Pre-Debut
The members were professionally trained primarily in singing and dancing, while a select few were also trained in acting and modeling. Many of the members already made names for themselves 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. 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.[11]
2007–2008: Debut and Girls' Generation
In July 2007, Girls' Generation had their unofficial first stage performance on Mnet School of Rock where the group performed their first single, titled "Into the New World" (다시 만난 세계, Dasi Mannan Segye). A documentary recording the story of the group's debut titled Mnet Girls' Generation Goes 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 an instrumental of the group's debut song and two other tracks: "Beginning" and "Perfect for You." The latter's Korean title is "Wish" (소원, SoWon), which later became the name of Girls' Generation's official fan club, S♡NE. The group's debut officially began on August 5, 2007, first performing on SBS Inkigayo, later on MBC Music Core and KBS Music Bank. "Into the New World" achieved No.1 spot on M! Countdown.
The group released their first self-titled full album in late autumn of 2007 with the lead single "Girls' Generation" (소녀시대, Sonyeo Sidae), a remake of Lee Seung-cheol's 1989 song. Promotion for the single started in early November. The album also included the group's first single "Into the New World", "Perfect For You" (re-titled "Honey"), and eight 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 achieving the number one position on the KBS Music BankFebruary chart.[12]
In March 2008, the album was repackaged, re-released and re-titled Baby Baby. A third single, "Baby Baby", was released to promote the album. During the group's promotions, members Jessica, Tiffany and Seohyun were 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 song performed by the three girls, titled "Oppa Nappa" (오빠 나빠; literally, Bad Brother), was digitally released before the album in April 2008. The song was performed live on SBS Inkigayo, KBS Music Bank, and M! Countdown.[13][14] Later in the year, the three members released "Mabinogi" (It's Fantastic!) together as the theme song for theNexon game Mabinogi, with Tiffany participating in the music video.[15]
Mnet reality show Factory Girl chronicled the members working as interns at fashion magazine Elle Girl.[16] The program began airing in early October.[17] In late 2008, the group also participated in the SM Town Live '08 concert along with other SM Town artists.
2009: Gee, Genie and rising popularity
On December 26, 2008, posters of the Girls' Generation members wearing roller-skates were posted up in various locations around Seoul. SM Entertainment's phone lines were blocked up by callers asking whether the posters were for sale and the company asked fans to stop taking the posters down for personal use.[18] On December 29, the group's management stated that the posters were indeed teaser posters and that the group would soon release their first EP, Gee, in January 2009.[19]
A teaser video was released in January 2009 and the first single "Gee" released soon after. "Gee" topped Cyworld's hourly music chart on the release day.[20] The song also went number one on all major digital music charts within two days.[21] The music video set a record on release, garnering one million views on GomTV in under a day.[22]
The group began its album promotion in January 2009 on MBC Music Core where they sang their new lead single "Gee" and the track "Himnae (Way To Go)", another song from their mini-album.[23] "Gee" went on to become a phenomenal hit, breaking the record for consecutive number one wins on Music Bank with nine 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 Mnet charts for eight consecutive weeks, the Dosirak chart for seven weeks, the Muse chart for six weeks, and the Baksu chart for four weeks.[24][25]
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)", with the full mini-album being released digitally on June 22, 2009.[26][27] The group started their promotional activities on June 26, 2009, appearing on KBS Music Bank.[28] The performance was followed by follow-up comeback performances on MBC Music Core and SBS Inkigayo on June 27 and 28, 2009. The physical release ofGenie was delayed by SM Entertainment in order to redo the album art, and was released four days later on June 29, 2009.[26]
