"Oh My God" (stylized in
sentence case
Letter case is the distinction between the letters that are in larger uppercase or capitals (or more formally ''majuscule'') and smaller lowercase (or more formally ''minuscule'') in the written representation of certain languages. The writing ...
) is a song recorded by South Korean girl group
(G)I-dle
(G)I-dle (), stylized in all caps, is a South Korean girl group formed by Cube Entertainment in 2018. The group consists of five members: Miyeon, Minnie, Soyeon, Yuqi and Shuhua. Originally a sextet, Soojin left the lineup on August 14, 202 ...
as the lead single for their third extended play ''
I Trust
''I Trust'' (stylized in sentence case) is the third Korean extended play by South Korean girl group (G)I-dle. It was released digitally on April 6, 2020 and physically on April 7, 2020 by Cube Entertainment. ''I Trust'' features 5 tracks includ ...
''. It was released in both Korean and English through
Cube Entertainment
Cube Entertainment Inc. () is a South Korean entertainment company. The company operates as a record label, talent agency, music production company, event management and concert production company, and music publishing house. Cube are known for h ...
on April 6, 2020. The song was composed by
Soyeon and long-time collaborator
Big Sancho
Kim Tae-ho (Hangul: 김태호), professionally known as Big Sancho (Hangul: 빅싼초), is a South Korean songwriter, composer and music producer. He is part of the producing team Yummy Tone.
Songwriting and composing credits
Songwriting and c ...
, while the lyrics for the English version were translated by Lauren Kaori.
In South Korea, the song debuted and peaked at number 15 on 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 o ...
, and peaked at number 3 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 advertise ...
''
World Digital Songs
The World Digital Song Sales chart (formerly World Digital Songs) is a weekly record chart compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published by '' Billboard'' magazine. Established in 2010—with the issue dated January 23—as one of 21 genre-specific ...
chart. An accompanying music video, directed by Yoon Rima and Jang Dongju, was released alongside the single. It became (G)I-dle's third to reach 100 million views, after "
Latata
"Latata" (stylized as "LATATA") is a song recorded by South Korean girl group (G)I-dle as the lead single from their debut Korean extended play (EP) ''I Am''. It was released on May 2, 2018, by Cube Entertainment and distributed by Kakao M. It ...
" and "
Hann (Alone)
"Hann (Alone)" (; stylized as "HANN (Alone)") is a song recorded by South Korean girl group (G)I-dle. It was released on August 14, 2018, by Cube Entertainment as a digital single. A music video for the song was also released on August 14.
Co ...
", and was nominated for
Best K-Pop Video at the
2020 MTV Video Music Awards
The 2020 MTV Video Music Awards were held on August 30, 2020. Keke Palmer hosted the 37th annual ceremony, which was presented primarily from the channel headquarter in New York City, but with a virtual segments held in another cities,due the C ...
.
A Japanese version of the song was released on August 26, 2020, as the lead single from their 2nd Japanese EP ''
Oh My God
Oh My God, O My God, Oh My God! or Ohmigod may refer to:
* the first words of the Act of Contrition, a Christian prayer
* a common phrase frequently abbreviated as "OMG", often used in SMS messages and Internet communication, and sometimes euphem ...
''.
Background and composition
"Oh My God" was released in Korean and English language. According to
Miyeon
Mi-yeon, also spelled Mi-youn or Mi-yeun, is a Korean feminine given name. The meaning differs based on the hanja used to write each syllable of the name.
Hanja
, regulations of the Supreme Court of Korea permit the following 44 hanja with the r ...
, they included the English version specially for global fans for the now-postponed ''
I-Land: Who Am I Tour''.
"Oh My God" was written and co-produced by leader
Soyeon, who composed the group's popular songs from "
Latata
"Latata" (stylized as "LATATA") is a song recorded by South Korean girl group (G)I-dle as the lead single from their debut Korean extended play (EP) ''I Am''. It was released on May 2, 2018, by Cube Entertainment and distributed by Kakao M. It ...
