"To My Boyfriend" (Korean: 내 남자친구에게; RR: Nae namja chingu aegae) is a song performed by South Korean girl group Fin.K.L, released on May 20, 1998, as part of the group's debut studio album Blue Rain by DSP Media. Stylistically, "To My Boyfriend" is a summer-themed dance and bubblegum pop song that lyrically resembles that of a love letter written towards the members' romantic interests.[1]
| "To My Boyfriend" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Fin.K.L | ||||
| from the album Blue Rain | ||||
| Language | Korean | |||
| Released | May 20, 1998 | |||
| Recorded | 1998 | |||
| Genre | Bubblegum pop | |||
| Length | 3:57 | |||
| Label | DSP | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Kim Young-ah | |||
| Producer(s) |
| |||
| Fin.K.L singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "To My Boyfriend" on YouTube | ||||
Background and release
editFin.K.L's debut studio album Blue Rain spawned the singles "Blue Rain", "To My Boyfriend", and "Ruby". The album was met with commercial success in South Korea, where it sold over 231,000 copies by August 1998.[2] The song's accompanying music video was included in the group's compilation DVD album Forever 1998-2005 Music & Story, which was made available on November 18, 2005.[3]
Reception
edit"To My Boyfriend" was positively received domestically following its release. It became a popular mobile phone ringtone in the years after, particularly around Valentines Day.[4] "To My Boyfriend" was named one of the top 100 K-pop Masterpieces of all time by a panel of 35 Korean music experts in a collaboration with Melon and newspaper Seoul Shinmun in 2021. Critic Lee Kyu-tak contrasted the song's "exciting beats, sweet melody, and cute lyrics" with the group's "calmly toned-down costumes and stages" presented in their debut track "Blue Rain", and said that the concept shown in "To My Boyfriend" perhaps suited the group's image better. Lee added that "The non-exaggerated cute and lively images that Fin.K.L showed in 'To My Boyfriend' had a great influence on later K-pop girl groups", which is why, "along with S.E.S., Fin.K.L are remembered in K-pop history."[5]
Accolades
edit"To My Boyfriend" achieved the top positions on the programs Inkigayo and Music Bank for two weeks each in September. The song additionally ranked number one on KMTV's cable music program Show! Music Tank for three non-consecutive weeks.
| Program | Date |
|---|---|
| Inkigayo | September 6, 1998 |
| September 13, 1998 | |
| Music Bank | September 22, 1998 |
| September 29, 1998 |
Cover performances
editThe song has been covered by numerous artists since its release in 1998. Taiwanese singer Yuki Hsu covered the song in her third studio album The Angel (1999), which included multiple covers of South Korean songs. The tracks "I Can’t Cry" and "Call Me" were adaptions of Fin.K.L's "Ruby" and "To My Boyfriend", respectively.[6] Boy group SS501, also managed under DSP, performed a cover of the song at their December 27, 2006 concert at the COEX, where they appeared in similar schoolgirl uniforms Fin.K.L wore for promotions in 1998.[7] Girl groups Wonder Girls and Kara additionally covered the song at the 2007 KBS Song Festival[8] and 2012 MBC Gayo Daejejeon, respectively.[9]
At the DSP Festival held on December 14, 2013, Kara and Rainbow teamed up and performed a cover of "To My Boyfriend".[10] On music programs, Lovelyz performed it on Music Bank's Christmas Special in 2015[11] and GFriend performed a special stage on the March 3, 2016 broadcast of M Countdown.[12] At the MBC Gayo Daejejeon at the end of that year, Hani, Seolhyun, and Tzuyu covered the track while sporting pink checkered skirts.[13] Weeekly additionally covered it on M Countdown on July 23, 2020, a month after their debut.[14]
References
edit- ^ Sumampow, Gabriela Caeli (February 23, 2021). "The Guide to Getting Into K-Pop, From Super Junior and Girls' Generation to BTS and Blackpink". Vice. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
- ^ "March to August 1998 Total Record Sales". Recording Industry Association of Korea. September 10, 1998. Archived from the original on September 23, 2001.
- ^ 핑클, 데뷔부터 7년 활동 담은 ‘베스트앨범’ 18日 출시 [Fin.K.L releases 'Best Album' on the 18th of 7 years since debut]. Herald Pop (in Korean). November 15, 2005. Retrieved January 7, 2022 – via Naver.
- ^ 휴대폰 사랑의 세레나데 ‘강추’ [Mobile phone love serenade 'Highly recommended']. Kyunghyang Shinmun (in Korean). February 13, 2006. Retrieved January 7, 2022 – via Naver.
- ^ K-pop 명곡 100: 88위 내 남자 친구에게 – 핑클 (Fin.K.L) [K-pop Masterpieces 100: #88 To My Boyfriend – Fin.K.L] (in Korean). Melon. August 2021. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
- ^ 타이완 여가수 유키의 앨범《천사》 [Taiwanese singer Yuki's album 'Angel']. Yonhap News (in Korean). July 2, 1999. Retrieved January 7, 2022 – via Naver.
- ^ Kim, Young-hyun (December 27, 2006). SS501, 무대에서 핑클 의상ㆍ노래 소화 [SS501, performing in Fin.K.L costumes and singing on stage]. Yonhap News (in Korean). Retrieved January 7, 2022 – via Naver.
- ^ KBS '가요대축제' 돋보인 스페셜 공연 [KBS ‘Gayo Grand Festival’ special performance]. TV Report (in Korean). December 31, 2007. Retrieved January 8, 2022 – via Naver.
- ^ Choi, Min-young (December 31, 2012). 'MBC가요대제전' 카라 vs 핑클, 같은 노래 다른 느낌 '90년대의 귀환' ['MBC Gayo Daejejeon' Kara vs Fin.K.L, Same song, different feeling 'Return of the 90s']. Xports News (in Korean). Retrieved January 8, 2022 – via Naver.
- ^ Choi, Hyun-jung (December 15, 2013). "DSP Festival, 22 years of history condensed into 3 1/2 hours concert". Star N News. Retrieved January 8, 2022 – via Yahoo!.
- ^ 성탄특집 ‘뮤직뱅크’ 러블리즈, 핑클로 변신…‘내 남자친구에게’ 완벽 재현 [Christmas Special 'Music Bank' Lovelyz transforms into Fin.K.L, perfect reproduction of 'To My Boyfriend']. Sports Kyunghyang (in Korean). December 25, 2015. Retrieved January 8, 2022 – via Naver.
- ^ Yoo, Eun-young (March 3, 2016). 여자친구, '엠카'서 핑클 '내 남자친구에게' 무대 선보인다 [GFriend to present the stage of 'To My Boyfriend' on 'M Countdown']. Busan Ilbo (in Korean). Retrieved January 8, 2022 – via Naver.
- ^ 걸그룹 외모 담당 하니-설현-쯔위 ‘내 남자친구에게’ 무대 [Hani-Seolhyun-Tzuyu's 'To My Boyfriend' stage]. Seoul Shinmun (in Korean). January 1, 2017. Retrieved January 8, 2022 – via Naver.
- ^ '엠카운트다운' 위클리 '내 남자친구에게' 커버…상큼+청량 무대 ['M Countdown' Weeekly performs 'To My Boyfriend' cover ... Fresh + refreshing stage]. Sports Dong-a (in Korean). July 23, 2020. Retrieved January 8, 2022 – via Naver.