"Gee" is a song by South Korean girl group Girls' Generation, who originally recorded a Korean-language version for an extended play (EP) that was released in South Korea by SM Entertainment on January 5, 2009. Nayutawave Records released a Japanese-language version of "Gee" on October 20, 2010, as the group's second single in Japan. Music duo E-Tribe wrote and produced the track, and Kanata Nakamura wrote additional Japanese lyrics.
"Gee" is primarily a bubblegum track with an electropop and Europop sound brought by prominent techno- and hip hop-influenced synthesizers and beats. The lyrics are about first love from a young female perspective. The song was supported by a music video depicting the group members as mannequins who, after the shop owner leaves, come to life and perform the choreography in colored skinny jeans. It became the first girl-group video to amass 100 million views on YouTube.
In South Korea, "Gee" was the number-one song on the music program Music Bank for nine consecutive weeks in 2009 and the top-performing song of the 2000s decade on the digital music platform Melon. According to a 2009 poll by Gallup Korea, it was the year's most popular song. In Japan, it peaked at number two on the Oricon Singles Chart and number one on the RIAJ Digital Track Chart, and the Recording Industry Association of Japan (RIAJ) certified that it sold over one million digital copies.
"Gee" won Song of the Year at both the Melon Music Awards and the Korean Music Awards, and received the Digital Daesang at the 24th Golden Disc Awards in 2009. Music critics have recognized "Gee" as a K-pop standard that helped define the contemporary bubblegum pop sound, attributing its enduring popularity in part to its music video. Rolling Stone named it the greatest song in the history of Korean pop music in 2023, and one of the 250 greatest songs of the 21st century in 2025, ranking it at number 170.
Background and release South Korean entertainment agency SM Entertainment launched Girls' Generation, a nine-member idol girl group, in August 2007. In November, SM released the group's debut studio album, which was supported by singles including "Into the New World" and "Girls' Generation"; the latter of which was among the top three most popular songs of 2007 according to a Gallup Korea public poll. The album was succeeded with a reissue titled Baby Baby in March 2008. Girls' Generation sold over 100,000 copies of their debut album in South Korea, ranking among the period's commercially successful idol groups.
On January 5, 2009, SM released Gee, the group's first extended play (EP) (known in South Korea as "mini album"). SM had planned to release "Dancing Queen", a cover version of Duffy's single "Mercy (2008), as the title track. The plan was inspired by the "retro" music trend caused by fellow idol group Wonder Girls' hit single "Nobody" (2008). It was scrapped due to copyright issues. Production duo E-Tribe, who wrote "Gee", pitched the song to SM, who thought the lyrics were childish and the melody weak. E-Tribe maintained their position, and SM selected "Gee" as the title track. It was released as the lead single onto South Korean digital music platforms.
After Girls' Generation's domestic success, SM extended their promotional activities to Japan. In September 2010, the group signed with Universal Music Japan-owned Nayutawave Records. Their first Japanese single was the Japanese-language version of "Genie", which had been released in South Korea prior. Nayutawave released the Japanese-language version of "Gee" on October 20, 2010, as the group's second Japanese single.
Music and lyrics
"Gee" was written, arranged, and produced by E-Tribe, a production duo consisting of Ahn Myung-won and Kim Young-deuk. It was recorded at SM's Concert Hall and Yellow Tail Studios in Seoul, South Korea. The track is three minutes and 21 seconds long. The Japanese version's lyrics were written by Kanata Nakamura.
"Gee" is an upbeat track that uses dense synthesizers. Rolling Stone described the synthesizers as "glittering Shibuya-kei", and Billboard found them to be influenced by techno. The track is accentuated with chimes at the beginning and pulsing electropop beats throughout. Music critics categorized the sound as bubblegum, Europop, and electropop. The A.V. Club characterized the track as "a three-minute aural mélange of techno, bubblegum pop, and hip-hop". The group members sing in high-registered vocals accentuated with electronic processing including bleeps and clicks. According to musicologist Michael Fuhr, this vocal technique demonstrates aegyo, a Korean concept for cuteness in an adolescent, feminine way. The lyrics talk about the girls' feelings when they fall in love.
Music video The music video for the Korean version of "Gee" begins with the nine members being displayed as mannequins at a clothing store and coming to life after the store's male staff (played by Minho of Shinee) leaves. The members then discover the surroundings and find out the portrait of Minho being "the employee of the month". Scenes of the members performing the choreography are juxtaposed with the storyline. At the end of the video, the members leave the store and Minho returns realizing the mannequins have disappeared. The video became the first video by a girl group to achieve over 100 million views on YouTube. Another music video for the Japanese version was also released, which also features Minho as the male staff, but does not portray the members as mannequins but Minho's fellow female staff.
