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Girls Generation Wallpaper Biography
Girls' Generation (Sonyuh Shidae) is a South Korean girl group formed by S.M. Entertainment in . They are also referred to as SoShi (소시) or SNSD, both abbreviated forms of the group's Korean name. The group nine member group consists of Taeyeon, Jessica, Sunny, Tiffany, Hyoyeon, Yuri, Sooyoung, Yoona and Seohyun.
They gained attention at the beginning of their career with songs such as "Into the New World" and "Kissing You" but it was not until when they gained significant popularity with their hit single "Gee", which would be named as South Korea's 'Song of the Decade'. The group solidified their place in the Korean music industry with follow-up singles "Tell Me Your Wish", "Run Devil Run", and "Oh!". In , they returned to the Korean music scene with "The Boys", which was released in three languages: Korean, Japanese, and for the first time, English. They sold over , copies for each of their six Korean releases, making them the first female group in the South Korean music industry to do so in over six years. Within five years, the group has sold a total of over . million albums and million digital singles. In alone, the group sold ,, albums and singles collectively. The group's immense popularity in their native South Korea has earned them the title "The Nation's Singers" and "The Nation's Girl Group" The Sisa Journal named the group as the most influential entertainers for the years and , making them the first female idol group in history to make the list. Asia Today placed the group at forty-four on the Korean Power Leaders list in . Forbes also revealed the group were most powerful entertainers in South Korea for the year of .
The group began a foray into the Japanese music scene in late under Nayutawave Records, with the Japanese remakes of their Korean hits "Genie" and "Gee." The group's debut Japanese album, Girls' Generation, released in June , is currently the highest selling album in Japan by a Korean group in Oricon history after being certified 'Million' by the RIAJ and made the group the second Korean artist to earn this achievement in Japan since label mate BoA's "Best of Soul" in . They returned to the Japanese music scene in June , with "Paparazzi", the lead single from their second Japanese album, Girls' Generation II ~Girls & Peace~.
In April, the group formed Girls' Generation-TTS (known simply as "TaeTiSeo"), their first sub-unit composed of members Taeyeon, Tiffany, and Seohyun. The subgroup's debut EP, Twinkle, peaked at # on the Billboard , becoming the highest charting K-Pop album on the chart thus far.
Pre-debut
After the success of SM Entertainment's boy band, Super Junior, the company planned to debut a new girl group, which would ultimately turn into Girls' Generation, featuring a start-up roster of members. For nearly two years, Korean websites speculated about which of the female SM Entertainment trainees would be placed into the group. The members were professionally trained primarily in singing and dancing, while some members were also selected to be trained in acting and modeling. Many of the members already had made names for themselves in the Korean entertainment industry through their participation in magazine ads, television commercials, and small television appearances. The group witnessed several revisions until the final line-up was decided, including a member line-up in mid-, however this number changed to the debuting nine when members were either cut, or left. Prior to their announcement, it was rumored that the group would be named "Super Girls" after their so-called male counterparts, Super Junior. The majority of the group's members were already seasoned performers and trainees prior to the group's debut, including member Sooyoung, who had debuted in the Japanese market in as part of the pop duo, Route θ. The group soon disbanded, only one year after debuting in Japan.
The first member of the group to join SM Entertainment's training system was Jessica in , after her and her sister, Krystal Jung (now a member of the quinlet girl group f(x)), were scouted in a mall in Korea during a family vacation. Members Sooyoung and Hyoyeon were also cast into SM's training system in . Hyoyeon, an accomplished dancer, danced for her audition. After being taught at "Winners Dance School", a dance school in South Korea famed for its specialization in Hip-Hop. She initially had no intentions of auditioning for the company, but her mother was a fan of SM Entertainment's then-boy band H.O.T., and brought her to the auditions in the hopes of seeing them. Hyoyeon would later be sent to China to study Chinese with fellow SM trainee, Choi Siwon (now a member of Super Junior). Yuri was the next Girls' Generation member to be accepted into SM's training system after finishing second in the SM Youth Best Dancer competition. Yoona was cast the following year after auditioning singing and dancing to her favorite singers, BoA and Britney Spears. Seohyun, the group's maknae (youngest) member, auditioned in , singing children's songs. The group's leader, Taeyeon, was cast in after being discovered at SM's th Annual Best Contest winning "Best Singer st Place & Grand Award". That same year, member Tiffany auditioned at SM's Starlight Casting System in Los Angeles, and joined the company in October . The ninth and final member of the group to be added was Sunny, who entered the system in , training for five years before transferring to another company, Starworld, where she trained to debut in the duo "Sugar", which ultimately never debuted. Then under the recommendation by the singer Ayumi she re-transferred back to SM Entertainment in . Sunny is also the niece of SM Entertainment's founder, Lee Soo Man.
–: Debut and Girls' Generation
In July , Girls' Generation had their unofficial first stage performance on Mnet School of Rock where the group performed their first single, titled "Into the New World" (다시 만난 세계, Dasi Mannan Segye). A documentary recording the story of the group's debut titled Mnet Girls' Generation Goes to School was filmed during this time, showing the members as they moved into an apartment together and prepared for their performances.
Girls' Generation in February performing at Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand
The group's first single was physically released soon after, including an instrumental of the group's debut song and two other tracks: "Beginning" and "Perfect for You." The latter's Korean title is "Wish" (소원, SoWon), which later became the name of Girls' Generation's official fan club, S♡NE. The group's debut officially began on August , , first performing on SBS Inkigayo, later on MBC Music Core and KBS Music Bank. "Into the New World" achieved No. spot on M! Countdown.
The group released their first self-titled full album in late autumn of with the lead single "Girls' Generation" (소녀시대, Sonyeo Sidae), a remake of Lee Seung-cheol's song. Promotion for the single started in early November. The album also included the group's first single "Into the New World", "Perfect For You" (re-titled "Honey"), and eight other tracks by the group.
In early , Girls' Generation began promoting their second single from the album, "Kissing You", which won the group their first K-chart win after achieving the number one position on the KBS Music Bank February chart. This song achieved the # spot on three major TV music rankings—SBS Inkigayo, M.net M.Countdown! and KBS Music Bank.
In March , the album was repackaged, re-released and re-titled Baby Baby. Girls' Generation released the teaser for their single "Baby Baby" on March , . The single was released on digital music sites on March , . The single, "Baby Baby", was released to promote the album. The group also performed "Baby Baby" on various music shows such as Music Core, Inkigayo and M! Countdown in March and April. The album promotions was concluded on April , at Inkigayo.
During the group's promotions, members Jessica, Tiffany and Seohyun were featured on a mini-album released by Roommate, a one-man band from Purple Communication. The mini-album was titled Roommate: Emotional Band Aid, and was released on December , . The song performed by the three girls, titled "Oppa Nappa" (오빠 나빠; literally, Bad Brother), was digitally released before the album in April . The song was performed live on SBS Inkigayo, KBS Music Bank, and M! Countdown.
Later in the year, the three members released "Mabinogi" (It's Fantastic!) together as the theme song for the Nexon game Mabinogi, with Tiffany participating in the music video. Mnet reality show Factory Girl chronicled the members working as interns at fashion magazine Elle Girl. The program began airing in early October. In late , the group also participated in the SM Town Live ' concert along with other SM Town artists. The tour expanded its route to South Korea, Thailand, and China.
: Gee, Genie, first Asian tour and rising popularity
Girls' Generation performing "Genie" at the LG Mobile Worldcup in .
On December , posters of the Girls' Generation members wearing roller-skates were posted up in various locations around Seoul. SM Entertainment's phone lines were blocked up by callers asking whether the posters were for sale and the company asked fans to stop taking the posters down for personal use. On December , the group's management stated that the posters were indeed teaser posters and that the group would soon release their first EP, Gee, in January .
A teaser video was released in January and the first single "Gee" released soon after. "Gee" topped Cyworld's hourly music chart on the release day. The song also went number one on all major digital music charts within two days. The music video set a record on release, garnering one million views on GomTV in under a day. The group began its album promotion in January on MBC Music Core where they sang their new lead single "Gee" and the track "Himnae (Way To Go)", another song from their mini-album.
"Gee" went on to become a phenomenal hit, breaking the record for consecutive number one wins on Music Bank with nine consecutive wins, as well as receiving a triple crown on SBS Inkigayo. The track also showed strength on other charts, topping the Mujikon, Melon and Mnet charts for eight consecutive weeks, the Dosirak chart for seven weeks, the Muse chart for six weeks, and the Baksu chart for four weeks.
On May , . Girls Generation was starred in their new reality show “SNSD Horror Movie Factory“, with the premier episode receiving a viewership rating of .%. The show was then cancelled after episodes due to low ratings. It was announced that a new show starring the popular group titled 'Himnaera-Him!' or 'Cheer Up!' was chosen to take the timeslot, and began airing the week after the last episode of Horror Movie Factory. However, as the group released their new EP 'Tell Me Your Wish (Genie)' and became busier with promotions, the show was discontinued after only episodes when the group's management decided to have them leave the MBC Sunday Sunday Night segment. On the broadcast date of the final episode of Cheer Up!, it was announced the group would be starring in a new reality show on KBS, titled Girls' Generation's Hello Baby which was aired on June , .
After a short break, SM Entertainment announced that the group would be back with a new mini-album sporting a "Marine Girl" concept. The new single was to be titled "Tell Me Your Wish (Genie)", with the full mini-album being released digitally on June , . The group started their promotional activities on June , , appearing on KBS Music Bank. The performance was followed by follow-up comeback performances on MBC Music Core and SBS Inkigayo on June and , . The physical release of Genie was delayed by SM Entertainment in order to redo the album art, and was released four days later on June , .
The track proved to be a success as it conquered various music sites, including Melon, Dosirak, Mnet, and Bugs, and it was number one on the weekly charts and the SKT ringtone weekly charts of the first week of July. The mini-album sold an estimated ,+ copies in its first week after released (almost double the numbers from the first-week sales of Gee), an unusual feat for any Korean girl group.
On November , SM Entertainment announced the group's Into The New World Tour. The tickets for the tour went on sale on November , and they were sold out in minutes. The tour initially consisted of two Korean shows on December and , . The tour began at Seoul's Olympic Park Fencing Stadium on December and and continued onto other Asian cities including Shanghai. It was later announced that the group would have two "Encore" shows for February and , .
: Oh!/Run Devil Run, Japanese debut and Hoot
Girls' Generation at an LG event in .
Later in January, SM Entertainment confirmed the release of Oh!, the group's second full-length album, to be on January . The lead single "Oh!" was digitally released on January with the music video being released two days later. On January , the group started promotions with the recording of MBC Music Core. The broadcast of the performance experienced a blackout near the end, to which MBC made the whole performance available online in response. With "Oh!", the group went on to win five consecutive K-charts on KBS Music Bank, as well as achieving a triple crown on SBS Inkigayo. "Oh!" also went on to win the Music Bank half-year K-chart, coming in at second on Hanteo's first half album sales chart, and also winning the end-of-year K-chart.citation needed The music video ranked as the number one most viewed YouTube video in Korea by the end of . It was also number one in Hong Kong and made the top ten in both the Taiwan and Japan rankings.
