"Mr. Mr." by Girls' Generation (소녀시대), Tuesday, June 8, 2021

There was a sandwich shop across the eight-way intersection in Chuncheon where I would often take lunch break. After class, I'd get a Chicken Carbonara or a Soy-sauce chicken sandwich and a cup of coffee. I might spend a little extra time there reading or looking over lesson plans before going back in to work. The cafe was run by a man around my age and his mother, and it was a nice place to eat something familiar and spend some time. The musical choice was quite eclectic: '90s pop-rock and current K-pop/Hip-Hop. It was in that cafe that I grew an affection for K-pop. I started to understand what the hype was all about.

SO YOU HAVE A DREAM THAT IS BIGGER THAN A LITTLE BOY'S. In February of 2014, Girls' Generation released their electro-pop album and titular hit "Mr. Mr." The girls had been famous for a conservative, bubble gum pop, but "Mr. Mr." takes the singers in another direction. The ear worm begins with a dirty bass synth. The music video depicts the nine members of Girls' Generation in a sexy medical situation with men playing a beta role some kind of Frankenstein surgery. According to the lyrics, the girls are begging men to be strong, taking the lead in their relationships. This message divided some K-pop fans who viewed the song as sexist. However, the video certainly shows female empowerment, and even the song's subject asking their man to be a better lover seems to put Girls' Generation in the driver's seat.   

YOU MADE MY HEART RACE. "Mr. Mr." was on the tail-end of big female power anthems ruling the American pop charts. There had been something undeniably catchy about Ke$ha's 2009 hit "TiK ToK" that all of my straightest college bros couldn't deny that it was awesome. Then there was Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, and so on--pop music had become a guilty pleasure. Then there was Korea. The year I came to Korea, "Gangnam Style" had just beaten "Call Me Maybe" as the most viewed YouTube video. "Gangnam Style" was kind of a parody of K-pop, and was taken more seriously when it became a hit abroad. In Korea, "Gangnam Style" was playing, but also all the other hits which had a similar EDM, dancey sound. "Mr. Mr." from a production standard alone, reminded me of the records that challenged my stereo: Linkin Park, Falling Up, and anything by Aaron Sprinkle. This may seem odd, but "Mr. Mr." inserted gang vocals in a spot impossible to sing live. The song changes key several times, and these key changes seem like they come out of nowhere. Needless to say, after hearing "Mr. Mr." every day in the cafe across from the academy, I was hooked. And not just on the song, on Kpop.

English Translation.  Original Korean