Overview of Girl’s Generation
Girls’ Generation is a South Korean girl group formed by SM Entertainment. The group is also known as SNSD and ‘The Nation’s Girl Group’. Girls’ Generation, as a nine-member group, debuted on 5 August 2007. The members at the time of the group’s debut are Taeyeon, Sunny, Tiffany, Hyoyeon, Yuri, Sooyoung, Yoona, Seohyun, and Jessica. However, in 2014, Jassica stepped down from the group, making Girls’ Generation an 8-member girl band.
The members debuted with the single ‘Into the New World’, which is from their studio album ‘Girls Generation’. The group creates songs that mainly belong to categories like electropop, hip hop, bubblegum pop, electronic dance music, and contemporary R&B. However, among these styles, electropop and bubblegum pop are considered the group’s signature styles.
Many of the members of the group have previous experience attending various auditions for various activities. Yoona has the experience of attending around 200 auditions before signing with SM Entertainment. Sooyoung was a part of Route 0, which was a duo group that debuted in 2002.
On 5 August 2022, the girls released the studio album ‘Forever 1’. It is their first release in five years. Though the band has not disbanded officially, many of the team members are currently focusing on their acting careers.
History, Formation & More
SM Entertainment’s girl band, Girls’ Generation, was debuted on 5 August 2007.
Jessica was the first member to join SM Entertainment as a trainee and a member of Girls’ Generation. She joined the company in 2000. Soon after Jessica’s enrollment in the company, Sooyoung and Hyoyeon also joined as trainees through the Open Audition conducted by SM in 2000. As the third trainee, Yuri joined the company by winning a second place in the Youth Best Dancer, a dancing contest conducted by SM Entertainment.
After Yuri, Yoona joined SM Entertainment in 2002 through the Saturday Open Casting Audition conducted by the company. In 2003, the youngest member of the group, Seohyun, joined the group, and in 2004, Taeyeon stepped in. She joined the team as a winner of the Youth Singing Competition conducted by SM Entertainment.
The same year Tiffany joined through the casting that occurred in Los Angeles. The last member to join the group was Sunny. However, she has been a trainee at SM Entertainment since 1998, but she moved to another company called Starworld after completing 5 years of training under SM Entertainment. Plans did not go well for her, which made her approach her previous company once again. At the recommendation of IconiQ, a Korean-Japanese singer, she rejoined the company at the beginning of 2007.
Debut and Initial Performances
Girls’ Generation’s initial stage performance was held on the South Korean music channel Mnet. In the show, School of Rock, the group performed their single ‘Into the New World’. On 5 August 2007, the group debuted with the same single song in the South Korean music programme Inkigayo, broadcast by SBS. They released their first studio album in November 2007, and the album was named ‘Girls’ Generation’, the name of their group.
Before the release of the single album ‘Girls’ Generation’, the group released singles like ‘Girls Generation’ and ‘Kissing You’.
The album ‘Girls Generation’ got wide recognition among K-pop fans. It sold 56,804 copies and became the 12th best-selling album in 2007. The group re-released the album ‘Girls Generation’ with a new name ‘Baby Baby’ in 2008.
Japanese Debut and Worldwide Popularity
The group ‘Girls’ Generation’ rose to fame in 2009. With the group’s debut extended play, ‘Gee’, the group was able to sell 100,000 copies in the country. ‘Gee’ stayed in the number one position on Music Bank, the music programme on KBS, for nine consecutive weeks. Also, its popularity persisted until 2012. Girls’ Generation made their Japanese debut in 2011. The album is named ‘Girls’ Generation’, the name of their group. For the album, the Recording Industry Association of Japan marked ‘million’.
The group’s second extended play, ‘Tell Me Your Wish (Genie)’ released in 2009 and became the 8 top music in the G-Music chart of Taiwan. In the same year, 2009, the girls conducted their first music concert. The concert was named ‘Into The New World’ and it occurred in America.
The girls released their second studio album, ‘Oh!’ in January 2010, and again in March, the same album was rereleased with the name ‘Run Devil Run’. Both albums created a wave in the K-pop industry and became number one in the Gaon Album Charts of South Korea.
