SNSD ~

Girls' Generation (소녀시 대; 少女時代) is a nine-member South Korean girl group formed by SM Entertainment in 2007. In the order that they were announced as part of the group prior the group's debut, the members are; Yoona, Tiffany, Yuri, Hyoyeon, Sooyoung, Seohyun, Taeyeon (leader), Jessica, and Sunny. They are often referred to as SoShi (소시), or SNSD (mainly outside Korea), the first of which is an abbreviation and the second an acronym of the group's Korean name So Nyeo Shi Dae (or So Nyuh Shi Dae). In China, they are known as 少女時代 (Shàonǚ Shídài; or Siu Nui Si Doi in Hong Kong) and in Japan as 少女時代 (Shōjo Jidai).

The group has released two full albums, two mini-albums, and various singles. Their 2009 hit single "Gee" holds the record for being the longest running #1 song on KBS's Music Bank, having held the #1 chart ranking for 9 consecutive weeks.[1] That year also saw the group winning various awards, including consecutive Artist of the Year (Daesang) awards at the Seoul Music Awards, Golden Disk Awards, and the Korean Cultural Entertainment Awards.
Contents
[show]

* 1 History
o 1.1 Pre-debut
o 1.2 2007–2008: Debut and First Album
o 1.3 2009: Other Activities, Comebacks, The "Gee" Fever
o 1.4 2010: Second album and Japanese debut
* 2 Members
* 3 Discography
o 3.1 Korean Discography
+ 3.1.1 Studio albums
+ 3.1.2 Repackaged albums
+ 3.1.3 Mini albums (EPs)
+ 3.1.4 Special albums
+ 3.1.5 Single albums
o 3.2 Japan Discography
+ 3.2.1 Single albums
* 4 DVDs
* 5 Tours
o 5.1 Concert Participation
* 6 Television work
o 6.1 Reality shows
* 7 Endorsements
* 8 Controversy
* 9 Awards
* 10 References
* 11 External links

[edit] History
[edit] Pre-debut

The members were professionally trained primarily in singing, dancing and languages while a select few were also underwent further training in acting and modeling. Many of the members had already made appearances in magazine ads, television commercials, and small television appearances. For nearly two years, Korean websites speculated about which female SM Entertainment trainees would be placed into the group.[2]
[edit] 2007–2008: Debut and First Album

In July 2007, Girls' Generation had their unofficial first stage performance on M.Net's School of Rock where the group performed their first single, titled "Into the New World" (Korean: "다시 만난 세계", Dasi Mannan Segye). A documentary recording the story of the group's debut titled M.Net's Girls Go To School was filmed during this time, showing the members as they moved into an apartment together and prepared for their performances. The group's first single was physically released soon after, including and instrumental of the group's debut song and two other tracks; "Beginning" and "Perfect for You". The latter's Korean title is "Wish" ('소원'), which later became the name of Girls' Generation's official fan-club (stylized: S♡NE). The group's debut and first ever promotions began on August 5, 2007, first performing on SBS's Inkigayo and then later on MBC's Show! Music Core and KBS's Music Bank. "Into the New World" achieved #1 spot on M.net M.Countdown!.

The group released their first self-titled full album in late autumn 2007 with the lead single "Girls' Generation" (Korean: "소녀시대"), a remake of Lee Seung-cheol's 1989 hit. Promotion for the single started in early November. The album also included the group's first single Into the New World, "Perfect For You" retitled as "Honey", and 8 other tracks by the group. In early 2008, Girls' Generation began promoting their second single from the album, "Kissing You", which won the group their first k-chart win after getting the number one position on the KBS Music Bank February chart.[3]

In March 2008, the album was re-packaged, re-released and re-titled Baby Baby. A third single, "Baby Baby", was used to promote the album. During the group's promotions, members Jessica, Tiffany and Seohyun were also 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 1, 2008. The 3rd track from the mini-album was performed by the 3 Girls' Generation members and is titled "Oppa Nappa" (Korean: "오빠 나빠", literally "Bad Brother", although contextually it refers to an older male friend). The track was digitally released before the album was, coming out in April 2008 and topping several charts. The song was performed live on SBS Inkigayo and M.net's M.countdown some time later.[4][5] 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.[6]

It was announced in autumn 2008 that Girls' Generation would be starring in a reality show on M.net, titled Factory Girl. The show chronicles the members working as interns at fashion magazine Elle Girl.[7] The articles the group worked on were actually featured in the Korean Elle Girl magazine. The program began airing in early October.[8] In Late 2008, the group also participated in the SM Town Live '08 concert along with other SM Town artists.
[edit] 2009: Other Activities, Comebacks, The "Gee" Fever

On December 26 of 2008, posters of the Girls' Generation members sporting simple white shirts, jeans and roller-skates were posted up in various locations around Seoul. The posters were met with such popularity that SM Entertainment's phone-lines were blocked up by callers asking whether the posters were for sale and the company was forced to ask fans to stop taking the posters down for personal use.[9] Three days later on December 29, the group's management confirmed that the posters were indeed teaser posters and that the group would soon release their first EP, The First Mini Album — Gee the following month in January, 2009.[10]

