| "The Boys" | ||||
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| Single by Girls' Generation | ||||
| from the album The Boys | ||||
| Released | October 18, 2011 | |||
| Recorded | 2011 | |||
| Studio | SM Booming System (Seoul) | |||
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| Length | 3:46 | |||
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| Girls' Generation singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "The Boys" on YouTube | ||||
"The Boys" is a song recorded by South Korean girl group Girls' Generation for their third Korean language studio album with the same name. Composed and arranged by Teddy Riley, Taesung Kim, DOM, and Richard Garcia, the song was described as a dance-pop, electropop and R&B song with elements of hip hop that lyrically discusses female attractiveness. The Korean version was released on October 18, 2011, by SM Entertainment as the lead single from the album. An English version was subsequently released in the United States on December 20, 2011, by Interscope Records and Universal Music Group in order to expand the group's popularity outside their native country.
Following the release of "The Boys", Girls' Generation appeared on several South Korean music programs including Music Bank, Show! Music Core, Inkigayo, and M Countdown. To further promote the song to American audiences, the group performed at Madison Square Garden in New York City on October 23, 2011, and made their debut on US television with appearances on Late Show with David Letterman and Live! with Kelly and Michael in February 2012. A music video for the song was directed by Hong Won-ki and choreographed by Rino Nakasone and was released on October 19, 2011.
"The Boys" was a success domestically. It peaked atop the South Korean Gaon Digital Chart and sold over three million digital copies in 2011, becoming the 43rd best-performing single on the chart of the year. Internationally, the single received generally positive reviews from music critics, who complimented the song as one of the highlights of the Korean Wave. In the United States, it managed to sell over 21,000 copies in its first week of release and peaked at number 5 on the Billboard Hot Dance Singles Sales, while in Japan, the single peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100.