[#50] Girl's Day - "Ring My Bell"

From: "LOVE"
Previous Best of Entries: 2014: [#10] "Something" / 2013: [#18] "Expect"
Other notable song(s) from 2015: n/a

I had a lot of hope for Girl's Day, because when they were rookies I never thought they'd release a single as good as "기대해"—and do even better the following year with "Something." It's probably because of this standard I've come to expect from them that this year's "Ring My Bell" was half a disappointment.

The first time I heard "Ring My Bell" the song went right through me, so it took a while before I warmed up to the track. And even in a sea of flashier, better, girl group summer releases.

So, you may ask, why is this even on my Top 50? Because of the production quality. Sure, "Something" was the better song over-all, and "기대해" worked despite the fact that it screamed b-list girl group—but "Ring My Bell" proved that Girl's Day can play in the big leagues, if only in terms of production quality. Gone are the stock synths ("기대해") and year-late sonic trends ("Something")—"Ring My Bell"'s arrangement has depth and clarity, the vocals crisp, and the transitions tight.

"Ring My Bell" is the peak of Girl's Day's technical, production, proficiency—something I think was made possible by their previous hits. The challenge now for the girls is to combine the musicality in the likes of "Something" with the technical proficiency of "Ring My Bell." And honestly, considering that Girl's Day have exceeded all my expectations since their debut, I think it's possible.