Warning, TEXT HEAVY….no seriously….text HEEEEAAAVYYY…make some tea, clear your schedule, this is gonna be a loooong ride….also one vid dedicated to each girl, so enjoy if you can’t be bothered reading text

2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, [2011], [2012]….

2007. Girls venturing into a new world of uncertainties. It felt like only last week that Taeyeon, Hyoyeon, Seohyun, Yoona, Jessica, Sunny, Sooyoung, Yuri, and Tiffany performed on their debut stage. Back when girl groups always consisted of 5 members at the most, Girls’ Generation did the unthinkable; debuted as a nine-member group. Girls’ Generation has since become the most lovable yet the most controversial girl group in South Korea. Nevertheless, they gained lots of attention, be it good or bad.

Music wise, it’s really easy to distinguish their evolving musical style. It started off with Into The New World: a pop song mixing strong beats with fresh voices. Then came Perfect For You and Beginning, the former a ballad with an innocent undertone, and the latter a sexy euro pop song. Then came what would be the trademark song for the group; a remake of Lee Seungchul’s hit song, “Girls’ Generation”.

In 2008, they promoted a cutesy song and danced with a lollipop, clearly showing a childlike side to them. Alongside this number is Baby Baby, another song with an innocent vibe. Other songs from the first studio album, Girls’ Generation, had tracks with similar concepts, such as Tinkerbell, Ooh La-La!, Merry-Go-Round, and also three ballads titled Complete, 7989, and Tears respectively. It was clear that this pink album provided a blueprint for the later works that follow. Though the group took a nine-month hiatus, individual members came up with songs of their own. Yuri and Sooyoung sang “Kkok”, a trot song, for the drama “Working Mom”. Tiffany, Seohyun, and Jessica, on the other hand, released two songs: “Oppa Nappa” and “It’s Fantastic!” for the online game Mabinogi. Sunny sang “Finally Now” for the drama Story Of Wine, while leader Taeyeon sang “If” and “Can You Hear Me?” for “Beethoven Virus”, in which the latter snapped up an award for the 2008 Golden Disk Awards. Both Sunny and Taeyeon proved their prowess in ballads, but little did they know that they will sing once again in 2009; this time together.

2009 was very much painted with 소녀시대 everywhere. Music shows, public concerts, on the streets, in restaurants, music stores, and even during award ceremonies. 2009 was the year the girls enjoyed almost unparalleled success in the music industry with Gee. While other songs such as Let’s Talk About Love, Destiny, Himnae, and Dear. Mom were performed in conjunction, it was Gee which took the Repulic of Korea by storm and consequently creating the Gee Fever phenomenon. The controversial song Tell Me Your Wish (Genie) followed up, with mediocre reception. Other songs in the mini-album include songs reminiscent of their younger selves, such as Etude, Girlfriend, and My Child. Boyfriend, on the other hand, reflected more vigour and exudes confidence and sexiness. A ballad, One Year Later, ensured that the 소녀시대 flavour stuck. Individually, Seohyun sang a trot song with Joo Hyunmi entitled “JjaRaJaJja”. Jessica went gung-ho with her hit song “Naengmyeon”, a duet with comedian Park Myungsoo. Tiffany had a chance to shine with her songs “By Myself”, a ballad for the drama Ja Myung Go, and “A Girl, Meets Love”, another ballad with K. Will. Taeyeon and Sunny came together to sing “SarangInGulYo”, the OST for Heading To The Ground. The two joined Seohyun, Sooyoung, and Jessica in the song “S.E.O.U.L.” with some Super Junior members. It was this year that it was clear what the girls are good at singing: ballads and trot.

Midway through 2010, and the girls had worked to release an album that sold over 200, 000 copies (and still counting). The two singles in this album, Oh! and Run Devil Run experienced varying success. The hype that was Gee followed up for Oh! with multiple wins for weekly music shows, as well as Run Devil Run. Though it was evident that their musical style evolved with time, ballads will always have a special place in the albums; Forever, Day By Day and ☆★☆ being the only three of them. Echo and 뻔 & Fun are songs that still retain their image in 2007 and 2008. On the other hand, Be Happy, Show! Show! Show!, Boys & Girls, and Stick Wit U showed slight changes with heavier beats and, for some, even rap incorporation. Even better is the bossa-nova duet between Tiffany and Jessica, with the song Coffee Caramel (Talk To Me). Sunny sang “My Doll” for the drama Oh! My Lady, while high-school graduate Seohyun sang “It’s Okay Even If It Hurts” for the drama Kim Soo Ro.

With fame comes love calls from small and large companies alike. That’s what Elite, Goobne, Clean & Clear, Shinhan credit cards, Domino’s, Ellesse, SPAO clothings, Miero, LG, Samsung, Nintendo, Sam Yang, Yejimiin, A-solution, Biotherm and other companies have done. There were even songs produced for the girls in conjunction with the products in big projects such as the LG Chocolate (Chocolate Love), Sam Yang Ramyun (부글부글), Everland Carribean Bay (Cabi Song), and recently, LG Cooky (Cooky).

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And now for individual members!