Starting on March , , photos of the members were released online showcasing a dark concept, dubbed "Black SoShi". A teaser video was released on March , with the new single Run Devil Run being released as a digital single on March .
Mid-June, it was announced that the group had signed contracts in May, and would begin working under Universal Music Japan's record label Nayutawave Records for their Japanese promotions, with their first Japanese single expected to be released in September . Girls' Generation began promotion in Japan in August. "少女時代到来～初来日記念盤～" (Girls' Generation's Arrival ～ First Time in Japan Commemoration Disc ～), a DVD featuring seven of the group's music videos as well as special bonus footage, was released on August , with the special edition of the DVD containing a pink glowstick as well as a pass to the Girls' Generation debut at the Tokyo Ariake Colliseum on August . In the first week after release, the DVD sold , copies, ranking fourth on the weekly DVD Oricon ranking and third on the weekly music DVD ranking, and made Girls' Generation the first female K-pop group to make the Oricon DVD Top- ranking.
Amidst their Japanese activities, the group also participated in the SMTown Live ' World Tour alongside their label-mates on August at Seoul Jamsil Olympic Stadium. They participated in the subsequent Shanghai, Los Angeles, Paris and Tokyo stops as well.
On August , the group held their first showcase in Tokyo Ariake Colliseum. With an initial , fans invited, it was reported to be the most large-scale plan for a Korean artist debuting in Japan. However, due to high number of expected attendees, the group's management announced that the showcase would take place three times in the same day rather than once to accommodate the large amount of fans. The group sang five of their Korean tracks at each of the showcases, and the total number of attendees over all three shows were estimated to be at least ,. At this showcase, the "Genie" Japanese music video was also revealed publicly for the first time and the teaser having been released a few days prior on August .
Their Japanese debut single "Genie" debuted at the fifth spot on the same day of its release on the Daily Oricon Charts and later rose to the second position on the Daily Charts some time later, earning the group a fourth position on the Oricon weekly ranking. The group also hit the number one spots on Japan iTunes' music video chart and both the Rekochoku daily video clip chart and incoming movie daily ranking chart a day later. With pre-orders amounting to ,, the single sold an estimated , copies in the first week after release. On October , , the group released their second Japanese single, "Gee".
A week after the release of their Japanese single, the group released their third Korean mini-album, Hoot on October , , consisting of five tracks. The video for lead single, "Hoot", a song originally written in English as "Bulletproof", was released on October . Girls' Generation commenced their promotional activities with a comeback stage on KBS Music Bank on October . "Hoot" quickly rose to the top of the charts and received the number one spot numerous times on music shows, proving to be another successful release for the group. The group simultaneously promoted "Hoot" and "Gee" in Korea and Japan respectively, and participated in Japanese music broadcasts such as the FNS Music Festival, where they performed their two Japanese singles, "Gee" and "Genie" on December .
On December , , "Hoot" was repackaged with additional tracks from previous albums and released in Japan. The release rose to the second position on the Oricon charts and sold , copies on the first day, faring surprisingly well considering that all the included tracks were entirely in Korean.
On December , , the group attended the Golden Disk Awards and was awarded three awards including the Disk Daesang (Album of the Year) for their nd album Oh!. The group also became the first girl group to have both a Disk Daesang () and Digital Daesang (). On December , , the group attended the Melon Music Awards winning the Best Dressed Singer award and Hot Trend Song award for, "Hoot", as well as the Artist of the Year award. This would be the second consecutive 'Artist of the Year' award for the group. They topped the Hanteo annual Singer Award chart for .
The group was named on Asia Today's list of Korean power leaders for at the number forty-fourth spot, being the only idol group from the list. Girls' Generation was designated "Artist of the Year" by Dosirak, Soribada, Korea Gallup, Hanteo and Sport Korea and also won Best Song of The Year with "Oh!" at Monkey .
: Girls' Generation, nd Asian Tour, International Expansion and The Boys
At the start of , the group prepared a new song titled "Visual Dreams" as part of their endorsement efforts for Intel's Core Processors throughout Asia. The music video for "Visual Dreams" was released on January , and various promotional campaigns included new music, D, and D music videos, internet sites, photos, and PC store displays.
Girls' Generation performing "Tell Me Your Wish (Genie)" at Madison Square Garden
In latter half of January, it was announced that the group would be returning to the Japanese market through the release of their Japanese version of "Run Devil Run" as a digital single, released on January , .
On January , , at the th Seoul Music Awards, the group received "Artist of the Year", the "Bonsang" prize", a "Popularity" award, and a "Hallyu award". In doing this, Girls' Generation became one of four artists in Korean music history (the others being Seo Taiji, Jo Sungmo and H.O.T.) to be named 'Artist of the Year' for two consecutive years. The group also became the only girl group in history to receive 'Artist of the Year' awards for the Seoul Music Awards, and Melon Music Awards for two consecutive years. They also received two Daesang Awards at the Golden Disk Ceremony, one Digital Daesang (), and one Physical Album Sales Daesang ().
On March , SM Japan updated their official website with information about the release of Girls' Generation third Japanese single and their first Japanese tour. It was stated that on April , Girls' Generation would be releasing their third Japanese single Mr. Taxi / Run Devil Run, which would include their first, original, Japanese song "Mr. Taxi". and the Japanese remake of their song "Run Devil Run". A portion of the revenue from their Japanese single would be donated to Japan's Red Cross in order to provide assistance to the victims of the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. On April , the music video for the Japanese version of "Run Devil Run" was released.
At the MTV Video Music Aid Japan (VMAJ), Girls' Generation was nominated for three awards under the "Best Group Video", "Best Video Of The Year", and "Best Karaokee! Song" categories. Originally titled MTV Video Music Awards Japan (VMAJ), the title of the event was changed to change the focus of the show to aid Japan, with donations tied to the amount of votes for artistes. Girls' Generation performed two songs at the event, joining the star-studded line up including Tokio Hotel, Lady Gaga, and AKB. On July , it was announced that they had come out top in two out of the three nominated categories, winning "Best Group Video" and "Best Karaokee! Song" for the Japanese version of "Genie".
On June , , the group released their debut Japanese studio album, Girls' Generation. The album was promoted via the groups first Japan tour entitled, The st Japan Arena Tour, which started in Osaka on May , . A total of fourteen concerts in six cities would be held over a period of a month and a half. Girls' Generation was certified Platinum (,) by Recording Industry Association of Japan on June , , making it the fifth Korean artist's album to do so after S.E.S, BoA, TVXQ and KARA. Girls' Generation then was certified Double Platinum (,) on July , , a first for any Korean girl group. The group also set a record for recording the highest sales of the FIRST album as a foreign artist in Japan. Girls' Generation is the fourth artist to obtained number one spot on weekly album chart after BoA, TVXQ, and Big Bang," and became the third Korean act to surpass the , mark after BoA and TVXQ. As a result of their rising popularity, Girls' Generation became the highest earning foreign artist in Japan for the first half of . By the end of , the album had sold over , copies. The album was re-packaged, as "The Boys" on December , . Their most successful album to date, it was certified 'Million' by the RIAJ, and made the group the second Korean artist to earn this achievement in Japan since labelmate BoA's "Best of Soul" in , as well as being the first female group to do so. The self-titled album was the fifth best selling album in Japan in and won Album of the Year at the MTV Video Music Awards Japan. The lead single Mr. Taxi sold over , copies in its first week, beating out its predecessors, "Gee" and "Genie". The single also managed to clinch the number spot on Billboard Japan Hot chart for two consecutive weeks and was nominated for Video of the Year at the MTV Video Music Awards Japan.
Girls Generation nd Asian Tour was announced by SM Entertainment in June . The tickets for the tour went on sale on June , on GMarket. On July , , Sooyoung announced that the next concert will be held in Taipei City, the capital city of Taiwan. On October , , it was announced that the next concert will be held on December , in Singapore. Due to overwhelming response regarding lack of tickets, it was announced on October , that there will be a second concert on the following day after the first night, on December , in Singapore. The concert was also held on January , in Hong Kong. And most recently, it was confirmed that Girls' Generation will perform a concert on February , in Bangkok, Thailand.On January , Girls’ Generation broke the record for the fastest concert to sell out in Thailand. The highest priced tickets sold out in ten minutes. All , concert tickets were sold in twenty minutes, setting the record for the concert to be sold out the fastest in Thailand. Members of Girls' Generation announced to the fans in Thailand that Bangkok leg would be their last stop for their nd Asia Tour.
Girls' Generation was selected by SISA Press as "The Most Influential Entertainers in Korea" for the year , after having placed sixth in .
Girls' Generation performing "The Boys" at Madison Square Garden, in October .
On September , the first teaser featuring Taeyeon was released for the impending comeback with the group's third Korean album The Boys, followed by Sunny and Hyoyeon on September ; Jessica, Sooyoung, and Tiffany on September and Yoona, Yuri, and Seohyun on September . The first image teaser for "The Boys" was released on the midnight of October , through SM Entertainment's YouTube channel.
Setting their sights on the international market, Girls' Generation signed a contract with Universal Music Group in to release United States material under Interscope Records. The Boys was originally scheduled to be released through iTunes and various music websites in Asia, including its native country, Korea on October , . But on September , it was revealed that the album's release has been postponed so as to bring about a worldwide album release. On October , it was confirmed that the album will be released on October , and comeback on KBS Music Bank on October , .
The title track, "The Boys", co-written by member Tiffany and produced by Teddy Riley, famous for his work with Michael Jackson, was released in both Korean and English, and eventually Japanese. Within minutes after the release of "The Boys", Girls' Generation achieved an "all-kill" status on all major on and off-line music charts in Korea. Despite not charting on Hot , the song managed to peak inside the Top on the iTunes chart in the US, selling over , copies and becoming one of the best selling K-Pop songs, at that time, in the United States. The same titled album sold , albums within twelve days in South Korea, becoming the best selling album in October and third best selling album in . By the end of December, "The Boys" had sold a further , copies, bring its total to , copies, becoming the best selling album in South Korea in . The group began promotions on KBS' Music Bank with "The Boys" and "MR. Taxi". On October , , it was confirmed by the members at the New York City date of SMTown World Tour II, that "The Boys" maxi-Single would be released internationally on November , , although the date was later moved to December , . With only two months of sales, The Boys managed to become the th best selling digital track in its native country of , having sold ,, copies since its October release. As of April, , the album had sold over , copies in South Korea, setting a Gaon Chart record for the best selling, non-repackaged album in the chart's history.
It was announced on November , , that the group would be releasing their first official Japanese photobook titled "Holiday". "The st Japan Arena Tour" was also made available on Blu-ray and DVD on December , . "Holiday", reached the number one spot on the book sales ranking chart under the photograph collection category. The photos were a collection of the girls enjoying leisurely time off, and sold , copies the first week after going on sale on November . It ranked eighteenth on the overall book sales ranks.
The group also participated on the Winter SMTown – The Warmest Gift compilation album, along with their label mates, performing the new song, "Diamond", which was released on December , .
