"Party" (stylized as PARTY) is a song recorded by South Korean girl group

Girls' Generation Girls' Generation (), also known as SNSD, is a South Korean girl group formed by SM Entertainment. The group is composed of eight members: Taeyeon, Sunny, Tiffany, Hyoyeon, Yuri, Sooyoung, Yoona, and Seohyun. Originally a nine-piece e ...

for their fifth

Korean Korean may refer to: People and culture * Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula * Korean cuisine * Korean culture * Korean language **Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl **Korean dialects and the Jeju language ** ...

studio album '' Lion Heart'' (2015). It was released as the

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release ...

from the album by

S.M. Entertainment SM Entertainment Co., Ltd. () is a South Korean multinational entertainment agency. It is one of South Korea's largest entertainment companies where it was established in 1995 by record executive and record producer Lee Soo-man. The company ha ...

on July 7, 2015. The lyrics were written by Cho Yoon-kyung and the music was composed by Albi Albertsson, Chris Young, and Shin Agnes. "Party" is a

bubblegum pop Bubblegum (also called bubblegum pop) is pop music in a catchy and upbeat style that is considered disposable, contrived, or marketed for children and adolescents. The term also refers to a rock and pop subgenre, originating in the United States ...

and

electropop Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a r ...

song that features synthesizers, guitar, and

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in its instrumentation. To promote the song and the album, Girls' Generation performed "Party" on several South Korean music programs, including '' Music Bank'', ''

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. ...

'' and ''

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 ...

''. A music video for the track, directed by

Hong Won-ki Hong may refer to: Places *Høng, a town in Denmark * Hong Kong, a city and a special administrative region in China *Hong, Nigeria *Hong River in China and Vietnam *Lake Hong in China Surnames *Hong (Chinese name) *Hong (Korean name) Organi ...

, was also released on July 7. The single received generally favorable reviews from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...

, who praised its catchy music styles and compared the song to "

California Gurls "California Gurls" is a song recorded by American singer Katy Perry. It served as the lead single for her third studio album, ''Teenage Dream (Katy Perry album), Teenage Dream'' (2010). The song features verses from rapper Snoop Dogg. The arti ...

" by

Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Known for her influence on modern pop music and her campy style, she has been referred to ...

and " Get Lucky" by

Daft Punk Daft Punk were a French electronic music duo formed in 1993 in Paris by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. Widely regarded as one of the most influential acts in dance music history, they achieved popularity in the late 1990s as p ...

. Commercially, the single was a success in South Korea—the digital version peaked atop 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 ...

, while the physical edition charted at number two on the

Gaon Album Chart The Circle Album Chart, previously known as the Gaon Album Chart, is a record chart ranking the 100 most popular albums, extended plays and single albums in South Korea based on their pure sales. It is a part of the Circle Chart The Circle C ...

. It has sold over 843,000 digital copies in South Korea as of December 2015. The song also peaked at number ten on the

Japan Hot 100 The ''Billboard Japan'' Hot 100 is a record chart in Japan for songs. It has been compiled by '' Billboard Japan'' and '' Hanshin Contents Link'' since February 2008. The chart is updated every Wednesday at Billboard-japan.com ( JST) and every Thu ...

and number four 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 advertis ...

'' World Digital Songs chart.

Background and release

South Korean girl group Girls' Generation had achieved success on the Asian music scene with hit singles such as " Gee" and " I Got a Boy" since their 2007 debut as a nine-piece girl group, consisting of members

Taeyeon Kim Tae-yeon (; born March 9, 1989), known mononymously as Taeyeon, is a South Korean singer. She debuted as a member of girl group Girls' Generation in August 2007, which went on to become one of the best-selling artists in South Korea and on ...

, Sunny,

Tiffany Tiffany may refer to: People * Tiffany (given name), list of people with this name * Tiffany (surname), list of people with this surname Known mononymously as "Tiffany": * Tiffany Darwish, (born 1971), an American singer, songwriter, actress kn ...