" to "
Lion
The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...
". Crystal Bell from ''
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
'' describes the song as "a dark, trap-infused song with lyrics that riff on contrasts — light and dark, purity and sin" and "It's not a typical pop chorus exploding with uptempo beats and bright melodies". It is composed in the key of
E minor
E minor is a minor scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative major is G major and its parallel major is E major.
The E natural minor scale is:
:
Changes needed ...
, with a tempo of 110
BPM running three minutes and fifteen seconds.
The song was conceptualized around the theme of 'self-trust' when encountering reality and experiencing feelings of rejection, confusion, recognition, and dignity. It is an urban hip hop track in which the stark differences in rhythm that correspond to the atmospheric changes within the song stand out. The fantasy-like mood and bold production are led by a vintage piano sound and strong 808 bass.
The specific lyrics "Oh my god / she took me to the sky / Oh my god / she showed me all the stars" sparked listeners questioning as to whom is being referred to. Soyeon responded that the imagery and lyrics represent love in many forms, and that she will leave it to the listener to interpret it their own way.
Promotion
(G)I-dle had two versions of choreography, black (devil) and white (angel) to be performed on music shows. On April 9, the group performed the lead single for the first time on
Mnet
M-Net (an abbreviation of Electronic Media Network) is a South African pay television channel established by Naspers in 1986. The channel broadcasts both local and international programming, including general entertainment, children's series, ...
's ''
M Countdown
''M Countdown'' () is a South Korean music program broadcast by Mnet. The show features appearances by popular music artists who also perform live on stage. It is broadcast from CJ E&M Center Studio in Sangam-dong, Mapo District, Seoul.
Bro ...
'' performing the black version, followed by performances on
KBS' ''
Music Bank
Music Bank may refer to:
* ''Music Bank'' (TV program), a South Korean music program by KBS
**''Music Bank World Tour
The ''Music Bank'' World Tour is a worldwide live concert tour of South Korean music show '' Music Bank'' by the Korean Broa ...
'' for the white version,
MBC's ''
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. ...
'',
SBS ''
Inkigayo
''Inkigayo'' ( ko, 인기가요; 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 p ...
'',
Arirang TV
Arirang International Broadcasting is a South Korean-based broadcasting company operated by the International Broadcasting Exchange Foundation.
It began as a cable TV service in South Korea on February 3, 1997, and opened Korea's first overseas ...
's ''
Simply K-Pop
''Simply K-Pop'' (; also known as ''Simply K-pop Con-Tour'' or ''Simply Con-tour'') is a South Korean music television program broadcast by Arirang TV. Originally called ''The M-Wave'', the show's title was changed to ''Wave K'' in 2011, and ren ...
'', and
SBS MTV
SBS M is a South Korean pay television music channel owned by SBS Medianet, a division of SBS Media Holdings. It features South Korean pop artists, international music, news, and a few reality and variety programs.
It was launched in 2001 as t ...
's ''
The Show''.
On April 11, (G)I-dle held a special event, Oh My Call where 50 selected winners to participate the online fanmeeting. On April 25, the group held a comical prerecorded first solo concert, Safe House Concert through Hello82, with staff members were seen manually controlling strobe lights, rotating stage lights, making artificial stage fog with a diffuser and tossing confetti.
(G)I-dle performed the single on 32nd Korea PD Awards which aired on April 29, 2020.
On June 23, 2020, the group performed the single on ''KCON:TACT 2020 Summer''. They also performed it on
KBS ''
Music Bank
Music Bank may refer to:
* ''Music Bank'' (TV program), a South Korean music program by KBS
**''Music Bank World Tour
The ''Music Bank'' World Tour is a worldwide live concert tour of South Korean music show '' Music Bank'' by the Korean Broa ...
's Mid-Year Special: "Music Bank Cinema"'' on June 26.
Critical reception
Karina Macias from ''
Wild949'' stated the song dives into various genres from Bollywood, pop, and trap and praising the group's soft and fierce looks in the music video. Crystal Bell of
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
described it as a "dark, trap-infused song with lyrics that riff on contrasts — light and dark, purity and sin — to communicate the idea that true divinity comes from knowing and trusting yourself."