The track proved to be a success as it conquered various music sites, including Melon, Dosirak, Mnet, and Bugs, and it was number one on the weekly charts and the SKT ringtone weekly charts of the first week of July.[29] The mini-album sold an estimated 50,000+ copies in its first week after released (almost double the numbers from the first-week sales of Gee), an unusual feat for any Korean girl group.[30]
2010: Oh!/Run Devil Run, Japanese debut and Hoot
Later in January, SM Entertainment confirmed the release of Oh!, the group's second full-length album, to be on January 28.[31] The lead single "Oh!" was digitally released on January 25 with the music video being released two days later.[32] On January 30, the group started promotions with the recording of MBC Music Core.[33] The broadcast of the performance experienced a blackout near the end, to which MBC made the whole performance available online in response.[34] With "Oh!", the group went on to win five consecutive K-charts on KBS Music Bank, as well as achieving a triple crown on SBS Inkigayo.[35] "Oh!" also went on to win the Music Bank half-year K-chart, coming in at second on Hanteo's first half album sales chart,[36] and also winning the end-of-year K-chart.[citation needed] The music video ranked as the number one most viewed YouTubevideo in Korea by the end of 2010. It was also number one in Hong Kong and made the top ten in both the Taiwan and Japan rankings.[37]
Starting on March 11, 2010, photos of the members were released online showcasing a dark concept, dubbed "Black SoShi".[38] A teaser video was released on March 16, with the new single Run Devil Run being released as a digital single on March 17.
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.[39][40][41] 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.[42] In the first week after release, the DVD sold 23,000 copies, ranking fourth on the weekly DVD Oricon ranking and third on the weekly music DVD ranking,[43] and made Girls' Generation the first female K-pop group to make the Oricon DVD Top-5 ranking.[44]
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.[45] They participated in the subsequent Shanghai, Los Angeles, Paris and Tokyo stops as well.[46]
On August 25, the group held their first showcase in Tokyo Ariake Colliseum.[47] With an initial 10,000 fans invited, it was reported to be the most large-scale plan for a Korean artist debuting in Japan.[42] 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 large amount of fans.[48] The group sang five of their Korean tracks at each of the showcases, and the total number of attendees over all three shows were estimated to be at least 22,000.[49] At this showcase, the "Genie" Japanese music video was also revealed publicly for the first time and the teaser having been released a few days prior on August 20.[50]
Their Japanese debut single "Genie" debuted at the fifth spot on the same day of its release on the Daily Oricon Charts and later rose to the second position on the Daily Charts some time later, earning the group a fourth position on the Oricon weekly ranking.[51][52][53] The group also hit the number one spots on Japan iTunes' music video chart and both the Rekochoku daily video clip chart and incoming movie daily ranking chart a day later.[54] With pre-orders amounting to 80,000, the single sold an estimated 45,000 copies in the first week after release.[55][56] On October 20, 2010, the group released their second Japanese single, "Gee".[57][58]
A week after the release of their Japanese single, the group released their third Korean mini-album, Hoot on October 27, 2010, consisting of five tracks.[59] The video for lead single, "Hoot", a song originally written in English as "Bulletproof", was released on October 28.[60][61] Girls' Generation commenced their promotional activities with a comeback stage on KBS Music Bank on October 29.[62] "Hoot" quickly rose to the top of the charts and received the number one spot numerous times on music shows, proving to be another successful release for the group.[63][64][65][66] The group simultaneously promoted "Hoot" and "Gee" in Korea and Japan respectively, and participated in Japanese music broadcasts such as the FNS Music Festival, where they performed their two Japanese singles, "Gee" and "Genie" on December 4.