On December , , it was announced that Girls' Generation will be releasing a re-packaged version of their debut Japanese album "Girls' Generation", which included a Japanese version of the "The Boys", and remixed versions of "The Great Escape", "Bad Girl", "Mr.Taxi". It also contained the new song, "Time Machine". The album was released on December , , and, collectively with the initial album, "Girls' Generation" passed sales of over ,, with shipments of million. The album placed fifth on the Oricon Weekly CD Albums chart for the second week of January, (Jan - ) and Oricon announced that it was the first time in history that an album by a Korean artist has placed in the Top for seventeen weeks. The previous record holder was the original soundtrack for the Korean drama “Winter Sonata”, which remained in the Top for sixteen weeks. Due to their Japanese releases, the group ranked fifth among Japanese artists in terms of monetary profit, the group had generated over . billion Yen (US$ million) for International promotions, Solo activities, TaeTiSeo, and Return to Japan
On January , , the group attended the Golden Disk Awards, held in Osaka, bringing home two awards; the "Digital Bonsang" and the highly coveted "Digital Daesang". A week later, on January , , they attended the Seoul Music Awards, and brought back two awards, the "Bonsang" and "Popularity" awards. The group also won two awards from the Gaon Chart Awards, winning the Album Of The Year for the fourth Quarter and Oricon "Hallyu Singer" award. On February , , the teaser for their Japanese digital single, "Time Machine", was released.
Girls' Generation perform "The Boys" at the Seoul Music Awards, January , .
Their appearances on the Late Show with David Letterman and Live! with Kelly on January , , and February , , where they performed remixes of the English version of "The Boys", marked the first time that a Korean musical act has performed on each of the shows.. They also performed on the French show, Le Grand Journal, on February , , after it was announced that they were to release "The Boys" on February , , through Universal Music Group’s Polydor Records in France. In the same month, Forbes Korea reported the year's list of the "Top Power Celebrities". Girls' Generation ranked number one on the list, thus making them the most powerful South Korean girl group and female celebrity. A month later, on March , they made their debut performance in Malaysia at the Petronas Towers, as part of Twin Towers @Live . Figures for the groups total earnings for were released in March, . The group placed first among their label, earning over billion won, or, approximately, $. million USD.
April saw the formation of Girls' Generation-TTS, or simply "TaeTiSeo", a subunit composed of members Taeyeon, Tiffany, and Seohyun. The subgroup released their first mini-album, Twinkle, on May . The group continued promotion throughout the month, performing on variety shows and at the Hallyu Dream Wave Concert. "Twinkle" debuted at number on the Billboard , selling over , copies and making it the highest charting K-Pop album on the chart at the time. By July, , the album had sold , copies in its native country, and a further , copies abroad. That same month, the group, with the exception of Yuri and Yoona, attended the showcase for S.M. Entertainment's biographical movie, I AM., which was held at the CJ CGV cinema in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, on April . A week prior, "Dear My Family", the theme song for the film, which featured group leader, Taeyeon, was released, featuring both concert and backstage footage.
On May , , the group performed with their label-mates at the Honda Center in Anaheim, as part of the first date of SMTown Live World Tour III. Members Yoona and Yuri were not present due to their filming commitments with their television dramas Love Rain and Fashion King, respectively. Following the conclusion of their dramas, Yuri and Yoona returned to the group as the tour moved on to Taiwan, where they performed to a crowd of , people. The tour will then continued into Tokyo, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia.
A teaser video for the group's Japanese single, "Paparazzi", was released on May , . This teaser was followed by the release of the full music video, in addition to a dance version, on June , . The song, released on June , , will serve as the lead single from their upcoming second Japanese-language album. Paparazzi proved to be another successful release for the group, debuting atop the Japanese Hot , selling over , copies in its first week, becoming their second best first week opening, following the , debut of Mr. Taxi, a year prior. "Paparazzi"'s release, boosted the groups total single sales in the country to over ,, according to SoundScan Japan. That same month, the group won "Best Album of the Year" for their debut Japanese album at the VMAJs.
It was announced on July , , that the group was to release official stamps the following month, commemorating their th Anniversary. A total of stamps were produced, which included autographed album covers. This marked the first time a celebrity had made a contract with Korea Post to produce stamps. Within an hour of the stamps' issuing, over half of the available stamp sheets had already sold out.
On August , , it was revealed that the group was to release a Blu-ray/DVD videography entitled "Girls' Generation Complete Video Collection". Two weeks later on August , the group's official Japanese fansite announced the group was to tour Japan for the second time, in . "Oh! / All My Love Is For You", the group's second double A-side single, and the second single from their second Japanese studio album was released on September , , and featuring a Japanese remake of their single, "Oh!". The “All My Love Is For You” music video was released on September , and the music video for "Oh!" was released on September , . Oh!, earned first place on Oricon’s Weekly Single chart, selling , copies in its first week. In addition, the group's Complete Video Collection reached number one on Oricon's Weekly DVD and Blu-ray charts, selling a collective , discs. They are the second artist to reach number one on all three charts in the same week. The only other group to accomplish this same feat was Japanese pop rock band, Mr. Children.
The group's second Japanese album, Girls' Generation II: Girls & Peace, was on November , . The album will be preceded by the single "Flower Power", which is set to be released on November , . Despite limited release, "Flower Power" sold , copies in its first week, peaking at number five on the Oricon Chart, the single also reached number six on the Japan Hot . Girls' Generation II: Girls & Peace sold , copies in its first week of release, ranking third on Oricon's Weekly Albums Chart. "Girls & Peace" has since been certified Platinum by the RIAJ, denoting , copies sent to Japanese retailers.
Performing in Singapore, November
The group will participate in the soundtrack for label mate, BoA's debut film, COBU D. The song, sung in English, entitled "Cheap Creeper" will be released prior to the film's release. Jessica also participated in another song for the soundtrack with her sister Krystal Jung and EXO member, Kris, on the song, "Say Yes." On October , , it was announced Hyoyeon and Jessica would be participating in a musical promotional campaign for car company Hyundai, and its "Premium Younique Lifestyle" customers. Jessica's song, "My Lifestyle" featuring Korean rapper Dok, was released on October , . Hyoyeon's track, entitled "Maxstep", a dubstep orientated electropop song featuring Super Junior's Eunhyuk, SHINee‘s Taemin, Super Junior-M‘s Henry, EXO-K‘s Kai, and EXO-M‘s Luhan was released on October , .
Girls’ Generation had originally targeted for a Korean comeback at the end of October or in the beginning of November. However, they have decided not to return to Korea with plans ultimately being scrapped so the group could focus on Japanese promotions for the remainder of . The group released the Girls' Generation Tour DVD on November , which features footage from the concert tour of the same name. Due to their Japanese releases in , the group ranked seventh among Japanese artists and as the top Korean artist in Japan in terms of monetary profit after generating over . billion Yen (US$ million) in .
On November , , it was announced that the group intended to make a Korean comeback in . The following month, on December , , a representative for SM Entertainment stated that the group were in the final stages of preparation of their fourth album, however, the release date is still undecided. The group will also receive a special on Korean network MBC dedicated to their comeback in January . On December , , SM Entertainment posted a teaser image containing the words ". . A.M." under the group's name surrounded by Korea's national flower on their official Twitter. The group release the pre-release track "Dancing Queen", a remake version of Duffy's Mercy, on December , . On the same day, it was revealed that the group's fourth Korean album "I Got A Boy" would be released on January , .
Members
Stage name Birth name Date of birth
Romanized Hangul Romanized Hangul
Taeyeon 태연 Kim Tae-yeon 김태연 March , (age )
Jessica 제시카 Jessica Jung, Jung Soo-yeon 제시카 정, 정수연 April , (age )
Sunny 써니 Lee Soon-kyu 이순규 May , (age )
Tiffany 티파니 Stephanie Hwang, Hwang Mi-young 스테파니 황, 황미영 August , (age )
Hyoyeon 효연 Kim Hyo-yeon 김효연 September , (age )
Yuri 유리 Kwon Yu-ri 권유리 December , (age )
Sooyoung 수영 Choi Soo-young 최수영 February , (age )
Yoona 윤아 Im Yoon-ah 임윤아 May , (age )
Seohyun 서현 Seo Joo-hyun 서주현 June , (age )
Subgroups
Main article: Girls' Generation-TTS
On April , SM Entertainment officially announced the creation of the Girls’ Generation subunit, Girls’ Generation–TaeTiSeo, composed of Taeyeon, Tiffany, and Seohyun. The subunit's first mini-album "Twinkle" was released on April , . According to a statement made by SM Entertainment, "Girls’ Generation’s subunit will feature the various talents of each Girls’ Generation member by changing the members of the unit according to the music and concept of each new subunit album. This subunit will aim to grab the attention of fans with all aspects of music, performance, and fashion styles."
The subunit's work was noticeably different from previous work done by the group, with the focus shifting towards vocals, rather than the highly synchronized choreography the group is known for, as well as more unique fashion choices.
Artistry
Musical Style
"Gee"
MENU:
's Gee, a predominately teen pop song with influences of dance pop which incorporates the use of a memorable hook.
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During the beginning of their career, the group's music was predominantly bubblegum pop and teen pop. Singles such as "Gee" and "Oh!" utilize the teen pop and bubblegum pop genres while incorporating dance pop In the group transitioned to electropop sound with the release of "Tell me Your Wish (Genie)". The group continued this sound when debuting in Japan with Girls' Generation, using a more electropop influenced sound. They would carry this sound onto their second Japanese album with songs like "Paparazzi" and "Flower Power", the latter was noted for its use of a flowing base and prominent synths. The group works extensively on Korean releases with producers Yoo Young-jin and Kenzie. Lyrically, the group explores female empowerment, evident in songs like "Hoot" and "The Boys." The first member to participate in the creation of the group's work was Yuri, who co-wrote the R&B-inspired song "Mistake" (내 잘못이죠) from the group's third EP Hoot. The group extended more control with Tiffany and Sooyoung co-writing "The Boys," and "How Great Is Your Love" on the group's third Korean album, The Boys, respectively.
Imagery
The group's image has been a major role in their rise in popularity. In the early years of their career, the group wore relatively no makeup and dressed more conservatively. The song "Kissing You" had the girls use lollipops as a prop during performances. During promotions for their single "Gee", the group dressed in jeans and plain-white shirts, highlighting the "purity" of the group and the song. When promoting the "Oh!" single in January , the group used a cheerleader concept. Despite this, member Hyoyeon admitted in November that she felt nervous when she had to act "cute and pretty." She stated that, "it’s very hard to act. I squirm when I act cute and pretty. I tried gritting my teeth and doing it but I couldn’t." In June , the group left behind their 'pure' image, opting for a more mature image during the promotions for "Tell Me Your Wish (Genie)". The concept was based off marines, with members dressing in short-shorts highlighting their legs. The choreography was designed around their legs and became popular in Korea "Jegi-kicking dance" (제기차기 춤) and the "Leg-beauty dance" (각선미 춤). For 's "Hoot", the group's image was based on Bond Girls. Earlier that year, whilst gearing up for promotion for "Run Devil Run", the group was noted for using a much darker, sexy image, nicknamed "Black SoShi" by their fans. In , the group returned to Korea with "The Boys," which used a "heroine" image, with members choosing their own outfits, emphasizing each of the members' own tastes. When creating choreography, the group works with Rino Nakasone Razalan. The group's choreography focuses on "seductive imagery" as well as synchronization, for which the group is famed for. Their choreography usually centers around member Hyoyeon, who is famous for her abilities as a dancer, specializing in Hip-Hop.