Taeyeon

The adorkable leader has grown from a leader who wasn’t sure of her position to a person who realizes her own worth as a leader. From her lessons learnt about “not feeling like a leader” to improving her own agenda, Taeyeon’s growth can be traced from her solo song “If” all the way to her musical debut in “midnight song” and also voice over work in the new Despicable Me movie (Superbad in Korea). She stepped up as a long time DJ for Chin Chin Radio who’s skills as a DJ are cherished by many and though she currently does not DJ anymore, many await the day where she picks up her talents again.

Jessica

The Ice Queen who used to employ the “Sica Effect” is long gone. Watching her on newer variety shows has given proof of her finally understanding her own brand of comedic timing. The first out of her entire group to debut in a musical, she did a tremendous job in “Legally Blonde”. Being a guest star on the new show “Happy Birthday” put her in unknown waters but she rose to the occasion admirably. Known to have the ear piercing “Dolphin Scream” and a habit to kick things that she doesn’t like her hatred of cucumbers are known to the world.

Sunny

The animated energy pill has been the forefront of aegyo and has her own nickname of “aegyo queen”. She has created her own brand of aegyo titled “aegyo that makes you want to punch her” which is a three staged attack that takes her aegyo to extreme heights. Not a slouch in variety shows, her biggest breakthrough has been part of Invincible Youth as the Original G7 group, she quickly showed her own worth when catching chickens, doing chores and even participating in competitions. She has her own solo song for “Oh my Lady” and continues to work her aegyo to captivate the masses.

Tiffany

The ever bright personality has gone through many tough times. From being the butt of many jokes with her unnies to being poked fun at by netizens this girl has gone through so many situations. Things like dancing incorrectly and getting vocabulary wrong are pretty much long gone as this jewel steps up as MC for Sonyeo Sonyeo Gayo Baekso and then later in Mucore. Tiffany also has her own solo song “By Myself” and continues to practice her talented singing voice to this day, practicing her own repertoire of songs to improve her own skills. Having her very own brand of aegyo, her eye-smile can conquer any man and she receives lots of love for her adorable smile.

Hyoyeon

The girl that has been the undisputed “Dancing Queen” has reigned with this dancing title from the start. Already having a shining record of being a dancer in Boa’s performances she has stuck to her own style of popping and locking whilst sticking with the choreography of Soshi. Always taking charge in dancing performances, Hyoyeon has had many opportunities to showcase her own dancing capabilities. Anything that has anything to do with dancing, you can expect to see Hyoyeon at the front lines when Soshi is involved. Not one to shy away from entertainment, this girl has a lot of comedic value in entertainment shows. From taking jabs at her fellow members to cheating at games to entertain viewers and irritating her own sisters, this girl is a carefree spirit that plays by her own rules.

Yuri

The dancer who never gives up, the “Black Pearl” has a perfect arsenal of body, mind and talent. Versatile with so many dancing styles, her repertoire is supported by her slender looks and crazy flexibility, flexibility that can be seen when doing yoga on Invincible Youth. Being a part of the original G7, this girl does not shy away from being as entertaining as she can be, showing the world her “lion pose” and also screaming at the top of her lungs when the other G7 members poke fun at her for things she didn’t plan for. Having funny adorable quirks such as sleeping with her tongue open and falling asleep while working, she is the “daughter-in-law” for the village of Yoochiri and is adored by everyone young and old.

Sooyoung

The self proclaimed “original queen of aegyo” her trademark “OPPA OPPA OPPA!” has brought many men to their knees. Known as the “shikshin” of the group, many members poke fun at her eating habits. Being the object of envy of her sisters beacuse of her height, Sooyoung sometimes yearns to be a small girl who can be embraced by her boyfriend. The girl who wants to be married by 24, she constantly dabbles in anything and everything including guest appearances for variety shows, CF’s, singing and dancing. The queen of pranks, all girls suffer from her pranks form one point to another and she constantly speaks out and shows different talents when she can.

Yoona

The trademark “Actress” of the group, Yoona debuted as an actress at the same time as debuting as a member of Soshi. She has filmed over 20 CF’s and has been an actress for many dramas. She has a line of men who yearn for her affections and seems to be the trademark face of Soshi. A girl who holds the hilarious alligator laugh and even admits to “being in so many scandals with men” this charismatic choding is always a treat when she is a guest in variety shows. She has achieved awards for Best new Actress twice, Netizen Award once, and Netizen Popularity Award 3 times and continues to push her talents outside of Soshi as a member of Soshi.

terribly hard to find yoona vids, so I found 3 shorter ones

Seohyun

The always upright maknae has changed dramatically and has opened up her own world. The biggest breakthrough by far has been the marriage between  her and CNBLUE’s Yonghwa. The studious girl who is “not interested in boys” finds herself learning about relationships before all of her unnies (aside from Taeyeon who preceded her in WGM). Using her talents, she has also debuted with a solo song “It’s ok if it hurts” The maknae of the group is learning more and more about new things including driving, guitar, and also studying in college. She also joins Taeyeon in doing voice over’s in Despicable Me (Superbad in Korea)

sorry I can’t resist the awesomeness that is the sweet potato couple, if you don’t enjoy seohwa, here’s a seohyun exclusive!

Sources: a huge combination of soompi, soshified, and wikipedia

Credits: genxv, SoKaMin09, galio5th. hlim901, Taeyonism, DjBlUeBeRrY1990, lovexpunch, oonaee, ohmysica1, Taeng019