"Flower Power" is the sixth
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
single released by
South Korean girl group
A girl group is a music act featuring two or more women in music, female singers who generally vocal harmony, harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female p ...
Girls' Generation
Girls' Generation (), also known as SNSD, is a South Korean girl group formed by SM Entertainment. The group is composed of eight members: Taeyeon, Sunny, Tiffany, Hyoyeon, Yuri, Sooyoung, Yoona, and Seohyun. Originally a nine-piec ...
. The single was released on November 14, 2012, via digital download on
iTunes Japan, with a limited physical release on November 21, 2012. It serves as the third single from their second Japanese studio album, ''
Girls & Peace'' (2012). Despite limited release, "Flower Power" sold 29,000 copies in its first week, peaking at number five on the
Oricon Singles Chart
The Oricon Singles Chart is the Japanese music industry-standard Single (music), singles popularity chart issued daily, weekly, monthly and yearly by Oricon. Chart rankings are based on physical singles' sales. Until 2017, Oricon did not track down ...
; the single also reached number six on the
''Billboard Japan'' Hot 100.
Background
After the success of the preceding singles, "
Paparazzi
Paparazzi (singular form paparazzo) are independent photographers who take pictures of high-profile people, such as actors, musicians, athletes, politicians, and other celebrities who go about their daily life routines. Paparazzi are known f ...
" and "
Oh!", both of which took the number one spot on the Oricon daily singles chart and sold a collective total of more than 190,000 copies, the group's follow-up single "Flower Power" was announced on October 2, 2012.
"Flower Power" was released in Japan on November 14, 2012, two weeks before the release of their second Japanese studio album. A concept photo released by the group's Japanese label shows the group trying to escape searchlights.
Release
The single was not released physically until November 21 because of problems with production. The single's
B-side
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...
, "Beep Beep," is not included on ''Girls & Peace'' (2012), but it is included as the sixth track on their third Japanese studio album, ''
Love & Peace'' (2013), released on December 11, 2013. The single also contains a medley of the accompanying album which features Jamaican rapper
Sean Paul
Sean Paul Ryan Francis Henriques (born 9 January 1973) is a Jamaican dancehall musician. Paul's first album, ''Stage One'', was released in 2000. He gained international fame with his second album, ''Dutty Rock'', in 2002. Its single "Get Busy ...
.
Composition
"Flower Power" is written by Johan Gustafson, Fredrik Häggstam, Sebastian Lundberg (who composed labelmate
TVXQ
TVXQ (stylized as TVXQ!; , ), known as Tohoshinki in Japan, is a South Korean pop duo formed by SM Entertainment, composed of U-Know Yunho and Max Changmin.
Originally a five-member boy band which also consisted of members Kim Jae-joong, Hero ...
's "
Blink
Blinking is a bodily function; it is a semi-autonomic rapid closing of the eyelid. A single blink is determined by the forceful closing of the eyelid or inactivation of the levator palpebrae superioris and the activation of the palpebral por ...
"). It is an up-tempo
electropop
Electropop is a popular music fusion genre combining elements of the electronic and pop styles. It has been described as a variant of synth-pop with emphasis on a hard electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a rev ...
and
dance-pop
Dance-pop is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit ra ...
number, taking influences from
trance
Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...
and
electro house
Electro house is a genre of electronic dance music and a subgenre of house music characterized by heavy bass and a tempo around 125–135 beats per minute. The term has been used to describe the music of many ''DJ Mag'' Top 100 DJs, including ...
, with a "flowing" bassline and a chorus line demonstrating the "sexy side" of Girls' Generation, contrary to the single's title. Lyrically, the song describes "the strategic moves between a man and a woman on the dancefloor," sung by the group with "the sound and light of a glitzy atmosphere."
Music video
On October 31, 2012, the music was released in two versions: the regular and dance version. Within the song's perspective of the world, the nine girls sing and dance in a near future cosplay image of “bondage”-like cabin attendants under a fictional airline company, Air GG.
On April 5, 2013, a shortened version of the music video for "Beep Beep" was released. A full version of the music video was released on the group's third Japanese album, ''Love & Peace'' (2013).
Chart performance
The single didn't match the success of its predecessors in its first week, the single peaked at number twenty-five when it debuted on the
''Billboard Japan'' Hot 100 for the week ending on November 26, 2012.
The single managed to sell 13,000 copies on its first day, charting at number two on
Oricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics
Statistics (from German language, German: ', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that ...
's Daily Single Chart.
It eventually sold 29,000 copies during its first week of physical release.
The single raced to number six on the Japan Hot 100 in its second week, jumping nineteen spots. The single also charted on the Hot Single Sales chart at number four,
as well as Billboard Japan's airplay charts: twelve on Contemporary Airplay and thirty-two on Top Airplay.
Live performance
The group performed the song for the first time on
TBS ''Kayou Kyoku'' on November 13, 2012. The same day, the group held their "Playing with Girls' Generation" fan meeting with 10,000 people at the
Yoyogi National Gymnasium
Yoyogi National Gymnasium, officially is an indoor arena located at Yoyogi Park in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan, which is famous for its Suspended structure, suspension roof design.
The arena holds 13,291 people (9,079 stand seats, 4,124 arena sea ...
. The group performed the song along with "
Gee" and "
Oh!".
Track listing
Charts
Sales
Release history
References
{{authority control
2012 singles
Girls' Generation songs
Songs in Japanese
SM Entertainment singles
Songs written by Junji Ishiwatari
2012 songs
Songs written by Johan Gustafson (record producer)
Songs written by Sebastian Lundberg
Songs written by Fredrik Häggstam
Song recordings produced by Dsign Music