John Seabrook from The New Yorker described Girls' Generation as "a group of preppy-looking young women in skinny trousers. When they wear hot pants, it’s to display the gams, not the glutes." New York Magazine stated that the music itself is not the decisive factor in the popularity of K-pop as a whole, and Girls' Generation in particular. But rather the that the public likes the groups based on its members' looks and their personality, radiating a "humility" and friendliness to each and one of the fans. Kevin Perry from the British music publication NME wrote: "Girls’ Generation also have a massive nine members, which is indicative of the way the efficient K-pop machine can favour choreographed style over individual personalities." Mio Scobie, of Us Weekly stated that the group's music has contributed to their international success, with "feel-good beats, and instantly memorable choruses."
Impact
Main articles: Korean Wave and List of awards and nominations received by Girls' Generation
Following their debut in , Girls' Generation has become a prominent figure in both South Korean culture and music, with music critics noting the group as being a representative figure of South Korean culture. The group is credited as playing a major role in the Hallyu Movement, and have been compared to fellow K-Pop singer Seo Taiji due to their contributions to Korean culture. Their immense popularity has lead the group to earn the titles "The Nation's Singers" (Korean: 국민가수) and "The Nation's Girl Group" Following the disbandment of the original Korean idol girl groups S.E.S. and Fin.K.L in , the Korean music industry experienced an influx of male idol groups such as TVXQ! and Super Junior, however upon the group's debut with songs such as "Into the New World" and "Kissing You", they were credited for shifting focus back to female groups. In , the group was chosen by Tyler Brûlé as the seventh most recognizable Korean culture figure, being the only musical and non-object act to make the list. The group's fashion has been described as "chic" and "mature," becoming immensely popular among young women across Asia. With many dubbing the group as "fashion icons." In Japanese textbooks, the group serves as the main feature in the K-Pop section of the book. The group gained significant popularity at the start of with the release of "Gee", the single was named 'Single of the Decade' and broke the record on KBS' Music Bank for the most consecutive wins in a row. The single is regarded as one of the first K-Pop songs to gain international attention, students at Harvard University in the United States highlighted the song as part of their study on Korean culture, with some performing the song's infamous choreography. Their popularity has also translated into economic success. They are regarded as the most sought-out advertiser in South Korea. Marketers named the group as the model with the most influence over consumers, attributing the group's positive attention from the public to their vocals, looks, and fashion sense. In , the group generated USD$ million from Japanese releases. And a further USD$. million in South Korea. In September , the Japanese business magazine, Nikkei Business, suggested the group's international expansion and success was the musical equivalent to Samsung.
Their popularity in their native Korea has led the group to be named among the most powerful and influential people in the country. The Sisa Journal named the group as the most influential entertainers for the years and , making them the first female idol group in history to make the list. BBC's Asia Today placed the group at forty-four on the Korean Power Leaders list in , being the only idol group and entertainers on the list. Forbes also revealed the group were most powerful entertainers in South Korea for the year of .
In five years the group has earned several major Korean music awards to their name, including five Daesang awards. They won the Disk Daesang for Oh! in at the Golden Disk Awards. They won the Digital Daesang in at the same show for "Gee". They won the latter award again in for "The Boys". They are among the best-selling artists in South Korea, with over million digital singles and . million albums sold in less than five years of their debut. Their album, The Boys set a record as the best selling, non-repackaged album in the Gaon Chart's history. And they sold over , copies for each of their six Korean releases, making them the first female group in the South Korean music industry to do so in over six years. The group's success is not limited to South Korea, their debut Japanese album Girls' Generation is certified 'Million' by the RIAJ, denoting a million copies sold, and is the highest selling album by a Korean group in Oricon history.
Endorsements
During their early career, Girls' Generation were endorsers for several brands such as Elite Uniform, Nexon Bubble Fighter, Samsung and LG.
Since they have been exclusive models for the Goobne Chicken and have filmed several commercials for the brand, recorded jingles for advertising purposes, and modeled for promotional Goobne calendars. Goobne Chicken has since become a strong contender in the chicken industry and attribute their success to the group.
Girls' Generation performs their single "Chocolate Love" at an LG event. The song is a promotional song for LG's Chocolate phone.
Several members are solo advertising models such as Seohyun, who models for Clean and Clear and The Face Shop, Taeyeon who models for A-Solution, a cosmetics brand, Yuri who models for Mamonde, Yoona who models for S-Oil, EIDER, FreshLook Illuminate, Innisfree and Clean and Clear, Jessica for Hyundai & Banila Co and Sooyoung for Llang. Alongside Super Junior, they are also exclusive models to the partly SM Entertainment-owned retail brand SPAO. They endorsed clothing brands, online games, food industries, events, electronics, cosmetics, and even products reserved for the top celebrities to endorse such as petroleum and credit cards. Because of this, the group was considered to be one of the most sought-out endorsers in and by mid- the group members were models for over brands and were chosen as one of South Korea's most sought after advertisers in a survey conducted by Brand Consulting Research Institute. The group continued to be active in advertising in , endorsing brands and products including the Nintendo DSi and Domino's Pizza. Also, a Caribbean Bay commercial featured Yuri, Yoona and Seohyun along with PM members Nichkhun, Taecyeon and Chansung. A song was also released with the video that was sung by Taeyeon, Jessica, Tiffany and Seohyun and other PM members. It was released on YouTube; however, after having a mixed recpetion after its release, a second version was released. However, some of the original version remains. In late , a gift certificate company began releasing gift certificates each worth , won which featured Girls' Generation images on the cards, making them the first celebrities to be featured as such. The Korean web portal Daum also began using the group as models while remodeling certain services and search engines in early October , and released Girls' Generation desktop wallpapers and screensavers for promotion. A survey conducted in December saw out of marketing employees choosing Girls' Generation as the model with the most influence over consumers.
In , Intel Asia announced that the group would become official advertising models for the company. In March , the group started endorsing the Vita brand of energy drinks as part of Vita's th anniversary and exclusive Vita posters of Tiffany, Yuri and Yoona were released. Members Yuri, Sunny, Jessica, Tiffany, Sooyoung, and Hyoyeon were models for Christian Dior. Yoona, Seohyun and Taeyeon were not models, due to other cosmetic contracts. Woongjin Coway selected the group as their exclusive models to endorse their water purifiers. Their contract began on March , and lasted throughout the year, with TV advertisements beginning in mid-March.
The group has made many ads for the Korean market, including this one for the LG Cookie.
In Japan, the group endorsed the throat lozenge brand E-ma Nodoame. They endorsed Lipton tea with their songs "Let It Rain" and "Mr. Taxi" used as background music. In July , along with labelmate TVXQ, they started endorsing -Eleven Japan products featuring the Japanese version of the song "Hoot" in commercials. The group were appointed models for J.ESTINA in October, . Seohyun was appointed as UNICEF envoy during the same month. This is a notable feat, as only those who have a respectable reputation are appointed as Goodwill representatives. Two months later on December , JCE chose Girls’ Generation as the models for their representative bundled game brand, “Freestyle Sports”, for that winter.
The group were selected as honorary ambassadors for Korea's "Visit Korea - " campaign, headed by South Korea's First Lady, Kim Yoon-ok. The campaign was an effort by the Korean government to attract at least million foreign visitors to the country by the end of , with the group spearheading the initiative due to their emerging worldwide popularity at the time.
LG Electronics Korea announced on January , that Girls' Generation were chosen to be the new models for their Cinema D TV brand.
On March , representatives of Gangnam-gu in Seoul released a statement stating that the Girls' Generation would be the honorary ambassadors for the city of starting on March , . In the same month, Lotte announced that the group was chosen to be the new models for Lotte Department Store. They were also chosen to be models for ACE Bed. On April , Girls’ Generation were appointed as new ambassadors for the association Korea’s Retinitis Pigmentosa Society, a society dedicated to help find a for cure blindness. They had also been chosen as the newest endorsers for Korea Yakult. In May , Tiffany and Jessica were chosen as model for Chanel cosmetics pop-up store.
In September , Tiffany started endorsing the fashion brand, Bean Pole. Girls Generation became the endorser of GiRL de Provence perfume from Corso Como. Electronics brand, Casio, appointed the group as the endorsers for the company's watch brand, Baby-G. The contract is scheduled to last over a year, and Casio hopes to have a fifty percent increase in sales for , compared to that of . G-Star Raw Japan has chosen Girls' Generation, as the muse for their Spring/Summer season.
Philanthropy
Girls' Generation held a donation campaign on February , with music site Lunchbox for the "Music Dream" campaign. Three percent of the purchase price was donated to the Korean Make-A-Wish Foundation. A portion of the revenue from their Japanese single "Mr. Taxi / Run Devil Run", released April , , was donated to Japan's Red Cross in order to provide assistance for the victims of the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. The group also donated signed handbags that were auctioned off.
On August , , they, and their label mates f(x) and SHINee, took part in an effort to help African children. The groups were joined by the United Nation's Secretary-General, Ban Kimoon, in the ‘Help African Children’ project co-organized by the Korean Red Cross Society and the Korean UNICEF committee.
The group, along with Super Junior, appeared on a special episode of KBS's 'Love Request' broadcast on September , , where they invited an year old Cambodian girl with an inherent heart condition and a blind boy to fly to Korea to receive treatment, as well as a young girl from Korea who had lived in a hotel with her widowed mother her entire life. The two groups also participated in a blood drive at the KBS Hall. During the minute broadcast, over million won (US$,) was raised. In the same month, Woongjin Coway held a “Beautiful Auction” event at Times Square in Yeongdeungpo with Girls' Generation on September , to help women who are neglected.
In April , the Korean Association Against Blindness announced that the group would be the official face of their movement. Furthermore, members Taeyeon, Tiffany, Sooyoung, and Seohyun were appointed ambassadors for the Korea Retinitis Pigmentosa Society (KRPS), a non-profit organization headed by Sooyoung's father, Choi Jungnam, which provides aid and counselling to victims of retinitis pigmentosa, an eye disease causing severe vision impairment and blindness. On August , , it was revealed that Girls’ Generation's outfits are sent to philanthropic organizations and are put up for auction. The money is then donated to a good cause. That same week, the Korean Post announced that profits of the group's official stamps would be donated to the charity, 'Merry Year'.
Girls’ Generation donated eight tons of rice to help those who are in need. It was revealed that through rice donations made by the group on December th, , , people in need was able to receive a warm meal. The rice that was donated was from the rice that was delivered to Girls’ Generation members at various press conferences as support by fans. The rice was distributed to underfed children, elders without families, and severely disabled people, amongst others.
