Paparazzi (Girls' Generation song)

"Paparazzi"
Single by Girls' Generation
from the album Girls & Peace
Released June 27, 2012 (2012-06-27)
Format
Recorded 2012
Genre
Length 3:47
Label Nayutawave
Writer(s)
  • Fredrik Thomander
  • Johan Becker
  • Junji Ishiwatari
Producer(s) Miles Walker
Girls' Generation Japanese singles chronology
"Mr. Taxi"/"Run Devil Run"
(2011)		 "Paparazzi"
(2012)		 "Oh!"
(2012)
Music sample
"Paparazzi"

"Paparazzi" is a Japanese song recorded by South Korean girl group Girls' Generation for their second Japanese studio album, Girls & Peace (2012). It was released as the album's lead single on June 27, 2012. Written by Fredrik Thomander, Johan Becker, and Junji Ishiwatari, and produced by Miles Walker, "Paparazzi" was described as an electropop and R&B song. To promote the single, Girls' Generation appeared on Japanese music programs Music Station and Hey! Hey! Hey! Music Champ. A music video for the song directed by Toshiyuki Suzuki premiered on June 10, 2012.

Upon its release, "Paparazzi" received mixed reviews from music critics, who compared the song to the group's previous Japanese single "Mr. Taxi" in 2011. It was ranked number 19 on Spin's list of top 20 K-pop songs of 2012.[1] The single was a commercial success in Japan, peaking atop the Japan Hot 100 and at number two on the Oricon Singles Chart and RIAJ Digital Track Chart. It received certifications from the Recording Industry Association of Japan on two bases–physical sales (gold) and digital download (gold).

Recording and release

"Paparazzi" is a Japanese song described as a hybrid of electropop and R&B.[2] It was written by Swedish songwriters Fredrik Thomander and Johan Becker, and produced by American producer Miles Walker. Japanese songwriter Junji Ishiwatari provided additional writing credits.[3] The song was released as the lead single from the group's second Japanese studio album Girls & Peace as part of the group's foray into the Japanese music industry.[4] It was released for CD and DVD sales in Japan by Nayutawave Records, which is affiliated with Universal Music Group on June 27, 2012.[5] The song was made available for digital purchase globally on the same day.[6] "Paparazzi" was also released in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and South Korea in mid-2012 by Universal Music Hong Kong, Universal Music Taiwan, and S.M. Entertainment, respectively.

Promotion

To promote the single, Girls' Generation performed "Paparazzi" on the Japanese music program Music Station on June 22, 2012, where the group dressed in tuxedos with pink gloves.[7] On July 9, 2012, the group staged their second performance of the song on Fuji Television's Hey! Hey! Hey! Music Champ, where the members wore tuxedos with black gloves.[8]

The music video for "Paparazzi" was directed by Toshiyuki Suzuki.[9] The visual jumps between shots of rabid photographers and the members performing the choreography. The video plays as a stage performance for Girls' Generation. The show begins with the members prancing to Gene Kelly's classic version of "Singin' In The Rain" before the real performance starts. They dance in two different outfits–the showgirl-inspired costumes and the tuxedos with pink gloves.[10] Jeff Benjamin from Billboard praised the dance routines as "perfect nine-piece synchronization" and opined that the pink gloves of the girls resembled those worn by Marilyn Monroe.[11]

Reception

Upon its release, "Paparazzi" received mixed reviews from music critics. Jeff Benjamin from Billboard named it a "high-energy" track.[11] James Hadfield writing for the Tokyo edition of Time Out compared the song's R&B styles to those of the group's previous Japanese single "Mr. Taxi" (2011) and called it a "redux" of the 2011 single, writing that "you'd struggle to spot many real improvements."[2]

"Paparazzi" was a commercial success in Japan. It debuted at number two on the Oricon Singles Chart on the chart issue dated July 9, 2012; the number one position belonged to KAT-TUN's single "To the Limit".[12] The following week, it dropped to number ten.[13] "Paparazzi" became the 58th best-selling physical copies of 2012 on the Oricon chart, selling selling 136,181 copies.[14]

