K-pop group Girls’ Generation turned heads on Wednesday by making No.5 on Time magazine’s list of “Top 10 Songs of 2013” with "I Got A Boy."

“The nine-woman, South Korean group Girls’ Generation is a ridiculously effective hook machine, and a major phenomenon in Asia,” the magazine said. While the group enjoys gigantic popularity here and in most parts of Asia, it is still a relative newcomer on the world pop stage.

The group, which unexpectedly took “Video of the Year” at the first-ever YouTube Music Awards in November, already appears to have gained a sizeable nonmainstream audience in the U.S. On YouTube, a parade of netizens have expressed both confusion and amusement at its over-the-top music videos and rather out-of-place English lyrics.

French electronic music duo Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky” topped the list, while American pop singer Miley Cyrus and British old-timer David Bowie also made the list with “We Can’t Stop” and “Love Is Lost.”

No.3 was “Control” by Big Sean, featuring Kendrick Lamar and Jay Electronica. Despite not being officially released, the track touched off a diss war in the U.S. hip-hop scene when Lamar challenged a handful of rappers in his verse.

The trend of releasing diss tracks using the “Control” beat eventually expanded overseas, making “Control” one of the most talked about tracks in 2013.



Time’s Top 10 Songs of 2013



1. “Get Lucky” - Daft Punk

2. “The Wire” - Haim

3. “Control” - Big Sean feat. Jay Electronica & Kendrick Lamar

4. “Ohm” - Yo La Tengo

5. “I Got a Boy” - Girls’ Generation

6. “Cut Copy Me” - Petula Clark

7. “We Can’t Stop” - Miley Cyrus

8. “Love Is Lost (Hello Steve Reich Mix by James Murphy)” - David Bowie

9. “Cups” - Anna Kendrick

10. “Royals” - Lorde



By Yoon Min-sik
(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)