Girls Generation Wallpaper Biography
Girls' Generation (Sonyuh Shidae) is a South Korean girl group formed by S.M. Entertainment in . They are also referred to as SoShi (소시) or SNSD, both abbreviated forms of the group's Korean name. The group nine member group consists of Taeyeon, Jessica, Sunny, Tiffany, Hyoyeon, Yuri, Sooyoung, Yoona and Seohyun.
They gained attention at the beginning of their career with songs such as "Into the New World" and "Kissing You" but it was not until when they gained significant popularity with their hit single "Gee", which would be named as South Korea's 'Song of the Decade'. The group solidified their place in the Korean music industry with follow-up singles "Tell Me Your Wish", "Run Devil Run", and "Oh!". In , they returned to the Korean music scene with "The Boys", which was released in three languages: Korean, Japanese, and for the first time, English. They sold over , copies for each of their six Korean releases, making them the first female group in the South Korean music industry to do so in over six years. Within five years, the group has sold a total of over . million albums and million digital singles. In alone, the group sold ,, albums and singles collectively. The group's immense popularity in their native South Korea has earned them the title "The Nation's Singers" and "The Nation's Girl Group" The Sisa Journal named the group as the most influential entertainers for the years and , making them the first female idol group in history to make the list. Asia Today placed the group at forty-four on the Korean Power Leaders list in . Forbes also revealed the group were most powerful entertainers in South Korea for the year of .
The group began a foray into the Japanese music scene in late under Nayutawave Records, with the Japanese remakes of their Korean hits "Genie" and "Gee." The group's debut Japanese album, Girls' Generation, released in June , is currently the highest selling album in Japan by a Korean group in Oricon history after being certified 'Million' by the RIAJ and made the group the second Korean artist to earn this achievement in Japan since label mate BoA's "Best of Soul" in . They returned to the Japanese music scene in June , with "Paparazzi", the lead single from their second Japanese album, Girls' Generation II ~Girls & Peace~.
In April, the group formed Girls' Generation-TTS (known simply as "TaeTiSeo"), their first sub-unit composed of members Taeyeon, Tiffany, and Seohyun. The subgroup's debut EP, Twinkle, peaked at # on the Billboard , becoming the highest charting K-Pop album on the chart thus far.
Pre-debut
After the success of SM Entertainment's boy band, Super Junior, the company planned to debut a new girl group, which would ultimately turn into Girls' Generation, featuring a start-up roster of members. For nearly two years, Korean websites speculated about which of the female SM Entertainment trainees would be placed into the group. The members were professionally trained primarily in singing and dancing, while some members were also selected to be trained in acting and modeling. Many of the members already had made names for themselves in the Korean entertainment industry through their participation in magazine ads, television commercials, and small television appearances. The group witnessed several revisions until the final line-up was decided, including a member line-up in mid-, however this number changed to the debuting nine when members were either cut, or left. Prior to their announcement, it was rumored that the group would be named "Super Girls" after their so-called male counterparts, Super Junior. The majority of the group's members were already seasoned performers and trainees prior to the group's debut, including member Sooyoung, who had debuted in the Japanese market in as part of the pop duo, Route θ. The group soon disbanded, only one year after debuting in Japan.
The first member of the group to join SM Entertainment's training system was Jessica in , after her and her sister, Krystal Jung (now a member of the quinlet girl group f(x)), were scouted in a mall in Korea during a family vacation. Members Sooyoung and Hyoyeon were also cast into SM's training system in . Hyoyeon, an accomplished dancer, danced for her audition. After being taught at "Winners Dance School", a dance school in South Korea famed for its specialization in Hip-Hop. She initially had no intentions of auditioning for the company, but her mother was a fan of SM Entertainment's then-boy band H.O.T., and brought her to the auditions in the hopes of seeing them. Hyoyeon would later be sent to China to study Chinese with fellow SM trainee, Choi Siwon (now a member of Super Junior). Yuri was the next Girls' Generation member to be accepted into SM's training system after finishing second in the SM Youth Best Dancer competition. Yoona was cast the following year after auditioning singing and dancing to her favorite singers, BoA and Britney Spears. Seohyun, the group's maknae (youngest) member, auditioned in , singing children's songs. The group's leader, Taeyeon, was cast in after being discovered at SM's th Annual Best Contest winning "Best Singer st Place & Grand Award". That same year, member Tiffany auditioned at SM's Starlight Casting System in Los Angeles, and joined the company in October . The ninth and final member of the group to be added was Sunny, who entered the system in , training for five years before transferring to another company, Starworld, where she trained to debut in the duo "Sugar", which ultimately never debuted. Then under the recommendation by the singer Ayumi she re-transferred back to SM Entertainment in . Sunny is also the niece of SM Entertainment's founder, Lee Soo Man.
–: Debut and Girls' Generation
In July , Girls' Generation had their unofficial first stage performance on Mnet School of Rock where the group performed their first single, titled "Into the New World" (다시 만난 세계, Dasi Mannan Segye). A documentary recording the story of the group's debut titled Mnet Girls' Generation Goes to School was filmed during this time, showing the members as they moved into an apartment together and prepared for their performances.
Girls' Generation in February performing at Rajamangala Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand
The group's first single was physically released soon after, including an instrumental of the group's debut song and two other tracks: "Beginning" and "Perfect for You." The latter's Korean title is "Wish" (소원, SoWon), which later became the name of Girls' Generation's official fan club, S♡NE. The group's debut officially began on August , , first performing on SBS Inkigayo, later on MBC Music Core and KBS Music Bank. "Into the New World" achieved No. spot on M! Countdown.
The group released their first self-titled full album in late autumn of with the lead single "Girls' Generation" (소녀시대, Sonyeo Sidae), a remake of Lee Seung-cheol's song. Promotion for the single started in early November. The album also included the group's first single "Into the New World", "Perfect For You" (re-titled "Honey"), and eight other tracks by the group.
In early , Girls' Generation began promoting their second single from the album, "Kissing You", which won the group their first K-chart win after achieving the number one position on the KBS Music Bank February chart. This song achieved the # spot on three major TV music rankings—SBS Inkigayo, M.net M.Countdown! and KBS Music Bank.
In March , the album was repackaged, re-released and re-titled Baby Baby. Girls' Generation released the teaser for their single "Baby Baby" on March , . The single was released on digital music sites on March , . The single, "Baby Baby", was released to promote the album. The group also performed "Baby Baby" on various music shows such as Music Core, Inkigayo and M! Countdown in March and April. The album promotions was concluded on April , at Inkigayo.
During the group's promotions, members Jessica, Tiffany and Seohyun were featured on a mini-album released by Roommate, a one-man band from Purple Communication. The mini-album was titled Roommate: Emotional Band Aid, and was released on December , . The song performed by the three girls, titled "Oppa Nappa" (오빠 나빠; literally, Bad Brother), was digitally released before the album in April . The song was performed live on SBS Inkigayo, KBS Music Bank, and M! Countdown.
Later in the year, the three members released "Mabinogi" (It's Fantastic!) together as the theme song for the Nexon game Mabinogi, with Tiffany participating in the music video. Mnet reality show Factory Girl chronicled the members working as interns at fashion magazine Elle Girl. The program began airing in early October. In late , the group also participated in the SM Town Live ' concert along with other SM Town artists. The tour expanded its route to South Korea, Thailand, and China.
: Gee, Genie, first Asian tour and rising popularity
Girls' Generation performing "Genie" at the LG Mobile Worldcup in .
On December , posters of the Girls' Generation members wearing roller-skates were posted up in various locations around Seoul. SM Entertainment's phone lines were blocked up by callers asking whether the posters were for sale and the company asked fans to stop taking the posters down for personal use. On December , the group's management stated that the posters were indeed teaser posters and that the group would soon release their first EP, Gee, in January .
A teaser video was released in January and the first single "Gee" released soon after. "Gee" topped Cyworld's hourly music chart on the release day. The song also went number one on all major digital music charts within two days. The music video set a record on release, garnering one million views on GomTV in under a day. The group began its album promotion in January on MBC Music Core where they sang their new lead single "Gee" and the track "Himnae (Way To Go)", another song from their mini-album.
"Gee" went on to become a phenomenal hit, breaking the record for consecutive number one wins on Music Bank with nine consecutive wins, as well as receiving a triple crown on SBS Inkigayo. The track also showed strength on other charts, topping the Mujikon, Melon and Mnet charts for eight consecutive weeks, the Dosirak chart for seven weeks, the Muse chart for six weeks, and the Baksu chart for four weeks.
On May , . Girls Generation was starred in their new reality show “SNSD Horror Movie Factory“, with the premier episode receiving a viewership rating of .%. The show was then cancelled after episodes due to low ratings. It was announced that a new show starring the popular group titled 'Himnaera-Him!' or 'Cheer Up!' was chosen to take the timeslot, and began airing the week after the last episode of Horror Movie Factory. However, as the group released their new EP 'Tell Me Your Wish (Genie)' and became busier with promotions, the show was discontinued after only episodes when the group's management decided to have them leave the MBC Sunday Sunday Night segment. On the broadcast date of the final episode of Cheer Up!, it was announced the group would be starring in a new reality show on KBS, titled Girls' Generation's Hello Baby which was aired on June , .
After a short break, SM Entertainment announced that the group would be back with a new mini-album sporting a "Marine Girl" concept. The new single was to be titled "Tell Me Your Wish (Genie)", with the full mini-album being released digitally on June , . The group started their promotional activities on June , , appearing on KBS Music Bank. The performance was followed by follow-up comeback performances on MBC Music Core and SBS Inkigayo on June and , . The physical release of Genie was delayed by SM Entertainment in order to redo the album art, and was released four days later on June , .
The track proved to be a success as it conquered various music sites, including Melon, Dosirak, Mnet, and Bugs, and it was number one on the weekly charts and the SKT ringtone weekly charts of the first week of July. The mini-album sold an estimated ,+ copies in its first week after released (almost double the numbers from the first-week sales of Gee), an unusual feat for any Korean girl group.
On November , SM Entertainment announced the group's Into The New World Tour. The tickets for the tour went on sale on November , and they were sold out in minutes. The tour initially consisted of two Korean shows on December and , . The tour began at Seoul's Olympic Park Fencing Stadium on December and and continued onto other Asian cities including Shanghai. It was later announced that the group would have two "Encore" shows for February and , .
: Oh!/Run Devil Run, Japanese debut and Hoot
Girls' Generation at an LG event in .
Later in January, SM Entertainment confirmed the release of Oh!, the group's second full-length album, to be on January . The lead single "Oh!" was digitally released on January with the music video being released two days later. On January , the group started promotions with the recording of MBC Music Core. The broadcast of the performance experienced a blackout near the end, to which MBC made the whole performance available online in response. With "Oh!", the group went on to win five consecutive K-charts on KBS Music Bank, as well as achieving a triple crown on SBS Inkigayo. "Oh!" also went on to win the Music Bank half-year K-chart, coming in at second on Hanteo's first half album sales chart, and also winning the end-of-year K-chart.citation needed The music video ranked as the number one most viewed YouTube video in Korea by the end of . It was also number one in Hong Kong and made the top ten in both the Taiwan and Japan rankings.
Starting on March , , photos of the members were released online showcasing a dark concept, dubbed "Black SoShi". A teaser video was released on March , with the new single Run Devil Run being released as a digital single on March .