Hyoyeon Kim Hyo-yeon (born September 22, 1989), referred to as Hyoyeon or DJ Hyo, is a South Korean singer, dancer, DJ, and television personality. She debuted as a member of the girl group Girls' Generation in August 2007, which went on to become one o ...

Yuri Yuri may refer to: People and fictional characters Given name *Yuri (Slavic name), the Slavic masculine form of the given name George, including a list of people with the given name Yuri, Yury, etc. *Yuri (Japanese name), also Yūri, feminine Jap ...

Sooyoung Choi Soo-young (; born February 10, 1990), professionally known as Sooyoung, is a South Korean singer, actress and songwriter. She was a member of the short-lived Korean-Japanese singing duo Route 0 during 2002 in Japan. After returning to Sou ...

Yoona Im Yoon-ah (; born May 30, 1990), known mononymously as Yoona, is a South Korean singer and actress. After training for five years, she debuted as a member of girl group Girls' Generation (and later its subgroup Girls' Generation-Oh!GG) in Augu ...

Seohyun Seo Ju-hyun (; born June 28, 1991), known professionally as Seohyun, is a South Korean singer, actress and songwriter. She debuted as a member of girl group Girls' Generation (and later its subgroup Girls' Generation-TTS) in August 2007, which ...

, and Jessica. In September 2014, Jessica announced that she had been dismissed as a member of Girls' Generation by their parent company

due to her schedule conflict between the group's mutual music activities and her own fashion business Blanc & Eclare; the group continued as an eight-member group thereafter. Girls' Generation announced their first music release following Jessica's departure in March 2015—a single titled "

Catch Me If You Can ''Catch Me If You Can'' is a 2002 American biographical crime comedy-drama film directed and produced by Steven Spielberg and starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks with Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen, Nathalie Baye, Amy Adams and James ...

", whose

and Japanese versions were released simultaneously in April 2015. On June 30, 2015, Girls' Generation released music video previews of their then-forthcoming three new singles—"Party", " Lion Heart", and " You Think". "Party" was released as the

from the group's fifth Korean studio album '' Lion Heart'', and features a song named "Check" as its

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

. It was released for digital purchase by

on July 7, 2015, and the physical CD single was released on July 8.

Music and lyrics

"Party" was described by ''

s Jeff Benjamin as an

song. He compared the guitar line to that on

's 2010 song "

", and the

's 2014 single " Get Lucky". Writing for

Fuse Fuse or FUSE may refer to: Devices * Fuse (electrical), a device used in electrical systems to protect against excessive current ** Fuse (automotive), a class of fuses for vehicles * Fuse (hydraulic), a device used in hydraulic systems to prote ...

, Benjamin noted that the track incorporated "lively" guitars, "perky" synthesizers, and a "catchy"

hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved or indented, such that it can be used to grab onto, connect, or otherwise attach itself onto another object. In a number of uses, one e ...

. A reviewer from ''

The Malay Mail ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

'' characterized the song as " upbeat"

with a theme similar to that of "California Gurls" and

Kesha Kesha Rose Sebert (; born March 1, 1987), formerly stylized as Ke$ha, is an American singer and songwriter. In 2005, at age 18, Kesha was signed to Kemosabe Records. Her first major success came in early 2009 after she was featured on Americ ...

's 2010 song " Tik Tok". Lyrically, "Party" is about a girls' night out with friends, and mentions drinking lemon

soju (; Hangul: ; Hanja: ) is a clear and colorless Korean distilled alcoholic beverage. It is usually consumed neat. Its alcohol content varies from about 12.9% to 53% alcohol by volume (ABV), although since 2007 low alcohol soju below 20% ...

mojito Mojito (; ) is a traditional Cuban punch. The cocktail often consists of five ingredients: white rum, sugar (traditionally sugar cane juice), lime juice, soda water, and mint. Its combination of sweetness, citrus, and herbaceous mint flavors ...

and

tequila Tequila (; ) is a distilled beverage made from the blue agave plant, primarily in the area surrounding the city of Tequila northwest of Guadalajara, and in the Jaliscan Highlands (''Los Altos de Jalisco'') of the central western Mexican state ...

