Nine-girl singing sensation say they can’t wait to meet rival group Wonder Girls at music shows
Girls’ Generation, one of the most popular female K-pop groups, has come back to the local K-pop scene after more than a year with their third album “The Boys,” featuring a new style and more powerful music aimed at a broader audience.
While the album was released in Asia, including Korea, on Wednesday at midnight, local time, the title track “The Boys,” both in Korean and English, was released at the same time around the world through Apple’s iTunes.
On the same day, the music video was released on YouTube and Facebook, allowing worldwide fans to enjoy the song for free.
In the U.S., the girl group will debut with “The Boys” in November through Interscope Records, an American label owned by the Universal Music Group. The album will be available in other parts of the world, including Europe and South America, later since it has not yet been decided how it will be composed -- whether to include English versions or not -- according to S.M. Entertainment.
“More than a year has passed since we released the album ‘Hoot.’ After the Arena Tour in Japan, Korean fans seem to have waited for us so much,” group member Tae-yeon said in a press meeting at the head office of S.M. Entertainment on Monday.
“The title track targets a worldwide audience with the help of Teddy Riley, who composed the song. We aimed to sing a song that appeals to all kinds of people around the world,” she said.
Since their 2007 debut with the single, “Into the New World,” the girl group has successfully survived the extremely competitive Korean pop idol group market. Their third EP “Hoot” (2010) swept the year-end pop music awards in Korea last year and their first Japanese studio album “Girls’ Generation” (2011) has sold 680,000 copies to date.
With their individual names and personalities well known to the public for the past four years, Girls’ Generation, also known as SNSD, threw away their group outfits with their latest release.
“In style, we haven’t sought a big change except for Sunny’s short hair. What’s different this time, though, is that we’re not going to wear the same outfits on stage. We will wear different clothes that can express our individual personalities well,” Tiffany said.
In terms of music, the group members took on the challenge of rap for the first time. And it is also the first time the group has simultaneously released an English edition of the title track along side the Korean version.
“The Boys,” based on strong beats, mixes powerful melodies and rap with the repeated chant of “Girls bring the boys out.”
Soo-young said the members have been confident in rap for years and it was a good opportunity to show their ability.
She also said their new song is different from previous songs like “Gee,” “Hoot” and “Run Devil Run,” which used a repeated chorus to hook the listeners.
“We’ve been thinking a lot about whether we should keep singing ‘hook songs’ and we decided to take a different approach. You will know what our song is like only when you listen to it from beginning to the end, rather than just the chorus,” Soo-young said.
And the choreography has a more masculine feeling than the group’s previous girly moves, while the highlight of “The Boys” is when all the nine members go down with one leg stretched out at the same time.
“The choreographer initially created the move for only four members but we insisted all the members do it together. As soon as I healed from my sacral fracture, I practiced the move really hard,” said Soo-young, giggling.
The girl group’s promotion activities for the new album will mainly take place in Korea, because what’s popular in Korea will be popular overseas, said Tiffany.
“I believe it is important to make our local content strong and take it to the world,” she said.
“If we have good opportunities in the U.S. and Europe, of course we will go. But there is no long-term promotion plan there.”
In November, Girls’ Generation’s rival Wonder Girls, a five-member female group affiliated with JYP Entertainment, is also expected to release a new Korean album.
Tae-yeon said she anticipates meeting other girl groups, including Wonder Girls, on TV music shows.
”We don’t compare ourselves with other girl groups. Rather, we try to improve ourselves from what we used to be, which results in good team work,” Yuri said.
Girls’ Generation will begin its promotion activities on KBS Music Bank, which will air live on Friday evening.
By Kim Yoon-mi
(yoonmi@heraldm.com)
 |
| Girls’ Generation members clockwise from top left: Yuri, Hyoyeon, Yoona, Taeyeon, Jessica, Seohyun, Sunny, Tiffany and Sooyoung S.M. Entertainment |
Girls’ Generation, one of the most popular female K-pop groups, has come back to the local K-pop scene after more than a year with their third album “The Boys,” featuring a new style and more powerful music aimed at a broader audience.
While the album was released in Asia, including Korea, on Wednesday at midnight, local time, the title track “The Boys,” both in Korean and English, was released at the same time around the world through Apple’s iTunes.
On the same day, the music video was released on YouTube and Facebook, allowing worldwide fans to enjoy the song for free.
In the U.S., the girl group will debut with “The Boys” in November through Interscope Records, an American label owned by the Universal Music Group. The album will be available in other parts of the world, including Europe and South America, later since it has not yet been decided how it will be composed -- whether to include English versions or not -- according to S.M. Entertainment.
“More than a year has passed since we released the album ‘Hoot.’ After the Arena Tour in Japan, Korean fans seem to have waited for us so much,” group member Tae-yeon said in a press meeting at the head office of S.M. Entertainment on Monday.
“The title track targets a worldwide audience with the help of Teddy Riley, who composed the song. We aimed to sing a song that appeals to all kinds of people around the world,” she said.
Since their 2007 debut with the single, “Into the New World,” the girl group has successfully survived the extremely competitive Korean pop idol group market. Their third EP “Hoot” (2010) swept the year-end pop music awards in Korea last year and their first Japanese studio album “Girls’ Generation” (2011) has sold 680,000 copies to date.
With their individual names and personalities well known to the public for the past four years, Girls’ Generation, also known as SNSD, threw away their group outfits with their latest release.
“In style, we haven’t sought a big change except for Sunny’s short hair. What’s different this time, though, is that we’re not going to wear the same outfits on stage. We will wear different clothes that can express our individual personalities well,” Tiffany said.
In terms of music, the group members took on the challenge of rap for the first time. And it is also the first time the group has simultaneously released an English edition of the title track along side the Korean version.
“The Boys,” based on strong beats, mixes powerful melodies and rap with the repeated chant of “Girls bring the boys out.”
Soo-young said the members have been confident in rap for years and it was a good opportunity to show their ability.
She also said their new song is different from previous songs like “Gee,” “Hoot” and “Run Devil Run,” which used a repeated chorus to hook the listeners.
“We’ve been thinking a lot about whether we should keep singing ‘hook songs’ and we decided to take a different approach. You will know what our song is like only when you listen to it from beginning to the end, rather than just the chorus,” Soo-young said.
And the choreography has a more masculine feeling than the group’s previous girly moves, while the highlight of “The Boys” is when all the nine members go down with one leg stretched out at the same time.
“The choreographer initially created the move for only four members but we insisted all the members do it together. As soon as I healed from my sacral fracture, I practiced the move really hard,” said Soo-young, giggling.
The girl group’s promotion activities for the new album will mainly take place in Korea, because what’s popular in Korea will be popular overseas, said Tiffany.
“I believe it is important to make our local content strong and take it to the world,” she said.
“If we have good opportunities in the U.S. and Europe, of course we will go. But there is no long-term promotion plan there.”
In November, Girls’ Generation’s rival Wonder Girls, a five-member female group affiliated with JYP Entertainment, is also expected to release a new Korean album.
Tae-yeon said she anticipates meeting other girl groups, including Wonder Girls, on TV music shows.
”We don’t compare ourselves with other girl groups. Rather, we try to improve ourselves from what we used to be, which results in good team work,” Yuri said.
Girls’ Generation will begin its promotion activities on KBS Music Bank, which will air live on Friday evening.
By Kim Yoon-mi
(yoonmi@heraldm.com)
No comments:
Post a Comment