Girls’ Day was formed in 2010 by Dream T Entertainment, and debuted with five members: Sojin, Minah, Jihae, Jisun, and Jiin. Soon after debut, the last three left the group and were replaced by Yura and Hyeri. The group currently consists of those four members, and has been on hiatus since leaving their company in 2019.
Here are my credentials: I’m coming at this one from a pretty roundabout direction, having heard of Girls’ Day via Hyeri and having heard of Hyeri via her role in the 2025 kdrama Friendly Rivalry. Just this month, she became (as far as I’m aware) the first kpop idol to win an award for a queer role. So, I thought that the 15th anniversary of their debut would be a great time to cover Girls’ Day’s discography. Let’s get into it!
A note: I’ll be mostly using the English names of their singles, but I’ll also be mentioning the original titles in Hangul, because that’s often how they’re listed on Apple Music / Spotify.
Single #1: Girls’ Day Party #1
I admit it: when Tilt My Head began, my first thought was: have I accidentally clicked on a Crayon Pop song? . Taking place inside a somewhat dystopian doll factory (a la Dumb Dumb by Red Velvet), this song is aegyo on Olympic-level steroroids. In Korean, the song’s known as Kyawooddong (갸우뚱), which is also is the basis of its main hook. Speaking of which, the song itself is pretty much fine; it’s nothing completely out of left field for its time. It’s a bit like an F(x) song meets an Orange Caramel song and they began the world’s most adorable fistfight. I’m honestly still not sure what to make of it, but maybe I’ll make up my mind by the end of this review.
The b-side from this single is, I kid you not, called Shuppy Shuppy, and is as if someone who hates kpop crammed every stereotype into a song. We’ve got the nonsensical hook, the ridiculous level of aegyo, the random EDM, the context name shoutouts…I mean, honestly, what is going on?
Single #2: Girls’ Day Party #2
Nothing Lasts Forever (Korean name 잘해줘봐야 // Jalhae Jwobwaya), as you can probably guess from the outfits above, is a complete 180 from the over-the-top cuteness of Kyawoodung. Not only is it much more based on trap and EDM, but it’s much more “mature” in terms of music video. (I mean, they’re showing their stomachs; someone call Dispatch.) But more seriously, I was so surprised with the concept chance because, during this era of kpop, it was much more common for a group to stick to a core sound, and for a girl group especially to be pigeonholed into either “mature” or “cutesy”. The fact that they’ve changed so early on has me curious about where they’re headed next. The song itself is undoubtedly very of its time, though I quite liked the chorus, and I hope it’s a sign of stronger hooks to come.
Single #3: Girls’ Day Party #3
Editor’s note: it was in fact, not a marker of what was to come. Twinkle Twinkle (반짝반짝 // Banjabanja) is a return to the cute concept that feels quite out of nowhere. It’s also very of its time, though in the opposite way from Nothing Lasts Forever: it has the nonsense chorus, the over-aegyo, the schoolgirl outfits, the random, fairly sexist plotline about the girls all competing and sabotaging each other over a man, the crazy vocalizing behind the final chorus, and so on and so forth. This isn’t to say that the song taken alone isn’t good, or that there aren’t parts I enjoy, but with everything else going on around it, it’s hard to focus on that.
Hug Me Once (한번만 안아줘) continues the cutesy sound of songs before, but thankfully has a calmer music video that doesn’t seem tailor-made to give me a seizure, which I very much appreciate. It’s definitely the most disco-heavy of any of the tracks so far, which of course I can get behind; I can imagine having a great time roller-skating to it. It just doesn’t stop moving, and I mean that as a compliment. Each chorus takes the power farther, and by the final chorus I was comfortable calling it the first song of Girls Day’s that I out-and-out liked, no strings attached.
Though this is listed as an EP, it actually only has the other previously released singles, so we’re already on to the next.
