As K-pop is one of the big pop-culture trends in the world today, and there are a lot of good albums we have in our library collection, I would like to share the artists and songs I have liked since I started listening to K-pop as a teenager! I hope you will enjoy this music genre and culture as much as I do!
This time, after two boy groups, I am going to introduce you to my favourite girl group, “지금은 소녀시대！앞으로도 소녀시대！영원히 소녀시대!”, the Girls’ Generation (or SNSD, GG)! Formed by SM Entertainment, Girls’ Generation debuted on 5th August 2007, with the song, “다시 만난 세계 Into the New World” from their eponymous first single. The original members include Taeyeon, Jessica, Sunny, Tiffany, Hyoyeon, Yuri, Sooyoung, Yoona, and Seohyun, making Girls’ Generation the biggest girl group in Korea at that time. Their fan club name is S♡NE (소원, sounds like “So one,” meaning Wish in Korean) and the official colour is Pastel Rose Pink (Hex code, #ff4980). The group was carefully planned, having practiced their single “Into the New World” for around a year before their debut.
Since their debut, Girls’ Generation have always challenged themselves to try different music genres and concepts. At first, as their average age was just 17.4 when they debuted, their image was sweet, cute, and high-energy, while the music genres they focused on were teen-pop and bubblegum-pop (“다시 만난 세계 Into the New World”, “소녀시대 Girls’ Generation”, “Kissing You”, and “Baby Baby”). Then, they changed their concept to a more mature image, and started trying dance-pop and electropop, as in “Gee”, “소원을 말해봐 (Genie)” and “Oh”. After “Oh”, the girls began to present darker and stronger concepts (Run Devil Run and Catch me if you can), incorporating other musical styles like hip-hop (I Got a Boy and You Think), retro style (훗 Hoot and Lion Heart) and much more. Among all these different concepts they have tried, the group members themselves choose “Genie” as the song that represents them the best, from the concept itself to the song and its choreography.
Today, members of the Girls’ Generation are focusing on their solo activities. After their sixth full-length album, Holiday Night (from the two title songs, Holiday and All Night) which was released on their 10th anniversary, Tiffany, Sooyoung, and Seohyun decided to leave SM Entertainment, while remaining members of the group. Leader Taeyeon has a very successful solo singing career. She just released her third full-length album, “INVU” last year and is expected to release a new mini album this year (Author’s note: I will recommend 11:11, Wine, and Blue, however all of her songs are super good). Hyoyeon works as a singer and DJ. The other members are more focused on acting careers and have achieved good results respectively. The group had a full-group comeback last August for their 15th anniversary, and released their 7th full-length album, “Forever 1” (after five years, like finally!!!).
The Girls’ Generation means a lot to the whole of K-pop history. They have shown us, girls can be sweet and cute, but also strong and cool, encouraging us to be whoever we want, do anything we want. At the time of their debut, most of the popular idol groups were boy groups, and the girl groups tended not to survive long in the industry. The longevity of Girls’ Generation has attracted the public and forced them to pay more attention to “girl groups”. They prove that girl groups can achieve the same results as boy groups — better, even. Moreover, their debut song, “Into the New World” has found renewed life in protest activities in Korea, because of its meaningful lyrics and the powerful message the girls have conveyed:
I love you, just like this. The longed-for end of wandering.
I leave behind this world’s unending sadness.
Walking the many and unknowable paths, I follow a dim light.
It’s something we’ll do together to the end, into the new world.— Girls’ Generation, “Into the New World”
Girls’ Generation albums we have at the library
Mr. Taxi is the repackaged edition album of Girls’ Generation’s third full-length album, “The Boys” which was released in 2011. “The Boys” has received a very good result in Korea and also internationally. The title song “Mr. Taxi” of this album is an electropop and R&B song, and the Korean version of their first original Japanese song.
My personal picks:
— Telepathy
— Say Yes
— Trick
— How Great is Your Love
— Sunflower
I got a boy / Girls’ Generation
Girls’ Generation released their fourth full-length album, “I Got a Boy” in 2013. The title song “I Got a Boy” is a hybrid genre song that includes bubblegum pop, electropop, electropop, and R&B, while the pre-release single “Dancing Queen” is a remake of Duffy’s “Mercy”, used to plan to release with “Gee” together. This album has received a very good result as well, and “I Got a Boy” has become one of their iconic title songs.
My personal picks:
— Baby Maybe
— 말해봐 (Talk Talk)
— Promise
— Express 999
— 유리아이 (Lost in Love)
— XYZ
— 낭만길 (Romantic St.)
2011 Girls’s Generation tour / Girls’ Generation
This is the live album of their second concert tour, the 2011 Girls’ Generation Tour. They performed some of their Japanese singles on this tour, and each member had a solo stage.
My personal picks:
— Let It Rain
— Lady Marmalade
— Devil’s Cry
Girls’ Generation – TTS is the first subunit of this group, made up of vocal members Taeyeon, Tiffany and Seohyun. This subunit has a different music style compared to the Girls’ Generation. Their performance I like the most is their cover of Destiny’s Child’s “Cater 2 U” which shows how powerful their vocals are.
Twinkle is their first mini album which was released in 2012, with the title song “Twinkle”. Twinkle is a medium-pop dance song. This album contains most dance-pop songs and some pop songs.
My personal picks:
— Baby Steps
— Library
— 안녕 (Good-Bye, Hello)
— 처음이었죠 (Love Sick)
Holler : the 2nd mini album / Girls’ Generation
Girls’ Generation – TTS released their second mini album “Holler” in 2014, with the title song “Holler”. “내가 네게 Whisper” was released three days earlier as a promotional single. Member Seohyun had written the lyrics for the song “Only U”.
My personal picks:
— 아드레날린 (Adrenaline)
— 내가 네게 (Whisper)
— Stay
— Only U
— Eyes
That’s a wrap for my over-sharing about Girls’ Generation! Tell us in the comments below if you’ve found your favourite Girls’ Generation song on our list! 안녕히 가세요!
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