Girls Generation; Member Lineup

Girls Generation was famous for being the first to debut with such a large-member lineup. However, they weren't always the same nine girls we know and love today. In fact, they had a very different member idea back in 2007. So, let's talk about what they, as members, used to be like.

#1: Showcase 1:
 

From left to right, top to bottom, we have Lee Younghee, Hwang Bora, Bae Seokbin, Zhang Liyin, Jessica Jung, Hyoyeon Kim, Kwon Yuri, Choi Sooyoung, Im Yoona, Seo Joohyun, Kim Yejin. The leader would have been Lee Yeonghee, and the maknae would have been Kim Yejin.



From left to right, the members are Seohyun, Yuri, Bora, Seokbin (?), Yejin (?), Sooyoung, Liyin, Hyoyeon, Jessica

After this, SNSD made it's first member revision; Only the six highlighted names above made it on to be the Girls Generation that we know and love today.

This doesn't mean that the other five members dropped off the grid - Lee Yeonhee acted in the movie 'Millionaire First love', drama 'East of Eden', and starred with current member Sooyoung in 'Hello! Schoolgirl'. Hwang Bora starred in the movie 'Jumunjin' alongside Super Junior's Kim Kibum. The other members stayed in the music biz, Zhang Liyin debutted as a solo singer in 2006. Kim Yejin starred in SHINee's "Amigo" MV. All of the members, except Hwang Bora, are still under SM Ent.

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#2: Showcase 2:
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First Row: Seo Hyunjin, Park Soyeon, Jessica Jung, Kim Hyoyeon, Kwon Yuri
Second Row: Choi Sooyoung, Stella Kim, Im Yoona, Jang Hajin, Seo Joohyun, Lee Hwanghee.

These new members had big plans for SNSD - Park Soyeon was supposed to be the main singer, while Stella Kim was supposed to be the "face" of the group, alongside Yoona. However, the oldest Seo Hyunjin and Lee Hwanghee were replaced with the "new" trainees, our beloved Taeyeon and Tiffany!

Surprising Fact; Any Queen out there will recognize "Park Soyeon", with good reason - that is indeed our Soyeon! More on this later...

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#3: Showcase 3:

First Row: Park Soyeon, Kim Taeyeon, Jessica Jung, Tiffany Hwang, Kim Hyoyeon, Kwon Yuri
Second Row: Choi Sooyoung, Stella Kim, Im Yoona, Jang Hajin, Seo Joohyun.

This was the most famous lineup of the girls so far. They took an official picture that was made by SM and released. At first, they were known as Super Junior's female counterpart, dubbed as 'Super Girls'.


First Row; L-R: Tiffany, Soyeon, Hajin, Taeyeon, Hyoyeon, Sooyoung.
Second Row; L-R: Yuri, Yoona, Stella, Jessica, Juhyun

Obviously, SM was making things official. The original plan went along the lines of:

Leader: Soyeon.
Vocalists: Soyeon, Taeyeon, Jessica, Stephanie, Stella, and Juhyun.
Dancers: Hyoyeon, Yuri, Sooyoung, and Yoona.
Visual: Jessica, Stella, Yoona, and Hajin
Makenae: Seo Joohyun

Despite the fact that this was the original group that was set to be debutted, SM decided to add and cut more members. Because of their attention, lots of rumours went flying as to why Stella and Hajin were cut. There were rumours that they were cut for lack of dancing skills. For Stella specifically, it was said her parents refused to let her debut before she obtained a college degree. But both Stella and Hajin stated that they quit the group to focus on education. Stella now goes to NYU, and Hajin goes to the prestigeous KAIST.

Note: In 2011, Jang Hajin released a book labeled “소원을 말해 봐 (Tell Me Your Wish)”. The book was about her first impressions and relationships with the SNSD members. It also included information about trainee life. While Hajin said good things about all the members, she says that she doesn't stay in touch with them.

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#4: Showcase 4:

First Row; Park Soyeon, Kim Taeyeon, Jessica Jung, Sunny Lee, Tiffany Hwang, Kim Hyoyeon
Second Row: Kwon Yuri, Choi Sooyoung, Im Yoona, Seo Joohyun, Lee Hwanhee, Ha Chanmi

This new member lineup added Sunny, Lee Hwanhee, and Heo Chanmi. Sunny, despite her uncle being a high-up in SM, was recruited after a few word from Ahyoomi/Iconiq. Sunny trained in Wheesung's company, set to debut in a smaller group. But under difficult circumstances, the company went bankrupt. Sunny only trained for 2 months under SM.

