Girls' Generation



Formed in 2007 by SM Entertainment, Girls' Generation, often abbreviated as SNSD (short for the romanization of their Korean name, So Nyuh Shi Dae) is a popular Korean Girl Group with nine members. The group was initially seen, and to some extent still is seen up to today as something of a female answer to label-mates Super Junior, but has since gone on to become a unique and equally respected group in their own right.

The group is composed of: leader Taeyeon, vocalists Jessica, Sunny, Tiffany and youngest Seohyun; dancers Yuri, Hyoyeon, Sooyoung and Yoona.

SNSD began to achieve widespread fame and appeal in 2009 after the release of their first mini-album and its leading single, "Gee". "Gee" has since gone on to become the group's most memorable and most lauded song, holding the distinction of being the longest-running #1 ranked song on Music Bank, one of Korea's most popular music chart shows. It has also been hailed as the "K-Pop Song of The Decade" by Melon (a Korean music website and award-giving body).

The girls are especially beloved among their fans due to their adorkable natures when not performing and the copious amounts of Fan Service that they dish out. They are also well known for the Les Yay that the members often seem to be indulging in; the fans of course, enjoy all this and do a little indulging of their own in the form of the sheer amount of Slash Fic they churn out featuring the girls.

Discography:
 * Into the New World EP 2007
 * Girls' Generation 2007
 * Baby Baby 2008
 * Gee EP 2009
 * Genie (Tell Me Your Wish) EP 2009
 * Oh! 2010
 * Run Devil Run 2010
 * Mr. Taxi/Run Devil Run 2011 - *recorded in Japanese
 * Hoot! (009) 2010
 * Girls' Generation 2011 - *recorded in Japanese
 * The Boys 2011 - *featuring their first English language single
 * Twinkle 2012

Not to be confused with the ruling party of the Republika Srpska!