Mid-June, it was announced that the group had signed contracts in May, and would begin working under Universal Music Japan's record label Nayutawave Records for their Japanese promotions, with their first Japanese single expected to be released in September . Girls' Generation began promotion in Japan in August. "少女時代到来～初来日記念盤～" (Girls' Generation's Arrival ～ First Time in Japan Commemoration Disc ～), a DVD featuring seven of the group's music videos as well as special bonus footage, was released on August , with the special edition of the DVD containing a pink glowstick as well as a pass to the Girls' Generation debut at the Tokyo Ariake Colliseum on August . In the first week after release, the DVD sold , copies, ranking fourth on the weekly DVD Oricon ranking and third on the weekly music DVD ranking, and made Girls' Generation the first female K-pop group to make the Oricon DVD Top- ranking.
Amidst their Japanese activities, the group also participated in the SMTown Live ' World Tour alongside their label-mates on August at Seoul Jamsil Olympic Stadium. They participated in the subsequent Shanghai, Los Angeles, Paris and Tokyo stops as well.
On August , the group held their first showcase in Tokyo Ariake Colliseum. With an initial , fans invited, it was reported to be the most large-scale plan for a Korean artist debuting in Japan. However, due to high number of expected attendees, the group's management announced that the showcase would take place three times in the same day rather than once to accommodate the large amount of fans. The group sang five of their Korean tracks at each of the showcases, and the total number of attendees over all three shows were estimated to be at least ,. At this showcase, the "Genie" Japanese music video was also revealed publicly for the first time and the teaser having been released a few days prior on August .
Their Japanese debut single "Genie" debuted at the fifth spot on the same day of its release on the Daily Oricon Charts and later rose to the second position on the Daily Charts some time later, earning the group a fourth position on the Oricon weekly ranking. The group also hit the number one spots on Japan iTunes' music video chart and both the Rekochoku daily video clip chart and incoming movie daily ranking chart a day later. With pre-orders amounting to ,, the single sold an estimated , copies in the first week after release. On October , , the group released their second Japanese single, "Gee".
A week after the release of their Japanese single, the group released their third Korean mini-album, Hoot on October , , consisting of five tracks. The video for lead single, "Hoot", a song originally written in English as "Bulletproof", was released on October . Girls' Generation commenced their promotional activities with a comeback stage on KBS Music Bank on October . "Hoot" quickly rose to the top of the charts and received the number one spot numerous times on music shows, proving to be another successful release for the group. The group simultaneously promoted "Hoot" and "Gee" in Korea and Japan respectively, and participated in Japanese music broadcasts such as the FNS Music Festival, where they performed their two Japanese singles, "Gee" and "Genie" on December .
On December , , "Hoot" was repackaged with additional tracks from previous albums and released in Japan. The release rose to the second position on the Oricon charts and sold , copies on the first day, faring surprisingly well considering that all the included tracks were entirely in Korean.
On December , , the group attended the Golden Disk Awards and was awarded three awards including the Disk Daesang (Album of the Year) for their nd album Oh!. The group also became the first girl group to have both a Disk Daesang () and Digital Daesang (). On December , , the group attended the Melon Music Awards winning the Best Dressed Singer award and Hot Trend Song award for, "Hoot", as well as the Artist of the Year award. This would be the second consecutive 'Artist of the Year' award for the group. They topped the Hanteo annual Singer Award chart for .
The group was named on Asia Today's list of Korean power leaders for at the number forty-fourth spot, being the only idol group from the list. Girls' Generation was designated "Artist of the Year" by Dosirak, Soribada, Korea Gallup, Hanteo and Sport Korea and also won Best Song of The Year with "Oh!" at Monkey .
: Girls' Generation, nd Asian Tour, International Expansion and The Boys
At the start of , the group prepared a new song titled "Visual Dreams" as part of their endorsement efforts for Intel's Core Processors throughout Asia. The music video for "Visual Dreams" was released on January , and various promotional campaigns included new music, D, and D music videos, internet sites, photos, and PC store displays.
Girls' Generation performing "Tell Me Your Wish (Genie)" at Madison Square Garden
In latter half of January, it was announced that the group would be returning to the Japanese market through the release of their Japanese version of "Run Devil Run" as a digital single, released on January , .
On January , , at the th Seoul Music Awards, the group received "Artist of the Year", the "Bonsang" prize", a "Popularity" award, and a "Hallyu award". In doing this, Girls' Generation became one of four artists in Korean music history (the others being Seo Taiji, Jo Sungmo and H.O.T.) to be named 'Artist of the Year' for two consecutive years. The group also became the only girl group in history to receive 'Artist of the Year' awards for the Seoul Music Awards, and Melon Music Awards for two consecutive years. They also received two Daesang Awards at the Golden Disk Ceremony, one Digital Daesang (), and one Physical Album Sales Daesang ().
On March , SM Japan updated their official website with information about the release of Girls' Generation third Japanese single and their first Japanese tour. It was stated that on April , Girls' Generation would be releasing their third Japanese single Mr. Taxi / Run Devil Run, which would include their first, original, Japanese song "Mr. Taxi". and the Japanese remake of their song "Run Devil Run". A portion of the revenue from their Japanese single would be donated to Japan's Red Cross in order to provide assistance to the victims of the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. On April , the music video for the Japanese version of "Run Devil Run" was released.
At the MTV Video Music Aid Japan (VMAJ), Girls' Generation was nominated for three awards under the "Best Group Video", "Best Video Of The Year", and "Best Karaokee! Song" categories. Originally titled MTV Video Music Awards Japan (VMAJ), the title of the event was changed to change the focus of the show to aid Japan, with donations tied to the amount of votes for artistes. Girls' Generation performed two songs at the event, joining the star-studded line up including Tokio Hotel, Lady Gaga, and AKB. On July , it was announced that they had come out top in two out of the three nominated categories, winning "Best Group Video" and "Best Karaokee! Song" for the Japanese version of "Genie".
On June , , the group released their debut Japanese studio album, Girls' Generation. The album was promoted via the groups first Japan tour entitled, The st Japan Arena Tour, which started in Osaka on May , . A total of fourteen concerts in six cities would be held over a period of a month and a half. Girls' Generation was certified Platinum (,) by Recording Industry Association of Japan on June , , making it the fifth Korean artist's album to do so after S.E.S, BoA, TVXQ and KARA. Girls' Generation then was certified Double Platinum (,) on July , , a first for any Korean girl group. The group also set a record for recording the highest sales of the FIRST album as a foreign artist in Japan. Girls' Generation is the fourth artist to obtained number one spot on weekly album chart after BoA, TVXQ, and Big Bang," and became the third Korean act to surpass the , mark after BoA and TVXQ. As a result of their rising popularity, Girls' Generation became the highest earning foreign artist in Japan for the first half of . By the end of , the album had sold over , copies. The album was re-packaged, as "The Boys" on December , . Their most successful album to date, it was certified 'Million' by the RIAJ, and made the group the second Korean artist to earn this achievement in Japan since labelmate BoA's "Best of Soul" in , as well as being the first female group to do so. The self-titled album was the fifth best selling album in Japan in and won Album of the Year at the MTV Video Music Awards Japan. The lead single Mr. Taxi sold over , copies in its first week, beating out its predecessors, "Gee" and "Genie". The single also managed to clinch the number spot on Billboard Japan Hot chart for two consecutive weeks and was nominated for Video of the Year at the MTV Video Music Awards Japan.
Girls Generation nd Asian Tour was announced by SM Entertainment in June . The tickets for the tour went on sale on June , on GMarket. On July , , Sooyoung announced that the next concert will be held in Taipei City, the capital city of Taiwan. On October , , it was announced that the next concert will be held on December , in Singapore. Due to overwhelming response regarding lack of tickets, it was announced on October , that there will be a second concert on the following day after the first night, on December , in Singapore. The concert was also held on January , in Hong Kong. And most recently, it was confirmed that Girls' Generation will perform a concert on February , in Bangkok, Thailand.On January , Girls’ Generation broke the record for the fastest concert to sell out in Thailand. The highest priced tickets sold out in ten minutes. All , concert tickets were sold in twenty minutes, setting the record for the concert to be sold out the fastest in Thailand. Members of Girls' Generation announced to the fans in Thailand that Bangkok leg would be their last stop for their nd Asia Tour.
Girls' Generation was selected by SISA Press as "The Most Influential Entertainers in Korea" for the year , after having placed sixth in .
Girls' Generation performing "The Boys" at Madison Square Garden, in October .
On September , the first teaser featuring Taeyeon was released for the impending comeback with the group's third Korean album The Boys, followed by Sunny and Hyoyeon on September ; Jessica, Sooyoung, and Tiffany on September and Yoona, Yuri, and Seohyun on September . The first image teaser for "The Boys" was released on the midnight of October , through SM Entertainment's YouTube channel.
Setting their sights on the international market, Girls' Generation signed a contract with Universal Music Group in to release United States material under Interscope Records. The Boys was originally scheduled to be released through iTunes and various music websites in Asia, including its native country, Korea on October , . But on September , it was revealed that the album's release has been postponed so as to bring about a worldwide album release. On October , it was confirmed that the album will be released on October , and comeback on KBS Music Bank on October , .
The title track, "The Boys", co-written by member Tiffany and produced by Teddy Riley, famous for his work with Michael Jackson, was released in both Korean and English, and eventually Japanese. Within minutes after the release of "The Boys", Girls' Generation achieved an "all-kill" status on all major on and off-line music charts in Korea. Despite not charting on Hot , the song managed to peak inside the Top on the iTunes chart in the US, selling over , copies and becoming one of the best selling K-Pop songs, at that time, in the United States. The same titled album sold , albums within twelve days in South Korea, becoming the best selling album in October and third best selling album in . By the end of December, "The Boys" had sold a further , copies, bring its total to , copies, becoming the best selling album in South Korea in . The group began promotions on KBS' Music Bank with "The Boys" and "MR. Taxi". On October , , it was confirmed by the members at the New York City date of SMTown World Tour II, that "The Boys" maxi-Single would be released internationally on November , , although the date was later moved to December , . With only two months of sales, The Boys managed to become the th best selling digital track in its native country of , having sold ,, copies since its October release. As of April, , the album had sold over , copies in South Korea, setting a Gaon Chart record for the best selling, non-repackaged album in the chart's history.
It was announced on November , , that the group would be releasing their first official Japanese photobook titled "Holiday". "The st Japan Arena Tour" was also made available on Blu-ray and DVD on December , . "Holiday", reached the number one spot on the book sales ranking chart under the photograph collection category. The photos were a collection of the girls enjoying leisurely time off, and sold , copies the first week after going on sale on November . It ranked eighteenth on the overall book sales ranks.
The group also participated on the Winter SMTown – The Warmest Gift compilation album, along with their label mates, performing the new song, "Diamond", which was released on December , .