Shortly before SNSD's official debut, Soyeon, Lee Hwanhee, and Heo Chanmi left the group. Little is known about Lee Hwanhee's reasoning, but Soyeon and Chanmi's explanations are well-known.

Soyeon told the media "Back then, it was tiring. And I went through much hardship. Even now, I'm still in contact with the SNSD members. I'm really happy that SNSD is doing well. Going forward I will try my best as a member of T-Ara. Although we'll be in competition with SNSD, I would like it to be a friendly competition between us."

Chanmi, on the other hand, gave a different opinon. "I was a trainee for a long time. I had participated in the recording for SNSD’s title track, and even completed the photoshoot. Since I was young, I was upset at not being able to debut with them. However, I was understanding because I knew that it hadn’t been that long since I started training. I supported the SNSD unnis and hoped for the best.”

Soyeon debutted in 2009 into CCM's girl-group T-Ara, who is similarily soon to become a nine-member group as well. Chanmi debutted into CCM's co-ed group, "Co-ed School". She also debutted into the sub-group '5dolls' in 2011.

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#5: Final Showcase 5:

L-R: Taeyeon, Jessica, Sunny, Tiffany, Hyoyeon, Yuri, Sooyoung, Yuri, Seohyun.

It's very clear who made it into the final cut. However, the nine girls debuttted into "소녀시대 ', literally translated into "The Era of Maidens". The members themselves were also bewildered by the old-fashioned name as well. They have the english "Girls Generation" name instead. And only two years after their debut, they would become the leading girl group in K-pop.

T-Ara; Are They Forgiven?

If a k-pop fan was to list the most surprising events of K-pop that happend in 2012, then T-Ara's scandal would be at the top of the list. It shocked fans in Korea, internationally, and other fellow idols as well. While the truth still is unknown, most fans have calmed down from it. At least, the international ones.

Most of the accusations made were hard to understand from an American standpoint - Korean is such a rich language, so it's hard to find fault in their words. But for Koreans, some of the words spoken were highlight offensive. This happend in their own country, using their own language, on their TV shows, while they watched. If these events happend in America, it would be a completley different story.

Korea cancelled T-Ara's advertisments, pulled T-Ara out of endorsement groups, prevented them from promoting, etc. This was mainly because they didn't want the image of T-Ara to stay with them; all this was going on during the Gangnam Style craze; they didn't want such negative publicity to go on and reflect badly on the country.

Now, Korea is no stranger to rumours/bad publicity - it's the way the T-Ara situation was handled that made a difference. CCM's handling of the situation was face-palm worthy, and considering it's a Korean company, it was especially bad.

There are still hardcore Queens, including myself, who have stayed strong throughout the controversy, and other Queens who have shifted to becoming T-Ara-Jinyo. Then there are the people in between, who know that the truth will never be revealed, but we can always speculate. So, please, support T-Ara. This must be very hard for them.

The Evolution of Girls Generation

NOTE:

Think about Girls Generation; the group of nine girls who seem to keep getting prettier and prettier. Let's review where they started, what they did, and how they turned into one of Asia's leading music groups!

2007: Back in '07, Girls Generation debutted like most other girl groups - with a fresh faced concept. Most of the members seen here have natural black hair, minimal makeup, and innocent clothing. Typical for a girl group back in 2007. However, most groups at the time had 4 or 5 members at most - debutting with nine members seemed like a suicide mission. And the girls attracted alot of attention for it - be it good or bad.

Their debut song, 'Into the New World', all of their voices weren't autotuned, they all had a fair amount of lines, and everything just seemed... fair. Their songs were uplifting and happy as well. See how everyone (with the exception of Hyoyeon and Tiffany) had the same straight, naturally black hair? Their songs sounded the same - they were very simple and kept things cute and happy.

2008: They started out promoting their song 'Baby Baby', but that led to a 9-month hiatus. During these nine months, members worked with each other and individually to create music for other companies. In the drama department, Yuri and Sooyoung worked together to produce a trot song for the drama 'Working Mom'. Sunny sung for the drama 'Story of Mom', while Taeyeon did two songs for 'Beethoven Virus'. Our lovely Tiffany, Jessica, and Seohyun created two songs for the online game 'Maginobi'. It may have been a dull year for their group activities, but individually, they proved to be amazing and talented singers.

