Just when we thought the women of SM Entertainment couldn’t possibly impress us more than they already have, they swooped in with the iconic supergroup concept that is Girls On Top! The first iteration, GOT The Beat, brings together soloist BoA, Girls’ Generation’s Taeyeon and Hyoyeon, Red Velvet’s Seulgi and Wendy, and aespa’s Karina and Winter. We knew they’d be a legendary group as soon as we learned the lineup and heard the opening notes of their debut, ‘Step Back,’ last year.
After twelve months of ‘Step Back’ living in our minds and on our playlists rent-free and wondering when we’d get a full project, GOT The Beat is finally back with their first mini-album! Stamp On It is a six-track journey all about being confident, knowing your worth, and refusing to settle for anything less than you deserve. And that’s just the energy we all need going into 2023, so we’re gonna walk you through each of these amazing songs!
‘Stamp On It’
We got our first taste of ‘Stamp On It’ during SM’s 2023 SMTOWN LIVE : SMCU PALACE@KWANGYA concert on New Year’s Eve, and we’re ecstatic to finally have this triumphant track on streaming. Not gonna lie. We’ve probably broken our Spotify’s rewind button by now with how many times we’ve replayed it! The 2000s girl group vibes are so irresistible and add such effortless, cool energy. It also includes a writing credit from another one of our favorite ladies in music, Tayla Parx, which just makes us love it even more.
A song this mind-blowing deserves an equally amazing music video, and GOT The Beat definitely delivered in that department! The ‘Stamp On It’ music video sees the girls as a group of immaculately-dressed jewel thieves, a lá Ocean’s 8, plotting schemes together and choosing some stylish getaway cars before dancing outside of the museum their heist targeted. Poetic cinema, if you ask us!
‘Goddess Level’
Part of what we love about GOT The Beat’s music is the unique way they fuse lighter and darker sounds – for example, on ‘Goddess Level,’ a saxophone becomes twisted into part of a commanding, eerie beat before a piano becomes the center of the pre-chorus. This song flaunts the girls’ power and confidence with such an irresistible, almost siren-like flair, and we may or may not have shrieked when we heard Hyoyeon rap “billionaire, better step back” as a nod to ‘Step Back.’
“My place is God’s realm, that’s me
I’m a goddess, a perfectionist that never lets go of every moment
Not the baddie, a romantic enjoying all the eyes…”
‘Alter Ego’
The thrilling ‘Alter Ego’ kicks off with a more laidback sound than the first few songs, but it eventually becomes more intense as the girls talk about their courageous, dangerous sides! This feels like a follow-up of sorts to SEULGI’s solo debut with ‘28 Reasons,’ which explored the good and evil that coexists in each of us. Between the creative theme and the gorgeous harmonies on the post-chorus, this is definitely one of our favorite tracks on the mini-album!
“I bring the doom, I bring the bliss…”
‘Rose’
On ‘Rose,’ GOT The Beat returns to the more aggressive feel of songs like ‘Step Back’ and ‘Stamp On It’ while comparing different aspects of their personalities to a rose: beautiful, but not without its threatening thorns. One standout moment from this track is the second chorus when Girls’ Generation’s Taeyeon and Hyoyeon team up for two lines before passing it on to aespa’s Karina and Winter for the second two lyrics – it feels like a passing of the torch from K-Pop legends to one of the fastest-rising groups of the latest generation. And not gonna lie, that “you better go away” lyric in the chorus is giving us flashbacks to the “go away” in Hyoyeon’s rap on SNSD’s ‘You Think.’
“My thorns that I hid because they made fun of me
Fell into the illusion of a gorgeous flower scent
The desire pierces deeply, you will be sorry…”
‘Outlaw’
The girls are back in their villain era on the adrenaline-filled ‘Outlaw,’ channeling their independence while forging their own paths forward rather than catering to what others want from them. They insist, “my heart is the law,” staying true to themselves in an ominous, synth-pop masterpiece that captures the mini-album’s main concepts perfectly. Meanwhile, Karina’s “girl’s face, girl’s body, but inside, God’s spirit” lyric calls back to ‘Goddess Level’ and its deity theme.
“There’s nothing to be afraid, I’m an outlaw
Rules break down, my heart is the law
I’m the only one who protects me, I’m an outlaw…”
‘MALA’
The mini-album ends on a high note with the dancefloor-ready ‘MALA,’ which spins the Spanish word for “bad” into a statement on being a “baddie” and paving your own way in the world. The unique beat incorporates everything from the 808s to a flute to mirror the girls’ duality, and the results are simply delectable. Nothing mala here, just magnificent! It’s also oddly satisfying to hear Karina say, “you know I got the beat,” during the last rap section of GOT The Beat’s debut project.
“Yeah, don’t worry too much
We gon’ party ’til mañana
Spicy it up, burn it…”
Stamp On It delivered everything we could’ve possibly wanted, from a Girls On Top mini-album, from astonishing vocal moments to empowering lyrics we could all use on rough days. BoA, Taeyeon, Hyoyeon, Seulgi, Wendy, Karina, and Winter have never stopped inspiring us, and that’s what GOT The Beat is really all about – even on the days when you feel insecure or unworthy, you’ve already GOT everything you need within yourself. So go show the world who’s boss!
Are you as in love with Stamp On It as we are? Which member of GOT The Beat do you think owned each song? Let us know in the comments below, or hit us up on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter! And for more Girls On Top content, click here.
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