GIRLS (single)

## ***GIRLS***Single by VALKYRIE

GIRLS is a single released by South Korean girl group VALKYRIE for the lead & only single of GIRLS - The 1st Full Album. It was released on November 2, 2020 as the album's lead single by Virtual Entertainment.

The single was an instant success following their year long hiatus and has since been listed as one of the best songs of the year for 2020. GIRLS further explores the lore behind VALKYRIE, and their sister groups centering around the battle with their enemy.

### Background

VALKYRIE sat down with producers Max Martin, & Dr Dre. YUNA, LIA, & Girls Generation' (SSND) Leader TAEYEON, GOT7's MARK, and more writers all helped write the track.

In the midst of recording, YUNA was requested to perform at various events, and attended events causing a mix up of the schedules, alongside it caused a postponing scare for the fans. VALKYRIE stated in the behind the scenes recording, they wanted to establish a sound, and as such their villain MAƧUDA has reeked enough terror and chaos throughout their world, MIDNIGHT, and VALKYRII tried their best to intervene and with this, VALKYRIE have claimed they will put an end to the villain.

In the months before the release, VALKYRIE posted a string of tweets hinting at the eventual release, with it finally being confirmed over the summer.

The single's instrumental was leaked through dbree.com, where it made way onto the site through an anonymous upload.

### Composition

"GIRLS" was produced, and arranged by Max Martin, & Dr Dre. Musically, the song was described as a "dark", "brooding" dance, pop and electropop song with "heavy bass synth" and lyrics about VALKYRIE and their ongoing battle. The song's "glitchy, electronic-heavy production" softens during the bridge, before "sliding into a nutty techno breakdown" at the end.

### Critical Reception

The single was met with mostly great reviews, with many praising the songs production and structure, however felt that the group should have ventured into a different concept or sound following their previous release of SO HOT. *The Heat Seeker* labeled it as one of VALKYRIE's most risky releases, with the production being top notch, and catchy, it could hook the listener just like that. *Rolling Stone* reviewed the single and labeled it as one of VALKYRIE's best singles with the vocals mostly around the pre-chorus being their favorite, as they wish the song stuck to that more dreamy and heavenly vibe.

### Promotion

Following the release of GIRLS, VALKYRIE promoted it with two exclusive performances, alongside on various music shows, and on various national outlets of media around the world. The single was further promoted at Lollapalooza in 2022, and at KCON LA, and NY, alongside their first world tour serving as one of the last songs performed by the group. It is one of VALKYRIE's most coveted singles released earning multiple music show awards, being one of the most awarded songs in Music Show history with over 23 wins.

### Commercial Performance

GIRLS debuted in the United States on the US Billboard Hot 100, at #1 becoming their 1st US number one for the year 2020, alongside it continued their streak of #1's on the Billboard Hot 100 earning them their 4th consecutive number one. GIRLS sold 169,303 units first week, and after 24 weeks on the chart since release it sold over 1,169,148 units in the US, going platinum.

GIRLS debuted #1 on the Melon 24 Hour chart, becoming one of the fastest songs to go #1 in under 12 hours. GIRLS later earned a perfect all kill, through YouTube South Korea, Bugz, Genie, and more going #1 across the board on all Asia territory single charts.  GIRLS debuted in the week with sales equivalent to 1,279,994 units being sold, becoming the 4th best first week on the charts which was later pushed to #5 due to BoA's release. The single tracked #1 throughout the entire month of release, and bits of December, before slowly falling out of the top 2 spots, the single later returned to #1 in the coming weeks following promotion and their tour. The single has since became one of the longest charting singles on MelOn and various other Asia charts with over 147 weeks on the chart.

Elsewhere, GIRLS debuted #2 on Canada's chart remaining in the #2 spot before falling to #7 after 3 weeks, #9 4 weeks, and out of the top 10 the following week. In Latin America, the single debuted #1 and remained in the place for two weeks, before falling to #2. The single debuted #38 in Europe, before falling to #91 the following week and then out of the chart entirely. In Oceania, the single debuted #4 first week, before falling out of the top 10 dropping to #10 the following week, and then #16 the next week. The single remained #1 on the Billboard Global Singles chart, for two weeks remaining in the chart for 14 weeks.

The single has since sold an equivalent of 10,024,430 units thus far and has accumulated over 1,345,604,000 total streams since release. The M/V released has been watched more than 2,330,547,300 times.

GIRLS debuted at #2 on the global collection of streams for songs [Streamies], with 244,133,608 on demand streams, being blocked by Nicky Romero by one million streams.

The M/V earned the song "Best Video" at the MTV Music Awards for 2021, Song Of The Year at the BBC Awards, and Melon Music Awards, where they also earned the best M/V award.