2009: This was when SNSD claimed their place in the K-pop world - when Gee was released, it created the "Gee Fever" - and it took Korea by a storm. SNSD was everywhere - advertisements, music shows, concerts, music stores, etc. They also hit the hearts of fans with their ballads, including the emotional 'Dear Mom'. 'Genie' was released shortly after 'Gee' - but recieved controversy and not-so-great reception. There were copyright issues with an Uzbekistanian singer, and comparisons between Nazis and the Genie concept. Despite their constant attention throughout the year, some of the members teamed up with Super Junior to create other songs.

2010: In January and Feburary, the group started promoting their next album - 'Oh!'. It went on to win 5 K-pop awards. Only two months afterwards, in mid-March, the 'Run Devil Run' images were released, then promoted. In June, Girls Generation signed on with a Japanese record label Nayutawave Records for their Japanese promotions, while a DVD of them was released in September. Amongst their Japanese activites, they participated in the SMTown '10 World Tour.

2011: Most of this year was spent repackaging their songs for the Japanese market. "Hoot" and "Run Devil Run" were oftenly promoted. Their first original Japanese song, "Mr. Taxi" was also released. In September, "The Boys", co-written by member Tiffany, was promoted, and achieved an 'All-kill' on all major music ranking websites.

2012: 'The Boys' was promoted in America early on in the year with less-than-expected results. However, the girls quickly bounced back after releasing their first subunit, 'TaeTiSeo', made up of members Taeyeon, Tiffany, and Seohyun. The summer included lots of Japanese song releases, including the wildly popular 'Paparazzi'.

CREDIT:
-  x for 2007 image
-  x for info
-  x for info
- 

Sarang vs Salang?

Anybody, even the most ignorant K-pop fan, knows what "sarang" is - 'love'. But for years, english-speaking K-pop fans have toiled between calling it "sarang" or "salang". I'm here to officially tell you what the real word is.

If you don't want to read all this and just know the correct answer, it's sarang. Saranghae, Saranghaeyo, Sarang hajima, all of those. It's Sarang.

However, if you want to know why, either to gloat in glory or to bask in dishonor, here's why:

'Sarang' in Hangul is 사랑. (Note: If you are interested in learning to read and write in Hangul for *FREE*, see here.) When romanized, it looks like 'Sa 'Rang'. So yes, technically it is sarang. But it is rarely pronounced as a clear and crisp "sarang".

In Korean, the 'ㄹ', or r/l sound, is often mixed. This is often the biggest problem for most K-pop idols trying to speak English - the /r/ and /l/. Think about how the members of SNSD felt when they had to sing "Girls Generation"? So yes, it can sound either like 'sarang', 'salang', or a mix of both.

 For example, in the English-speaking Ailee's Heaven, she gives a very distinct "sarang". In 2NE1's I Love You, a clear "salang" can be heard. In SHINee's Obsession, it can be percieved as either "sarang" or "salang".

You'll never be corrected or questioned for using "sarang" or "salang", no matter where you go. If you get in a debate over which is correct, don't fight for "salang" - it's more commonly used, but technically, not correct. As far as this blog goes, expect "sarang" to be used.

K-Pop Lingo

"Okai unni ^^" "SARANGHAE OPPA!" "Daebak!!!" are some well-known and recognized phrases used in the K-pop world. K-pop is Korean, so by default, Korean words are used. And if your a seasoned K-pop fan, you might know what maknae means, but you may not know what "chocolate abs" are. If your a long-time hardcore K-pop addict, then test yourself and your K-pop knowledge!

The K-pop world is not hard to understand... as long as you know the lingo. If your a rookie k-pop fan who knows close to nothing, a semi-hardcore k-pop fan, or a long-time k-pop addict, this list is for you!

Note: This list is divided into two sections - actual K-pop words, and Korean words.