On December 22, 2010, "Hoot" was repackaged with additional tracks from previous albums and released in Japan. The release rose to the second position on the Oricon charts and sold 21,000 copies on the first day, faring surprisingly well considering that all the included tracks were entirely in Korean.[67]
On December 9, 2010, the group attended the Golden Disk Awards and was awarded three awards including the Disk Daesang (Album of the Year) for their 2nd album Oh!. The group also became the first girl group to have both a Disk Daesang (2010) and Digital Daesang (2009). On December 15, 2010, the group attended the Melon Music Awards winning the Best Dressed Singeraward and Hot Trend Song award for, "Hoot", as well as the Artist of the Year award. This would be the second consecutive 'Artist of the Year' award for the group. They topped the Hanteo annualSinger Award chart for 2010.[68]
The group was named on Asia Today's list of 50 Korean power leaders for 2011 at the number forty-fourth spot, being the only idol group from the list.[69] Girls' Generation was designated "Artist of the Year" by Dosirak, Soribada, Korea Gallup, Hanteo and Sport Korea and also won Best Song of The Year with "Oh!" at Monkey 3.[70][71]
2011: Girls' Generation and The Boys
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At the start of 2011, the group prepared a new song titled "Visual Dreams" as part of their endorsement efforts for Intel's Core Processors throughout Asia.[72] The music video for "Visual Dreams" was released on January 17, and various promotional campaigns included new music, 2D, and 3D music videos, internet sites, photos, and PC store displays.[73]
In latter half of January, it was announced that the group would be returning to the Japanese market through the release of their Japanese version of "Run Devil Run" as a digital single, released on January 25, 2011.[74]
On January 20, 2011, at the 20th Seoul Music Awards, the group received "Artist of the Year", the "Bonsang" prize", a "Popularity" award, and a "Hallyu award". In doing this, Girls' Generation became one of four artists in Korean music history (the others being Seo Taiji, Jo Sungmo andH.O.T.) to be named 'Artist of the Year' for two consecutive years. The group also became the only girl group in history to receive 'Artist of the Year' awards for the Seoul Music Awards, and Melon Music Awards for two consecutive years. They also received two Daesang Awards at the Golden Disk Ceremony, one Digital Daesang (2009), and one Physical Album Sales Daesang (2010).[75]
On March 8, SM Japan updated their official website with information about the release of Girls' Generation third Japanese single and their first Japanese tour. It was stated that on April 27, Girls' Generation would be releasing their third Japanese single Mr. Taxi / Run Devil Run, which would include their first, original, Japanese song "Mr. Taxi".[76] and the Japanese remake of their song "Run Devil Run". A portion of the revenue from their Japanese single would be donated to Japan's Red Cross in order to provide assistance to the victims of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. On April 9, the music video for the Japanese version of "Run Devil Run" was released.
At the 2011 MTV Video Music Aid Japan (VMAJ), Girls' Generation was nominated for three awards under the "Best Group Video", "Best Video Of The Year", and "Best Karaokee! Song" categories.[77] Originally titled MTV Video Music Awards Japan (VMAJ), the title of the event was changed to change the focus of the show to aid Japan, with donations tied to the amount of votes for artistes.[78] Girls' Generation performed two songs at the event, joining the star-studded line up including Tokio Hotel, Lady Gaga, and AKB48.[79] On July 2, it was announced that they had come out top in two out of the three nominated categories, winning "Best Group Video" and "Best Karaokee! Song" for the Japanese version of "Genie".[80]
On June 1, 2011, they released their first full-length Japanese studio album, Girls' Generation. The album contained twelve songs, including "Genie", "Gee", "Run Devil Run" and "Mr. Taxi", as well as seven new songs.[81] The album was promoted via the groups first Japan tour titled, The 1st Japan Arena Tour, which started in Osaka on May 31, 2011. A total of fourteen concerts in six cities would be held over a period of a month and a half. Girls' Generation was certified Platinum (250,000) by Recording Industry Association of Japan on June 14, 2011, making it the fifth Korean artist's album to do so after S.E.S, BoA, TVXQ and KARA. Girls' Generation then was certified Double Platinum (500,000) on July 8, 2011, a first for any Korean girl group.[82][83] The group also set a record for recording the highest sales of the FIRST album as a foreign artist in Japan. Girls' Generation is the fourth artist to obtained number one spot on weekly album chart after BoA, TVXQ, andBig Bang,"[84] and became the third Korean act to surpass the 500,000 mark after BoA and TVXQ. As a result of their rising popularity, Girls' Generation became the highest earning foreign artist in Japan for the first half of 2011.[85] By the end of 2011, the album had sold over 728,000 copies.[86][87] The album was re-packaged, as "The Boys" on December 28, 2011.