Tropes in their work:
"Sooyoung: Sunny! Sunny! Sunny: *Mumbling* Why me?
 * Accidental Pervert - Yuri in Hello Baby when she is taking pictures of Kyungsan while the other members are giving him a bath.
 * Yoona lifting Tiffany's skirt onstage.
 * Adorkable - All the girls have their little quirks, but Taeyeon is the most notable. She's not called the "Dorky Kid Leader" for nothing, after all.
 * Aerith and Bob - Taeyeon, Jessica, Sunny, Tiffany, Hyoyeon, Yuri, Sooyoung, Yoona & Seohyun.
 * Subverted with Sunny whose real name is Lee Soon-Kyu.
 * Double-subverted with Jessica, as she has a Korean name, and subverted and played straight with Tiffany. Her actual given name is Stephanie (she reportedly picked "Tiffany" as her stage name in honor of her mother) and, like Jessica, she has a Korean name as well. Neither really like their Korean names, however, and don't use them often.
 * Alliterative Name - Jessica Jung
 * American Accents - Jessica and Tiffany were both born and raised in California and both have very clear Californian accents when speaking in English. Observe!
 * Animate Inanimate Object - The video for Gee! has them portray a display of clothing store mannequins that come to life after closing time to adore the store clerk from afar.
 * Ascended Extra - Hyoyeon started out as a silhouette dancer for Boa.
 * Asexuality - Seohyun prefers sweet potatoes and Keroro to male company.
 * Except for those times she's shipped with Kyuhyun.
 * Or that time when she was in a virtual marriage with Yonghwa - for real.
 * Bad Girl Song - Well duh, Bad Girl.
 * Badass Adorable - Despite being regarded as the member with the most aegyo (cuteness), Sunny has caught chickens and snakes with her bare hands.
 * She also moved to Kuwait a year before the Gulf War began, and as such is afraid of fireworks and other such noises because they remind her of gunshots. Not that you'd notice, what with her fearlessly bungee jumping and all.
 * During a show in which Taeyeon was forcibly dragged to the backstage area by an obsessive fan who had somehow gotten onstage, Sunny was the first member to react and try to free Taeyeon from the fan's grasp. See her in action here.
 * Bare Your Midriff - They're an Asian Girl Group, so this is to be expected. Interestingly, their midriff-baring costumes are mostly associated with their more cutesy acts like Gee and Oh! rather than their Hotter and Sexier performances like in Run Devil Run.
 * Benevolent Genie - Why, the music video for the Japanese version of Genie, of course; with a touch of Magical Girlfriend going on as well.
 * Big Eater - Sooyoung. The skinniest member of the group is also nicknamed Shikshin (food goddess).
 * Although the members claim that Yoona's now the biggest eater.
 * The whole of the group could be said about them, since the first thing they thought when chastised for eating 1500 calories a day is best summed up as "Only 1500 a meal?"
 * Bifauxnen - This photoshoot had some of them posing as men. Cue fangirl swooning.
 * After her new haircut, Sunny looks a bit too boyish sometimes.
 * Some fans have taken to calling her and Sooyoung "the Korean versions of Justin (Bieber) and Selena (Gomez)".
 * Biker Babe - Their costume concept in the Bad Girl MV.
 * Blonde, Brunette, Redhead - With a few exceptions, whether through Dye Hard or wigs, all their looks for their performances have featured exactly one blonde girl with the remaining eight in varying shades of brunette or redhead. Became Jessica's trademark for a while.
 * Dark-Skinned Blond - One of the latest to take on the role of blonde girl is Yuri, as of Mr.Taxi's release, though it's more of a dirty blonde for her. Compare pictures of her from a premiere performance of Hoot! last year (left) and those from the latest Hoot! performance (right).
 * And now it's back to being Hyoyeon, who was blonde for Into The New World.
 * Their new sub-unit group. Taeyeon = Blonde. Tiffany = Redhead. Seohyun = Brunette/Black. Here.
 * Breakout Star - Yoona. She appeared in four dramas, and has won six awards (five from the same drama).
 * Bunny Ears Leader - Taeyeon. See the short girl acting like a total dork and perving out over her fellow members' butts? She's the leader of the group and is regarded as not only the voice of SNSD, but having one of the best voices in their entire record label, if not K Pop in general.
 * But Not Too Foreign - Jessica and Tiffany were born and raised in California.
 * Cat Smile - Sunny.
