Mr.Mr. (song)

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"Mr.Mr."
Single by Girls' Generation
from the album Mr.Mr.
Released February 25, 2014 (2014-02-25)
Format Digital download
Recorded 2013; S.M. Studio
Genre
Length 3:56
Label
Writer(s)
Producer(s) The Underdogs
Girls' Generation Korean singles chronology
"I Got a Boy"
(2013)		 "Mr.Mr."
(2014)		 "Catch Me If You Can"
(2015)

"Mr.Mr." is a Korean song recorded by South Korean girl group Girls' Generation for their fourth Korean titular extended play (2014). The song was released on February 25, 2014 as a single from the EP. It was produced by American production team The Underdogs, who had previously worked with popular Western artists including Britney Spears, Beyoncé, and Justin Timberlake. A music video for the song was initially planned to be released on February 19, 2014; nevertheless it was postponed to February 28 due to the accidental deletion of the original files.

"Mr.Mr." was described as an electropop and pop-R&B song that incorporates a hip hop beat and EDM-influenced buildups. Upon the EP's release, the song received generally positive reviews from music critics, who praised its musical styles which were deemed as a departure from the group's signature bubblegum pop sound. The single ranked number 18 on Billboard magazine's list of 20 Best K-pop Songs of 2014 and was included on Time's list of 25 Best Songs of 2014 (So Far) in June 2014.

To promote the song and the EP, Girls' Generation made several appearances on music programs including M Countdown, Music Bank, Show! Music Core, and Inkigayo around February and March 2014. The single was a commercial success in the group's native country South Korea, peaking atop the Gaon Digital Chart and sold over 900,000 digital units in 2014. It also charted at number three on the Korea K-Pop Hot 100 and number four on the Billboard World Digital Songs.

Background and composition

"Mr.Mr." was written by Harvey Mason, Jr., Damon Thomas, Rodnae "Chikk" Bell, Steven Russell, Britt Burton, Michael Daley, Andrew Hey, Kim Hee Jung, and Cho Yun Kyoung; the latter two have written songs for Girls' Generation for eight years.[3][4] It was produced by American production team The Underdogs, who had previously worked with popular Western artists including Britney Spears, Beyoncé, and Justin Timberlake.[5] The song was released to South Korean KBS Radio Station on February 25, 2014 as a single from the EP of the same name (2014).[6] A Japanese version of "Mr.Mr." was included on the group's 2014 Japanese greatest hits album The Best.[7]

Musically, "Mr.Mr." was described by Billboard magazine's Jeff Benjamin as an electropop and pop-R&B song.[1][8] Meanwhile, an editor from Yonhap characterized it as an "electropop dance" song featuring elements of R&B.[5] Regarding the track's musical styles, Heather Phares writing for AllMusic noted that it "mixed a hip hop beat and EDM-inspired buildups" in its composition.[2] Lyrically, "Mr.Mr." has a more proactive theme with lyrics prompting a reluctant man to be more courageous towards the girls such as "What are you afraid of?" (Hangul: 됐고 뭐가 또 두려운데?; RR: Dwaetgo mwoga tto duryeounde?), which is a departure from the group's familiar theme like that on "I Got a Boy" (2013), which talks about a man who "flying the girls to heaven."[4]

Promotion

File:KOCIS Korea Mnet Girls Generation 15 (12986855225).jpg
Girls' Generation performing "Mr.Mr." on M Countdown on March 6, 2014, where they achieved the top spot of the show[9]

The music video for "Mr.Mr." was initially planned to be released on February 19, 2014 in conjunction with the release of the EP, which would also coincide with the release of the group's contemporary 2NE1's Crush. Nevertheless, the release date was postponed to February 28 due to the accidental deletion of the original shots.[10][11] Therefore, the group's comeback performances on music programs were also delayed for two weeks.[10]

The music video was choreographed by Jillian Meyer, who had previously collaborated with several American recording artists such as Janet Jackson and Kylie Minogue.[12] It narrates a story of a man who is diagnosed with heart disease but could not confess it to the girl he likes. He then decides to undergo a surgery, which is handeled by the girls.[13] On being interviewed by Billboard magazine, member Sooyoung revealed that that "Our new music video has the concept of encouraging and boosting the confidence of those men who have lost courage."[14] The visual received positive reviews from media outlets–Fuse labelled it "cinematic" and praised its "sophisticated" class,[15] while Popdust's Jacques Peterson hailed the video as "the hottest episode of Grey's Anatomy ever."[16] It was the second most watched K-pop music video of the first half of 2014, only behind Psy's music video for "Hangover".[17]

To promote "Mr.Mr." and the EP, Girls' Generation made several appearances on South Korean music programs around February and March 2014. They performed the song for the first time on Mnet's M Countdown on March 6, 2014 as part of their comeback stage.[18] The following three days, the group appeared on Music Bank, where they also performed "Back Hug", Show! Music Core, where they also performed "Wait a Minute", and Inkigayo.[19]

Critical reception

Upon its release, "Mr.Mr." received generally positive reviews from music critics. Jeff Benjamin from Billboard magazine hailed the single as "super-strong, super-sweet" and labelled it a welcome change compared to the group's previous "stupid-catchy" releases.[1] He further named it the 18th best K-pop song on his list of 20 Best K-Pop Songs of 2014. Benjamin elaborated that despite the fact that "Mr.Mr." was less "jarring" than the group's 2013 single "I Got a Boy", the former was still "infused with musical subtleties."[8]

On reviewing the EP, AllMusic's reviewer Heather Phares opined that the track helped "[expand] their [Girls' Generation's] musical reach."[2] John Walker from MTV News commented that the single's musical styles were more similar to "The Boys" (2011) rather than their usual styles as on "Gee" (2009) and labelled it a hybrid of "70's-throwback" and "Get Me Bodied".[20] Time magazine's journalist Lily Rothman included "Mr.Mr." on their list of 25 Best Songs of 2014 (So Far) in June. She wrote that "Fans [...] won’t be disappointed by their latest dance-friendly single" and further elaborated that "the addition of a scratchy electronic bass line and a hint of darkness" should attract listeners who were not used to their signature bubblegum pop sound.[21]

Commercial performance

"Mr.Mr." peaked atop the South Korean Gaon Digital Chart on the tenth week of 2014.[22] It was the 46th best-selling single of 2014 in South Korea, selling over 906,962 digital units.[23] Overall, it became the 54th best-performing song on the Gaon Digital Chart, based on additional streaming and instrumental track downloads.[24] "Mr.Mr." also charted at number three on the Korea K-Pop Hot 100,[25] and number four on the Billboard World Digital Songs.[26]

Credits

Credits adapted from Mr.Mr. liner notes[3]

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  • Girls' Generation – Vocals
  • The Underdogs – producer, songwriter, audio mixing
  • Rodnae "Chikk" Bell – songwriter
  • Steven Russell – songwriter
  • Britt Burton – songwriter
  • Michael Daley – songwriter
  • Andrew Hey – songwriter
  • Kim Hee Jung – songwriter
  • Cho Yun Kyoung – songwriter

Charts

Release history

Country Release date Format
South Korea[6] February 25, 2014 Contemporary hit radio

References

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  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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