Girls’ Generation just doesn’t know when to stop. That’s a good thing.
Despite recently going through a brutal round of contract negotiations that would see any other, lesser girl group call it quits, the remaining five members of this era-defining group coalesced under a “subunit” label, and announced a comeback as Girls’ Generation-Oh!GG.
The subunit title comes from one of their iconic title tracks, Oh!, and the number five (as pronounced in Korean) as well as a fun little Hangul pun—Oh!GG, when said out loud, is also a word that means, loosely translated, “amazing without fault”.
And while Sooyoung, Tiffany and Seohyun loom large if only by their absence (and we don’t mention Jessica ‘round these parts), one welcome side effect is the expanded roles for the remaining members—Yuri, Taeyeon, Sunny, YoonA and especially Hyoyeon, who finally gets to stand in the center for an appreciable amount of time. Way to go, Hyo.
It’s easy to note the influence that new-age girl groups had in Lil’ Touch; this song could’ve come from Blackpink, (G)I-DLE or KARD and would’ve fit like a glove into any of their discographies. Considering that all of those aforementioned groups are nearly a decade younger than Girls’ Generation, it’s a testament to the latter’s continuous experimentation (remember the furor when The Boys came out?) and willingness to adapt.
Lil’ Touch breaks new ground for Girls’ Generation. How many other 11-year-old girl groups can you say that about?