 * Combat Stilettos - Almost all of their choreography is done in high heels. Oh! is the only notable exception.
 * Confession Cam - Implemented in Girls Go To School and Hello Baby, where it was frequented by Yoona and Yuri in the latter.
 * Cool and Unusual Punishment - When Yuri first gets the "Worst Mom" title in Hello Baby, her punishment? A water-rafting ride.
 * Costume Porn: Their wear some incredible themed outfits in many of their videos. Mod/60's style in the video for Hoot, or the Yellow and Black Taxi short skirts and vests in Mr Taxi, the bad girl outfits in Run Devil Run, the intro for The Boys, motorcycle gang clothing in Bad Girl, the Naval and Army style uniforms, they have a lot and they are very detailed, distinctive but still manage to tie into the overall theme.
 * The Cutie - As stated earlier, Sunny. Notable in that she's one of the elder members, and frequently gets called out on her overly cutesy behavior by the younger members.
 * Design Student's Orgasm - The video for Visual Dreams.
 * Distaff Counterpart - Originally Girl's Generation was going to called "Super Girls", based on the name of their label mates Super Junior.
 * Dress Rehearsal Video - Practically all of the videos to their album-leading singles feature cuts of the girls in full costume, performing the steps to their given song on a soundstage. On some singles, they digitally release videos composed solely of them performing the dance without any interruptions.
 * Eerie Pale-Skinned Brunette - Seohyun. Although not creepy per se, she's known for being very quiet and asocial.
 * Epic Fail: Or, why Jessica Jung should stay away from baseball.
 * Even The Girls Want Them - They have a sizable female fanbase, most of whom enjoy them for the same reasons the male fanbase does.
 * Everyone Is Gay - Frequently seen in fanfiction, exacerbated by instances of Skinship Grope that the girls practice.
 * Evil Counterpart - The Black SoShi, their dark-clad selves in the "Oh!" and "Run Devil Run" videos, are meant to be this.
 * Evil Is Hotter and Sexier
 * What Do You Mean It's Not Heinous? - For all the attention they drummed up, they do little more than trash the apartment belonging to the girls' cheerleader personas in Oh!, and whatever damage they do is fixed in a Fast-Forward Gag. See here.
 * Family Business - Jessica's younger sister Krystal is a part of the group f(x) with is also under SM Entertainment. In addition, Sunny's uncle is the founder of SM Entertainment.
 * Giant Poofy Sleeves - The video for "Kissing You" include a few relatively minor examples.
 * Girl Group - One of the most popular Korean examples.
 * Possibly the best example recently, considering their explosion in popularity all over the world.
 * Good Looking Privates - Their costume concept for the original Korean Version of Genie.
 * Gratuitous English - Most of their album-leading singles have at least a couple of English words peppered here and there; sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. Perhaps the worst offender would have to be Genie, with the line "I'm Genie for your wish/dream/world" being repeated in the chorus. This was unfortunately still not corrected in the Japanese Translated Cover Version.
 * Mostly averted with their newest single, The Boys. The Korean version has the typical English sprinkled in with the girls rapping. Then there's an English version. The English itself is quite impressive.
 * Hood Ornament Hottie - There's a little of this going on in their album covers for Mr. Taxi/Run Devil Run.
 * Hotter and Sexier - Run Devil Run kicked off a change in style that saw the girls gradually become more and more like this in most of their succeeding releases, until it came to a head during...
 * Their 1st Japan Arena Tour. Honorable mentions go to Yoona's "pole dancing" and Sooyoung's "lap dance" intro for her performance of "Sway" (and the performance itself), but the cake has to go to Taeyeon and Tiffany's absolutely Stripperiffic outfits in their performance of Lady Marmalade.
 * And now, the release of their concept photos for the Mr. Taxi repackage album. Me-YOW.
 * I Can Still Fight - Tiffany fell and injured her leg during a concert, but instead of immediately seeking medical help, she went on to perform. During Gee promotions, she injured her ankle but still performed on music shows with a cast on.
 * Sunny was also seen with a knee brace while performing.
 * I Know Your True Name - The girls are shown to refer to each other by their real names on occasion.

