"Pop!" is a song recorded by South Korean singer

Nayeon Im Na-yeon (; born September 22, 1995), known mononymously as Nayeon, is a South Korean singer. She became a member of the South Korean girl group Twice, under JYP Entertainment, in 2015 as a winning contestant of the reality survival televis ...

for her debut extended play, ''

Im Nayeon Im Na-yeon (; born September 22, 1995), known mononymously as Nayeon, is a South Korean singer. She became a member of the South Korean girl group Twice, under JYP Entertainment, in 2015 as a winning contestant of the reality survival televis ...

''. It was released as the EP's lead single on June 24, 2022, through JYP and

Republic Records Republic Records is a New York City–based American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). It was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially an ...

. It is a

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

and bubblegum song that features bright beats. It is characterized by live instruments, winding high notes, and a variety of ad libs, with lyrics revolving around a protagonist who sings about her ability to capture her lover's heart in line with "popping a lover's heart like a bubble." "Pop!" received favorable reviews from music critics, who complimented its catchy production and lyrics. Commercially, it peaked at number two on the Circle Digital Chart for multiple weeks as well as peaking in the top ten in Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Taiwan. In addition, it was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Japan after surpassing 100 million streams in the country.

Background and release

On May 18, 2022,

announced that

would be releasing her debut solo EP on June 24, 2022. On May 31, JYP Entertainment released the EP's tracklist, with "Pop!" as the title track. They also released a short snippet of the song. On June 21, the music video teaser was officially released through JYP Entertainment's YouTube channel. On June 24, the song was finally released through all digital platforms.

Composition

"Pop!" was described as a song that "conjures classic Twice, from the fun bubblegum beat to the addictive melody and cute lyrics". It is a

and bubblegum song that takes inspiration from the sounds of second-generation bubblegum K-pop. It is characterized by bright beats, live instruments such as

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

, and

horn Horn most often refers to: *Horn (acoustic), a conical or bell shaped aperture used to guide sound ** Horn (instrument), collective name for tube-shaped wind musical instruments *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various ...

, winding high notes, and a variety of ad libs. Its lyrics revolve around "a bold declaration of confidence." Where the protagonist sings about her ability to capture her lover's heart with ease. The lyrics "explored the flirtatious and accrescent sentiments of romance using onomatopoeia to portray popping a lover's heart like a bubble." In terms of

musical notation Music notation or musical notation is any system used to visually represent aurally perceived music played with instruments or sung by the human voice through the use of written, printed, or otherwise-produced symbols, including notation fo ...

, the song was written in the key of D major with a tempo of 97 beats per minute.

Promotion

On June 25, 2022, Nayeon performed the song on

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 ...

's ''Fresh Out Live Show'' to promote it. This was followed by two performances on '' Music Bank'' and one performance on ''

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 ...

.''

Critical reception

''Teen Vogue'''s Lai Frances wrote “Pop!” pays homage to the grandiose sounds and production that embody what K-pop is known for: luxurious music video sets, designer outfits, and a plethora of instruments on top of a catchy hook that revives sounds from second generation K-pop, an era of which she's a fan. She's inspired by TWICE as she turns herself into a leader, main vocal, main dancer, energy pill, and center visual all in one. With the spotlight already on her side, she's managed to utilize it as a way to talk casually and let herself be honest about her growth and creativity in music." ''Beats Per Minute'''s JT Early praised the song's catchy energy and its usage of retro and modern sounds, writing "She sings about her ability to captivate and it's hard to disagree as the song maintains a fun and relentlessly catchy energy (the recurrent “pop pop pop”s in particular seem designed to take residence in the brain for days after hearing them). The song effectively mixes the retro and the modern where Nayeon sounds entirely at ease. An anthem for being extroverted and having faith in your own capabilities is a welcome change of pace in the pop landscape." ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'''s Rhian Daly described the song as the best track on the album writing, "First, opening the whole show is the title track ‘Pop’ – a confident and assured piece of pop that's bubblegum bright and just as addictive as blowing bubbles til they burst. Nayeon sounds nothing short of spectacular on the summer-ready single, sunnily warning: “You cannot get away from me / The twitch in your eyes / Your nervous gestures, baby / I want to pop you."

Accolades

Credits and personnel

Credits adopted from

Melon A melon is any of various plants of the family Cucurbitaceae with sweet, edible, and fleshy fruit. The word "melon" can refer to either the plant or specifically to the fruit. Botanically, a melon is a kind of berry, specifically a "pepo". The ...

. Studio * JYPE Studios – recording * Chapel Swing Studios – mixing * Sound 360 – mixing & mastering * 821 Sound Mastering – mastering Song * Nayeon – vocals * Sophia Pae – background vocals * Isran –

lyricist A lyricist is a songwriter who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's income ...

* Kenzie — composition * Hayden Chapman — composition * Greg Bonnick — composition * Ellen Berg — composition *

LDN Noise LDN Noise (pronounced ''London Noise'') is a British songwriting and record production duo based in London, England. Consisting of songwriter Greg Bonnick and DJ Hayden Chapman, the duo has worked with artists such as Nathan Sykes, Nick Jonas ...

—

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 orches ...

, all instruments * Jane Kim – musician * Sim Eunji — vocal arrangement,

audio engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduction, ...

* Hyejin Koo – recording * Tony Maserati – mixing * David K – mixing * Younghyun – mixing * Haneul Lee – Immersive mixing engineer * Choi Jung-Hoon – Immersive mixing engineer

Charts

Weekly charts

Monthly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{reflist 2022 debut singles 2022 songs JYP Entertainment singles Republic Records singles Korean-language songs South Korean pop songs Bubblegum pop songs Songs written by Kenzie (songwriter)