K-Pop Supergroup GOT The Beat Make Their Official Debut On New Song “Step Back”

The song’s message has sparked backlash among some fans.

GOT The Beat, a sub-unit of K-pop supergroup Girls On Top, released their debut single, “Step Back,” today, and the song immediately shot to the #1 spot on the Genius Top Songs chart.

GOT The Beat—made up of soloist BoA, Girls’ Generation’s Taeyeon and Hyoyeon, Red Velvet’s Seulgi and Wendy, and aespa’s Winter and Karina—first performed “Step Back” on January 1 at SM Entertainment’s online concert SMTOWN LIVE 2022. The seven-member unit later uploaded their performance to YouTube, where the video has since surpassed 8 million views.

Despite the mainly warm reception for “Step Back,” the track’s lyrics have spawned a backlash for presenting what some critics hear as outdated, anti-feminist viewpoints. For starters, the song tells the story of a woman warning another to “step back” from a man she’s interested in.

On the opening verse, Taeyeon makes clear that there will be consequences if the other woman doesn’t leave her guy alone. She also takes aim at the woman’s value, implying that she’s not worthy of the man in question. Translated to English, her lines read:

You’d better shut your mouth and stand back
Or else give it a go
Try climbing your way up here

Wendy seconds the notion that the other woman isn’t good enough on the pre-chorus, which is translated to English below.

My man is on another level (Level)
You can’t even dream about this level (Level)

The chorus is where a lot of the backlash for the song has been directed. Some fans were not happy that the hook repeatedly puts down another woman for the attention of a man.

It won’t be enough even if you’re born again
(Step back, step back)
You’re like a poison to the good boys
They become lonelier as they drink more

On the bridge, GOT The Beat’s BoA accuses the other woman of flirting with her man while they were together. It’s unclear whether the flirting was reciprocated, but either way, no blame seems to be placed on the man in all of this. In English, BoA’s lines roughly translate to:

All those days
I’ve been together with him
Even with your playful flirting
I won’t be swayed

Some believe the message in “Step Back” is antithetical to the umbrella group’s name, Girls On Top, which references a 2005 song by BoA about female empowerment. In one tweet, @dalsogucci wrote, “I’m screaming tho isn’t the concept of the group supposed to be bringing women together and they got the seven of them saying step back from their man and calling women silly girls.” GOT The Beat has yet to respond to the controversy.

You can check out all the lyrics to “Step Back” on Genius now.

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Comments
2 years ago

they really brought some of the best female idols to do this?