All-Kill - when a song reaches #1 on all major music charts. It's very rare and covetted.
Bagel Girl - a term used for females who have a baby face, but a volumous body. I have no idea how it got the name 'Bagel girl' either
Big Three - used to describe the three big music companies - SM, JYP, and YG.
Chocolate Abs - a word for abs that look like a Hershey's chocolate bar.
Hwaiting - a word used to say "Good luck!" or "I support you!".
Selca - Self + Camera = Selca - a word for when an idol takes a picture of themselves.
Jailbait - a word for an idol who debutted under 18, therefore if you "do" anything to them, you'll get sent to jail. Note: Very few idols debut under the age of 18, so this term is mostly associated with Taemin of SHINee, who debutted at age 15.
Trainee - a person training under a music company to become an idol in the future.
Trot - a word for songs that has more classic, old-fashioned Korean music

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KOREAN WORDS:
Note: The list of korean words here is quite long, so the ones that have been underlined are the ones that are actually commonly used.

Aegyo - the korean word for 'cute'. It's a type of charm that female idols use for attention.
Ahjussi - the korean word for 'older man'. It's used to describe males who like (NOT in a perverted way) young female idols, IU in particular.
Ahjumma - the korean word for 'older woman'. Used to describe females who like young male idols, SHINee in particular.
Aigoo - the korean word for 'oh my'. It's moreso used in the place of facepalming.
Hoobae - the korean word for a junior in the music industry.
Hyung - a word that males use to address males older than them - kind of like "big brother".
Kkap - a word that means 'annoyingly energetic'.
Maknae - a word used for the youngest member in a group. Note: I've never understood why Koreans are so obsessed with the maknaes - it's just a Korean thing.
Noona - a word that males use to address older females.
Noraebang - the korean word for 'Karaoke'
Omo/Omona - the Korean word for 'Oh my gosh'.
Ssanti - cheap/goofy.
Sunbae - the korean word for a senior in the music industry.
Ulzzang/Uljjang - the korean word for somebody who has a pretty face. Pretty Asian people who post pictures of themselves online also are referred to as "ulzzangs".

Learn a ton of new words? Knew all the words here? Have another you'd like to add? Let me know :3

CREDITS:
 -  x for info
 -  x for info

Who Has the Most Lines in T-Ara?

DISCLAIMER: The percentages represented below are not 100% accurate, but they are 98% accurate. The comments below are my opinion, however. Please do not interpret them negatively.

I conducted this experiment a while ago - simply because I was curious. I took 8 of T-Ara's hit Korean songs (Sexy Love, Day by Day, Cry Cry, Lovey Dovey, Bo Peep Bo Peep, I Go Crazy Because of You, Roly Poly, and Yayaya) and caluclated how many individual lines each member gets. I only counted the individual lines - and here are the results. Note: I have accounted for how many songs each member appears in.

Anybody whos watched a T-Ara MV or two knows that Jiyeon is the center of attention. That's fine - Jiyeon is a "triple threat" - singer, dancer, and actor. Queens know that Soyeon is the main vocalist, but how many lines does each member really get?  I personally hypothesized that Jiyeon and Eunjung would have the most lines, and Qri would have the least. Before you read on, make a guess yourself - who do you think will have the most and least lines?

Boram: 7%
Qri: 7%
Soyeon: 25%
Eunjung: 14%
Hyomin: 19%
Hwayoung: 19%
Jiyeon: 13%
Ahreum: 11%

Soyeon clearly has the most lines - in songs, her amount of lines range from 17% to a whopping 48% in some songs. Ahreum, despite being in only two songs, has more lines than Boram and Qri. Jiyeon and Eunjung don't have as many lines as expected - they are only at 13-14%. Hyomin and Hwayoung sneak to the top with 19% each - a reasonable amount too. Do not let these numbers fool you, however - most of Hwayoung and Ahreum's lines are rapping parts. In Lovey Dovey, Qri is limited to half a line, and the beginning rap parts.

So, what do you think? Who do you think has the prettiest voice in T-ara? I've always adored Eunjung's voice. Let me know!

CREDITS:
- x for lyrics

Top 10 K-pop Songs of September!

DISCLAIMER: This my personal opinion - please don't bash or hate on me for it. I'm very open to hearing suggestions of other good songs too!

Welcome! It seems a bit late and weird to start off doing a Top 10 list about September's k-pop songs, but September had a lot to deliver from all ends of the K-pop spectrum. Let us review!

10. SNSD - All My Love is For You. After a successful Japanese comeback with 'Paparazzi', SNSD once again delivered perfection with the nine lovely ladies in 'All My Love is For You' in their fifth Japanese album. It was the perfect way to end the summer and begin september - a clean yet powerful love song. It reminded me of 'Only One' by SNSD's labelmate, BoA. On a personal note - I didn't start to listen/enjoy it until mid-September.