The single debuted at number 31 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 on July 2, 2012.[15] The following week, it rose to the top position on the chart.[16] On the chart issue dated July 16, 2012, the single dropped to number seven.[17] It ranked number 50 on the year-end chart of 2012.[18] It also charted at number two on the Billboard Japan Hot Singles Sales,[19] number five on the Billboard Japan Adult Contemporary Airplay,[20] and number two on the RIAJ Digital Track Chart.[21] According to Nielsen SoundScan, "Paparazzi" has sold 103,000 digital copies in Japan as of July 2012.[11]

Track listing

Digital Download[22]
  1. "Paparazzi" - 3:47
  2. "Paparazzi" (Instrumental) - 3:46
Regular Edition CD single – Type A[23]
  1. "Paparazzi"
  2. "Paparazzi" (Instrumental)
  3. "Paparazzi" (Music Video)
Regular Edition CD Single – Type B[24]
  1. "Paparazzi"
  2. "Paparazzi" (Instrumental)
Special Edition[25]
  1. "Paparazzi"
  2. "Paparazzi" (Instrumental)
  3. "Paparazzi" (Music Video)
  4. "Paparazzi" (Music Video: close-up version)

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from "Paparazzi" CD liner notes[26]

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2012) Peak
position
Billboard Japan Hot 100[16] 1
Japanese Oricon Singles Chart[12] 2
Japanese RIAJ Digital Track Chart[21] 2
South Korean Gaon Album Chart[27] 1
U.S. World Digital Songs (Billboard)[28] 20

Year-end charts

Chart (2012) Position
Billboard Japan Hot 100[18] 50
Japanese Oricon Singles Chart[29] 58
South Korean Gaon International Albums[30] 4

Sales and certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Japan (RIAJ)[31]
physical single		 Gold 136,181
Japan (RIAJ)[32]
digital download		 Gold 100,000
South Korea (Gaon)  None 14,663[30]

Release history

Region Date Format Label Catalog number
Worldwide June 27, 2012 Digital download[6][33][34] Nayutawave Records N/A
Japan CD[5] Nayutawave Records, Universal Music Japan UPCH-80278
CD + DVD[35] UPCH-89119
Hong Kong July 11, 2012 CD[36] Universal Music Hong Kong 0620898
Taiwan July 13, 2012 CD[37] Universal Music Taiwan N/A
South Korea August 16, 2012 CD + DVD[38] S.M. Entertainment 2427842