The group’s hard work gave them an opportunity to collaborate with one of the branches of Universal Music Japan called Nayutawave Records. The collaboration resulted in a DVD debut in August 2011. The DVD was named ‘New Beginning of Girls’ Generation’ containing seven music videos and a special footage. With the DVD debut, the popularity of the group rose even higher, and the DVD was listed in the top-five DVD list of Oricon chart.
The Japanese debut single of the group is the Japanese version of ‘Genie’, and it reached the fourth position on the Oricon Singles Chart in Japan. Later, the group released their second single, ‘Gee’ in Japan, and it was also listed in the Orican Singles Chart. Surprisingly, it became the first non-Japanese girl group song to occupy a position among the top three positions in the Oricon Singles Chart since 1980.
Members
Taeyeon
Taeyeon is the leader and the main vocalist of the 8-member girl group, Girls’ Generation. She was born on 9 March 1989, in North Jeolla, South Korea.
The leader of the ‘Girls’ Generation’ has many names like Kid Leader, JumTaeng, Tete, etc. She was inspired by the artist BoA and opted for a singing career. In 2018, the TC Candler selected her as one of ‘The 100 Most Beautiful Faces of 2018’ (49th place). In 2019, TC Candler gave her the 54th position in ‘The 100 Most Beautiful Faces of 2019’. Later, in 2020, she was ranked the 71st in ‘The 100 Most Beautiful Fases of 2020’. She is one of the most valued artists in the South Korean entertainment industry, with an impressive graph of albums sold.
Sunny
Sunny is the lead vocalist and sub-rapper of Girls’ Generation. She was born on 15 May 1989, in Los Angeles. However, due to the Gulf War, her family returned to settle in South Korea. She is active on her official Instagram ID, @515sunnyday.
Sunny is nicknamed Soonkyu, Choi Danshin, Ssun, and DJ Soon. Among the other members of the group, Sunny always remembers to hydrate herself by drinking water. She is scared of fireworks explosions. After stage performances, at the time of fireworks, the members always remember to cover her ears. Also, she is the shortest member of the group.
Tiffany
Tiffany Young, or Stephanie Young Hwang, was born on 1 August 1989. She and Jessica, the former members of Girls’ Generation, were coincidentally born at the same hospital in California.
According to the actor Daniel Radcliffe, Tiffany is the prettiest member of her group. After Taeyeon, she is the second member of her group to debut as a solo artist. She debuted with the album ‘I Just Wanna Dance’. She joined the K-pop industry thinking that it was a super cool entertainment industry, just like American pop.
Fany is a highly competitive artist with a very loved voice, and Seohyun commented that her voice is so loud that if she gets into a fight, her sound could be heard on the 6th floor from there. Coming to relationships, Fany used to date Nichkhun from 2PM.
Hyoyeon
Hyoyeon, also known as Kim Hyo-yeon, was born on 22 September 1989, in Incheon, South Korea. In the group, she serves as the main rapper, main dancer, and sub-vocalist. She entered SM Entertainment when she was 11 years old. She was selected through the SM 2000 Casting System.
Hyoyeon is nicknamed Kim-choding, Fiona, and Kim Yeolsal. In the group, she is the early bird who wakes up everyone at the time. While waking up the sleepy heads, Fany and Yoona scold her for interrupting her sleep but later apologise to her.
Hyoyeon is very talented when it comes to dancing and has attended classes for different styles of dancing like ballet, hip-hop, popping and locking and belly dance. She learns the dance moves very fast by simply looking at the dance for a few minutes. Also, she is a fashionable member in the group and admires Jennifer Lopez as a fashionista. She collaborated with Hyo Dtyle to release a book about lifestyle, beauty, and fashion.
Yuri
Yuri, or Kwon Yu-ri, is born on 5 December 1989, in Gyeonggi, South Korea. In the group, she handles the roles of main dancer, sub-vocalist, and lead rapper. Due to her unique nature and tanned skin, she is nicknamed ‘Black Pearl’ and ‘Coal’.
Yuri once said she is slow at learning dance moves. She is the member in the group with a husky voice, and she has the best physique in the group. She debuted as a solo artist with the mini album ‘The First Scene’ on 4, 2018. She has a great interest in baseball and once dated the baseball player Oh Seung-hwan.
