Girls' Generation
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| Girls' Generation 소녀시대 |
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| Also known as | So Nyuh Shi Dae |
| Origin |  Seoul, Republic of Korea |
| Genre(s) | K-pop, dance |
| Years active | 2007–present |
| Label(s) | SM Entertainment |
| Members | |
| Yoona Tiffany Yuri Hyoyeon Sooyoung Seohyun Taeyeon Jessica Sunny |
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Girls' Generation, also known as SNSD, the acronym of So Nyuh Shi Dae (Hangul: 소녀시대; Hanja: 少女時代), is a nine member South Korean girl group formed in 2007 by SM Entertainment. The members include (in order of official announcement) Yoona, Tiffany, Yuri, Hyoyeon, Sooyoung, Seohyun, Taeyeon (the leader), Jessica and Sunny.
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[edit] History
[edit] Pre-debut
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. For nearly two years, Korean websites speculated about which of the female SM Entertainment trainees would be placed into the group[citation needed]. Before the official release of the group name, Girls' Generation, it was rumored that the group would be named "Super Girls" after their so-called counterpart, Super Junior.
[edit] Debut and first album
On July 19, 2007, Girls' Generation had their first performance on M.NET'S M!Countdown. Although this performance was never broadcasted on television, many videos were shot by fans and uploaded onto the internet. The song the girls performed was called "다시 만난 세계 (Into the New World)", which ended up being their first single.
On August 2, 2007, the single "다시 만난 세계 (Into the New World)" was released. This single included two other songs, "Beginning" and "Perfect For You (소원)", later renamed as Honey for their debut album "Girls' Generation". An instrumental of "Into the New World" is also included.
The group began promoting the single soon after its release. On August 5, 2007, Girls' Generation made their debut performance on SBS's Popular Songs, performing their first single. Although it was their first televised performance, it was lip-synched, making netizens doubt their live performance capabilities[citation needed]. A few days later, on August 11, Girls' Generation did their first live performance on MBC's Show! Music Core, which was met with mixed reviews[citation needed]. The day after, the group performed live for the second time on KBS's Music Bank. This performance also had mixed reviews by netizens.[citation needed] Despite this, on October 11, 2007, Girls' Generation won first place with their popular song, "Into the New World" in M!Countdown, beating Lee Seung Gi by a couple of votes.
After a short break, their first full album was released on November 1, with the lead single "소녀시대 (Girls' Generation)", a cover of Lee Seung Chul's hit. Promotion for the single started in early November. Marked by cutesy dance routines and vocals, "Girls' Generation" was a hit for the group, and the album has sold 56,804 copies to date, placing 12th in the year-end charts.[1] In January 2008, Girls' Generation began promoting their second single, "Kissing You". The music video featured Donghae from Super Junior. This song achieved the #1 spot in the three main TV music rankings—SBS Inkigayo, M.Countdown! and KBS Music Bank[citation needed].
On March 13, 2008, the album was re-released, now titled Baby Baby. A third single, "Baby Baby", was used to promote the album throughout March. As of April 2008, the girls have ceased promotion of their album; however, a digital EP featuring Jessica, Tiffany, and Seohyun was released on April 7, 2008, titled Roommate. The single from the mini-album is "오빠나빠" (literally "Bad Brother", although contextually it refers to an older male (boy)friend).
The group will mark their first North American appearance by performing at the annual Korean Festival held at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California. The concert will feature a slew of other Korean pop and folk singers, including management mates TVXQ and Super Junior-T. The concert is set to take place on May 17, 2008.
[edit] Documentary
Girls' Generation's documentary Girls' Generation Goes to School (소녀...학교에 가다) began airing on July 27, 2007 on M.NET. There were a total of nine episodes, with seven focused on their performances, one "behind-the-scenes" look at the girls' world, and the last being a bonus episode of the girls performing at Sunny's high-school. Another show, broadcasted on MTV Korea, shows each of the girls at home.
[edit] Charity Cafe
Girls' Generation took part in an event named "Charity Cafe" with Park Tae Hwan , in order to raise money to help with the oil spills. This event was recorded in 2007 and proved to be very successful, showing another side of the girls.
[edit] Member profiles
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[edit] Yoona
- Stage name: Yoona (Hangul: 윤아; Hanja: 潤娥)
- Birth name: Im Yoona (Hangul: 임윤아; Hanja: 林潤娥)
- Date of birth: May 30, 1990
- Position: Sub vocalist
Yoona is regarded as the most experienced member in terms of being in the entertainment industry. Prior to debut and after, Yoona has appeared in several music videos, such as in The Grace's "My Everything", Super Junior's "U", "Marry U", as well as TVXQ's "Magic Castle". She gained a minor role in the Korean drama, 9 Ends 2 Outs (9회말 2아웃) and won a major role in a new drama, You are my destiny. In the new drama, Yoona portrays a girl who was once blind. She receives a eye transplant and is trying to get closer to the family of the donor.
[edit] Tiffany
- Stage name: Tiffany (Hangul: 티파니; Chinese: 蒂芬妮)
- Birth name: Stephanie Hwang
- Korean birth name: Hwang Miyoung (Hangul: 황미영; Hanja: 黃美英)
- Date of birth: August 1, 1989
- Position: Lead Vocalist
Tiffany was born and raised in Diamond Bar, California. She was discovered in the SM Starlight Casting System 2004 in Los Angeles and began training under the label until the debut of Girls' Generation. Along with Seohyun and Jessica, she released a brand new single, "Bad Oppa" (오빠 나빠).
