"Party" is a song recorded by South Korean girl group

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 ...

for their fifth

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studio album '' Lion Heart'' (2015). It was released as the

lead single A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. A similar term, "debut ...

from the album by

S.M. Entertainment SM Entertainment Co., Ltd. () is a South Korean Multinational corporation, multinational entertainment agency established in 1995 by Lee Soo-man. It is one of South Korea's largest entertainment companies and has been responsible for fostering ...

on July 7, 2015. The lyrics were written by

Cho Yoon-kyung Jo Yoon-kyung () is a South Korean lyricist and writer. She has written primarily for SM Entertainment artists such as BoA, Girls' Generation, Shinee, Exo, NCT, Red Velvet, and Aespa. In 2017, she won Lyricist of the Year at the Gaon Chart Mu ...

and the music was composed by Albi Albertsson, Chris Young, and Shin Agnes. "Party" is a

bubblegum pop Bubblegum (also called bubblegum pop) is pop music in a catchy and upbeat style that is marketed for children and adolescents. The term also refers to a more specific rock and pop subgenre, originating in the United States in the late 1960s, th ...

and

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 ...

song that features synthesizers, guitar, and

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in its instrumentation. To promote the song and the album, Girls' Generation performed "Party" on several South Korean music programs, including ''

Music Bank ''Music Bank'' () is a South Korean music program which airs every Friday at 17:15 KST on KBS2. the show is also broadcast in more than a hundred countries through KBS World. Episodes are filmed at the KBS New Wing Open Hall in Yeouido-dong, Ye ...

'', ''

Show! Music Core ''Show! Music Core'' (), or simply ''Music Core'' is a South Korean music television program broadcast by MBC. It airs live every Saturday at 15:30 (KST). The show features some of the latest and most popular artists who perform live on stage. I ...

'' and ''

Inkigayo ''Inkigayo'' (; English title: ''The Music Trend'', previously ''Popular Song'') is a South Korean music program broadcast by SBS. It airs live every Sunday. The show features some of the latest and most popular artists who perform on stage. ...

''. A music video for the track, directed by

Hong Won-ki Zanybros (, stylized as ZANYBROS) is a South Korean video production company specializing in music video and commercial film production. Zanybros was founded in 2002 by director Hong Won-ki and videographer Kim Jun-hong and has evolved to be one ...

, was also released on July 7. The single received generally favorable reviews from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...

, who praised its catchy music styles and compared the song to "

California Gurls "California Gurls" is a song by American singer Katy Perry from her third studio album, '' Teenage Dream'' (2010). It was released as the album's lead single on May 7, 2010, through Capitol Records. The song features rap verses from Snoop Dog ...

" by

Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. She is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists in hist ...

and " Get Lucky" by

Daft Punk Daft Punk were a French electronic music duo formed in 1993 in Paris by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. They achieved popularity in the late 1990s as part of the French house movement, combining house music, funk, disco, tech ...

. Commercially, the single was a success in South Korea—the digital version peaked atop the

Gaon Digital Chart The Circle Digital Chart, previously known as the Gaon Digital Chart, is the music industry standard record chart ranking the 200 most popular singles in South Korea. It provides rankings on a weekly, monthly, and yearly basis, which is based on ...

(their eighth number one single there). Meanwhile, the physical edition charted at number two on the

Gaon Album Chart The Circle Album Chart, previously known as the Gaon Album Chart, is a record chart ranking the 100 most popular albums, extended plays and single albums in South Koreabased on their Record sales, physical sales. It is a part of the Circle Chart, ...

. It has sold over 843,000 digital copies in South Korea as of December 2015. The song also peaked at number ten on the

Japan Hot 100 The ''Billboard Japan'' Hot 100 is a record chart in Japan for songs. It has been compiled by ''Billboard Japan'' and Hanshin Contents Link since February 2008. The chart is updated every Wednesday at Billboard-japan.com ( JST) and every Thursday ...

and number four on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' World Digital Songs chart.

Background and release

South Korean girl group Girls' Generation had achieved success on the Asian music scene with hit singles such as " Gee" and " I Got a Boy" since their 2007 debut as a nine-piece girl group, consisting of members

Taeyeon Kim Tae-yeon (; born March 9, 1989), known mononymously as Taeyeon, is a South Korean singer. She debuted as a member of girl group Girls' Generation in August 2007, which went on to become one of the best-selling artists in South Korea and one ...

, Sunny, Tiffany,

Hyoyeon Kim Hyo-yeon (; born September 22, 1989), known professionally as Hyoyeon or DJ Hyo, is a South Korean singer, dancer, and DJ. She debuted as a member of the girl group Girls' Generation in August 2007, which went on to become one of the best-s ...

Yuri Yuri may refer to: People Given name *Yuri (Slavic name), the Slavic masculine form of the given name George, including a list of people with the given name Yuri, Yury, etc. *Yuri (Japanese name), feminine Japanese given names, including a list o ...

Sooyoung Choi Soo-young (; born February 10, 1990), known mononymously as Sooyoung, is a South Korean singer, actress, and songwriter. She was a member of the short-lived Korean-Japanese singing duo Route 0 (group), Route 0 during 2002 in Japan. After ...