Sooyoung
Sooyoung was born on 10 February 1990. Her birth name is Choi Soo-young, and was born in Gyeonggi, South Korea. She is the younger sister of the musical actress, Soojin. She has great love and respect for her sister. Also, Sooyoung considers Soojin as her best friend.
The group members say that Sooyoung might seem tough, but she is actually a crybaby. Her favourite songs of their group are ‘Complete’ and ‘Baby Baby’, and her nicknames are DJ Syoung, Shik Shin, and NaSoo. She dated the actor Jung Kyung-ho.
Yoona
Yoona, or Im Yoon-ah, was born on 30 May 1990, in Seoul, South Korea. She joined the company through the SM Saturday Open Casting Audition conducted in 2002 and became the lead dancer, lead rapper, visual, sub vocalist, and center. Later in 2007, she debuted as an actress. She is of the opinion that her talent mostly lies in dancing and acting than singing.
Yoona has a Bichon dog as a pet, and she calls her dog Rae-o. She has a great passion for cooking. She said, if he had not been a singer, she would have definitely become a chef. She made her solo debut with the single ‘When the Wind’ on 8 September 2017. She dated Lee Seung-gi from 2013 but they broke up with each other in 2015. On 13, 2015, the agencies of the actor and the idol notified their breakup news to the fans. The couple broke up due to their tight schedule.
Seohyun
Seohyun is the lead vocalist and maknae of Girls’ Generation. She was born on 28 June 1991, in Seoul, South Korea. She joined the company through the SM Casting System that happened in 2003. Apart from Korean, she can speak Japanese, Chinese, and English. She is a health-conscious individual and hates to eat junk food.
Seohyun is originally named Seo Joo-hyun. She is the third member in her group to debut as a soloist with the album ‘Don’t Say No’ in January 2017. Apart from her activities in the group, she has acted in several K-dramas and K-movies. On 9, 2017, it was informed that the idol was ending her contract with SM Entertainment to focus her career on acting. On 3 November 2017, Seohyun uploaded an Instagram post saying, “I’ll always do my best to be with the unnies when I’m needed as a part of Girl’s Generation in the future”.
Jassica
Jassica debuted as a K-pop female idol in 2014 under SM Entertainment. However, her eagerness to try new things created conflict in her life as an idol. Therefore, she resigned from her idol position at SM Entertainment.
Discography
Korean Studio Albums
- ‘Girls’ Generation’ – 1 November 2007
- ‘Oh!’ – 28 January 2010
- ‘The Boys’ – 19 October 2011
- ‘I Got a Boy’ – 1 January 2013
- ‘Lion Heart’ – 19 August 2015
- ‘Holiday Night’ – 7 August 2017
- ‘Forever 1’ – 5 August 2022
Japanese Studio Albums
- ‘Girls’ Generation’ – 1 June 2011
- ‘Girls & Peace’ – 28 November 2012
- ‘Love & Peace’ – 10 December 2013
Live Albums
- ‘Into the New World’ – 30 December 2010
- ‘2011 Girls’ Generation Tour’ – 11 April 2013
Extended Plays
- ‘Gee’ – 7 January 2009
- ‘Genie’ – 29 June 2009
- ‘Hoot’ – 27 October 2010
- ‘Mr.Mr.’ – 24 February 2014
Korean Singles
- ‘Into the New World’ – 2007
- ‘Girls’ Generation’ – 2007
- ‘Kissing You’ – 2008
- ‘Baby Baby’ – 2008
- ‘Gee’ – 2009
- ‘Genie’ – 2009
- ‘Oh!’ -2010
- ‘Run Devil Run’ – 2010
- ‘Hoot’ – 2010
- ‘The Boys’ – 2011
- ‘Mr. Taxi’ – 2011
- ‘Dancing Queen’ – 2012
- ‘I Got a Boy’ – 2013
- ‘Mr.Mr.’ – 2014
- ‘Catch Me If You Can’ – 2015
- ‘Party’ – 2015
- ‘Lion Heart’ – 2015
- ‘You Think’ – 2015
- ‘Sailing’ – 2016
- ‘All Night’ – 2017
- ‘Holiday’ – 2017
- ‘Forever 1’ – 2022
Japanese Singles
