"Small Girl" is a song by South Korean rapper Lee Young-ji featuring singer Doh Kyung-soo. It was released on June 21, 2024, by Mainstream as the lead single of her debut EP, 16 Fantasy (2024). "Small Girl" topped South Korean Circle Digital Chart and peaked at number 38 on the Billboard Global 200.
Background On June 10, 2024, Lee announced the upcoming release of her debut EP 16 Fantasy on June 21. Four days later, she announced that singer Doh Kyung-soo of boy band Exo would be the featured singer of the song.
Composition The lyrics of the song was entirely penned by Lee herself. She collaborated with music producer Peejay for the composition. The song is primarily performed in English, narrating Lee's experience dating boyfriends who were around the same height or a little shorter than her. The song highlights her admiration and envy of shorter girls whilst discussing her inability to conform to societal standards. Lee claimed to have written the song right away after being annoyed when a little girl asked her how she was doing.
Critical reception Music critic Jung Min-jae gave the song a positive review highlighting Lee's narrations that provide comfort and solidarity.
Music video
The music video was released on the same day as the song. Within two days, the music video already surpassed two million views. The music video received backlash from some fans as it featured a cheek kissing scene between Lee and Doh. During an interview with Na Young-seok, Lee clarified that the scene was discussed beforehand. Following the backlash, the director of the music video stated that it was okay to scrap the scene since the rapper "wished to not be hated and meet an untimely death", although ultimately the video remained aired as it was.
Credits Musicians Lee Young-ji – vocals, lyrics, composition Peejay – producer, composition, arrangement, drum, keyboard and piano, synthesizer Koo Young-jun – guitar Ikbbo – bass Doh Kyung-soo – vocals
Technical personnel MoZ – recording Jung Eun-kyung – recording Kwon Nam-woo – mastering Ko Hyun-jung – mixing Ji Min-woo – mixing assistant Kim Joon-young – mixing assistant
Studios Ingrid Studio – recording Kokosound Studio – mixing 821 Sound – mastering
Charts
Weekly charts + Chart (2024) Peakposition Global 200 (Billboard) 38 Hong Kong (Billboard) 15 Malaysia (Billboard) 22 Philippines (Philippines Hot 100) 64 South Korea (Circle) 1 Taiwan (Billboard) 2
Monthly charts + Chart (2024) Position South Korea (Circle) 2
Year-end charts + Chart Year Position South Korea (Circle) 2024 30 South Korea (Circle) 2025 76
References