After the success of S.M. Entertainment's boy band, Super Junior, the company planned to debut a new girl group, which would ultimately become Girls' Generation.Some of the candidates had participated in the South Korean entertainment industry through their participation in magazine advertisements, television commercials, small television drama or film appearances;Sooyoung even debuted in the Japanese market in 2002 as part of the pop duo, Route θ, which disbanded after one year.The group's line-up changed several times, as members were either added or cut, until the final line-up of nine members was decided.The first member of the group to join SM Entertainment's training system was Jessica in 2000, after she and her sister, Krystal Jung, were scouted in a mall in Korea during a family vacation.That same year, members Sooyoung and Hyoyeon were cast into SM's training system through the 2000 SM Open Audition, in which Hyoyeon danced for her audition. Yuri was the next Girls' Generation member to become an SM trainee after finishing second in the 2001 SM Youth Best Dancer competition. Yoona was cast the following year through the 2002 SM Saturday Open Casting Audition, where she sang and danced to her favorite singers, BoA and Britney Spears.Seohyun, the group's youngest member, was scouted in the subway by an SM scout; she then auditioned in 2003, singing children's songs. The group's leader, Taeyeon, was cast in 2004 after being discovered at SM's 8th Annual Best Contest winning Best Singer 1st Place & Grand Award. That same year, member Tiffany auditioned at SM's Starlight Casting System in Los Angeles, and joined the company in October 2004.The ninth and final member of the group to be added was Sunny, who had become an SM trainee in 1998 and trained for five years before transferring to another company, Starworld. At Starworld, she trained to debut in the duo "Sugar", which ultimately never debuted. In 2007, under the recommendation of the singer Ayumi Hamasaki, Sunny transferred back to SM Entertainment.Sunny is also the niece of S.M. Entertainment's founder, Lee Soo-man.
2007-2008: Debut and Girls' Generation
In July 2007, Girls' Generation had their unofficial first stage performance on Mnet's School of Rock where the group performed their first single, "Into the New World" (다시 만난 세계). A documentary recording the story of the group's debut titled Girls' Generation Goes to School was filmed by Mnet during this time, revolving around their unofficial debut and first public performances through School of Rock.Girls' Generation in February 2008 performing at Rajamangala Stadiumin Bangkok, ThailandThe group's first single was physically released soon after, including an instrumental of the group's debut song and two other tracks: "Beginning" and "Perfect for You." The latter's Korean title is "Wish" (소원), which later became the name of Girls' Generation's official fan club, S♡NE. The group's debut officially began on August 5, 2007, with the single "Into the New World" later achieved the number one spot on Mnet M! Countdown. Girls' Generation subsequently released their first self-titled full album in late autumn of 2007 with the lead single "Girls' Generation" (소녀시대), a remake of Lee Seung-cheol's 1989 song. The album has sold more than 100,000 copies. The last pop-oriented girl group in Korea to accomplish this feat was S.E.S.In early 2008, Girls' Generation began promoting their second single from the album, "Kissing You", which won the group their first K-chart win after achieving the number-one position on the KBS Music Bank February chart.This song achieved the #1 spot on three major TV music rankings-SBS Inkigayo, M.net M.Countdown! and Music Bank. In March 2008, the album was repackaged, re-released and re-titled Baby Baby. To promote this album, the single, having the same name, "Baby Baby", was released on digital music sites on March 17. During the group's promotions, members Jessica, Tiffany and Seohyun were featured on a mini-album released by Roommate, a one-man band from Purple Communication. The mini-album was titled Roommate: Emotional Band Aid, and was released on December 1, 2008. The song performed by the three girls, titled "Oppa Nappa" (오빠 나빠; literally, Bad Brother), was digitally released before the album in April 2008. Later in the year, the three members released "Mabinogi" (It's Fantastic!) together as the theme song for the Nexon game Mabinogi, with Tiffany participating in the music video. Mnet reality show Factory Girl chronicled the members working as interns at fashion magazine Elle Girl.The program began airing in early October. In late 2008, the group also participated in the "SMTown Live '08" concert along with other SM Town artists.
