Girls' Generation ( Hangul : 소녀시대; RR :SonyeoSidae ), alsoknown as SNSD ,is a South Koreangirlgroup formed byS.M. Entertainment .The groupis composedof eight members: Taeyeon , Sunny ,Tiffany ,Hyoyeon ,Yuri , Sooyoung ,Yoonaand Seohyun .Originally a nine-piece group, Jessica laterdeparted fromthegroup in September2014. Girls' Generationdebuted in 2007with their Koreaneponymous debut album . Though the albumgainedsome attention, itwasnot until 2009that the group rose to fame withthe single " Gee ", which claimed thetopspot on KBS 's MusicBank for a record-breaking nine consecutive weeks andwasnamed themost popularsongofthe2000s in SouthKorea by Melon .Girls' Generationfurther consolidated their popularity on the SouthKoreanmusic scene with follow-upsingles " TellMe Your Wish (Genie) ", " Oh! ", and" RunDevilRun ", which were releasedin mid-2009 and early 2010.
Girls' Generation
Girls' Generation inSeptember2015 Fromleft to right, standing: Sunny , Yuri , Yoona , Seohyun and Taeyeon From leftto right, kneeling: Sooyoung ,Tiffanyand Hyoyeon Backgroundinformation Origin Seoul ,South Korea Genres K-pop bubblegum pop electropop Years active 2007–present Labels S.M. Entertainment EMIJapan Interscope Associatedacts SM Town Girls' Generation-TTS Website girlsgeneration.smtown.com
Members Taeyeon Sunny Tiffany Hyoyeon Yuri Sooyoung Yoona Seohyun
Pastmembers Jessica
Koreanname Hangul 소녀시대 Hanja 少女時代 RevisedRomanization Sonyeo Sidae McCune–Reischauer Sonyŏ Sidae
In mid-2010, Girls' Generation signed with Nayutawave Records (present-day EMI Records Japan ) to venture into the Japanesemusic scene. Their 2011 eponymous Japanesedebut albumpeaked atoptheJapaneseOricon Albums Chartand became the first albumbya non-Japanesegirlgroupto be certified" Million "bytheRecording Industry AssociationofJapan .The group's third Korean studio albumThe Boys was releasedin October 2011and became the best-selling albumof2011 in South Korea with sales ofover380,000 copies. An English version ofthesingle " The Boys " was releasedby Interscope Records in an attemptto expand thegroup's endeavor to the global music scene. The group's 2013 fourthKorean studio albumIGot aBoy was supported bythesingle " I Got a Boy ", which wassubjectedto major attention from Western media following itswinning the Video oftheYear awardat the inaugural YouTube Music Awards . Theirfifth Koreanstudio album, LionHeart ,was released in 2015. In 2017, Girls' Generation released their sixth Koreanstudio album, Holiday Night , to commemorate the group's tenth debut anniversary.
Girls' Generation's signature musical stylesare characterized as electropopand bubblegum pop ,though their sounds havevaried widely, incorporatingvarious genres includinghip hop , R&B ,and EDM .Theyhave sold over 4.4 millionalbumsand 30 milliondigital singles as of2012. The group's immense popularity in their native countrySouthKorea has earned them numerous accolades and thetitles "The Nation's Singers" and "The Nation's GirlGroup". Girls' Generationis alsodeemed one ofthe prominent figuresoftheKoreanWave andoneofthemostpopular K-pop acts internationally. Theyare thefirst Asiangirlgroupto achievefive music videos with over100millionviews onYouTube :" Gee ", " I Got a Boy ", " The Boys ", " Mr. Taxi ", and " Oh! ". In Japan, they became thefirst non-Japanesegirl group to havethree number-one albumsontheJapaneseOricon Albums Chart, and their three Japanese concerttoursattracted a record-breaking 550,000 spectators, more thanany other Koreangirl group.
