From: "LOVE&PEACE"
Released: September
Territory: Japan
Previous Best of Entries: 2009: "Genie" / 2010: [#19] "Run Devil Run" / 2011: [#36] "Sunflower", [#7] "Let it Rain" and "GIRLS' GENERATION" (Album) / 2012: [#5] "Animal" and [#2] "Girls & Peace" (album)
Other notable song(s) from 2013: "LOVE&GIRLS"
Released: September
Territory: Japan
Previous Best of Entries: 2009: "Genie" / 2010: [#19] "Run Devil Run" / 2011: [#36] "Sunflower", [#7] "Let it Rain" and "GIRLS' GENERATION" (Album) / 2012: [#5] "Animal" and [#2] "Girls & Peace" (album)
Other notable song(s) from 2013: "LOVE&GIRLS"
I'm with the majority when I say that, as a whole, I prefer SNSD's Japanese releases over their Korean ones, and this year was no different. While "LOVE&PEACE," which came out after the countdown's cut-off (therefore all I had to choose from were the singles), isn't as good as "GIRLS' GENERATION" or "GIRLS&PEACE", over-all it's still better than "I Got A Boy" (the album). And while "Galaxy Supernova" isn't the best SNSD have done, it's good enough.
Last year I said that this was the sound I liked for SNSD -- this feminine, cutesy at time, but substantial and cohesive package -- and that's essentially what "Galaxy Supernova" is. It's a melody that's simple enough for the whole group, as wide the range of their vocal abilities, to pull off properly. This is the kind of melody that definitely makes use of "strength in numbers," and makes use of it well. The chorus is padded, but it's appropriate for the anthemic nature of the melody and the juxtaposition of the very sharp vocals at the verses and the full, layered ones at the chorus serves an aesthetic purpose. And the hook is basically just "doo doo doo doo doo"'s -- melodic, but very, very catchy.. At the same time it's that simplicity that the makes the song catchy -- the verses are something you can sing along to, with the right mix between singing and "chanting" (as I like to call it), and the chorus is just as singable.
The production and arrangement on SNSD releases are always things to take note of because in this case, they're what give the song kick. It doesn't come from the melody because it's pretty monotonous and very repetitive on it's own, it comes from how the song progresses, and how the instrumentation is the catalyst for that progress. The choice of instrumentation creates more friction -- like I said the melody is very sharp most of the time, and so underneath that they placed very rounded, full-sounding instruments and synth lines. The production was able to create the right kind of contrast, and find a cohesive way to execute it.
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