- ‘Genie’ – 2010
- ‘Gee’ – 2010
- ‘Mr. Taxi’ – 2011
- ‘Run Devil Run’ – 2011
- ‘Paparazzi’ – 2012
- ‘All My Love Is for You’ – 2012
- ‘Oh!’ – 2012
- ‘Flower Power’ – 2012
- ‘Love & Girls’ – 2013
- ‘Galaxy Supernova’ – 2013
- ‘My Oh My’ – 2013
- ‘Catch Me If You Can’ – 2015
Awards
- Cyworld Digital Music Awards 2007
Rookie of the Month – August – ‘Into the New World’ - Golden Disc Awards 2007
Popularity Award
Rookie Award - Korean Entertainment Arts Awards 2007
Best New Female Group - Asia Model Awards 2008
BBF Popular Singer Award - Korean Entertainment Arts Awards 2008
Best Female Group - Asia Song Festival 2008
The Best Asian Artist Award - Seoul Music Awards 2008
Best Newcomer Award
High1 Music Award - Mnet 20’s Choice Awards 2008
Hot Sweet Music - Bugs Music Awards 2009
Girl Group of the Year - Philippine K-pop Awards 2009
Music Video of the Year – ‘Gee’ - Golden Disc Awards 2009
Digital Daesang Award – ‘Gee’
Digital Bonsang Award – ‘Gee’ - Cyworld Digital Music Awards 2009
Song of the Month – January – ‘Gee’
Bonsang (Best 10) – Girls’ Generation - Incheon Culture Day Ceremony 2009
Young Artist Award - Korean Cable TV Awards 2009
Best Picture for Variety - Korean Cultural Entertainment Awards 2009
Artist Daesang
Teen Musical Artist Award - MBC Entertainment Awards 2009
Special Award (Best Singer - Nickelodeon Korea Kids’ Choice Awards 2009
Favorite Female Singer - Sports Korea Awards 2009
Star of the Year
Singer of the Year
Song of the Year – ‘Gee’ - Melon Music Awards 2009
2009 Top 10 Artists
Artist of the Year
Smart Radio
Mobile Music
Star Award
Song of the Year – ‘Gee’
Odyssey Award – ‘Gee’ - Bugs Music Awards 2010
Song of the Year – ‘Oh!’
Music Video of the Year
Idol of the Year - High1 Music Award 2010
Bonsang Award
Daesang Award
Digital Music Award - Sports Korea Awards 2010
Star of the Year
Singer of the Year - Melon Music Awards 2010
Top 10 Artists
Artist of the Year
Best Dressed Singer
Hot Trend – ‘Hoot’ - Nickelodeon Korea Kids’ Choice Awards 2010
Favorite Female Singer - Korean Entertainment Arts Awards 2010
Best Female Group - Korean Ministry of Culture and Tourism 2010
Content Industry Award (Special Honor) - Korean Music Awards 2010
Song of the Year
Group Musician of the Year Netizen Vote - Korean Wave Industry Award 2010
Pop Culture Award - Golden Disc Awards 2010
Popularity Award - Disk Bonsang Award
- Republic of Korea Entertainment Arts Awards 2010
Best Female Group - Japan Record Awards 2010
New Artist - KBS Song Festival 2010
Song of the Year – ‘Oh!’ - Proud Korean Awards 2010
Art Category - Korea Advertising Awards 2010
Best Advertising Models Award - Korea Best Dresser Award 2010
Best Singer Dresser - Korea PD Awards 2010
Singer Award - Korean Broadcasting Awards 2010
Best Singer Award - Asia Model Awards 2011
Asia Star Award - Seoul Music Awards 2011
Bonsang Award
Daesang Award
Popularity Award
Hallyu Special Award - Sports Korea Awards 2011
Star of the YearStar of the YearStar of the YearStar of the Year - Style Icon Asia 2011
Style Icon - Melon Music Awards 2011
Global Star Award - SBS MTV Best of the Best 2011
Best Girl Group - Korean Cultural Entertainment Awards 2011
Hallyu Grand Award - Mnet Asian Music Awards 2011
Best Female Group
Artist of the Year - Taiwan KKBOX Awards 2011
Album of the Year - Korea Republic Seoul Cultural Art Awards 2011
Pop Music Award - Daum Life On Awards 2011
Music Video of the Year – ‘Oh!’ - Space Shower Music Video Awards 2011
Best Pop Music Video – ‘Genie’ - MTV Video Music Awards Japan 2011
Best Group Video