Name
Thegroup's Koreannameis So-nyuh Shi-dae ( Korean :소녀시대, RR : SonyeoSidae ), fromtheSino-Korean root meaning "Generation ofGirls"; theyare alsoknown as SoShi (Korean: 소시) or SNSD , both of which are abbreviatedforms ofthe group's
Korean-language name. [1][2] Becausetheir nameconsistsof Chineseroots,the group's nameis similar in Chineseand Japanese: in Japan thegroup's nameis
pronouncedas Shōjo Jidai(Japanese: 少女時代), [3] andinMandarin Chineseas
Shàonǚ Shídài(Chinese: 少女时代). [4]
History
2000–08: Formationand debut
Prior to thegroup's debut, some ofthe members were alreadyinvolved in the entertainment industry. Yoonahad gonethroughabout 200auditions for music
videos, dramas, and movies beforebecoming a singerfor Girls' Generation. [5]
Sooyoungwasexposedto theJapanesemusic scene as amember ofa pop duo
named Route θ, which disbandedone year afteritsdebut in 2002. [6][7]
Thefirst member ofthegroup to joinS.M. Entertainment 's training system was Jessica in 2000, after she andhersister, Krystal Jung , were scouted in a mallin
South Koreaduringa family vacation. [8] That sameyear, members Sooyoungand Hyoyeon were castinto S.M.'s training system through the2000S.M. Open Audition, in which Hyoyeondancedfor heraudition. Yuri wasthenext Girls' Generation member to become an S.M. traineeafter coming secondin the2001S.M. Youth Best Dancercompetition. Yoonawascastthefollowing year throughthe2002 S.M. SaturdayOpenCasting Audition, where she sang and dancedto herfavorite
singers, BoAand Britney Spears . [9] Seohyun ,thegroup's youngest member, was scouted in thesubway by an S.M. scout; she thenauditionedin2003, singing
children's songs. [10]
Girls' Generationperforming at the 2008BeachVolleyball Competition at JamsilArena in Seoul
Thegroup's leader, Taeyeon ,wascastin 2004after winning first placeinthe S.M.
Youth SingingCompetition. [11][12] That same year,member Tiffanyauditionedat S.M.'s Starlight Casting System in Los Angeles, andjoinedthecompany in October
2004. [13][14] The final member ofthegroupto be added wasSunny , who had becomean S.M. traineein 1998and trainedfor five years beforemoving to another company, Starworld. At Starworld, she trainedto debut in a duonamed Sugar, which never debuted. In 2007, ontherecommendation ofKorean-Japanese singerIconiQ , Sunnymovedback to S.M. Entertainment and became amember ofGirls'
Generation. [15]
In July 2007, Girls' Generation had their first stage performanceon Mnet 's Schoolof Rock , where thegroupperformedtheir first single, " Into theNew World "(다시 만난
세계;Dasi mannan segye ). [16] On August5, 2007, thegroup officiallymade their
debut on SBS 's Inkigayo , where they performedthesame song. [17] Girls' Generation subsequentlyreleased their self-titled debut studio albumin November 2007, which wasprecededbythesingles " Girls' Generation "(소녀시대; Sonyeo sidae )—a remakeofLee Seung-cheol 's 1989 song, and " KissingYou ". Girls' Generation became thetwelfthbest-selling albumof2007in SouthKorea, selling
56,804 copies. [18] The albumhas soldover120,000 copiesin thecountryas of
2009. [19] In March 2008, thealbum wasre-released underthetitleBabyBaby . [20] The album wasprecededby asingle with thesame name , which wasreleased
ondigital music sites onMarch 17, 2008. [21]
2009–10: Breakthroughand Japanese debut
ThoughGirls' Generationhad gainedsome attention withtheir 2007debut album, it
wasnot until 2009 that the group rose to stardom. [22] On January7, thegroup releasedtheir debut extendedplay(EP) Gee ,which has soldover100,000 copiesin
South Korea. [19] Itstitle trackoccupiedthe number-one positiononKBS 's Music Bank aftera weekof release and remainedonthetopspot for a record-breaking nine consecutive weeks, becoming thelongest running number-one songonMusic Bank until 2012, when Psy 's " GangnamStyle "claimed thetop spot for tenconsecutive
weeks. [23][24][25] Italsobecame the best-selling single of2009 in South Korea. [26] The group's secondEPTell Me Your Wish (Genie) (소원을 말해봐;Sowoneul
malhaebwa ) and itstitularleadsingle werereleased in June 2009. [27] The EPsolda record-breaking 50,000 copies inSouth Koreawithinitsfirst weekofrelease and
chartedat number eight ontheTaiwanese G-Music chart. [28][29] In November 2009, S.M. Entertainment announcedthegroup's first concerttour, Into The New World ,whose tickets for theSouth Koreanshowswere sold out in three minutes. [30][31] The tourvisited Seoul(South Korea) in December2009, Shanghai (China)