A teaser video was released in January 2009 and the first single "Gee" released soon after. Gee was met with instant popularity, topping Cyworld's hourly music chart on the release day.[11] The song also went #1 on all major digital music charts within two days.[12] The music video set a record on release, garnering 1 million views on GomTV in under a day. The music video became the first to reach "Diamond Track" status on GomTV after breaking the 5 million view mark on January 16.[13]

The group began its album promotion on January 2009 on MBC Show! Music Core where they sang their new lead single, "Gee", as well as the track "Himnae (Way To Go)", another song from their mini-album.[14] Gee went on to become a phenomenal hit, breaking the record for consecutive no.1 wins on Music Bank with 9 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 M.Net charts for 8 consecutive weeks, the Dosirak chart for 7 weeks, the Muse chart for 6 weeks and the Baksu chart for 4 weeks.[15][16]

The breakthrough success of the song and the "Gee Syndrome" it caused in South Korea resulted in industry analysts describing the group as no longer merely idols, but a top national group with mass appeal.[17] By the ending of the group's promotions in March, "Gee" ringtones had surpassed 1.2 million downloads and had been set as background music a record breaking 350,000 times on social networking site Cyworld. The recorded number of airplays of the song on radio and television over 2 months surpassed 1500 with "Himnae" having been played almost 200 times. The mini-album sold over 100,000 copies - the group's second time having done so since the success of their first full album in 2007.[18] After finishing up promotions, demand for the group was still strong and discussion of them in the media was still frequent. During their non-promotional period, the group members were still active through DJ and MC positions, acting, hosting and variety show appearances.[19]

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)" (Korean: "소원을 말해봐", literally "Tell Me Your Wish"); with the full mini album being released digitally on June 22, 2009.[20][21] The group started their promotional activities on the June 26, 2009 recording of KBS's Music Bank.[22] The performance was followed by follow-up comeback performances on MBC's Music Core and SBS's Inkigayo on June 27 and 28, 2009. The physical release of Genie was delayed by SM Entertainment in order to redo the album art, and was released 4 days later on June 29, 2009.[20]

The track proved to be a massive success. It conquered various music sites like Melon, Dosirak, MNet, Bugs and it was No.1 on the weekly charts and SKT ringtone weekly charts of the first week of July.[23] The mini-album sold an estimated 50,000+ copies in its first week after release (almost double the numbers from the first-week sales of "Gee"), an unusual feat for any Korean girl group.[24]

Their first No.1 award for "Tell Me Your Wish (Genie)" was on the July 10, 2009 episode of KBS Music Bank.[25][26] Their second award was claimed at the July 12, 2009 episode of SBS's Inkigayo and their third on the 16th on the same show.[27] The group finished up promoting for "Tell Me Your Wish (Genie)" in August 2009.

On October 7, Girls' Generation, along with label-mate f(x), released a digital single named "Chocolate Love" for the 4th edition of the Blacklabel series LG CYON phone, "Chocolate".[28] Girls' Generation were chosen to record the "Retro Pop Version" of the song while f(x) sang the "Electronic Pop Version". In comparison to f(x)'s trendy and electronic version, Girls' Generation's "Retro Pop Version" has a charismatic and vintage style, with a more mature and sultry feel.[29] Girls' Generation released a "Chocolate Love" music video soon after, and then a second version some time afterward.

In addition to their musical activities, the group has had various television series, with varied success. On May 3, 2009, Girls' Generation starred in their new reality show Sonyuh Shidae Horror Movie factory,[30] in which the group undergoes various acting lessons and tests, the first three episodes revolving around a horror film theme. The premiere episode received a viewership rating of 3.3%. When the show was cancelled after 6 episodes, it was replaced with another Girls' Generation reality program Himnaera-Him! or Cheer Up![31] in which the group tries to cheer up hardworking people in the midst of an economic slump. The show was discontinued after two episodes.[32]

Right after leaving MBC Sunday Sunday Night segment, the group began a new reality television venture. On June 23, 2009, the group began starring on a new reality series titled Girls' Generation's Hello Baby, on cable network KBS Joy. The show chronicles the group babysitting and taking care of a young child in an attempt to experience and learn what motherhood is like. Each week the group members (or 'fathers'; male guests who come out to help on several episodes) select the "Best Mom" and the "Worst Mom" from among the members according to their work for the day.[33] Viewers commented that it was one of the group's best shows so far, due to the members showing their true personalities in a relaxed environment and not relying on scripts. It was popular among fans and teenagers and also garnered a lot of interest from young mothers.[34] The show ended on November 17, 2009 after 22 episodes and 6 months of airing. Upon ending recording, the Girls' Generation members stated that they believed that while watching the child grow, they had reached a new level of maturity and gratitude to their parents.[35]

In July, selected members, alongside selected Super Junior members, released the song "S.E.O.U.L.".[36] The music video was released as part of South Korea's tourism initiative.