References

  1. ↑ Bevan, David (December 12, 2012). "Life After Psy". Spin. Spin Media. Retrieved May 20, 2015.
  2. 1 2 Hadfield, James (December 4, 2012). "Kara vs Girls' Generation". Time Out. Tokyo. Archived from the original on May 23, 2013.
  3. ↑ Girls & Peace (CD liner notes) (Media notes) (in Japanese). Girls' Generation. Nayutawave Records under exclusive license to Universal Music Japan. 2012. UPCH-20305.
  4. ↑ Choi, Jung Bong; Maliangkay, Roald (2014). "Hallyu and the K-pop boom in Japan". The International Rise of the Korean Music Industry. Routledge. p. 158.
  5. 1 2 "Girls' Generation – Paparazzi" (in Japanese). Amazon.co.jp. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
  6. 1 2 "Paparazzi – Single by Girls' Generation". iTunes Store (US). Apple Inc. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
  7. ↑ "June 22: Linkin Park, Matsumi, KAT-TUN, Girls' Generation and Maeda Atsuko Appeared on 'Music Station'" (in Japanese). Tower Records. Rovi Corporation. June 18, 2012. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
  8. ↑ Hey! Hey! Hey! Music Champ (in Japanese). Girls' Generation. Tokyo: Fuji Television. July 9, 2012.
  9. ↑ "Girls' Generation – Paparazzi" (in Japanese). Takahashi Office. Space Inc. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
  10. ↑ Paparazzi (music video) (in Japanese). Girls' Generation, Toshiyuki Suzuki. S.M. Entertainment / Universal Music Japan.
  11. 1 2 3 Benjamin, Jeff (July 12, 2012). "Girls' Generation Push Japanese Domination With 'Paparazzi,' 1 Million Albums Sold". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
  12. 1 2 "Weekly Singles Chart: July 9, 2012" (in Japanese). Oricon. Oricon Entertainment Inc. Retrieved April 25, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Weekly Singles Chart: July 16, 2012" (in Japanese). Oricon. Oricon Entertainment Inc. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
  14. ↑ "Oricon Top 100 Singles of 2012" (in Japanese). Oricon. Oricon Entertainment Inc. Retrieved May 26, 2015.
  15. ↑ "Japan Hot 100: 2012.07.02". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
  16. 1 2 "Japan Hot 100". Billboard (in Japanese). Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved April 25, 2015.
  17. ↑ "Japan Hot 100: 2012.07.16". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
  18. 1 2 "Japan Hot 100: 2012 Year-End". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved April 25, 2015.
  19. ↑ "Billboard Japan Top Singles Sales". Billboard (in Japanese). Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016.
  20. ↑ "Billboard Japan Adult Contemporary Radio". Billboard (in Japanese). Prometheus Global Media. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016.
  21. 1 2 "Weekly Ranking: 2012.06.26" (in Japanese). RIAJ Digital Track Chart. Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved April 26, 2015.
  22. ↑ "Paparazzi – Single by Girls' Generation". iTunes Store (NZ). Apple Inc. Retrieved June 27, 2012.
  23. ↑ "少女時代 / PAPARAZZI【DVD付通常盤】【CD Maxi】【+DVD】【2012年6月27日発売】" (in Japanese). Universal Music Japan. Retrieved June 10, 2012.
  24. ↑ "少女時代 / PAPARAZZI【通常盤】【CD Maxi】【2012年6月27日発売】" (in Japanese). Universal Music Japan. Retrieved June 10, 2012.
  25. ↑ "少女時代 /PAPARAZZI【スペシャルエディション初回限定盤】【CD Maxi】【+DVD】【2012年6月27日発売】" (in Japanese). Universal Music Japan. Retrieved June 10, 2012.
  26. ↑ Paparazzi (CD liner notes) (in Japanese). Girls' Generation. Japan: Nayutawave Records / Universal Music Japan. UPCH-80279.
  27. ↑ "Gaon Album Chart: Week 34, 2012" (in Korean). Gaon Album Chart. Gaon Music Chart. Archived from the original on November 5, 2013.
  28. ↑ "World Digital Songs: November 17, 2012". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved July 27, 2015. (subscription required (help)).
  29. ↑ "Yearly Singles Chart: 2012" (in Japanese). Oricon. Oricon Entertainment Inc. Retrieved April 25, 2015.
  30. 1 2 "Gaon International Albums" (in Korean). Gaon Album Chart. Gaon Music Chart. Retrieved April 25, 2015.
  31. ↑ "Japanese single certifications – Shoujo Shidai (Girls' Generation) – Paparazzi" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved May 19, 2015. Select 2012年6月 on the drop-down menu
  32. ↑ "June 2012 Statistics" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved April 25, 2015.
  33. ↑ "Paparazzi – Single by Girls' Generation". iTunes Store (GB). Apple Inc. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
  34. ↑ "Paparazzi – Single de Girls' Generation" (in Spanish). iTunes Store (ES). Apple Inc. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
  35. ↑ "Girls' Generation – Paparazzi" (in Japanese). Universal Music Japan. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
  36. ↑ "少女時代 – PAPARAZZI" (in Chinese). HMV Hong Kong. Retrieved October 3, 2012.
  37. ↑ "Paparazzi – Girls' Generation / 少女時代" (in Chinese). Universal Music Taiwan. Retrieved April 2, 2016.
  38. ↑ "소녀시대 – PAPARAZZI [CD+DVD] [통상반]" (in Korean). Hot Tracks. Retrieved October 3, 2012.

External links

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