GOT the beat ‘Step Back’ — let’s talk about this legendary group and their questionable song

“What will happen if we put together all the main dancers and main vocalists of our most iconic groups, across all generations of K-Pop, with our most iconic solo artist?”

This is how the pitch meeting of GOT the beat probably went down. I mean, you just cannot get any better from this.

I don’t think there will be a girl group that will debut as iconic as these ladies. They didn’t only bring the most talented but also the most renowned K-Pop stars of the older and younger generation.

But the lyrics of their debut song… we’ll get to that later.

The impressive roster of idols

BoA, the international superstar, the Queen of Korean Pop herself is in this lineup. She is indeed the only one.

She is one of the earliest Korean acts to have pierced through the Hollywood scene. The star has collaborated with American rapper and singer, Akon, and has starred in some Hollywood movies.

Aside from the explosive solo artist, other icons have joined her in SM Entertainment’s impressive cluster of idols.

Talented members of Korea’s National Girl Group, Girls’ Generation have brought us into this new world. They are one of the groups that lead the 2nd generation Hallyu.

As you may have known already, the main vocalist and the main dancer of Sonyeoshidae (SNSD – Korean name), Taeyeon and Hyoyeon, represented the group. That enough can blow a K-Pop fan’s mind.

In addition to that, SM’s also renowned group from the 3rd generation of idols, Red Velvet, gave us happiness by joining this ambitious project.

Same as SNSD, the main vocalist of the group, Wendy, and the main dancer, Seulgi are the ones who joined the lineup.

Last but not least, the monster rookies of the 4th generation who are all on the next level, Aespa, have come to seal the deal. They completed the roster of this project, with members Karina, the main dancer, and Winter, the lead vocalist.

Apparently, this group, Girls On Top, will be like NCT wherein they will debut units of them. That means GOT the beat is only a unit of Girls On Top, and SM can debut other GOT groups in the future. But of course, we’re here to talk about this particular unit.

My reaction

I almost ran out of breath as I enumerated all of these girls. That is definitely also my reaction when I first watched the music video. Their visuals are of course, on point, and the song itself is a bop. Just the cult-like opening made me feel goosebumps already.

Yes, I knew for a while that members from SM’s most legendary girl groups will be joining forces. But I didn’t exactly know which members. That’s why when I watched the video for the first time, my reaction was priceless.

Just seeing BoA there, along with Hyoyeon and Taeyeon, my jaw has dropped completely. Imagine seeing members from Red Velvet and Aespa next. It blew my mind to the core, to be honest.

This is not the first time that they did this though. Super M, the boy group version also debuted a few years ago. Having members from SHINee, EXO, and NCT, are impressive as well, of course. But as much as I know, they aren’t a unit like GOT.

I don’t know if it’s because I am a sucker for girl groups, but GOT impressed me more. Maybe because they have added such an iconic solo artist such as BoA along with members of some of the most renowned girl groups across all K-Pop generations.

My fanboy-self was screaming inside as I watched the Stage Video. I even looked at the line distribution and it is perfect as well, being equally distributed among its members. BoA had the most, but that’s understandable as they respected her status as everyone’s sunbae.

Everything was seamless until I looked at the lyrics of the song.

Step Back has very outdated lyrics

You know what, I liked everything about this overall. The name of the group itself is on point, the concept is great, the styling is beautiful, the melody and the instrumental are ok for me, and the vocals, rap, and choreography are amazing.

However… the lyrics are just not it.

Before the debut of this iconic group, people are already hyped about it because of its name and its members. They have already looked at it as a female empowerment group—strong women coming together to form a juggernaut.

But when they finally debuted, collectively, almost all of the K-Pop fans were disappointed by the lyrics of their debut song.

Action movies to watch that are under 90 minutes!

Instead of a song about female empowerment, they opted to sing about pitting women against each other because of a man… really? That’s what they went with?

“My man is on another level (Level)
You can’t even dream about this level (Level)
The one that got me next level (Level)
As you can see, another level“
Lyrics from ‘Step Back’ of GOT the beat

This song has a ‘pick-me girl’ vibes to it too, saying that the girl receiving the attention of ‘their man’ isn’t on the same level as her or her boyfriend. They are basically singing that they are ‘not like the other girls.’

“There are a lot more girls like you than you think
True or not, the world still goes around without you, around“
Lyrics from ‘Step Back’ of GOT the beat

I know a lot of people out there will defend this by saying that we are looking at it a little too much and we are making a big deal out of this.

This is not aggressive feminism. We’ve arrived at the year 2022 and they chose to debut a super girl group with a song about a boy. Not to mention, saying that girls will never be on the same level as them. Always remember that you can uplift women without shaming other women.

I tried my best to look for a redeeming quality about the lyrics but the whole song just failed at giving a good message. This is not even a decent diss track if it is.

Final thoughts

Believe it or not, I really loved this debut before reading the lyrics. I might even vibe to this from time to time for fun. Just because I love the melody, the beat, and their performance. However, this message kinda throws everything off.

Ask my cousins and sisters about my reaction and how addictive I think it is before analyzing the song. If only they kept everything and added a better message for the youth and to all the girls out there, this would’ve been perfect.

With a lineup like this, a company as big as SM, a beat that is as catchy as the song, it could’ve been the best thing. Too bad it didn’t meet the expectations of many.

I just wish they have a future comeback with a better song.