Girls' Generation's most successful album to date, it was certified Million by the RIAJ and made the group the second Korean artist to earn this achievement in Japan since Korean labelmateBoA's "Best of Soul" in 2005. [88] The self-titled album was the fifth best selling album in Japan in 2011 [89] and won Album of the Year at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards Japan. The lead single Mr. Taxi sold over 100,000 copies in its first week, beating out its predecessors, "Gee" and "Genie".[90] The single also managed to clinch the number 1 spot on Billboard Japan Hot 100chart for two consecutive weeks and was nominated for Video of the Year at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards Japan.[8][91]
Girls' Generation was selected by SISA Press as "The Most Influential Entertainers in Korea" for the year 2011, after having placed sixth in 2010.[92]
On September 26, 2011 the first teaser featuring Taeyeon was released for the impending comeback with the group's third Korean album The Boys, followed by Sunny and Hyoyeon on September 27; Jessica, Sooyoung, and Tiffany on September 28 and Yoona, Yuri, and Seohyun on September 29. The first image teaser for "The Boys" was released on the midnight of October 1, 2011 through SM Entertainment's YouTube channel.[93]
Setting their sights on the international market, Girls' Generation signed a contract with Universal Music Group in 2011 to release United Statesmaterial under Interscope Records.[94] The Boys was originally scheduled to be released through iTunes and various music websites in Asia, including its native country, Korea on October 5, 2011. But on September 30, it was revealed that the album's release has been postponed so as to bring about a worldwide album release.[95] On October 10, it was confirmed that the album will be released on October 19, 2011 and comeback on KBS Music Bank on October 21, 2011.
The title track, "The Boys", co-written by member Tiffany and produced by Teddy Riley, famous for his work with Michael Jackson, was released in both Korean and English, and eventually Japanese.[96] Within minutes after the release of "The Boys", Girls' Generation achieved an "all-kill" status on all major on and off-line music charts in Korea. Despite not charting on Hot 100, the song managed to peak inside the Top 30 on the iTunes chart in the US, selling over 21,000 copies and becoming one of the best selling K-Pop songs, at that time, in the United States.[97] The same titled album sold 227,994 albums within twelve days in South Korea, becoming the best selling album in October and third best selling album in 2011. By the end of December, "The Boys" had sold a further 150,000 copies, bring its total to 385,348 copies, becoming the best selling album in South Korea in 2011.[98] The group began promotions on KBS' Music Bank with "The Boys" and "MR. Taxi". On October 23, 2011, it was confirmed by the members at the New York City date of SMTown World Tour II, that "The Boys" maxi-Single would be released internationally on November 19, 2011, although the date was later moved to December 8, 2011. During the week following their comeback performances, Girls' Generation won their first number one awards for "The Boys" on M! Countdown on October 27, their second on KBS' "Music Bank" on October 28, and their third on SBS' Inkigayo" on October 30, making "The Boys" an 'All-Kill' on music program charts. They also went on to receive a "Triple Crown" on SBS' Inkigayo. Overall, the group had won twelve times on various music programs. With only two months of sales, The Boys managed to become the 10th best selling digital track in its native country of 2011, having sold 3,032,658 copies since its October release. As of April, 2012, the album had sold over 410,000 copies in South Korea, setting a Gaon Chart record for the best selling, non-repackaged album in the chart's history.[99]
It was announced on November 11, 2011, that the group would be releasing their first official Japanese photobook titled "Holiday". "The 1st Japan Arena Tour" was also made available on Blu-ray and DVD on December 14, 2011. "Holiday", reached the number one spot on the book sales ranking chart under the photograph collection category. The photos were a collection of the girls enjoying leisurely time off, and sold 17,000 copies the first week after going on sale on November 30. It ranked eighteenth on the overall book sales ranks.
