Legendary Kpop girl group SNSD is among the rare cases to stay strong for 15 years and coming.
15 years has passed since the group’s debut under SM Entertainment, yet SNSD (also known as Girls’ Generation), still remains one of the most influential girl groups and well-recognized to the public. However, their careers can’t be said to be totally smooth-sailing, as they have gone through one member’s departure and others leaving the company.
The birth of a legend
When SNSD debuted on August 5th, 2007, the group quickly gained attention from the public. At the time, they consisted of 9 members, including Jessica, Taeyeon, Yoona, Sunny, Tiffany, Hyoyeon, Sooyoung, Seohyun, and Yuri. However, they weren’t well-received by the Kpop community at the time, and in 2008, even had to face the dreadful “black ocean” at Dream Concert – where not a single audience member cheered for them nor turned on their lightsticks.
It was not until 2009, when SNSD dropped their major hit “Gee”, did things finally turn around for them. With its catchy melody and bright beats and lyrics, the song became a legend, and even broke Music Bank’s records for winning 1st nine times in a row. It was then that SNSD truly shedded their rookie cover to become one of the most legendary Kpop girl groups of all time.
In the same year, SNSD held their first Korean concert called “Into The New World Tour”. Their tickets for 2 nights sold out in less than 3 minutes, surprising both the group members and SONE – the group’s fandom.
Lost a member
In the following years, SNSD continued to drop hits after hits, including “Oh”, “The Boys”, and “I Got A Boy”. In 2014, they once again made waves with their new title “Mr Mr”, but this was also the last comeback where this 9-member group promoted with its full lineup. Everything seemed to break in September 2014, where Jessica officially announced her departure from the group to focus on her business and solo career, thus leaving SNSD with only 8 people.
In 2017, despite having a stable footing in the entertainment industry, SNSD faced a difficult decision as their contract was soon to expire. And what fans dreaded happened, with 3 members Tiffany, Sooyoung, and Seohyun leaving SM Entertainment, while the rest renewed their contracts. Despite working under different agencies however, SNSD is still as thick as thieves, and often gather in birthday parties and anniversaries.
Powerful solo careers
Now that the group is splitted, most of the girls are focusing on their own personal brands. The group leader Taeyeon is now among the most successful Kpop female soloists, and is super respected in the industry.
The main dancer Hyoyeon also makes remarkable marks with her impressive solo releases, and is constantly earning more popularity over the years. Recently, she has dropped her first mini “Deep” with an extremely powerful stage.
Yoona lives up to her title of “the face of the group”, and boasts her visuals that’s among the top of Kpop. She also gains certain successes with her acting projects, and often hosts award shows.
Among the three members that left SM Entertainment, SNSD’s youngest member drew the most attention. For now, Seohyun has mostly been taking on acting projects, and managed to do away with her innocent image to do more bold and complex roles. Her beauty is still a hot topic across all these years.
To the great rejoice of fans, SNSD recently announced an upcoming comeback with the full 8-member lineup. This is extremely meaningful to the group and their fandom alike, seeing that the August promotions also align with their 15th anniversary.
SNSD’s 15 years in the industry is by no means smooth-sailing. They have overcome the public’s hatred with mere talents and determination, and managed to become a legend. While 8 members except Jessica remain close over time, it was still quite regrettable that the 9-member lineup is only something for the memory.