Kim Do-heon of ''
IZM'' describes the track "convincing both fun listening and watching" as it crosses the Latin pop beat of "
Senorita" and the heavy sound of 808 bass.
Music critic Yang Sora placed the song at number 15 in 2020 K-Pop Settlement list. In her review, she commented, "(G)I-dle's growth has been impressive in 2020. It starts from a verse with simple piano riffs and an 808 base to a pre-chorus beating through with a strong rhythm, and to the chorus that makes the atmosphere unique with (G)I-dle's dreamy melody and heavy base.
..
Jeon So-yeon's producing continues to show high quality and the vocal skills of the members who successfully expresses what Soyeon creates and excel in their assigned roles. In particular, Minnie and Yuqi's vocals, which captivated the dreamy atmosphere before, and Miyeon and Soyeon's singing, which took charge of the attractive moments of the song, stand out. While Soojin and Shuhua, which was able to give smooth connections, also clearly shows the attractive points of the song.
.."Oh My God" is a song in which all the members' competencies are prominent at the same time, the unique colours of (G)I-dle shine once again."
Commercial performance
"Oh My God" debuted in the top eight major realtime music charts, including number one on three music charts, Bugs, Genie and Naver, making it their second time to top music charts since "
Hann" in 2018. It has also debuted at number 97 in Scotland and at number 24 in Hungary, marking it their first ever appearance on European chart. The single also charted at number 1 on
NetEase Music
NetEase Cloud Music () is a freemium music streaming service developed and owned by NetEase, Inc. The streaming service was launched to the public on 23 April 2013. As of April 2017, the platform has 300 million users, and a music database consis ...
's daily popularity chart, new song chart and weekly K-Pop chart since its release. "Oh My God" debuted at number 13 on the
KKBOX
KKBox, stylized as KKBOX is a music streaming service developed in 2005 by KKBox Inc., a software company in Taipei, Taiwan. It is a part of Japanese Telecom Group, KDDI. The service mainly targets the music markets of East and Southeast Asia, fo ...
Hong Kong Korean single weekly chart, and peaked at number 2 for week 16 of 2020. In Taiwan, the song debuted at number 21 and peaked at number 3 on KKBOX Taiwan Korean weekly chart.
On April 17, 2020, they won their first public broadcast win on
KBS's ''
Music Bank
Music Bank may refer to:
* ''Music Bank'' (TV program), a South Korean music program by KBS
**''Music Bank World Tour
The ''Music Bank'' World Tour is a worldwide live concert tour of South Korean music show '' Music Bank'' by the Korean Broa ...
''. The group went on to win three additional award on
SBS's ''
Inkigayo
''Inkigayo'' ( ko, 인기가요; 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 p ...
'',
Mnet
M-Net (an abbreviation of Electronic Media Network) is a South African pay television channel established by Naspers in 1986. The channel broadcasts both local and international programming, including general entertainment, children's series, ...
's ''
M Countdown
''M Countdown'' () is a South Korean music program broadcast by Mnet. The show features appearances by popular music artists who also perform live on stage. It is broadcast from CJ E&M Center Studio in Sangam-dong, Mapo District, Seoul.
Bro ...
'', and
MBC's ''
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. ...
'', marking (G)I-dle's first grand slam music show win since debut.
According to Amazer, "Oh my god" topped number one most covered K-Pop song for the month of April.
Music video
Prior to its release, the song was accompanied by a music video teaser released midnight
KST on April 6, 2020. The teaser exceeded 1 million views on YouTube in 11 hours.
The music video opens with a solo dance by leader Soyeon in a white room which leads her to escape the reality and gradually spread into a dream.
It contains dark visual elements such as scene that portrays confusion in ego with whole body soaked in purple liquid and red mud, black coloured body painting and pouring red liquid over ones face. Towards the end of the video, Soojin whispers "Ab imo pectore" meaning 'from the bottom of my heart' or 'with deepest affection' in Latin.