9. BTOB - Wow. BTOB, a rookie group, impressed all with great vocals, intense choreography, and well-acted parts in their MV, 'Wow'. They went out of their typical style, and honed in on Italian beats and background music. 'Wow' is like most other BTOB songs - a love song, talking about a girl they lost, or want. It was a nice comeback - I hope to see more from BTOB in the future!

 

8. Secret - Poison. Secret, returning to the scene with jazzy music, made an impression on all with their strong voices. With Hyosung's birthday amongst their promotional activities for 'Poison', they were bound to attract attention. And they did. It was well-recieved by new and old fans, and has even maintained a position on Mnet's charts after nearly a month of being released.

7. TVXQ - Viva. Like the rest of the songs on the "Catch Me" album, Viva is good enough to be a stand-alone song. It encompasses great vocals, lots of electronic background music, and amazing rapping. Unfortunatley, it doesn't have an MV, so I can't supply a preview picture. Nethertheless, you need to listen to it.

 

6. TVXQ - Catch Me. TVXQ, after a long-awaited comeback, surprised all with such a well-sung, technotic, and amazing album - "Catch Me".

5. Orange Caramel - Lipstick. After a long-awaited comeback, After School's subunit returns to the music scene with a vibrant MV, fresh vocals, and a very new concept. With a Ping-pong styled MV, the girls present themselves with cuter than ever looks. The song itself has Russian-like beats, and is reminiscent of Miku Hatsune's "Joker".

4. T-Ara - Sexy Love. With a fresh new song, a new member, and a new concept, Sexy Love caught attention of old and new fans, and even the anti fans. Ahreum, newest member, displayed her rapping, dancing, and singing abilities in Sexy Love too. Despite their controversy, I love T-Ara, and I love this new concept.

3. G-Dragon - Crayon. YG obviously sees the that Americans love stupid, nonsensical songs, like 'Gangnam Style'. So, they G-Dragon'd 'Gangnam Style' and made 'Crayon'. With a cute yet adult charm, G-Dragon continues his rein of solo work with another amazing song. The english in 'Crayon', like 'Gangnam Style', is great. Along with auto-tuned english phrases, great bass and rapping are in 'Crayon'. Good job G-Dragon!

 

2. Kara - Pandora. Kara returns to the Japanese music scene with a well-sung, bright new song, 'Pandora'. The members look bolder, prettier, and maturer than ever. They've officially shed their little-girl image and gone for a more mature, but not sexy look. Perfect Japanese and English singing makes this song amazing.

 

1. AA - Ageha Dance. Ageha Dance stole the hearts of new and old fans with soulful singing, technotic background music, and a great MV. In the MV, the boys let lose and show their unfiltered, unscripted wild side. It's a great song, and it hasn't recieved nearly enough attention than it deserves. Please, check it out!

There you go! If you enjoyed any other K-pop songs that were released in September, agree with my list, or were led to another song that you enjoyed, comment below and tell me!

Credit:
-  x for 'All My Love is For You' image
-  x for 'Wow' image
-  x for 'Poison' image
-  x for 'Catch Me' image
-  x for 'Lipstick' image
-  x for 'Sexy Love' image
-  x for 'Crayon' image
-  x for 'Pandora' image
-  x for 'Ageha Dance' image

Welcome!

Welcome to K-pop Central! K-pop central is a place for K-pop news - from reviews, comebacks, top 10 lists, beauty-tutorials, scandal coverage, etc.

K-pop Central is a one-woman operated website - everything is written by me, Maria.

I'm probably like you - a non-Korean, non-Korean speaking, non-Korea residing individual who likes K-pop. I devour the dramas, love the comebacks, and hate when members leave for an army. My personal, how-to blog is here. I am currently doing a how-to in writing in Korean. Care to learn?

To start off, let me tell you a bit about how I started off in the k-pop world. I've been into k-pop for about a year and a half. I first heard Gee by SNSD from a friend and loved it. But it wasn't until I saw the "I Am the Best" MV by 2NE1 on the Youtube homepage that I delved into the k-pop world.  I started out listening to the 2NE1 classics, then I moved onto Girls Generation, and quickly became obsessed.

I also am a writer for Hallyu Magazine, an American-based magazine that covers all things Korean. Please, check out their website here! You can read their publications for free here as well!

I hope to please people with review of songs, comebacks, albums, etc. Thank you!

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