Yoona Im Yoon-ah (; born May 30, 1990), also known mononymously as Yoona, is a South Korean singer and actress. After training for five years, she debuted as a member of girl group Girls' Generation (and later its subgroup Oh!GG, Girls' Generation-Oh! ...

Seohyun Seo Ju-hyun (; born June 28, 1991), known professionally as Seohyun, is a South Korean singer, actress, and songwriter. She debuted as a member of girl group Girls' Generation (and later its subgroup Girls' Generation-TTS) in August 2007, which ...

, and Jessica. In September 2014, Jessica announced that she had been dismissed as a member of Girls' Generation by their parent company

due to her schedule conflict between the group's mutual music activities and her own fashion business

Blanc & Eclare Blanc Group Ltd., trading as Blanc & Eclare, is a fashion brand producing eyewear, denim, clothing, skincare, and accessories. Korean-American singer and actress Jessica Jung launched the label in August 2014, initially naming it Blanc, which me ...

; the group continued as an eight-member group thereafter. Girls' Generation announced their first music release following Jessica's departure in March 2015—a single titled "

Catch Me If You Can ''Catch Me If You Can'' is a 2002 American crime comedy-drama film directed and produced by Steven Spielberg and starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks with Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen, Nathalie Baye, Amy Adams, and James Brolin in ...

", whose

and Japanese versions were released simultaneously in April 2015. On June 30, 2015, Girls' Generation released music video previews of their then-forthcoming three new singles—"Party", " Lion Heart", and " You Think". "Party" was released as the

from the group's fifth Korean studio album '' Lion Heart'', and features a song named "Check" as its

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 ...

. It was released for digital purchase by

on July 7, 2015, and the physical CD single was released on July 8.

Music and lyrics

"Party" was described by ''

s Jeff Benjamin as an

song. He compared the guitar line to that on

's 2010 song "

", and the

's 2014 single " Get Lucky". Writing for

Fuse Fuse or FUSE may refer to: Devices * Fuse (electrical), a device used in electrical systems to protect against excessive current ** Fuse (automotive), a class of fuses for vehicles * Fuse (hydraulic), a device used in hydraulic systems to protec ...

, Benjamin noted that the track incorporated "lively" guitars, "perky" synthesizers, and a "catchy"

hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved/bent back or has a deeply grooved indentation, which serves to grab, latch or in any way attach itself onto another object. The hook's d ...

. A reviewer from ''

The Malay Mail ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

'' characterized the song as "

upbeat Up beat may refer to: *Upbeat, in music, the last beat in the previous bar which immediately precedes the downbeat *Anacrusis, a note (or sequence of notes) which precedes the first downbeat in a bar in a musical phrase * ''Upbeat'' (album), by t ...

with a theme similar to that of "California Gurls" and

Kesha Kesha Rose Sebert (born March 1, 1987), formerly stylized as Ke$ha, is an American singer and songwriter. Her first major success came in 2009 when she was featured on rapper Flo Rida's number-one single, "Right Round". Kesha's music and ima ...

's 2010 song "

Tik Tok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration from three seconds t ...

". Lyrically, "Party" is about a girls' night out with friends, and mentions drinking lemon

soju Soju (English pronunciation: ; ) is a clear and colorless distilled alcoholic beverage from Korea, traditionally made from rice, but later from other grains and has a flavor similar to vodka. It is usually consumed neat. Its alcohol content ...

mojito Mojito (; ) is a traditional Cuba, Cuban punch. The cocktail often consists of five ingredients: Light rum, white rum, sugar (traditionally sugar cane juice), lime juice, Carbonated water, soda water, and Mentha, mint. Its combination of sweetn ...

and

tequila Tequila (; ) is a liquor, distilled beverage made from the blue agave plant, primarily in the area surrounding the city of Tequila, Jalisco, Tequila northwest of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Guadalajara, and in the Jaliscan Highlands (''Los Altos (Jal ...

Reception

Critical reception

"Party" received generally positive reviews from music critics. Melissa Locker of '' Vanity Fair'' described "Party" as "wildly catchy" and deemed it the best song of the second week of July 2015. Casey Lewis, writing for ''

Teen Vogue ''Teen Vogue'' is an American progressive online publication, formerly in print, launched in January 2003, as a sister publication to '' Vogue'', targeted at teenage girls and young women. Like ''Vogue'', it included stories about fashion and ...

'', characterized it as a "perfect-for-summer synth-pop anthem" and compared the song's music styles to works of American singer

. Jeff Benjamin from

described the song as "addictive" and felt that it would "get a ton of plays at your next gals' night out." He also named it the best song of the summer of 2015. A reviewer from ''The Malay Mail'' wrote a positive review, saying "If Korean super girl group Girls' Generation's new upbeat, bubble-gum pop single doesn't brighten up your day, we don't know what will." In a more unfavorable review, however, Kim Do-heon from ''

IZM ''IZM'' () is a South Korean online magazine that publishes pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom.S. Frith, W. Straw, and J. Stre ...

'' felt that "the song itself doesn't have that much power", and "it feels like the brakes have been put on innovation".