Choreography for the song was created by Star System while being directed by director Yoon Rima and Jang Dongju of Rigend Film production team. The assistant directors were Lee Yongoh, Kim Eunah, Lee Sunhyu, Choi Eunjeong and Koo Eunji. Other key personnel were production assistant Choi Seongjin, Park Sangcheol and Il Joo while the Character Generator was Kim Eunah, Lee Sunhyu, Choi Eunjeong and Koo Eunji, Kim Bo-hyeong, Lee Yerim and Bae Haeun. The Director of Photography were Yun Inmo (ATOD), Park Junhee as the Gaffer and Shin Gwiock (A:WE) as the Art Director.
A monotone lyric video for the song was released on April 8.
A dance practice video for "Oh My God" was released on April 12.
On April 20, a special choreography video of "Oh My God" Heaven's version was released, showing their different charm as a gift for their fans for achieving 50 million views.
Reception
Mia Nazarena of ''
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 advertise ...
'' was positive in an article about the album, praising the "dramatic scenes with visually stunning sets, finely-tuned choreography, and carefully curated costume changes".
On April 7, 2020, it was announced that the music video amassed 17 million views within 24 hours of release. The video broke (G)I-dle's personal record set in 2019 with the "Lion" music video, which garnered 5 million views in two days of its release. The music video debuted at number 8 on the Global YouTube Music Videos Chart dated April 3–9 with 15.6 million views. On April 13, the music video hit 50 million views on YouTube, becoming the group's fastest music video to reach this milestone.
On July 9, 2020, "Oh my god" music video reached 100 million views, three months after its released.
Plagiarism accusation
After the release of (G)I-dle's music video teaser, viewers pointed out that several scenes of the "Oh My God" teaser video are similar in appearance and colour to British pop singer
FKA Twigs
Tahliah Debrett Barnett (born 17 January 1988), known professionally as FKA Twigs (stylized as FKA twigs), is an English singer, songwriter, and dancer. Born and raised in Cheltenham, she became a backup dancer for numerous famous musicians aft ...
released song "
Cellophane
Cellophane is a thin, transparent sheet made of regenerated cellulose. Its low permeability to air, oils, greases, bacteria, and liquid water makes it useful for food packaging. Cellophane is highly permeable to water vapour, but may be coated w ...
" music video, which was released in 2019. Netizens pointed out the scene of an artist in mud or dark textured land appearing in the second half of the song. This scene represents the idea of birth or resurrection when Minnie said: "I am no longer a prisoner". The netizens also mentioned the scene of an artists falling among the cloths flying in the air. Lee Jin-jin of Kyunghyang Newspaper responded to the reports, stating that "(G)I-dle's music video was filmed in a series of scenes expressing various surreal situations. On the other hand, FKA Twig's music video has a specific story of 'Crash' and 'Emergency' as the main character falls into an unknown world among pole dances, and the content and settings themselves are different." Soon afterwards, the controversy attracted the attention of FKA Twigs' fans causing the group's foreign fans to disproof and plunge into plagiarism claims, and continuing the arguments in overseas social networking services than domestic. A representative from Cube Entertainment responded, "We have not yet grasped the exact situation. I'm going to find out more and resolve it.
Accolades
Charts
Weekly charts
Monthly charts
Year-end chart
Sales
Release history
See also
*
List of K-pop songs on the Billboard charts
List of K-pop songs on the ''Billboard'' charts is a compilation of weekly chart information for K-pop music published by the ''Billboard'' charts, and reported on by '' Billboard K-Town'', an online ''Billboard'' column. This is a list of ...
*
List of ''Inkigayo'' Chart winners (2020)
*
List of ''M Countdown'' Chart winners (2020)
References
External links
*
{{(G)I-dle
(G)I-dle songs
2020 singles
2020 songs
Cube Entertainment singles
Korean-language songs
Republic Records singles
Songs written by Jeon So-yeon
Music video controversies