The group also participated on the 2011 Winter SMTown – The Warmest Gift compilation album, along with their label mates, performing the new song, "Diamond", which was released on December 13, 2011.
On December 7, 2011, it was announced that Girls' Generation will be releasing a re-packaged version of their debut Japanese album "Girls' Generation", which included a Japanese version of the "The Boys", and remixed versions of "The Great Escape", "Bad Girl", "Mr.Taxi". It also contained the new song, "Time Machine". The album was released on December 28, 2011, and, collectively with the initial album, "Girls' Generation" passed sales of over 800,000, with shipments of 1 million.[100] The album placed fifth on the Oricon Weekly CD Albums chart for the second week of January, 2012 (Jan 9 - 15)[101] and Oricon announced that it was the first time in history that an album by a Korean artist has placed in the Top 10 for seventeen weeks. The previous record holder was the original soundtrack for the Korean drama “Winter Sonata”, which remained in the Top 10 for sixteen weeks.[102][103] Due to their Japanese releases, the group ranked fifth among Japanese artists in terms of monetary profit, the group had generated over 4.5 billion Yen (US$57 million) for 2011.[104]
2012: International promotions, sub-unit formation, and Japanese return
On January 12, 2012, the group attended the Golden Disk Awards, held in Osaka, bringing home two awards: the "Digital Bonsang" and the highly coveted "Digital Daesang". A week later, on January 19, 2012, they attended the Seoul Music Awards, and brought back two awards, the "Bonsang" and "Popularity" awards. The group also won two awards from the Gaon Chart Awards, winning the Album Of The Year for the fourth Quarter and Oricon "Hallyu Singer" award. On February 24, 2012, the teaser for their Japanese digital single, "Time Machine", was released.[105] The song was originally included in the Japanese repackaged version of their first Japanese album. The full music video was released on March 13, 2012, with the song peaking fourteenth on Billboard Japan's Hot 100.
Their appearances on the Late Show with David Letterman and Live! with Kelly on January 31, 2012, and February 1, 2012, where they performed remixes of the English version of "The Boys", marked the first time that a Korean musical act has performed on each of the shows. They also performed on the French show, Le Grand Journal, on February 9, 2012, after it was announced that they were to release "The Boys" on February 13, 2012, through Universal Music Group’s Polydor Records in France. In the same month, Forbes Korea reported the year's list of the "Top 40 Power Celebrities". Girls' Generation ranked number one on the list, thus making them the most powerful South Korean girl group and female celebrity.[106] A month later, on 23 March 2012, they made their debut performance in Malaysia at the Petronas Towers, as part of Twin Towers @Live 2012.[107] Figures for the groups total earnings for 2011 were released in March, 2012. The group placed first among their label, earning over 100 billion won, or, approximately, $88.56 million USD.[108][109]
April 2012 saw the formation of Girls' Generation-TTS, or simply "TaeTiSeo", a subunit composed of members Taeyeon, Tiffany, and Seohyun. The subgroup released their first mini-album, Twinkle, on May 2.[110] The group continued promotion throughout the month, performing on variety shows and at the Hallyu Dream Wave Concert. "Twinkle" debuted at number 126 on the Billboard 200, selling over 3,000 copies and making it the highest charting K-Pop album on the chart.[111] By July, 2012, the album had sold 140,000 copies in its native country, and a further 24,000 copies abroad.[112]
That same month, the group, with the exception of Yuri and Yoona, attended the showcase for S.M. Entertainment's biographical movie, I AM., which was held at the CJ CGV cinema in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, on April 30.[113] A week prior, "Dear My Family", the theme song for the film, which featured group leader, Taeyeon, and fellow S.M artists, was released, featuring both concert and backstage footage.[114]