Reception
Girls' Generation had their first promotional activity for the song on MBC's music show Music Core on January 10, 2009.Girls' Generation comes back after 9 months "cute dance" (in Korean) Newsen.com (January 11, 2009). Retrieved on December 20, 2014. "Gee" eventually became a hit, achieving nine consecutive weeks at number one on KBS's Music Bank,Girls Generation to Return With New Album Koreatimes.co.kr (June 15, 2009). Retrieved on January 27, 2015.Girls' Generation topped Music Bank for 9 consecutive weeks (in Korean) Newsen.com (March 13, 2009). Retrieved on December 19, 2014. and eight consecutive wins on the Mnets chart,Girls' Generation broke Mnet's record, staying at number 1 for 8 consecutive weeks (in Korean) Newsen.com (March 3, 2009). Retrieved on December 19, 2014. setting a record at the time. It was named as the Song of the Decade by South Korea's online music website Melon, and chosen to be the most popular song of 2009 on Music Bank.Girls' Generation's "Gee" is most popular song of 2009 on Music Bank (in Korean) Newsen.com (December 25, 2009). Retrieved on December 19, 2014. The song has also won several major awards such as Digital Daesang and Digital Bonsang at the 24th Golden Disc Awards,Half worthy awards ceremony, music fans feel bitter (in Korean) News.mk.co.kr (December 11, 2009). Retrieved on December 19, 2014. the Daesang and Digital Music awards at the 19th Seoul Music Awards,Girls' Generation won digital music award at Seoul Music Awards (in Korean) Newsen.com (February 3, 2010). Retrieved on December 19, 2014. and Song of the Year at the 7th Korean Music Awards.Girls' Generation, 韩 Pop Music 'netizens selected geurupsang (in Korean) Star.mt.co.kr (March 30, 2010). Retrieved April 3, 2010.
The Japanese version sold 130,145 physical copies in 2010, becoming the 49 best-selling single of the year in Japan. The song reached number one on the RIAJ's weekly digital track chart on October 26,RIAJ Digital Track Chart for October 20-26, 2010 (in Japanese) Recording Industry Association of Japan (October 2010) Retrieved on October 29, 2010. and eventually was ranked fifty-seventh and twenty-third on Billboard's 2010 & 2011 Japan Hot 100 charts, respectively.Billboard's 2010 Japan Hot 100 Billboard (2010). Retrieved on December 19, 2014.Billboard's 2011 Japan Hot 100 Billboard (2011). Retrieved on December 19, 2014. In January 2014, "Gee" was certified "Million" by the RIAJ, achieving more than one million digital downloads.Recording Industry Association of Japan's certification for January 2014 (in Japanese) RIAJ (January 2014). Retrieved on December 19, 2014. The song is also the group's best-selling single in the US with 80,000 downloads sold as of May 2020.
Accolades "Gee" won 14 first place music program awards in South Korea, and received a record nine consecutive wins on Music Bank until Psy's "Gangnam Style" in 2012. +Awards and nominations for "Gee" Year Organization Award Result 2009 Bugs Music Awards Song of the Year Cyworld Digital Music Awards Song of the Month – January 디지털 뮤직 어워드 . Cyworld. Retrieved January 13, 2010. Bonsang Award (Top 10) Golden Disc Awards Digital Bonsang Golden Disk Awards: 수상자 (Golden Disk Awards Winners List) . Golden Disk Awards. Retrieved December 10, 2009. Digital Daesang KBS Song Festival Song of the Year Melon Music Awards Song of the Year Odyssey Award Mnet 20's Choice Awards Hot Online Song Mnet Asian Music Awards Best Dance Performance Best Female Group Philippine K-pop Awards Music Video of the Year 2010 Korean Music Awards Best Dance & Electronic Song Song of the Year 소녀시대, 韓대중음악상 '네티즌 선정 그룹상 (Girls' Generation, 韩 Pop Music 'netizens selected geurupsang) Money Today. March 30, 2010. Retrieved April 3, 2010.Seoul Music Awards Best Song Popularity Award
Program Date +Music program awards Music Bank January 16, 2009 January 23, 2009 January 30, 2009 February 6, 2009 February 13, 2009 February 20, 2009 February 27, 2009 March 6, 2009 March 13, 2009 June 26, 2009 December 25, 2009 Inkigayo January 18, 2009 February 1, 2009 February 8, 2009
In popular culture A parody of "Gee", called "Hee", has gained popularity among Korean citizens. It is a combination of the instrumental of 'Gee' and confrontational dialogue from the drama Temptation of Wife.Kim, Swung-yen. ‘아내의 유혹’ 신애리, 노래 ‘hee’로 가수 데뷔? (Wife's Temptation Shin Ae-ri, Debuting as Singer with "Hee"?) . Maeil Yungaburra. February 27, 2009. Retrieved March 13, 2009.
In 2009 and 2010, SM labelmates Super Junior regularly included a cover of "Gee" on their Super Show 2 tour, introduced by a comedic video interlude featuring both groups.Super Show 2: The Secret of Gee (featuring Girls' Generation) YouTube (created by SM Entertainment) "Gee" was the opening theme song of the film "To All the Boys: Always and Forever".
Legacy
"Gee" has been widely recognized as a K-pop classic and the group's signature song.
The song's choreography, built around a repeated pointing hook that fans nicknamed the 'crab dance,' circulated widely, and the brightly colored skinny jeans the members wore in the video influenced fashion trends in South Korea.
On writing the group's biography for AllMusic, Chris True selected "Gee" as one of their outstanding songs. Chuck Eddy from Spin ranked the single fifth on his list of the 21 greatest K-pop songs of all time in 2012, opining that the song has set up the group's "huge deals" ever since. Pitchfork Media editor Jakob Dorof included the song on his list of 20 essential K-pop songs in 2014, noting it for being the "magnum opus" of modern Korean bubblegum pop genre, which he regarded as K-pop's "comfort zone." Dorof also described the song as "formally irrefutable" and credited it, in hyperbolic terms, with briefly easing long-standing cultural tensions between South Korea and Japan. Abigail Covington writing for The A.V. Club regarded Girls' Generation as the K-pop "premier, ubiquitous provider," particularly with "Gee", which she said showcased Korean music's potential, noting that K-pop had predated the group's 2007 debut. Billboard magazine labelled "Gee" "arguably the most iconic K-pop song in the past ten years."