Commercial performance

"Party" was a commercial success in South Korea. It debuted atop the

on the chart issue dated July 5–11, 2015, and sold 256,390 digital units within its first week of release. Meanwhile, the physical single album peaked at number two on the

. As of December 2015, "Party" has sold over 843,843 digital units in South Korea, becoming the 58th best-selling single of 2015. Additionally, it became the 59th best-performing single on the Gaon Digital Chart of 2015, based on digital sales, streaming, and background music (instrumental track) downloads. The physical release was the 32nd best-selling release of the year with sales of 76,385 units. "Party" debuted at number 22 on the ''Billboard''

on July 20, 2015. The following week, it climbed to number 10, which later became its peak. On the ''Billboard'' World Digital Songs chart, "Party" peaked at number 4.

Promotion

The music video for "Party", released in conjunction with the single, was choreographed by Kevin Maher and directed by Hong Won-ki of

Zanybros Zanybros (, stylized as ZANYBROS) is a South Korean video production company specializing in music video and commercial film production. Zanybros was founded in 2002 by director Hong Won-ki and videographer Kim Jun-hong and has evolved to be one ...

. It was filmed in

Ko Samui Ko Samui (or Koh Samui), often locally shortened to Samui (, ), is an island off the east coast of Thailand. Geographically in the Mu Ko Samui, Chumphon Archipelago, it is part of Surat Thani Province, though as of 2012, Ko Samui was granted munic ...

, Thailand, and has a beach setting that shows the group enjoying themselves at a summer beach party. There are also a few scenes that were filmed indoors in a bar where they dance to the song. Lucas Villa from ''

AXS AXS may refer to: Anschutz Entertainment Group * AXS (company), primary ticket platform developed by Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG). * AXS TV, a cable channel partially owned by Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG). Other * Access (group), a Japa ...

'' praised the video's flamboyant fashion styles, writing that "Girls' Generation does summer right by living it up under the sun." The music video was an instant success on YouTube, achieving over 2.7 million views in one day. Within 36 hours, it garnered over 6 million views. The visual was the most viewed music video on YouTube by a South Korean music act in July 2015. To promote the single, Girls' Generation performed the song and its B-side "Check" at Banyan Tree Club & Spa in Seoul just before the release of "Party." Following the release of the single in July 2015, the group performed "Party" on several Korean music programs, including three major ones: KBS's ''

'', MBC's ''

'', and SBS' ''

''.

Awards and nominations

Track listing

Credits

Credits are adapted from ''Lion Heart'' liner notes.

Party

Studio

* Ingrid Studio –

recording A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, re ...

digital editing In mass communication, digital media is any communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. can be created, viewed, distributed, modified, listened to, and preserved on a digital electronic d ...

* MonoTree Studio – recording, additional vocal editing * SM Blue Cup Studio – mixing * Sterling Sound – mastering

Personnel

SM Entertainment SM Entertainment Co., Ltd. () is a South Korean multinational entertainment agency established in 1995 by Lee Soo-man. It is one of South Korea's largest entertainment companies and has been responsible for fostering and popularizing the car ...

– executive producer *

Lee Soo-man Lee Soo-man (, born 18 June 1952) is a South Korean business executive and record producer who is best known for being the founder of SM Entertainment, a multinational entertainment company based in Seoul. He has also been referred to as the "p ...

– producer *

– vocals,

background vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are u ...

– lyrics * Albi Albertsson –

composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography * Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include ...

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestr ...

* Chris Young – composition * Shin Agnes – composition, background vocals * Yoo Shin-hye – background vocals * Hwang Hyun – vocal directing, recording,

Pro Tools Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed and released by Avid Technology (formerly Digidesign) for Microsoft Windows and macOS. It is used for music creation and production, sound for picture (sound design, audio post-productio ...

operating, additional vocal editing * Jung Eun-kyung – recording, digital editing * Jung Eui-seok – mixing * Tom Coyne – mastering

Check

Studio

* Ingrid Studio –

* SM Blue Cup Studio – mixing * MonoTree Studio – additional vocal editing * Sterling Sound – mastering

Personnel

– executive producer *

– producer *

– vocals,

* Mafly – lyrics * Engelina Larsen –

, background vocals * Dominique "DOM" Rodriguez – composition, arrangement *

Teddy Riley Edward Theodore Riley (born October 8, 1967) is an American record producer, singer, and songwriter credited with the creation of the R&B and hip-hop fusion genre, new jack swing. Musical artists who utilized Riley's production and songwri ...

– composition, arrangement * Daniel "Obi" Klein – composition, arrangement * Lee Hyun-seung – composition, arrangement * Lee Joo-hyung – vocal directing,

operating * Jung Eun-kyung – recording, digital editing * Jung Eui-seok – mixing * Choo Dae-kwan – additional vocal editing * Tom Coyne – mastering

Charts and sales

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Sales

Release history

Footnotes

Notes References

External links

* {{Authority control Girls' Generation songs 2015 singles 2015 songs SM Entertainment singles Gaon Digital Chart number-one singles Songs in Korean Songs about parties Songs with lyrics by Jo Yoon-kyung