On May 20, 2012, the group performed with their label-mates at the Honda Center in Anaheim, on the SMTown Live World Tour III. Members Yoona and Yuri were not present due to their filming commitments with their television dramas Love Rain and Fashion King, respectively. Following the conclusion of their dramas, Yuri and Yoona returned to the group as the tour moved on to Taiwan, where they performed to a crowd of 30,000 people. The tour will then continue into Tokyo, Seoul, Beijing, the U.S. and Europe.[115]
A teaser video for the group's Japanese single, "Paparazzi", was released on May 29, 2012.[116] This teaser was followed by the release of the full music video, in addition to a dance version, on June 14, 2012.[117] The song, released on June 27, 2012, will serve as the lead single from their upcoming second Japanese-language album.[118] Paparazzi proved to be another successful release for the group, debuting atop the Japanese Hot 100, selling over 92,000 copies in its first week, becoming their second best first week opening, following the 102,000 debut of Mr. Taxi, a year prior. "Paparazzi"'s release, boosted the groups total single sales in the country to over 647,000, according to SoundScan Japan.[119][120] That same month, the group won "Best Album of the Year" for their debut Japanese album, at the 2012 VMAJs, beating out the likes of Lady Gaga and fellow K-Pop artist, KARA.[121]
On August 10, 2012, it was revealed that the group was to release the second single from their upcoming second Japanese album. The still untitled single is set for release on September 26, the same day a Blu-Ray/DVD videography of the group is set for release.[122]
Members
| Stage name | Birth name | Date of birth[123] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Romanized | Hangul/Hanja | Romanized | Hangul/Hanja | |
| Taeyeon | 태연/太妍 | Kim Tae-yeon | 김태연/金太妍 | March 9, 1989 |
| Jessica | 제시카/潔西卡 | Jessica Jung, Jung Soo-yeon | 제시카 정, 정수연/鄭秀妍 | April 18, 1989 |
| Sunny | 써니/珊妮 | Lee Soon-kyu | 이순규/李順圭 | May 15, 1989 |
| Tiffany | 티파니/蒂芙尼 | Stephanie Hwang, Hwang Mi-young | 스테파니 황, 황미영/黃美英 | August 1, 1989 |
| Hyoyeon | 효연/孝淵 | Kim Hyo-yeon | 김효연/金孝淵 | September 22, 1989 |
| Yuri | 유리/侑莉 | Kwon Yu-ri | 권유리/權俞利 | December 5, 1989 |
| Sooyoung | 수영/秀英 | Choi Soo-young | 최수영/崔秀英 | February 10, 1990 |
| Yoona | 윤아/潤娥 | Im Yoon-ah | 임윤아/林潤娥 | May 30, 1990 |
| Seohyun | 서현/徐賢 | Seo Joo-hyun | 서주현/徐珠玄 | June 28, 1991 |
Subgroups
Main article: Girls' Generation-TTS
On April 19, SM Entertainment officially announced the creation of the Girls’ Generation subunit, Girls’ Generation–TaeTiSeo, composed of Taeyeon, Tiffany, and Seohyun. The subunit's first mini-album "Twinkle" was released on April 29, 2012. According to a statement made by SM Entertainment, "Girls’ Generation’s subunit will feature the various talents of each Girls’ Generation member by changing the members of the unit according to the music and concept of each new subunit album. This subunit will aim to grab the attention of fans with all aspects of music, performance, and fashion styles."[124]
The subunit's work was noticeably different from previous work done by the group, with the focus shifting towards vocals, rather than the highly synchronized choreography the group is known for, as well as more unique fashion choices.[125]
Endorsements
During their early career, Girls' Generation were endorsers for several brands such as Elite Uniform,[126] Nexon Bubble Fighter,[127] Samsung andLG.[128]
Since 2008 they have been exclusive models for the Goobne Chicken[129] and have filmed several commercials for the brand, recorded jingles for advertising purposes, and modeled for promotional Goobne calendars. Goobne Chicken has since become a strong contender in the chicken industry and attribute their success to the group.[130]
