Mr.Mr. (song)

"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. The song was composed by American production team The Underdogs, who had previously worked with Western artists including Britney Spears, Beyoncé, and Justin Timberlake. A music video for the song was initially planned to be released on February 19 but was postponed to February 28 due to the accidental deletion of some of the original files.

"Mr.Mr."
Single by Girls' Generation
from the album Mr.Mr.
ReleasedFebruary 25, 2014 (2014-02-25)
Recorded2013; S.M. Studio
Genre
Length3:56
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Lee Soo-man
Girls' Generation singles chronology
"Galaxy Supernova"
(2013)		 "Mr.Mr."
(2014)		 "Catch Me If You Can"
(2015)
Music video
"Mr.Mr." on YouTube

"Mr.Mr." was described as an electropop and pop-R&B song that incorporates a hip hop beat and EDM-influenced buildups. The song received generally positive reviews from music critics, who praised its musical styles, which were deemed 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 appeared on several 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 selling 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 composed by American production team The Underdogs (Harvey Mason Jr., Damon Thomas, Andrew Hey, Mike Daley, Britt Burton, and Rodnae "Chikk" Bell), with Korean lyrics by Cho Yoon-kyung and Kim Hee-jeong of Jam Factory), who have written lyrics for Girls' Generation for eight years.[3][4] The Underdogs had previously worked with 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] An editor from Yonhap characterized it as an "electropop dance" song featuring elements of R&B,[5] and 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 girls, a departure from the group's familiar themes.[4]

Music video and promotion
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. However, the release date was postponed to February 28 due to the accidental deletion of some of the original shots, which necessitated re-filming the affected scenes.[10][11][12][13] As a result, the group's comeback performances on South Korean music programs were also delayed for two weeks.[10]

The music video was choreographed by Jillian Meyer (who had previously collaborated with artists including Janet Jackson and Kylie Minogue) and two members of BeatBurger – Shim Jae-won and Greg Hwang.[3][14] It tells the story of a man who is diagnosed with heart disease but can not confess it to the girl he likes. He then decides to undergo a surgery, which is handled by the group's members who act as doctors.[15] Group member Sooyoung argued that "Our new music video has the concept of encouraging and boosting the confidence of those men who have lost courage".[16] The visual received positive reviews from media outlets; Fuse labelled it "cinematic" and praised its "sophisticated" class,[17] and Popdust's Jacques Peterson hailed the video as "the hottest episode of Grey's Anatomy ever".[18] It was the second most watched K-pop music video of the first half of 2014, trailing only Psy's music video for "Hangover".[19]

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.[20] 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.[21]

Critical reception

"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 named it the 18th best K-pop song on his list of 20 Best K-pop Songs of 2014.[8]

AllMusic's reviewer Heather Phares said 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".[22] Time magazine's Lily Rothman included "Mr.Mr." on the publication's 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 added 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.[23]

It ranked #84 on Billboard's 100 Greatest K-Pop Songs of the 2010s.[24]

Year-end lists
Critic/Publication List Rank Ref.
Billboard The 20 Best K-Pop Songs of 2014 18 [25]
Decade-end lists
Critic/Publication List Rank Ref.
Billboard The 100 Greatest K-Pop Songs of the 2010s: Staff List 84 [24]

Commercial performance

"Mr.Mr." peaked atop the South Korean Gaon Digital Chart in the tenth week of 2014.[26] It was the 46th best-selling song of 2014 in South Korea, selling over 906,962 digital units.[27] Overall, it became the 54th best-performing song on the Gaon Digital Chart, based on additional streaming and instrumental track downloads.[28] "Mr.Mr." also charted at number three on the Korea K-Pop Hot 100,[29] and number four on the Billboard World Digital Songs.[30]

Credits

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

Charts

Awards and nominations
Music program wins
Program Date
Mnet's M Countdown March 6, 2014
March 13, 2014
SBS's Inkigayo March 9, 2014
March 23, 2014
MBC Music's Show Champion March 12, 2014
March 19, 2014
KBS2's Music Bank March 14, 2014
MBC's Show! Music Core March 15, 2014
March 22, 2014