[edit] Yuri
- Stage name: Yuri (Hangul: 유리; Hanja: 俞莉)
- Birth name: Kwon Yuri (Hangul: 권유리; Hanja: 權俞莉)
- Date of birth: December 5, 1989
- Position: Sub vocalist
Yuri joined the label when she won the 2001 1st SM Youth Best Dancer Contest award. She appeared in TVXQ's "Beautiful Life" music video and had a small role in Super Junior's first movie, Attack on the Pin-Up Boys. She also had a small role in a television segment, "The King's Boyfriend," which was part of the 2005–2006 KMTV Super Junior documentary, Super Junior Show. Yuri is currently playing a part in the Sitcom "Unstoppable Marriage" alongside SooYoung.
[edit] Hyoyeon
- Stage name: Hyoyeon (Hangul: 효연; Hanja: 孝淵)
- Birth name: Kim Hyoyeon (Hangul: 김효연; Hanja: 金孝淵)
- Date of birth: September 22, 1989
- Position: Sub vocalist, lead dancer
Hyoyeon is regarded as the best dancer in the group as she once attended a hip hop dance school that specializes in waving, popping, locking, and animation. Prior to debut, Hyoyeon traveled to Bejing, China in 2004 with Super Junior's Siwon to learn Mandarin and more about Chinese culture.
[edit] Sooyoung
- Stage name: Sooyoung (Hangul: 수영; Hanja: 秀英)
- Birth name: Choi Sooyoung (Hangul: 최수영; Hanja: 崔秀英)
- Date of birth: February 10, 1990
- Position: Sub vocalist
Before Sooyoung's addition to Girls' Generation, she made a brief debut in Japan as a singer. While in Japan, she became close friends with BoA and Sunday from The Grace as they too were working in Japan as singers at the time. She was previously a DJ of Reckless Radio along with Sungmin of Super Junior. However, she was soon replaced by Sunny due to schedule conflicts.
[edit] Seohyun
- Stage name: Seohyun (Hangul: 서현; Hanja: 徐玄)
- Birth name: Seo Juhyun (Hangul: 서주현; Hanja: 徐珠玄)
- Date of birth: June 28, 1991
- Position: Lead vocalist
Seohyun is the youngest of the group. She is a talented pianist and along with Tiffany and Jessica, she released a brand new single, "Bad Oppa" (오빠 나빠).
[edit] Taeyeon
- Stage name: Taeyeon (Hangul: 태연; Hanja: 太妍)
- Birth name: Kim Taeyeon (Hangul: 김태연; Hanja: 金太妍)
- Date of birth: March 9, 1989
- Position: Leader, main Vocalist
Taeyeon was the winner of the SM Academy singing competition in 2004. She is currently a DJ of Good Friend Radio with Super Junior member Kang-In and she is the first of the Girls' Generation member to release a solo track. ("If") She is also the leader and the oldest member of Girls' Generation.
[edit] Jessica
- Stage name: Jessica (Hangul: 제시카; Chinese: 潔西卡)
- Birth name: Jessica Jung
- Korean birth name: Jung Sooyeon (Hangul: 정수연; Hanja: 鄭秀妍)
- Date of birth: April 18, 1989
- Position: Lead vocalist
Jessica was born and raised in San Francisco. At the age of 11, her and her family moved to South Korea for training after she successfully passed through the SM Casting System 2000. She was featured in Kim Johan's "Sorry, My Love Was Late(사랑이 늦어서 미안해)" music video. Along with Tiffany and Seohyun, she released a brand new single, "Bad Oppa" (오빠 나빠).
[edit] Sunny
- Stage name: Sunny (Hangul: 써니; Hanja: 珊妮)
- Birth name: Lee Sunkyu (Hangul: 이순규; Hanja: 李順圭)
- Date of birth: May 15, 1989
- Position: Sub vocalist
After only several months of training under SM Entertainment in 2007, Sunny quickly debuted as a member of Girls' Generation that same year. She is the niece of SM Entertainment's CEO, Lee Soo Man, her father was once the manager of the disbanded K-pop girl group Sugar and her sister is the manager of K-pop singer Ahyoomee. She is currently a co-DJ of Reckless Radio along with Sungmin of Super Junior.She appeared in Super Junior Happy's "Cooking? Cooking!" music video
[edit] Discography
First single - Into the new world
- Released: August 2nd, 2007
- Format: CD
- Label: Seoul Records
- Producer: SM Entertainment
- Sales: 31,369[2]
First album - Girls' Generation
- Released: November 1st, 2007
- Format: CD
- Label: Seoul Records
- Producer: SM Entertainment
- Sales: 111,093[2]
- Singles: 소녀시대, Kissing You, Baby Baby
Digital Releases
[2007.09.13] Into the New World REMIX (다시 만난 세계 REMIX)
[2008.03.11] Kissing You RHYTHMER REMIX VOL.1
[2008.04.07] Oppa Nappa (오빠나빠)/ 티파니, 제시카, 서현 (Tiffany, Jessica, SeoHyun)
Compilations
[2007.11.23] "Thirty Thousand Miles in Search of My Son" OST (Track 1, Touch The Sky)
[2007.12.07] 2007 WINTER SMTOWN (Track 7, Love Melody)
[2008.01.22] "Hong Gil Dong" OST (Track 2, If (만약에) ／ 태연 TaeYeon Solo)
[2008.01.22] "Hong Gil Dong" OST (Track 5, Jageun Bae (작은 배, Little Boat in English))
[edit] Awards
[edit] References
- ^ Music Industry Association of Korea.2007 Year End Charts. Retrieved February 17, 2008.
- ^ a b 4월 가요음반 판매량집계
[edit] External links
- (Korean) Girls' Generation Official Site
- (Korean) SM Entertainment Official Site
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