Single #4: Girls’ Day Party #4
Don’t Flirt ( 너, 한눈 팔지마!// Neo, Haneun Paljima) is absolutely winning in the music video department of the songs thus far, not in the least because Girls’ Day actually directed it themselves. I’m always excited when idols get involved in the creative process, especially all the way back in 2011, when it was far less common. The song itself builds on what Hug Me Once started, and reaches for the stars in the best way. The vocals are at some of their strongest here, and without a hundred bells and whistles to distract from them, I felt like I was able to fully appreciate them here. This is a really great song, and I loved the sense of humor the members had throughout the whole video; it seems like they laughed a lot, and that’s so nice to see.
Oh! My God is the first song so far without a parallel Korean title, and I’m a bit curious as to why. It’s not as fast-paced as Don’t Flirt, but still keeps good time. I feel like it’s one of those songs where, the moment you listen to it, you’re transported back to the time it was made, in both good and bad ways. The beat is so 2012, and the outfits are too…and then you have this weird hip-hop dance subplot that veers a bit too close to cultural appropriation and mimicking what the creators think African-Americans act like for my comfort. Taken apart from…that, the song is fairly good, and it’s grown on me since the first listen. But it’s tough to do that.
From the EP, I enjoyed the great vocals of 둘이서 (Deuliseo // Can You Hear Me?).
Single #5: Girls’ Day Party #5
Don’t Forget Me (나를 잊지마요) is Girls’ Day’s first song with the four members it still has today, and thankfully leaves the strange approach of Oh! My God to the past. Its music video is simple but effective, starring Hyeri in what was her first small foray into acting, and apparently Minah wrote the lyrics of the song herself! Because of its title, I was expecting your typical kpop ballad, but I was pleasantly surprised that she chose to go for much more of a crying-on-the-dancefloor sound, with a striking, fast-paced chorus that doesn’t skimp on the emotion. I’d say that this song is their best work as a whole so far.
Album #1: Female President
With a name like Female President (여자 대통령 // Yeoja Daetongyryeong) for its title, best believe that I had high expectations for this song. Tragically, it’s not exactly the girlpower anthem I was hoping for, instead hingeing on the line, “our country now has a female president, so what’s the big deal if girls go to the boy first?” I’m of two minds about this: is Female President using the sheen of women’s rights to sing a pretty regular kpop song about love that has an almost impressive amount of ass-shaking or is it being clever about its message by addressing a small form of sexism in everyday society with an interesting package? I still haven’t decided.
As for the song itself, though, it definitely didn’t disappoint. The chorus is one of their strongest, racing forward with the best kind of 2nd gen sound: a synthy, overdramatic, vocal-driven arrangement with a catchy hook that still leaves plenty of room for a chorus with breadth. You’ll be tapping your foot along from the second the song starts, and trust me when I say that, if you’re anything like me, you’ll replay the whole thing at least twice.
Expect (기대해 // Gidaehae) is, unsurprisingly, the first song of Girls’ Day’s that I recognized from the moment it began. And for good reason; its hook is unbelievably infectious, and the second you hear it you’ll want to blast it on your 2014 boombox too. Thankfully, the chorus doesn’t stop at its recignizable hook and its equally recognizable black outfits with red suspenders, like I was half-concerned it would. The build-up does outshine the chorus a bit, but that’s not too much of a complaint. when the final rendition of the chorus (and that bridge before it?) is just utter perfection, let’s be honest here. The whole thing feels like a culmination of the sound they hinted at with Nothing Lasts Forever, delivered by a much more experienced group.
This album, like their EPs before, is heavy on the previously-released tracks, but thankfully, it has some new faces too. I enjoyed the strength of the intro, called Girls’ Day World, the mile-a-minute speed of Easy Go, and the back and forth vocals of Don’t Trust Her (그녀를 믿지마 // Geunyeoreul Mijima)
That’s all for this week. Next time, we’re onto Part 2. Tschüss!g
Let me know your thoughts!