Sooyoung: ...Lee Soon-Kyu!

MCs: Ah! Her real name is Soon-Kyu!

Hyoyeon: Sooyoung, Soon-Kyu's right here - stop staring at the sky!


 * Later*

Yuri: *Pointing accusatory finger* Lee Soon-Kyu! The rotting chocolate milk you left in the fridge exploded!"


 * Irony - Their self-titled song is actually a cover of another artist's song by the same name.
 * Covered Up - In the case of their self-titled song, if not for the popularity of the song itself, then for its association with the group.
 * It's a Small World After All - Jessica and Tiffany were born in the same hospital in San Francisco in 1989.
 * Japanese Pop Music - The group broke into the J-Pop market sometime in 2010, starting with the Japanese covers of Genie and Gee. This was followed by double A-Side Mr. Taxi/Run Devil Run and their 2011 Self-Titled Album.
 * Legally Blonde the Musical - Jessica starred in the first Korean version in 2009 as Elle Woods.
 * Merchandise-Driven - Their single, Chocolate Love, as seen being performed in the above photo, is a promotion for the LG Cyon Chocolate Phone. There's also their other CFs for water coolers, the LG Cookie and various other items.
 * The single Visual Dreams was made in promotion of Intel.
 * Midnight Sun - Taeyeon starred as Kaoru in a 2010 musical adaptation.
 * Most Common Superpower - Sunny. Jessica isn't too shabby, either.
 * It should be noted, though, that she was wearing a push-up bra. This is a more realistic look.
 * Nepotism - Sunny is the niece of Lee Sooman (founder of SM Entertainment).
 * What makes her fit into this trope perfectly is that she trained for only a few months before the formation of the group, compared to the other 8 members who trained for years.
 * Sunny has actually been in the entertainment industry LONGER than the other members. She was a trainee with two other agencies prior to joining SM Entertainment and Girls Generation.
 * New Sound Album - Their 2011 Self-Titled Album (not to be confused with the 2007 release of the same name) turned out to be this. Aside from the songs being recorded in Japanese, the album strays from the bubblegum dance-pop style common in previous releases and instead, has a generally more pronounced electronic and Synth Pop sound.
 * Not So Stoic - Ice Princess Jessica
 * Piss-Take Rap: Opinions on Tiffany's rapping have varied since they started pushing her as a rapper after their Japan Tour (here's a sample from her and Taeyeon's performance of Lady Marmalade), and the effect sometimes ends up being pretty fly for a Korean-American girl. Strangely enough, among the girls, she may be the most suitable for a rapper role, considering she grew up in California.
 * Sooyoung's not too shabby either.
 * Pistol Pose / SNSD Is About To Shoot You - There's a lot of these in the promotional material for Hoot!
 * Running Gag - Sooyoung and Yoona's Ahn Youngmi impression. Taeyeon's attempt at a Maria Sharapova impression.
 * Scully Box - The girls range in height from 155 cm (Sunny) to 170 cm (Sooyoung). While there's not much they can do about the massive differences whilst performing, photoshoots are another matter, and often result in the employment of these. See here.
 * She Is All Grown Up: As seen here and here.
 * She's Got Legs - All of them, especially the taller girls (Yuri, Sooyoung, Yoona and Seohyun). Taeyeon and Sooyoung recently poked fun at this, posting pictures of the two of them posing in the same chair. It's also Sooyoung's trademark.
 * Shy Finger-Twiddling - Yoona in the "Gee" music video.
 * Signature Song - Gee. The song has even managed to become something of a Memetic Mutation within the Starcraft community due to the line "Gee gee gee gee, baby baby baby" resembling "GG"; short for good game, typed near or at the end of a match.
 * Not to mention G-Dragon of Big Bang mentioned it in his song "Leaders": "My name is G-G-G-G baby baby baby GD GD GD baby baby baby."
 * Spoiled Sweet - According to accounts from various people they've worked with, despite their immense popularity, all of the girls tend to be very humble and polite to anyone they meet, up to and including getting coffee for staff during their variety shows. Tiffany and Sooyoung are especially famous for going out of their way to be kind to others despite their immense fame. Several of their Spoiled Sweet moments double as Crowning Moments of Heartwarming and are listed in the YMMV tab.
 * Spy Catsuit - Their costumes for Hoot! are themed after these.
 * Stage Names - Tiffany for Stephanie Hwang (or Hwang Miyoung), Sunny for Lee Soonkyu and Seohyun for Seo Juhyun.
 * Technically, Jessica for Jung Sooyeon could count as well.
 * Statuesque Stunner - Much is made of Sooyoung being the tallest member of the group.
 * Super OCD - Seohyun has exhibited this at times.
 * Surprisingly Good English - Jessica and Tiffany. Justified, as both of them were born and raised in California.
 * Somewhat averted by Sooyoung.
 * Now played straight.
 * Sweater Girl - As seen in the original Korean version of Gee.
 * The Cheerleader - Their costume concept in Oh!
 * Tall Dark And Misonyeo - Yuri and Sooyoung.
 * Teen Idols
 * Translated Cover Version - Their forays into the J-Pop market were initially composed of these, with their first two singles being covers of Genie and Gee. Partially averted in their recent release Mr. Taxi/Run Devil Run, with Mr. Taxi being an original song. Further averted in their 2011 Self-Titled Album; of the 8 tracks on the album which weren't released as singles, only the Japanese version of Hoot! is a cover.
 * Adaptation Expansion - The video for the Genie Japanese cover changes the girls from featuring in Fetish Fuel-inducing scenes whilst interacting with the camera to actual genies who, after some healthy Fan Service grant wishes to the lucky guy who finds them.
 * Adaptation Distillation - The video for Gee Japanese cover has the girls simply portray clothing store attendants and Minho from SHINee (who plays the clerk in the original) as a customer instead of the Animate Inanimate Object example above.
 * The recent Japanese cover for Run Devil Run completely ignores the creation and actions of the Black SoShi as seen in videos for Oh! and the original Korean version of Run Devil Run, particularly because they hadn't released a Japanese cover to Oh! at that time.
 * Run Devil Run, in turn, was taken from a Kesha demo that didn't make the cut, leading to the tune and the rights to it being sold to SM Entertainment.
 * Dutch singer Nathalie Makoma's I Just Wanna Dance is an English cover of Genie.
 * Demi Lovato's record company also happened to buy the rights of the tune that became Born To Be a Lady. Demi's version is called Mistake (which coincidentally is the same title of another SNSD song, written by Yuri).
 * Tuxedo and Martini - The look and feel they were going for in the music video for Hoot! though it was Siwon from Super Junior in the tux.
 * Up To Nine - What label-mates Super Junior are doing for the Asian Boy Band, they're doing for the Asian Girl Group.
 * Updated Rerelease - They are the masters at this.
 * Valley Girl - Jessica sounds like this when speaking english. Her personality however...
 * So does Tiffany.
 * Van in Black - About 90% of the vans that the girls or any other celebrity that appears ride in is a black van.
 * What Could Have Been - Prior to their debut, SNSD went through several line-up changes. SM planned to have 11 girls in the group, one of which was Soyeon of T-ARA. The group would be A LOT different today had they gone through with this. Read more on the roster history here
 * What Do You Mean It Wasn't Made on Drugs? - The trailer of their 1st Japanese album. The songs are fine, the visuals are...odd.
 * Who Wears Short Shorts? - SNSD wears short shorts. At least, since Gee came out, short shorts have been common in their costumes; of course, this is to show off their awesome legs.
 * Tiffany caught some flack for having her shorts be too short, although some considered it Fetish Fuel.
 * Zettai Ryouiki - As seen in their outfits for debut single Into The New World. They range from Grade C to B.