Several members are solo advertising models such as Seohyun, who models for Clean and Clear and The Face Shop,[131] Taeyeon who models for A-Solution, a cosmetics brand,[132] Yuri who models for Mamonde, and Yoona who models for S-Oil,[133] EIDER, FreshLook Illuminate[134] and Innisfree. Alongside Super Junior, they are also exclusive models to the partly SM Entertainment-owned retail brand SPAO.[135] They endorsed clothing brands, online games,[136] food industries,[137] events, electronics, cosmetics, and even products reserved for the top celebrities to endorse such as petroleum and credit cards. Because of this, the group was considered to be one of the most sought-out endorsers in 2009[138] and by mid-2009 the group members were models for over 10 brands and were chosen as one of South Korea's most sought after advertisers in a survey conducted by Brand Consulting Research Institute.[139]
The group continued to be active in advertising in 2010, endorsing brands and products including the Nintendo DSi[140] and Domino's Pizza.[141] In late 2010, a gift certificate company began releasing gift certificates each worth 10,000 won which featured Girls' Generation images on the cards, making them the first celebrities to be featured as such.[142] The Korean web portal Daum also began using the group as models while remodeling certain services and search engines in early October 2010, and released Girls' Generation desktop wallpapers and screensavers for promotion.[143] A survey conducted in December 2010 saw 409 out of 741 marketing employees choosing Girls' Generation as the model with the most influence over consumers, attributing the group's positive attention from the public to their vocals, looks, and fashion sense.[144]
In 2011, Intel Asia announced that the group would become official advertising models for the company.[145]
In March 2011, the group started endorsing the Vita500 brand of energy drinks as part of Vita500's 10th anniversary[146] and exclusive Vita500 posters of Tiffany, Yuri and Yoona were released.[147] Members Yuri, Sunny, Jessica, Tiffany, Sooyoung, and Hyoyeon were models for Christian Dior. Yoona, Seohyun and Taeyeon were not models, due to other cosmetic contracts. Woongjin Coway selected the group as their exclusive models to endorse their water purifiers. Their contract began on March 1, 2011 and lasted throughout the year, with TV advertisements beginning in mid-March.
In Japan, the group endorsed the throat lozenge brand E-ma Nodoame.[148] They endorsed Lipton tea with their songs "Let It Rain" and "Mr. Taxi" used as background music.[149] In July 2011, along with labelmate TVXQ, they started endorsing 7-Eleven Japan products featuring the Japanese version of the song "Hoot" in commercials.[150] The group were appointed models for J.ESTINA in October, 2011. Seohyun was appointed as UNICEF envoy during the same month. This is a notable feat, as only those who have a respectable reputation are appointed as Goodwill representatives. Two months later on December 15, JCE chose Girls’ Generation as the models for their representative bundled game brand, “Freestyle Sports”, for that winter.
The group were selected as honorary ambassadors for Korea's "Visit Korea 2010 - 2012" campaign, headed by South Korea's First Lady, Kim Yoon-ok. The campaign was an effort by the Korean government to attract at least 10 million foreign visitors to the country by the end of 2012, with the group spearheading the initiative due to their emerging worldwide popularity at the time.[151]
LG Electronics Korea announced on January 16, 2012 that Girls' Generation were chosen to be the new models for their Cinema 3D TV brand.
On March 5, representatives of Gangnam-gu in Seoul released a statement stating that the Girls' Generation would be the honorary ambassadors for the city of starting on March 7, 2012. In the same month, Lotte announced that the group was chosen to be the new models for Lotte Department Store. They were also chosen to be models for ACE BED. On April 14, Girls’ Generation were appointed as new ambassadors for the association Korea’s Retinitis Pigmentosa Society, a society dedicated to help find a for cure blindness. They had also been chosen as the newest endorsers for Korea Yakult.