The members were frequently on television and were able to quickly establish their individual personalities through both group and solo activities such as MCing, variety shows, game shows and talk shows, and were said to have 'conquered the media'.[37] Because of their lively image and wide spectrum of fans, the group was chosen as ambassadors to publicize the transfer of South Korean television to digital technology in late September, 2009.[38]

In early November, the group also announced that they would be holding their first solo concert tour, with two Korean dates in December and other Asian locations to follow.[39] Tickets were available for online purchase at 8pm on November 19,[40] with the Korean dates selling out at record time in only 3 minutes.[41] The concert tour is titled "Into the New World" after the name of their debut single. Due to the success and popularity of the first two concerts on December 19 and 20, the group went on to hold encore concerts on February 27 and 28.[42]
[edit] 2010: Second album and Japanese debut

Later in January, SM Entertainment confirmed the release of Oh!, the group's second full-length album to be released on January 28.[43] The lead single "Oh!", was digitally released on January 25 with the music video being released two days later.[44] The song proved to be popular topping various charts upon release.[45] On January 30, the group started promotions with the recording of MBC's Show! Music Core.[46] The broadcast of the performance experienced a blackout near the end, to which MBC made the whole performance available online in response.[47] With 'Oh!', the group went on to win 5 consecutive K-charts on KBS Music Bank, as well as achieving a triple crown on SBS Inkigayo.[48] 'Oh!' also went on to win Music Bank's half-year K-chart and came in at 2nd on Hanteo's first half album sales chart.[49]

Starting from March 11, 2010, photos of the members were released online showcasing a dark concept, dubbed "Black Girls' Generation".[50] A teaser video was released on March 16, with the new single Run Devil Run being released as a digital single on March 17. The music video for "Run Devil Run was released on March 17, and the group's first performance for the new single was on KBS's Music Bank.[52][53] The song won 2 K-charts on KBS Music Bank and 2 Mutizen wins as well in SBS Inkigayo. With the combined sales of both the full album "Oh!" and the repackage "Run Devil Run", Girls' Generation sold more albums than any other artist in the first half of 2010. The music videos for both "Oh!" and "Run Devil Run" made it into GOMTV's 2010 First Half Top 10 ranking, the group having attracted over 13 million views in 6 months.

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 2010. 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 11, 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 25.According to Universal Music Japan, the DVD had reached considerable success even before physical release, the pre-orders having sold out. In the first week after release, the DVD sold 23,000 copies, making no.4 on the weekly DVD Oricon ranking and no.3 on the weekly music DVD ranking, making Girls' Generation the first female k-pop group to make the Oricon DVD Top-5 ranking.

Amidst their Japanese activities, the group also participated in the SMTown Live '10 World Tour alongside their label-mates on August 21 at Seoul Jamsil Olympic Stadium. And then in Shanghai and Los Angeles on later dates.

On August 23, the group arrived in Japan at Haneda airport to begin promotions in Japan. Following this date on August 25, the group held their first showcase in Tokyo Ariake Colliseum. With an initial 10,000 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 estimated 20,000 fans. The group sang 5 of their Korean tracks at each of the showcases, the total number of attendees over all three shows estimated to be at least 22,000. At this showcase, the Genie Japanese music video was also revealed publicly for the first time, the teaser having been released a few days prior on August 20.

Their Japanese debut single "GENIE" peaked at the #5 spot on the same day of its release on the Oricon Charts and later rose to the #2 position some time later, earning the group a #4 position on the Oricon weekly ranking.[70][71][72] The group also hit the number #1 spots on Japan iTunes' music video chart and both the Rekochoku daily video clip chart and incoming movie daily ranking chart a day later.[73] With pre-orders amounting to 80,000, the single sold an estimated 45,000 copies in the first week after release, breaking the record for foreign artists debuting in Japan.[74][75] The single also placed high on Japan's Billboard chart, ranking #4 on the comprehensive Hot 100 chart, #5 on the Hot Single Sales Chart and #1 on the Hot Top Airplay chart.
Members

* Taeyeon (태연) born March 9, 1989 as Kim Tae-Yeon (김태연)
* Jessica (제 시카) born April 18, 1989 as Jessica Jung (제시카 정), Korean name Jung Soo-Yeon (정수연)[76]
* Sunny (써 니) born May 15, 1989 as Lee Soon-Kyu (이순규)
* Tiffany (티파니) born August 1, 1989 as Stephanie Hwang (스테파니 황), Korean name Hwang Mi-Young (황미영)
* Hyoyeon (효연) born September 22, 1989 as Kim Hyo-Yeon (김효연)
* Yuri (유리) born December 5, 1989 as Kwon Yu-Ri (권유리)
* Sooyoung (수영) born February 10, 1990 as Choi Soo-Young (최수영)
* Yoona (윤아) born May 30, 1990 as Im Yoon-Ah (임윤아)
* Seohyun (서현) born June 28, 1991 as Seo Joo-Hyun(서주현)

Sc : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girls%27_Generation