” represented the thuggin’ beats of Compton and Long Beach, “Gee” showcased the Bubblegum melodies of Seoul and the rest of Korea. Ever since SM Entertainment’s first breakout girl group in 1997, SES, the SM music executives had 13 years to perfect Korea’s brand of pop. While singing about love has been around since the dawn of time, the majority of those songs are slow ballads about pain and heartbreak. Enter Korea’s twist on one of the most popular genres in today’s era.

Modern Korean pop, since the early 2000s, has been heavily slanted towards cutesy, innocent, up-tempo, feel-good pop. Wonder Girls’ “Tell Me,” Kara’s “Honey,” and now Girls Generation’s “Gee” are such examples. People want to feel good and have excitement about the idea of falling of love for their first time. What better way to embody this concept than to have poppy lyrics that are upbeat and fun to listen to?

“Gee” was considered a savior, a 2nd Messiah to the masses. To SNSD’s rapid followers, one would think that their hit fed hungry people on the streets, cured peoples’ cancer in Korean dramas, eradicated bad hip-hop, and reversed the sagging Korean music industry. While the first three are merely hyperbole, many industry producers – including some of SM Entertainment’s rivals that were envious of Girls Generation’s success – claimed that “Gee” single handedly revived Korean music in 2009. Quite a bold statement, yet speaks much truth.

A combination of a bad world economy, a still-growing domestic music market, and digital piracy all led to sagging music sales. However, the SNSD hit seemed to be one of the few exceptions. While many popular albums struggle to sell 100,000 copies, let alone 50,000 in Korea, “Gee” easily went over the 150,000 mark within a few months. In fact, their next two singles: “Tell Me Your Wish (2009 – 175,000+ sales)” and “Oh! (2010 – 250,000+ sales)” broke the 175,000 sales barrier. Their song broke the MNET Korean charts for longest-running #1 song for nine weeks (the previous was Wonder Girls’ “Nobody” for eight weeks.) Girl Generation’s success with “Gee” brought them many accolades, including the prestigious “Bonsang” and “Daesang” (artist of the year) awards. Other music companies’ confidence was restored and would churn out new pop hits to duplicate the success of “Gee.” Bubblegum pop was here to stay.

If famed figure skater and Winter Olympian gold medalist, Kim Yu-na, is the biggest cultural export from Korea thus far in 2010, “Gee” was definitely Korea’s imprint on the world in 2009. The world community embraced the song with open arms. The Korean channel, GOMTV, reported that the song had over 100 million views₂, many of the hits coming from outside Korea. Many Asian blogs and news sites had the song on their front page. Requests to do concerts in many Asian countries such as: China, Thailand, Malaysia, Japan, and even Great Britain and the United States were overwhelming. The sold-out audiences in Thailand and Los Angeles were shouting the “Gee” lyrics in unison with the nine starlets. As members of the group would attest, the fan reaction to their hit “was definitely shocking, yet humbling.”

The nine high-heeled mannequin ladies’ music video was also the subject of various remakes, remixes, and satires. Korean singers Younha and K Will have done their own satire of the song, Korean game shows guests have frequently done this act, Youtubers have done their own renditions, and college students danced the routine on their campus. The after mentioned Younha also did a beautiful jazzy version of “Gee.” And any Asian music fan knows when famed Korean comedian troupe, Infinity Challenge, creates their own “Gee” spoof called “My Energy,” the song must be ingrained in pop culture. People can’t just get enough of the “Gee” madness.

Looking back at the day I heard “Gee” in the supermarket, I started talking to the Girls Generation fan. He told me that he was a huge fan of Korean music and their music scene. “American pop doesn’t really do it for me anymore,” he said, continuing with, “but when a friend first showed me ‘Gee’ I was instantly hooked.” We talked for a couple more minutes about music – songs and groups foreign to the rest of the confused customers – until he paid for his items. I have always thought the experience in meeting another fan of Asian music – in a supermarket in the US no less – to be cool, so this former stranger and I exchanged contact info before he left.

“Wow,” I said to myself outside after checking through the pay counter. Did “Gee” really have such a lasting impact on Asian music? How in the world did I talk about nine Korean girls singing “babo (fool)” with a random stranger? I like the song, but I did not think this song had such a lasting influence. But I realize that I may be the “babo” instead.

I underappreciated the song’s legacy, but not anymore. The song had a huge impact on Asian music and cannot be denied.

As the ladies of Girls Generation would sing:
(English translated)

“So tingly tingly my body's trembling

gee gee gee gee gee

glittering eyes (oh yeah)

Sweet aroma (oh yeah yeah yeah).”

Or as Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg would rap:

“One, two, three and to the fo’

Snoop Doggy Dogg and Dr. Dre is at the do’

Ready to make an entrance, so back on up

[because] Ain’t nuttin but a ‘Gee’ thang, baaaaabay!”

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Check out Girl's Gen in "Gee":

Watch the ladies of Girl's Gen live "Gee" performance:

Listen to the jazzy Younha version of "Gee:"

Younha joins K Will and the guys from Sweet Sorrow to sing, yes... "Gee:"

Infinity Challenge does the 'My EnerGEE' spoof:

See what Tiffany and Jessica of SNSD (So Nyuh Shi Dae) has to say with VJ Isak - Part 1:
(Check out all three parts of the interview on Youtube.)

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