Girls' Generation (Hangul: 소녀시대; So Nyeo Shi Dae), also known as SNSD, is a South Korean girl group formed by S.M. Entertainmentin 2007.Originally a nine-member group, it now has eight members: Taeyeon, Sunny,Tiffany, Hyoyeon, Yuri, Sooyoung, Yoona and Seohyun - former member Jessica Jung having been dismissed on September 30, 2014.The group gained attention at the beginning of their career with songs such as "Into the New World" and "Kissing You" but it was not until 2009 when they gained significant popularity with their hit single "Gee", which was classified by the online music store MelOn as the most popular song of the decade in South Korea.The group solidified their place in the South Korean music industry with follow-up singles "Tell Me Your Wish", "Run Devil Run", and "Oh!" from late 2009 to early 2010. In 2011, after a series of activities in Japan, the group returned to the South Korean music scene with "The Boys", which was released in three languages: Korean, Japanese, and for the first time, English. In 2010 alone, the group sold more than 11,730,000 digital albums and singles collectively.The group's immense popularity in their native South Korea has earned them titles "The Nation's Singers" and "The Nation's Girl Group". The Sisa Journal named the group as the most influential entertainers for the years 2011 and 2012, making them the first female idol group in history to make the list.They have also been listed as #1 on the Top Female Singer's list for four consecutive years on the Leespiar Popularity Survey in Korea.Asia Today placed the group at forty-four on the 50 Korean Power Leaders list in 2011.The group also topped Forbes's Korea Power Celebrity 40 list in 2011, 2012 and 2014.The group began a foray into the Japanese music scene in late 2010 under Nayutawave Records, with Japanese remakes of their 2009 South Korean hits "Genie" and "Gee". The group's debut Japanese album, Girls' Generation, released in June 2011, is currently the highest selling album in Japan by a South Korean group in Oricon history. It was certified "Million" by the Recording Industry Association of Japan, which made them the second South Korean artist to earn such an achievement in Japan since label mate BoA's "Best of Soul" in 2005.Girls' Generation is also the first South Korean girl group to have two albums place first on a weekly album ranking, surpassing Kara.They have expanded their reach in the South Korean industry through their first subgroup, Girls' Generation-TTS, composed of members Taeyeon, Tiffany, and Seohyun. The subgroup debuted on 2012 with their mini album Twinkle which became the highest charting K-Pop act on the Billboard 200-at No. 126 on Billboard 200.[13]
The name of the group is derived from Lee Seung-Chul's 1989 song "Girls' Generation". In Korea, the group is referred to as So Nyeo Shi Dae (Korean: 소녀시대). They are also referred to as SoShi(소시) or SNSD, both abbreviated forms of the group's Korean-language name. The name Girls' Generation means that "The generation of girls' domination has come". The group is referred to as Shojo Jidai (Japanese; 少女時代) or SJJD in Japan.
