If there’s any girl (or girls in this case) that can be given the title of Miss Right Now, it’s Girl’s Day. Having blown up in popularity in recent months due to their happy, catchy, and cute pop tracks, these girls have found success in an industry saturated with idol girl groups. With their recent release of “Hug Me Once,” these girls are my Miss Right Now.
Before I continue with this article, I think you guys should get to know me a little better. For one, without shame, I can say I love girls. The South Korean music industry has always been about following trends, and with the advent of almost global popularity from girl groups such as Girls’ Generation (소녀시대, 少女時代) and Wonder Girls (원더걸스), the trend has shifted to girl groups, and a lot of them. Since I love girls, it almost goes without saying that I should love girl groups, but with the situation as it is now, it’s just too much. With cookie-cutter templates, boring songs, and talentless artists, it’s hard to wade through the girl group swamp. With the girl group count in South Korea reaching what seems like the hundreds, combined with the already small music industry in South Korea, it takes years of training (which may not even come to fruition), a ton of hard work promoting your group on variety shows, talent to appease the netizens, catchy dance tracks (or in the rarer case, amazing ballads), and a little bit of luck, all the while keeping an almost goddess-like figure just to stay relevant for more than a month. And oh yeah, if you don’t belong to a major label, your goal just became 10x harder in an industry where connections almost (or do they?) seem to matter more than the music.
So when I say Girl’s Day has caught my eye, I don’t just mean that they look kinda cute and they sound pretty good. They battled tens of other girl groups to become what can be considered a success under a no-name label in a country bursting at the seams with girl groups. I am not one to judge girl groups based on looks, and while I can’t say their songs are earth shattering, their music lasts longer than one listen, is still enjoyable to listen to months later, and is catchy enough to be singing it in your sleep.
Like the Korean girl group Secret (시크릿), their debut track, “Tilt My Head” (갸우뚱) was a major failure in every sense of the word. The song was very forgettable and they were blasted for the MR (music recorded) removed versions of their lives. I was even more lenient than I normally am when they debuted and probably watched 2 weeks of their live performances before I just stopped. Within just two months after their debut, two members left to be replaced by Yura and Hyeri (which I very much approve of).
They released the song, “Nothing Lasts Forever” (잘해줘봐야), and although it did not receive much praise at the time, I really do enjoy the song, and personally, I’d like to see them go back and try this style again now that they have more popularity.
It wasn’t until March of this year where Girl’s Day got their big break with their single, “Twinkle Twinkle” 반짝반짝, and things started to really take off. This catchy dance track is very cute, with an almost addictive-as-crack chorus, and it had people I know enjoying the song without even knowing who sang it. Although they met some costuming controversy (diapers?), the song still became pretty popular from what I could tell, and it changed my opinion of them.
Just last month, Girl’s Day released their latest single, “Hug Me Once” (한번만 안아줘), and drew much attention due to the interactive music video they released with the song. The game version of the music video also makes it very easy to learn the girls’ names (always a problem when interested in a new Korean group), and with another catchy song, has become relatively successful in the difficult music industry.
There are five members in Girl’s Day. Sojin, who is the leader, Minah, Jihae, Yura, and Hyeri. And I know all you guys are wondering, yes, they’re all legal except Hyeri who you’ll have to wait for til June 9 next year. I’ll let you pick your favorites, but as for me, it’s Sojin followed closely by Yura.
Although Girl’s Day may not be even be in my top ten South Korean girl groups, I still enjoy their music and the girls look great. Girl’s Day hasn’t won any awards yet, but if you ask me, they’re a group to watch out for and they may win one in the near future. Just take a look at T-ara (티아라) and especially Secret. With their years of training, hard work, talent, catchy songs with fun dances, and cute/pretty/sexy members, hopefully it’s only a matter of time before luck comes their way.
Girl’s Day debuted in July of 2010 and is signed under DreamTea Entertainment label. Their latest mini-album, “Everyday” was released on July 7, 2011 with their single, “Hug Me Once.” Their official website is girlsday5.com and their official YouTube page can be found under the user name, girlsday5.