Best Karaoke! Song - Japan Gold Disc Awards 2011
The Best 5 New Artists (Domestic)
New Artist of the Year (Domestic) - Gaon Chart Music Awards 2012
Album of the Year – 4th quarter – ‘The Boys’
Oricon Special Award – Girls’ Generation - SEED Awards 2012
The Most Popular Asian Artist - MTV Video Music Awards Japan 2012
Album Of The Year - Seoul Music Awards 2012
Popularity Award
Bonsang Award - Japan Gold Disc Awards 2012
Album of the Year (Asia)
Best 3 Albums (Asia) - Golden Disc Awards 2012
Digital Bonsang Award
Digital Daesang Award - Japan Best Jewellery Wearer Awards 2012
Special Award for Female Category: Singer - Huading Awards 2013
Best Idol Group – Global - Mnet Asian Music Awards 2013
Best Female Group - So-Loved Awards 2013
Best Female Dance - YouTube Music Awards 2013
Video of the Year – ‘I Got a Boy’ - Nickelodeon Korea Kids’ Choice Awards 2013
Favorite Female Singer - Japan Gold Disc Awards 2013
Song of the Year by Download (Asia)
Best Music Video (Asia) - Gaon Chart Music Awards 2014
Album of the Year – 1st quarter – ‘I Got a Boy’
Song of the Year – January – ‘I Got a Boy’ - Style Icon Asia 2014
Style Icon - SEED Awards 2014
Famous Asian Artist - Seoul Music Awards 2014
Bonsang Award - Red Dot Design Award 2014
Communication Design Award Package - Japan Gold Disc Awards 2014
Best 3 Albums (Asia) – ‘Girls’ Generation II: Girls & Peace’, ‘Love & Peace’ - iF Design Award 2014
Packaging Design – ‘The Boys’, ‘I Got a Boy’ - Golden Disc Awards 2014
Disk Bonsang Award
Popularity Award - Golden Disc Awards 2015
Disk Bonsang Award – ‘Mr.Mr.’
Popularity Award – Girls’ Generation - Philippine K-pop Awards 2015
Best Female Group - Mnet Asian Music Awards 2015
Best Female Group - Melon Music Awards 2015
Top 10 Artists - MBC Gayo Daejejeon 2015
Mango TV Most Popular Artist Award - iQiYi All-Star Carnival 2015
Best Asian Group - Japan Gold Disc Awards 2015
Song of the Year by Download (Asia) – ‘Indestructible’
Best 3 Albums (Asia) – ‘The Best’ - Golden Disc Awards 2016
Digital Bonsang Award – ‘Lion Heart’ - Style Icon Asia 2016
Asia Digital Star - Golden Disc Awards 2018
Disk Bonsang Award – ‘Holiday Night’ - Soompi Awards 2018
Best Stage Outfit (Holiday) - Bugs Music Awards 2020
20th Anniversary – Most Loved Artists
Interesting Facts about Girls’ Generation
- Among the 8 members in the group, Taeyeon is the first one to release her debut album ‘I’.
- Girls’ Generation is the first girl group from Asia to reach 100 million views on YouTube for their five music videos. The music videos are ‘Gee’, ‘I Got a Boy’, ‘The Boys’, ‘Mr. Taxi’, and ‘Oh’.
- The tickets for the girls’ first American concert titled ‘Into The New World’ sold out in 3 minutes.
- The founder and former CEO of SM Entertainment is the father of Girls’ Generation member Sunny.
- Sunny shares the food bungobbang with Taeyeon because Sunny hates red bean paste which Taeyeon is fond of. Therefore, after eating the head and tail of bungobbang she gives the rest to Taeyeon.
- Fany chose her stage name Tiffany because her mother liked that name.
- In the group, Sunny and Yuri are the most vulnerable in the group to mistakes.
- The tallest member of Girls’ Generation is Sooyoung.
FAQs
- Who is Girls’ Generation’s leader?
Taeyeon is the leader of Girls’ Generation. - Who is the youngest member of Girls’ Generation?
Seohyun is the youngest member of Girls’ Generation. - When was the group Girls’ Generation debuted?
Girls’ Generation was debuted in 2007. - How many members are there in Girls’ Generation?
There are 8 members in Girls’ Generation.