in April 2010, andTaipei(Taiwan) in October 2010. [30][32][33]
Girls' Generationattendingthe 2010GoldenDiskAwards
Girls' Generation's secondstudio album Oh! wasreleased in January 2010; [34] it peaked atoptheGaonAlbum Chartonthechart issue dated January 24–30, 2010
andhas soldover234,500 copiesin SouthKorea as of 2014. [35][36] The album wasprecededbytheleadsingle ofthesamename , which claimedto topspot ofthe GaonDigital Chartandbecame thesecondbest-selling digital single of2010 in
South Korea, selling over3.3 millioncopies. [37][38][39] Oh! wasre-released under the title Run Devil Run in March 2010, which subsequently charted onthetopofthe
GaonAlbum Chart. [40][41] Itstitularsingle reached thetopspot on the Gaon
Digital Chart. [42][43] Oh! and Run Devil Run werecommercial successes in South Korea, becoming the secondand fourth best-selling albumsof2010, respectively. [44]
In mid-2010, Girls' Generation signed with Nayutawave Records (present-day EMI Records Japan ), which is a divisionofUniversal Music Japan ,to ventureout to the
Japanesemusic scene. [45] Theirdebut release inJapanwasa DVD titledNew Beginning ofGirls' Generation ,releasedin August2011, which features sevenof the
group's music videos anda special bonus footage. [46] The DVD debuted at number
four ontheJapaneseOricon DVDChart onAugust23, 2010; [47] in doingso, Girls' Generation became thefirst Koreangirl group to earn a top-five DVDontheOricon
chart. [48] Ithas sold60,000 copiesin Japan andwascertified gold bytheRecording
Industry AssociationofJapan (RIAJ).[1][49] In September 2010, Girls' Generation
releasedtheJapaneseversion of" Genie "as their debut single in Japan. [1] Itpeaked at number four on the JapaneseOricon Singles Chartand wascertifiedplatinum for
digital sales exceeding 250,000 units by the RIAJ. [50][51] The following month, the groupreleased their secondJapanesesingle, " Gee ", which reached number twoon
the Oricon Singles Chart. [1] "Gee" became thefirst single by anon-Japanesegirl
groupto enter thetopthree ofthe Oricon chart since 1980. [52] Itis the group's mostsuccessful single in Japan, selling 207,000 copiesandachieving a million
certification for sales figuresstanding atone millionunits bytheRIAJ. [53][54]
Amidsttheir Japaneseactivities, they alsoparticipatedin theSMTownLive '10 World Touralongside their labelmates, which started onAugust 21at SeoulJamsil Olympic
Stadium . [55]
Girls' Generation's third KoreanEPHoot(훗; Hut ) wasreleased in October 2010. [56]
ItchartedatoptheGaonAlbum Chartandatnumber twoontheOricon Album
Chart, andbecame thethird best-selling albumof2010in SouthKorea. [44][50]
[57] The title track debuted atopthe Gaon Digital Chart on the week commencing
October 24, 2010. [58][59] At both the 2010 and 2011SeoulMusic Awards ,the groupwon twoawardsfor Artist oftheYear, becoming the fourth SouthKoreanact
andthefirst girlgroupto win thecategory in twoconsecutive years. [60][61]
2011–12: Japanese success, TheBoys , and international expansion Girls' Generationperforming "The Boys" at the2012 LGCinema 3D World Festival
Girls' Generationcontinued their success in Japanwith thesingle " Mr. Taxi/Run DevilRun ", releasedin April 2011. The single peaked at number two on the Oricon
Singles Chart and as of April 2017, wascertified MillionbytheRIAJ. [62][63] After releasing threesingles in Japan, their debut eponymousJapanesestudio album was
releasedin June2011. [64] To promote thealbum, Girls' Generationembarked on The
1st Japan Arena Tour ,which started in Osaka onMay 31, 2011. [64][65] The album wasmetwithtremendous successin Japan, peaking atop the JapaneseOricon Albums Chart and becoming thefirst albumbya foreign girl group to top the Oricon chart. [66] Within itsfirst month ofrelease,Girls' Generation sold500,000 copiesand earned a double platinum certificationbytheRecording Industry AssociationofJapan. [67][68] The album became thefifth andfifteenth best-selling albumin Japan in
2011in 2012 respectively, with total sales figuresof871,097 copies. [69] A repackaged version titledThe Boys wasreleased in December 2011 and peaked at
number five ontheOricon Albums Chart. [50] In May 2012, Girls' Generation was certifiedmillionbytheRIAJ, denoting shipmentsofonemillion copiesin thecountry— itbecame thefirst albumbya South Koreangirlgroup andthesecondby aSouth
Koreanact to earnsuchachievement. [25][70] The albumwon theawardfor Album
ofthe Year atthe 2012 MTV VideoMusic Awards Japan . [71] Following their successful Japanesedebut, the