Reception

"Party" received generally positive reviews from music critics. Melissa Locker of '' Vanity Fair'' described "Party" as "wildly catchy" and deemed it the best song of the second week of July 2015. Casey Lewis, writing for ''

Teen Vogue ''Teen Vogue'' is an American online publication, formerly in print, launched in January 2003, as a sister publication to '' Vogue'', targeted at teenagers. Like ''Vogue'', it included stories about fashion and celebrities. Since 2015, following ...

'', characterized it as a "perfect-for-summer synth-pop anthem" and compared the song's music styles to works of American singer

. Jeff Benjamin from

described the song as "addictive" and felt that it would "get a ton of plays at your next gals' night out." He also named it the best song of the summer of 2015. A reviewer from ''The Malay Mail'' wrote a positive review, saying "If Korean super girl group Girls' Generation's new upbeat, bubble-gum pop single doesn't brighten up your day, we don't know what will." "Party" was a commercial success in South Korea. It debuted atop the

on the chart issue dated July 5–11, 2015, and sold 256,390 digital units within its first week of release. Meanwhile, the physical single album peaked at number two on the

. As of December 2015, "Party" has sold over 843,843 digital units in South Korea, becoming the 58th best-selling single of 2015. Additionally, it became the 59th best-performing single on the Gaon Digital Chart of 2015, based on digital sales, streaming, and background music (instrumental track) downloads. The physical release was the 32nd best-selling release of the year with sales of 76,385 units. "Party" debuted at number 22 on the ''Billboard''

on July 20, 2015. The following week, it climbed to number 10, which later became its peak. On the ''Billboard'' World Digital Songs chart, "Party" peaked at number 4.

Promotion

The music video for "Party", released in conjunction with the single, was choreographed by Kevin Maher and directed by Hong Won-ki of

Zanybros Zanybros (, stylized as ZANYBROS) is a South Korean video production company specializing in music video and commercial film production. Zanybros was founded in 2002 by director Hong Won-ki and videographer Kim Jun-hong and has evolved to be one ...

. It was filmed in

Ko Samui Ko Samui (or Koh Samui, also often locally shortened to Samui; th, เกาะสมุย, ) is an island off the east coast of Thailand. Geographically in the Chumphon Archipelago, it is part of Surat Thani Province, though as of 2012, Ko ...

, Thailand, and has a beach setting that shows the group enjoying themselves at a summer beach party. There are also a few scenes that were filmed indoors in a bar where they dance to the song. Lucas Villa from '' AXS'' praised the video's flamboyant fashion styles, writing that "Girls' Generation does summer right by living it up under the sun." The music video was an instant success on YouTube, achieving over 2.7 million views in one day. Within 36 hours, it garnered over 6 million views. The visual was the most viewed music video on YouTube by a South Korean music act in July 2015. To promote the single, Girls' Generation performed the song and its B-side "Check" at Banyan Tree Club & Spa in Seoul just before the release of "Party." Following the release of the single in July 2015, the group performed "Party" on several Korean music programs, including three major ones: KBS's '' Music Bank'', MBC's ''

'', and SBS' ''

''.

Track listing

Credits

Credits adapted from '' Lion Heart'' liner notes *Hwang Hyeonvocal director, Pro Tools operator, recording engineer, vocal editor *Yu Shin-hyebackground vocals *Shin Agnesbackground vocals *Jeong Eun-kyeongrecording engineer *Jeong Ui-seokmixer *

vocals **

vocals ** Sunnyvocals **

vocals **

vocals

Charts and sales

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Sales

Awards and nominations

Release history

Footnotes

Notes References

External links

* {{Authority control Girls' Generation songs 2015 singles 2015 songs SM Entertainment singles Gaon Digital Chart number-one singles Korean-language songs Songs about parties