Hey, hey, you, you!
[Video]
[6.67]
Claire Davidson: The buzzing guitars that sear through the verses are pleasantly reminiscent of early-2010s bubblegum, a sugary approach only enhanced by the girl-group spirit of the lyrics, which see I-dle take turns in chastising a friend’s unworthy ex. Yet the chorus, which sees the group’s harmonies take a backseat to cheap eight-bit synths, makes “Girlfriend” sound like the Kidz Bop version of itself — an even odder choice given the profanity-laced bragging that follows its candy-coated mantras.
[6]
Kayla Beardslee: Soyeon writing a “fuck male mediocrity” banger is just what I needed after this week of songs. It’s silly, the drop sounds a bit shit in an endearing “this could have been released when I was 13” way, and it’s always such a pleasure to hear the members of I-dle have genuine fun when they sing. Girlboss, goofy, recession indicator — however you want to joke about it, I’m never going to get tired of seeing them create fearlessly and shamelessly. And congratulations for putting a provision in their new contracts so that they don’t have to censor the curse words anymore. Fuck it up, ladies!
[8]
Nortey Dowuona: “I don’t give a fuck about love cuz we are —” is a very funny censorship. Song’s fine.
[5]
Will Adams: Basically Icona Pop’s “Girlfriend” with the Tupac quote replaced by a bratty IDGAF hook, and just as charmingly corny.
[7]
Leah Isobel: “Girlfriend” labors to achieve the kind of rollercoaster momentum that characterized second-gen K-pop; while the effort shows, the attempt still succeeds. Wheeeeee!
[7]
Ian Mathers: Nothing about the rest of the song makes me think the chorus is going to soar quite like that, and it works: both the slight surprise on first listen, and once you know it’s coming. God knows the internet will probably make a few different things out of “your girlfriend, better than a boyfriend” (she’s like a good bae! you know, just gals being pals), but however you take it, it still slaps.
[7]
Taylor Alatorre: Superficially I am close to the precise opposite of the person being pandered to here. But if you listen enough times, it becomes apparent that I-dle are less concerned with pushing the girl crush agenda than they are with correcting, ex post facto, the people who have been mispronouncing their name for the past several years. Which, as someone who can barely pronounce his own name correctly, is more relatable than it should be.
[6]
Jel Bugle: I-dle are still in my top four K-pop groups (alongside Aespa, Ive, and Itzy), though I’m not sure the cringe edgy swearing helps this song, quite unnecessary, and it’s making an 8/10 of song into a 7/10. Anyway, still a great tune and way more interesting than a lot of modern pop songs! Plus, “Good Thing” is the superior recent song; 9/10 for that one.
[7]
Mark Sinker: Strut vs structure, structure vs strut: all these deft little passages yoked by tension together, but still the sung stretches are where they sometimes wobble and sag a little (even in the funny sung stretches). Structure as semiotic bait-and-switch (boys for girls, girls for boys): ok this business they know in their souls, no glitches there. But structure as the management of the succession of sections? Perhaps Soyeon needs to listen to more 18th century chamber music and less prog (singing-as-flaw being a very prog problem; yes, rapping is a solid modern workaround but it’s evidently not quite enough of a workaround here). Adding: as connoisseurs of punctuation within a band name, the loss of that (silent) (g) is greatly to be regretted! “all the (g)irls are (g)irling (g)irling all the (g)irly (g)irls,” as a wise rival collective once put it.
[7]