generally positive reviews from US media outlets. Bradley Stern from MuuMuse labelled the group's appearances on US television a "stunning win" for supporters of Korean music, while David Bevan from Spin wrote "It's like a dream." Nevertheless, viewers' response were divided–some accused the members of lip syncing and expressed their disdain for their performance, while others were impressed by the group's dancing skills and musical style. A music video for "The Boys" was directed by Hong Won-ki and choreographed by Rino Nakasone. It was released on October 19, 2011, on YouTube and several South Korean music websites. The video starts with a close up-of each members before switching to the dancing scenes. It was an instant success on YouTube, achieving 13 million views in one week. It has since attracted over 100 million views on YouTube, becoming the group's third music video to do so following "Gee" and "I Got a Boy". With this achievement, Girls' Generation became the first music girl group to have three music videos with over 100 million views as of September 2014, surpassing the Pussycat Dolls, who had two videos with over 100 million views. Reception Commercial "The Boys" was a success in South Korea. Following its release, the song immediately achieved number one spots on music programs Music Bank, Inkigayo, and M Countdown. On Music Bank, the single occupied the number one position for six weeks. It peaked at number one on the Gaon Digital Chart and sold over 3.032 million digital downloads in 2011, becoming the 10th best-selling single and the 43rd best-performing single (including streaming and instrumental track downloads) on the Gaon Chart. The single also peaked atop the Billboard Korea K-Pop Hot 100 instead. In the United States, the track peaked at numbers 5 and 15 the Hot Dance Singles Sales and Hot Singles Sales, respectively, and managed to sell 21,000 copies in its first week of release, according to Nielsen SoundScan. In Japan, "The Boys" charted at number 12 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart. Critical "The Boys" received generally positive reviews from music critics. Katherine St Asaph from Popdust gave the song three and a half out of five stars, complimenting the song's production but criticizing its lack of a "memorable" chorus. Jen Erenza from Ryan Seacrest's official blog praised it as a "foot-stomping, head-crackin', and girl-powered track sung by nine girls that everyone needs to hear". AllMusic's