Electronics brand, Casio, appointed the group as the endorsers for the company's watch brand, Baby-G. The contract is scheduled to last over a year, and Casio hopes to have a fifty percent increase in sales for 2013, compared to that of 2011.[152]
Philanthropy
Girls' Generation held a donation campaign on February 4, 2010 with music site Lunchbox for the "Music Dream" campaign. Three percent of the purchase price was donated to the Korean Make-A-Wish Foundation. A portion of the revenue from their Japanese single "Mr. Taxi / Run Devil Run", released April 27, 2011, was donated to Japan's Red Cross in order to provide assistance for the victims of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.[153][154]
On August 9, 2011, they, and their label mates f(x) and SHINee, took part in an effort to help African children. The groups were joined by United Nation's Secretary-General Ban Kimoon in the ‘Help African Children’ project co-organized by the Korean Red Cross Society and the Korean UNICEF committee.
The group, along with Super Junior, appeared on a special episode of KBS's 'Love Request' broadcast on September 17, 2011, where they invited an 11 year old Cambodian girl with an inherent heart condition and a blind boy to fly to Korea to receive treatment, as well as a young girl from Korea who had lived in a hotel with her widowed mother her entire life. The two groups also participated in a blood drive at the KBS Hall. During the 85 minute broadcast, over 32 million won (US$29,000) was raised.[155] In the same month, Woongjin Coway held a “Beautiful Auction” event at Times Square in Yeongdeungpo with Girls' Generation on September 27, 2011 to help women who are neglected.
In April 2012, the Korean Association Against Blindness announced that the group would be the official face of their movement.[156] Furthermore, members Taeyeon, Tiffany, Sooyoung, and Seohyun were appointed ambassadors for the Korea Retinitis Pigmentosa Society (KRPS), a non-profit organization headed by Sooyoung's father, Choi Jungnam, which provides aid and counselling to victims of retinitis pigmentosa, an eye disease causing severe vision impairment and blindness.[157]
Controversies
Diet
In February 2011, Chosun Ilbo reported that group members ate only 1,500 kcal a day.[158] This corresponds to a seasonal vegetable, five pieces of broccoli, 100 grams of grilled chicken breast, and 150 grams of brown rice.[158] Several members of the band denied these claims in a interview televised by SBS that November.[159] "They say we eat eight brocolli pieces and one sweet potato for a meal," Yuri said.[159] "That’s crazy. I thought they meant we ate 1,500 kcal a meal at first.”[159] Tiffany added, "I feel like we eat at least 3,000 kcal a day. Our manager told us, ‘The amount of money SNSD spends on food is much greater than the amount Super Junior spends on their meals.'"[159]
Incidents
Angel Price Music Festival
On April 17, 2011, during a performance on the Angel Price Music Festival, a male audience member trespassed onto stage and tried to pull leader Taeyeon off the stage. Member Sunny reacted the fastest out of all the rest of the members, and attempted to intervene, but failed. The male trespasser was subsequently stopped and apprehended by the host Oh Jung Tae and security staff. Taeyeon was later praised for her calm and professional attitude as she continued the performance until it ended. SM Entertainment later reported that everyone thought the trespasser was a staff member, and that the girls were fine and were resting as of the time of the statement.[160] Social commerce business, Coupang, which handled the ticket sales at Angel Price's request, released an apology to Girls' Generation and fans for the incident, stating that "Coupang was inadequate in the way we sold and distributed the tickets." Coupang took full responsibility for the incident and promised to give a full refund to those who bought tickets for that event. However, some netizens criticized Coupang in that the business expects a mere refund to be an acceptable apology to all, especially towards Taeyeon. Many were bitter in that something worse could've happened to Taeyeon, and that the concert failed to protect the artist that they invited.[161]
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