Girls Generation’s 1st mini album, entitled Gee, was released on 01.05.09. The title track was chosen to be the album promotional song.

The first song on the mini album is title track Gee. The song starts off with a sweet midtempo instrumental as a girl speaks in English to introduce the song to the listener. Then it takes the cute route when the first verse comes in but it is surprisingly catchy and manages to carry something mature about it. The repeating “gee baby” adds some flavor to it and the overall vocals are pretty good, although they do feel a little too cutesy at times. Overall, the chorus is simple and features a lot of repetition, which can get a little old at times because it doesn’t carry that same sleekness as the repeating “gee baby” during the verses. Gee is a pretty fun and cute song that the listener can enjoy despite the points when it gets a little too cute.

Up next is 힘내! The song features some pop-rock tints to really keep the energy up. Unfortunately, there is something about the song that just doesn’t connect properly. Vocally, the song is very basic and there is no real showing of vocal prowess. Instrumentally, the song sticks to the same formula throughout and it’s not a very interesting one so the listener never really gets to experience at least one saving point. This song definitely doesn’t come close to its predecesor and isn’t even worth the listener.

The girls then slow it down and step it up for the third song, Dear. Mom. On this ballad, the girls deliver vocals that really communicate emotion while staying somewhat fragile and endearing. There is something very magical and delicate about the instrumentation that supports the girls’ vocals and stirs up emotions in the listener. They sound great when they sing together on the chorus but it’s really the verses that stand apart as the more simplistic instrumentation works in establishing the overall atmosphere more strongly.

And now they turn up the energy for the sleek song, Destiny. Those opening vocals sound great and really support the cool atmosphere of the music, which has kind of a technological feel to it. Listening to the music progress to the chorus, there is somethnig very familiar about it so that it’s almost expected that the chorus turns in a slightly different direction. Honestly, it would have been better if they stayed with the vibe established from the verses since that really shows a cool side of the girls. Destiny definitely stands out on this mini album and merits a listen.

힘들어하는 연인들을 위해 is the album closer and it really should come as no surprise that it was going to be a cute song since there had to be one real cute song on the album. And as expected, it’s a very uninteresting number that isn’t even worth a listen.

Album Ranking: A -

Girls Generation’s mini album is a solid collection of songs. Gee was a wise choice for a title song since it shows the girls’ fun side and manages to balance a cuteness with an element of maturity. However it’s Dear. Mom and Destiny that emerge as the album’s most memorable numbers. While the first proves the girls can successfully tackle a ballad, the latter brings out the girls’ cool side. Overall, there were a few mis-steps but it was a overall good effort.