On December , , it was announced that Girls' Generation will be releasing a re-packaged version of their debut Japanese album "Girls' Generation", which included a Japanese version of the "The Boys", and remixed versions of "The Great Escape", "Bad Girl", "Mr.Taxi". It also contained the new song, "Time Machine". The album was released on December , , and, collectively with the initial album, "Girls' Generation" passed sales of over ,, with shipments of million. The album placed fifth on the Oricon Weekly CD Albums chart for the second week of January, (Jan - ) and Oricon announced that it was the first time in history that an album by a Korean artist has placed in the Top for seventeen weeks. The previous record holder was the original soundtrack for the Korean drama “Winter Sonata”, which remained in the Top for sixteen weeks. Due to their Japanese releases, the group ranked fifth among Japanese artists in terms of monetary profit, the group had generated over . billion Yen (US$ million) for International promotions, Solo activities, TaeTiSeo, and Return to Japan
On January , , the group attended the Golden Disk Awards, held in Osaka, bringing home two awards; the "Digital Bonsang" and the highly coveted "Digital Daesang". A week later, on January , , they attended the Seoul Music Awards, and brought back two awards, the "Bonsang" and "Popularity" awards. The group also won two awards from the Gaon Chart Awards, winning the Album Of The Year for the fourth Quarter and Oricon "Hallyu Singer" award. On February , , the teaser for their Japanese digital single, "Time Machine", was released.
Girls' Generation perform "The Boys" at the Seoul Music Awards, January , .
Their appearances on the Late Show with David Letterman and Live! with Kelly on January , , and February , , where they performed remixes of the English version of "The Boys", marked the first time that a Korean musical act has performed on each of the shows.. They also performed on the French show, Le Grand Journal, on February , , after it was announced that they were to release "The Boys" on February , , through Universal Music Group’s Polydor Records in France. In the same month, Forbes Korea reported the year's list of the "Top Power Celebrities". Girls' Generation ranked number one on the list, thus making them the most powerful South Korean girl group and female celebrity. A month later, on March , they made their debut performance in Malaysia at the Petronas Towers, as part of Twin Towers @Live . Figures for the groups total earnings for were released in March, . The group placed first among their label, earning over billion won, or, approximately, $. million USD.
April saw the formation of Girls' Generation-TTS, or simply "TaeTiSeo", a subunit composed of members Taeyeon, Tiffany, and Seohyun. The subgroup released their first mini-album, Twinkle, on May . The group continued promotion throughout the month, performing on variety shows and at the Hallyu Dream Wave Concert. "Twinkle" debuted at number on the Billboard , selling over , copies and making it the highest charting K-Pop album on the chart at the time. By July, , the album had sold , copies in its native country, and a further , copies abroad. That same month, the group, with the exception of Yuri and Yoona, attended the showcase for S.M. Entertainment's biographical movie, I AM., which was held at the CJ CGV cinema in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, on April . A week prior, "Dear My Family", the theme song for the film, which featured group leader, Taeyeon, was released, featuring both concert and backstage footage.
On May , , the group performed with their label-mates at the Honda Center in Anaheim, as part of the first date of SMTown Live World Tour III. Members Yoona and Yuri were not present due to their filming commitments with their television dramas Love Rain and Fashion King, respectively. Following the conclusion of their dramas, Yuri and Yoona returned to the group as the tour moved on to Taiwan, where they performed to a crowd of , people. The tour will then continued into Tokyo, South Korea, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia.
A teaser video for the group's Japanese single, "Paparazzi", was released on May , . This teaser was followed by the release of the full music video, in addition to a dance version, on June , . The song, released on June , , will serve as the lead single from their upcoming second Japanese-language album. Paparazzi proved to be another successful release for the group, debuting atop the Japanese Hot , selling over , copies in its first week, becoming their second best first week opening, following the , debut of Mr. Taxi, a year prior. "Paparazzi"'s release, boosted the groups total single sales in the country to over ,, according to SoundScan Japan. That same month, the group won "Best Album of the Year" for their debut Japanese album at the VMAJs.
It was announced on July , , that the group was to release official stamps the following month, commemorating their th Anniversary. A total of stamps were produced, which included autographed album covers. This marked the first time a celebrity had made a contract with Korea Post to produce stamps. Within an hour of the stamps' issuing, over half of the available stamp sheets had already sold out.
On August , , it was revealed that the group was to release a Blu-ray/DVD videography entitled "Girls' Generation Complete Video Collection". Two weeks later on August , the group's official Japanese fansite announced the group was to tour Japan for the second time, in . "Oh! / All My Love Is For You", the group's second double A-side single, and the second single from their second Japanese studio album was released on September , , and featuring a Japanese remake of their single, "Oh!". The “All My Love Is For You” music video was released on September , and the music video for "Oh!" was released on September , . Oh!, earned first place on Oricon’s Weekly Single chart, selling , copies in its first week. In addition, the group's Complete Video Collection reached number one on Oricon's Weekly DVD and Blu-ray charts, selling a collective , discs. They are the second artist to reach number one on all three charts in the same week. The only other group to accomplish this same feat was Japanese pop rock band, Mr. Children.
The group's second Japanese album, Girls' Generation II: Girls & Peace, was on November , . The album will be preceded by the single "Flower Power", which is set to be released on November , . Despite limited release, "Flower Power" sold , copies in its first week, peaking at number five on the Oricon Chart, the single also reached number six on the Japan Hot . Girls' Generation II: Girls & Peace sold , copies in its first week of release, ranking third on Oricon's Weekly Albums Chart. "Girls & Peace" has since been certified Platinum by the RIAJ, denoting , copies sent to Japanese retailers.
Performing in Singapore, November
The group will participate in the soundtrack for label mate, BoA's debut film, COBU D. The song, sung in English, entitled "Cheap Creeper" will be released prior to the film's release. Jessica also participated in another song for the soundtrack with her sister Krystal Jung and EXO member, Kris, on the song, "Say Yes." On October , , it was announced Hyoyeon and Jessica would be participating in a musical promotional campaign for car company Hyundai, and its "Premium Younique Lifestyle" customers. Jessica's song, "My Lifestyle" featuring Korean rapper Dok, was released on October , . Hyoyeon's track, entitled "Maxstep", a dubstep orientated electropop song featuring Super Junior's Eunhyuk, SHINee‘s Taemin, Super Junior-M‘s Henry, EXO-K‘s Kai, and EXO-M‘s Luhan was released on October , .
Girls’ Generation had originally targeted for a Korean comeback at the end of October or in the beginning of November. However, they have decided not to return to Korea with plans ultimately being scrapped so the group could focus on Japanese promotions for the remainder of . The group released the Girls' Generation Tour DVD on November , which features footage from the concert tour of the same name. Due to their Japanese releases in , the group ranked seventh among Japanese artists and as the top Korean artist in Japan in terms of monetary profit after generating over . billion Yen (US$ million) in .
On November , , it was announced that the group intended to make a Korean comeback in . The following month, on December , , a representative for SM Entertainment stated that the group were in the final stages of preparation of their fourth album, however, the release date is still undecided. The group will also receive a special on Korean network MBC dedicated to their comeback in January . On December , , SM Entertainment posted a teaser image containing the words ". . A.M." under the group's name surrounded by Korea's national flower on their official Twitter. The group release the pre-release track "Dancing Queen", a remake version of Duffy's Mercy, on December , . On the same day, it was revealed that the group's fourth Korean album "I Got A Boy" would be released on January , .
Members
Stage name Birth name Date of birth
Romanized Hangul Romanized Hangul
Taeyeon 태연 Kim Tae-yeon 김태연 March , (age )
Jessica 제시카 Jessica Jung, Jung Soo-yeon 제시카 정, 정수연 April , (age )
Sunny 써니 Lee Soon-kyu 이순규 May , (age )
Tiffany 티파니 Stephanie Hwang, Hwang Mi-young 스테파니 황, 황미영 August , (age )
Hyoyeon 효연 Kim Hyo-yeon 김효연 September , (age )
Yuri 유리 Kwon Yu-ri 권유리 December , (age )
Sooyoung 수영 Choi Soo-young 최수영 February , (age )
Yoona 윤아 Im Yoon-ah 임윤아 May , (age )
Seohyun 서현 Seo Joo-hyun 서주현 June , (age )
Subgroups
Main article: Girls' Generation-TTS
On April , SM Entertainment officially announced the creation of the Girls’ Generation subunit, Girls’ Generation–TaeTiSeo, composed of Taeyeon, Tiffany, and Seohyun. The subunit's first mini-album "Twinkle" was released on April , . According to a statement made by SM Entertainment, "Girls’ Generation’s subunit will feature the various talents of each Girls’ Generation member by changing the members of the unit according to the music and concept of each new subunit album. This subunit will aim to grab the attention of fans with all aspects of music, performance, and fashion styles."
The subunit's work was noticeably different from previous work done by the group, with the focus shifting towards vocals, rather than the highly synchronized choreography the group is known for, as well as more unique fashion choices.
Artistry
Musical Style
"Gee"
MENU:
's Gee, a predominately teen pop song with influences of dance pop which incorporates the use of a memorable hook.
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During the beginning of their career, the group's music was predominantly bubblegum pop and teen pop. Singles such as "Gee" and "Oh!" utilize the teen pop and bubblegum pop genres while incorporating dance pop In the group transitioned to electropop sound with the release of "Tell me Your Wish (Genie)". The group continued this sound when debuting in Japan with Girls' Generation, using a more electropop influenced sound. They would carry this sound onto their second Japanese album with songs like "Paparazzi" and "Flower Power", the latter was noted for its use of a flowing base and prominent synths. The group works extensively on Korean releases with producers Yoo Young-jin and Kenzie. Lyrically, the group explores female empowerment, evident in songs like "Hoot" and "The Boys." The first member to participate in the creation of the group's work was Yuri, who co-wrote the R&B-inspired song "Mistake" (내 잘못이죠) from the group's third EP Hoot. The group extended more control with Tiffany and Sooyoung co-writing "The Boys," and "How Great Is Your Love" on the group's third Korean album, The Boys, respectively.
Imagery
The group's image has been a major role in their rise in popularity. In the early years of their career, the group wore relatively no makeup and dressed more conservatively. The song "Kissing You" had the girls use lollipops as a prop during performances. During promotions for their single "Gee", the group dressed in jeans and plain-white shirts, highlighting the "purity" of the group and the song. When promoting the "Oh!" single in January , the group used a cheerleader concept. Despite this, member Hyoyeon admitted in November that she felt nervous when she had to act "cute and pretty." She stated that, "it’s very hard to act. I squirm when I act cute and pretty. I tried gritting my teeth and doing it but I couldn’t." In June , the group left behind their 'pure' image, opting for a more mature image during the promotions for "Tell Me Your Wish (Genie)". The concept was based off marines, with members dressing in short-shorts highlighting their legs. The choreography was designed around their legs and became popular in Korea "Jegi-kicking dance" (제기차기 춤) and the "Leg-beauty dance" (각선미 춤). For 's "Hoot", the group's image was based on Bond Girls. Earlier that year, whilst gearing up for promotion for "Run Devil Run", the group was noted for using a much darker, sexy image, nicknamed "Black SoShi" by their fans. In , the group returned to Korea with "The Boys," which used a "heroine" image, with members choosing their own outfits, emphasizing each of the members' own tastes. When creating choreography, the group works with Rino Nakasone Razalan. The group's choreography focuses on "seductive imagery" as well as synchronization, for which the group is famed for. Their choreography usually centers around member Hyoyeon, who is famous for her abilities as a dancer, specializing in Hip-Hop.