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

References
  1. Benjamin, Jeff (February 27, 2014). "Girls' Generation, 'Mr.Mr.': Track-By-Track Review". Billboard. Archived from the original on February 28, 2014.
  2. Phares, Heather. "Mr.Mr. – Girls' Generation | Review". AllMusic. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
  3. Mr.Mr. (booklet) (in Korean). Girls' Generation. S.M. Entertainment. 2014.CS1 maint: others (link)
  4. Lee Jae-hoon (February 25, 2014). "Girls' Generation Releases 'Mr.Mr.'" (in Korean). Newsis. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
  5. "Girls' Generation collaborates with 'The Underdogs' for new album". Yonhap News Agency. February 2, 2014. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
  6. "KBS Playlist: February 25, 2014". KBS Radio. February 25, 2014. Archived from the original on April 4, 2016.
  7. The Best (CD liner notes) (in Japanese). Girls' Generation. Japan: EMI Records Japan.CS1 maint: others (link)
  8. Benjamin, Jeff; Oak, Jessica (November 12, 2014). "The 20 Best K-Pop Songs of 2014". Billboard. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
  9. "Girls' Generation Achieved the Top Spot Two Times on 'M Countdown'". Seoul Economic Daily (in Korean). March 13, 2014. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
  10. "Girls' Generation Postpones Release Date for New Comeback". OSEN (in Korean). Retrieved February 14, 2014.
  11. Jackson, Julie (February 17, 2014). "K-pop's Girls' Generation and 2NE1 lead comeback month". The Star. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
  12. Kim Hee-eun (February 18, 2014). "Tech glitch delays Girls' Generation". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  13. Hong, Grace Danbi (March 11, 2014). "SNSD was Annoyed to Re-Film 'Mr.Mr' MV". CJ E&M enewsWorld. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  14. "Girls' Generation's Taeyeon, Yoona and Seohyun Unveils New Teaser Images". Sports Chosun (in Korean). February 13, 2014. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
  15. Mr.Mr (music video) (in Korean). Girls' Generation (performers), Jillian Meyer (choreographer). S.M. Entertainment.CS1 maint: others (link)
  16. Benjamin, Jeff (July 3, 2014). "Girls' Generation Explains 'Mr.Mr.' Video, Reveals 2014 Resolutions". Billboard. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
  17. Benjamin, Jeff (February 28, 2014). "Girls' Generation 'Mr.Mr.' Video Serves Surgeon Sophistication". Fuse. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
  18. "Girls' Generation's 'Mr.Mr.' Music Video Is Proof That They're History's Most Attractive Girl Group". Popdust. February 28, 2014. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
  19. "Top 10 Kpop Videos of 2014 (First Half)". Star News (in Korean). July 9, 2014. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
  20. Hong, Grace Danbi (February 24, 2014). "SNSD to Unveil 'Mr.Mr' Today (2/24) at 5PM". CJ E&M enewsWorld. Archived from the original on March 6, 2014.
  21. "S.M. Entertainment Arranges Girls' Generation Comeback Stages". OSEN (in Korean). March 5, 2014. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
  22. Walker, John (February 28, 2014). "Girls' Generation 'Mr.Mr.' Video". MTV News. Retrieved April 4, 2016.
  23. Rothman, Lily (June 2, 2014). "Here Are the 25 Best Songs of 2014 (So Far)". Time. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
  24. "The 100 Greatest K-Pop Songs of the 2010s: Staff List". Billboard. November 25, 2019.
  25. "The 20 Best K-Pop Songs of 2014". Billboard. Retrieved 2020-11-24.
  26. "Gaon Digital Chart: Week 10, 2014" (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. Archived from the original on July 24, 2014.
  27. "Gaon Download Chart: 2014 (Year-End)" (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016.
  28. "2014 Year End Chart" (in Korean). Gaon Music Chart. Archived from the original on January 17, 2015.
  29. "Billboard's K-Pop Hot 100 (March 19, 2014)". Billboard.
  30. "Soyu & Junggigo's 'Some' Fends Off Top Idols for K-Pop Hot 100 No. 1". Billboard. March 7, 2014. Retrieved September 29, 2014.
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