John Seabrook from The New Yorker described Girls' Generation as "a group of preppy-looking young women in skinny trousers. When they wear hot pants, it’s to display the gams, not the glutes." New York Magazine stated that the music itself is not the decisive factor in the popularity of K-pop as a whole, and Girls' Generation in particular. But rather the that the public likes the groups based on its members' looks and their personality, radiating a "humility" and friendliness to each and one of the fans. Kevin Perry from the British music publication NME wrote: "Girls’ Generation also have a massive nine members, which is indicative of the way the efficient K-pop machine can favour choreographed style over individual personalities." Mio Scobie, of Us Weekly stated that the group's music has contributed to their international success, with "feel-good beats, and instantly memorable choruses."
Impact
Main articles: Korean Wave and List of awards and nominations received by Girls' Generation
Following their debut in , Girls' Generation has become a prominent figure in both South Korean culture and music, with music critics noting the group as being a representative figure of South Korean culture. The group is credited as playing a major role in the Hallyu Movement, and have been compared to fellow K-Pop singer Seo Taiji due to their contributions to Korean culture. Their immense popularity has lead the group to earn the titles "The Nation's Singers" (Korean: 국민가수) and "The Nation's Girl Group" Following the disbandment of the original Korean idol girl groups S.E.S. and Fin.K.L in , the Korean music industry experienced an influx of male idol groups such as TVXQ! and Super Junior, however upon the group's debut with songs such as "Into the New World" and "Kissing You", they were credited for shifting focus back to female groups. In , the group was chosen by Tyler Brûlé as the seventh most recognizable Korean culture figure, being the only musical and non-object act to make the list. The group's fashion has been described as "chic" and "mature," becoming immensely popular among young women across Asia. With many dubbing the group as "fashion icons." In Japanese textbooks, the group serves as the main feature in the K-Pop section of the book. The group gained significant popularity at the start of with the release of "Gee", the single was named 'Single of the Decade' and broke the record on KBS' Music Bank for the most consecutive wins in a row. The single is regarded as one of the first K-Pop songs to gain international attention, students at Harvard University in the United States highlighted the song as part of their study on Korean culture, with some performing the song's infamous choreography. Their popularity has also translated into economic success. They are regarded as the most sought-out advertiser in South Korea. Marketers named the group as the model with the most influence over consumers, attributing the group's positive attention from the public to their vocals, looks, and fashion sense. In , the group generated USD$ million from Japanese releases. And a further USD$. million in South Korea. In September , the Japanese business magazine, Nikkei Business, suggested the group's international expansion and success was the musical equivalent to Samsung.
Their popularity in their native Korea has led the group to be named among the most powerful and influential people in the country. The Sisa Journal named the group as the most influential entertainers for the years and , making them the first female idol group in history to make the list. BBC's Asia Today placed the group at forty-four on the Korean Power Leaders list in , being the only idol group and entertainers on the list. Forbes also revealed the group were most powerful entertainers in South Korea for the year of .
In five years the group has earned several major Korean music awards to their name, including five Daesang awards. They won the Disk Daesang for Oh! in at the Golden Disk Awards. They won the Digital Daesang in at the same show for "Gee". They won the latter award again in for "The Boys". They are among the best-selling artists in South Korea, with over million digital singles and . million albums sold in less than five years of their debut. Their album, The Boys set a record as the best selling, non-repackaged album in the Gaon Chart's history. And they sold over , copies for each of their six Korean releases, making them the first female group in the South Korean music industry to do so in over six years. The group's success is not limited to South Korea, their debut Japanese album Girls' Generation is certified 'Million' by the RIAJ, denoting a million copies sold, and is the highest selling album by a Korean group in Oricon history.
Endorsements
During their early career, Girls' Generation were endorsers for several brands such as Elite Uniform, Nexon Bubble Fighter, Samsung and LG.
Since they have been exclusive models for the Goobne Chicken and have filmed several commercials for the brand, recorded jingles for advertising purposes, and modeled for promotional Goobne calendars. Goobne Chicken has since become a strong contender in the chicken industry and attribute their success to the group.
Girls' Generation performs their single "Chocolate Love" at an LG event. The song is a promotional song for LG's Chocolate phone.
Several members are solo advertising models such as Seohyun, who models for Clean and Clear and The Face Shop, Taeyeon who models for A-Solution, a cosmetics brand, Yuri who models for Mamonde, Yoona who models for S-Oil, EIDER, FreshLook Illuminate, Innisfree and Clean and Clear, Jessica for Hyundai & Banila Co and Sooyoung for Llang. Alongside Super Junior, they are also exclusive models to the partly SM Entertainment-owned retail brand SPAO. They endorsed clothing brands, online games, food industries, events, electronics, cosmetics, and even products reserved for the top celebrities to endorse such as petroleum and credit cards. Because of this, the group was considered to be one of the most sought-out endorsers in and by mid- the group members were models for over brands and were chosen as one of South Korea's most sought after advertisers in a survey conducted by Brand Consulting Research Institute. The group continued to be active in advertising in , endorsing brands and products including the Nintendo DSi and Domino's Pizza. Also, a Caribbean Bay commercial featured Yuri, Yoona and Seohyun along with PM members Nichkhun, Taecyeon and Chansung. A song was also released with the video that was sung by Taeyeon, Jessica, Tiffany and Seohyun and other PM members. It was released on YouTube; however, after having a mixed recpetion after its release, a second version was released. However, some of the original version remains. In late , a gift certificate company began releasing gift certificates each worth , won which featured Girls' Generation images on the cards, making them the first celebrities to be featured as such. The Korean web portal Daum also began using the group as models while remodeling certain services and search engines in early October , and released Girls' Generation desktop wallpapers and screensavers for promotion. A survey conducted in December saw out of marketing employees choosing Girls' Generation as the model with the most influence over consumers.
In , Intel Asia announced that the group would become official advertising models for the company. In March , the group started endorsing the Vita brand of energy drinks as part of Vita's th anniversary and exclusive Vita posters of Tiffany, Yuri and Yoona were released. Members Yuri, Sunny, Jessica, Tiffany, Sooyoung, and Hyoyeon were models for Christian Dior. Yoona, Seohyun and Taeyeon were not models, due to other cosmetic contracts. Woongjin Coway selected the group as their exclusive models to endorse their water purifiers. Their contract began on March , and lasted throughout the year, with TV advertisements beginning in mid-March.
The group has made many ads for the Korean market, including this one for the LG Cookie.
In Japan, the group endorsed the throat lozenge brand E-ma Nodoame. They endorsed Lipton tea with their songs "Let It Rain" and "Mr. Taxi" used as background music. In July , along with labelmate TVXQ, they started endorsing -Eleven Japan products featuring the Japanese version of the song "Hoot" in commercials. The group were appointed models for J.ESTINA in October, . Seohyun was appointed as UNICEF envoy during the same month. This is a notable feat, as only those who have a respectable reputation are appointed as Goodwill representatives. Two months later on December , JCE chose Girls’ Generation as the models for their representative bundled game brand, “Freestyle Sports”, for that winter.
The group were selected as honorary ambassadors for Korea's "Visit Korea - " campaign, headed by South Korea's First Lady, Kim Yoon-ok. The campaign was an effort by the Korean government to attract at least million foreign visitors to the country by the end of , with the group spearheading the initiative due to their emerging worldwide popularity at the time.
LG Electronics Korea announced on January , that Girls' Generation were chosen to be the new models for their Cinema D TV brand.
On March , representatives of Gangnam-gu in Seoul released a statement stating that the Girls' Generation would be the honorary ambassadors for the city of starting on March , . In the same month, Lotte announced that the group was chosen to be the new models for Lotte Department Store. They were also chosen to be models for ACE Bed. On April , Girls’ Generation were appointed as new ambassadors for the association Korea’s Retinitis Pigmentosa Society, a society dedicated to help find a for cure blindness. They had also been chosen as the newest endorsers for Korea Yakult. In May , Tiffany and Jessica were chosen as model for Chanel cosmetics pop-up store.
In September , Tiffany started endorsing the fashion brand, Bean Pole. Girls Generation became the endorser of GiRL de Provence perfume from Corso Como. Electronics brand, Casio, appointed the group as the endorsers for the company's watch brand, Baby-G. The contract is scheduled to last over a year, and Casio hopes to have a fifty percent increase in sales for , compared to that of . G-Star Raw Japan has chosen Girls' Generation, as the muse for their Spring/Summer season.
Philanthropy
Girls' Generation held a donation campaign on February , with music site Lunchbox for the "Music Dream" campaign. Three percent of the purchase price was donated to the Korean Make-A-Wish Foundation. A portion of the revenue from their Japanese single "Mr. Taxi / Run Devil Run", released April , , was donated to Japan's Red Cross in order to provide assistance for the victims of the Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. The group also donated signed handbags that were auctioned off.
On August , , they, and their label mates f(x) and SHINee, took part in an effort to help African children. The groups were joined by the United Nation's Secretary-General, Ban Kimoon, in the ‘Help African Children’ project co-organized by the Korean Red Cross Society and the Korean UNICEF committee.
The group, along with Super Junior, appeared on a special episode of KBS's 'Love Request' broadcast on September , , where they invited an year old Cambodian girl with an inherent heart condition and a blind boy to fly to Korea to receive treatment, as well as a young girl from Korea who had lived in a hotel with her widowed mother her entire life. The two groups also participated in a blood drive at the KBS Hall. During the minute broadcast, over million won (US$,) was raised. In the same month, Woongjin Coway held a “Beautiful Auction” event at Times Square in Yeongdeungpo with Girls' Generation on September , to help women who are neglected.
In April , the Korean Association Against Blindness announced that the group would be the official face of their movement. Furthermore, members Taeyeon, Tiffany, Sooyoung, and Seohyun were appointed ambassadors for the Korea Retinitis Pigmentosa Society (KRPS), a non-profit organization headed by Sooyoung's father, Choi Jungnam, which provides aid and counselling to victims of retinitis pigmentosa, an eye disease causing severe vision impairment and blindness. On August , , it was revealed that Girls’ Generation's outfits are sent to philanthropic organizations and are put up for auction. The money is then donated to a good cause. That same week, the Korean Post announced that profits of the group's official stamps would be donated to the charity, 'Merry Year'.
Girls’ Generation donated eight tons of rice to help those who are in need. It was revealed that through rice donations made by the group on December th, , , people in need was able to receive a warm meal. The rice that was donated was from the rice that was delivered to Girls’ Generation members at various press conferences as support by fans. The rice was distributed to underfed children, elders without families, and severely disabled people, amongst others.
Girls Generation Wallpaper
Girls Generation Wallpaper
Girls Generation Wallpaper
Girls Generation Wallpaper
Girls Generation Wallpaper
Girls Generation Wallpaper
Girls Generation Wallpaper
Girls Generation Wallpaper
Girls Generation Wallpaper
Girls Generation Wallpaper
Girls Generation Wallpaper
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