History YMMV / GirlsGeneration

* SignatureSong: "Gee", which shot them to their fame. Also see MemeticMutation. "Genie" may also count, seeing as how it was the song that cemented their status as a top girl group.

* BrokenBase: "I Got A Boy." The changes in tempo and even style made it a polarizing song among the fanbase.[[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff Western music reviewers have appreciated the effort of trying to sound different.]]

* WhatDoYouMeanItWasntMadeOnDrugs: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8r-SCbMKVc The trailer]] of their 1st Japanese album. The songs are fine, the visuals are...odd.
** And then we have the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkPqNCxUJgM full track digest]], from 0:46 onwards.

* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic:
** "Into the New World" is often cited as one of the greatest debut songs in K-pop history. about hopefulness while facing an uncertain future. While it might not be their most famous song internationally, it's their signature song in South Korea. Expect new girl groups to perform it at year-end shows. It's also been sung at political protests as a symbol of solidarity. They later performed a ballad version at their Greatest Hits At Tokyo Dome concert, which was a tear-jerker. Needless to say, it's kind of a big deal.
** "Gee" is their best known song, and for a good reason. It's a melodically complex, hyperactive piece of bubblegum pop that's practically bioengineered to be the ultimate EarWorm.
** "Genie" has synths that slowly build up through the verses to a chorus with majestic harmonies. Right before the final verse, the nusic stops, with Tiffany demanding "DJ, put it back on." Cut back into the hook, and Taeyeon sings a powerful solo during the last chorus.
** "I Got A Boy" was controversial at the time of release, due to the jarring changes to completely different sections with different instruments and different tempos throughout. It's because of that experimentation that the song is now lauded for its influence and creativity, and had earned the nickname "the [[Music/{{Queen}} 'Bohemian Rhapsody']] of K-Pop."
** "Forever 1" was written to be a sequel to "Into the New World." Both songs were composed by SM Entertainment's in-house songwriter Kenzie, who interpolated the latter into the bridge. If "Into the New World" is about finding strength in others while facing an uncertain future, "Forever 1" is a celebration of the comraderie that led to their 15 years of success.

* AwesomeMusic:

* PopCultureIsolation: Despite being massively popular in Korea and even having multiple American members, they only have a relatively small cult following in the West, with their only US tour stops being on multi-group SMTOWN tours. By the time K-pop was starting to expand beyond its niche audience in the West, group activity was slowing down as multiple members were releasing [[SoloSideProject side projects]] until the group went on hiatus for five years (2017-22), leaving newer groups like {{Music/BTS}} to overshadow them. None of their full albums, not even their reunion album, made the Billboard 200.[[labelnote:note]] Their only full-group release that made the chart was the ''Mr.Mr.'' EP in 2014, which peaked at 110.[[/labelnote]]

* PopCultureIsolation: Despite being massively popular in Korea and even having multiple American members, they only have a relatively small cult following in the West, with their only US shows being performances at SM Town. By the time K-pop was starting to expand beyond its niche audience in the West, group activity was slowing down as multiple members were releasing [[SoloSideProject side projects]] until the group went on hiatus for five years (2017-22), leaving newer groups like {{Music/BTS}} to overshadow them. None of their full albums, not even their reunion album, made the Billboard 200.[[labelnote:note]] Their only full-group release that made the chart at all was the ''Mr.Mr.'' EP in 2014, which peaked at 110.[[/labelnote]]

* YokoOhNo: Some people blame Tyler Kwon [[note]]Jessica Jung's boyfriend and business partner[[/note]] for being a contributing factor to Jessica's departure from the group.

* BaseBreakingCharacter: Each member has both very vocal supporters and anti-fans within the fandom, although Yuri and Seohyun proved to be the least divisive.
** Taeyeon, especially during the time when she dated Baekhyun. Did she do wrong when it was revealed she lied to her fans about her instagram posts, or was this yet another case of fans being way too possessive over a human being? Is her voice as good as it has always been or has it become raspy and unstable? Was her stage attitude at the time unprofessional or were things taken out of context? Was her "anti-fan hunt" reasonable or a sign of instability?
** Jessica. Lazy and unprofessional or down to earth and realistic? Was she kicked out by SM for no reason, or did she screw up her priorities in favour of her boyfriend and her company? Is the group better off without her, or did they effectively cripple themselves?
** Sunny. Talented and adorkable with an extra helping of badass determinator or two-faced annoying attention-seeker who only got into SNSD because her uncle is the founder of SM Entertainment? [[https://33.media.tumblr.com/c3bc638c275cac4f6f9a7eb9587a7e76/tumblr_nt9dsdob3M1r3hdhfo2_540.gif Are her later lackluster performances a case of laziness]], her chronic knee problems that seemed to be getting worse with every comeback, or both?
** Was Tiffany a good singer with an adorable and charming personality, or an annoying attention-seeker who never shut up and let the other girls have a chance in the spotlight? Is her going to her fellow members' productions and cheering for them an awesome way to show support, or is it just her being obnoxious and over the top?
** Hyoyeon. Awesome badass dancer and rapper or useless, ugly and can't sing? Can she even dance well anymore, or did she give up as the group's choreography became more simplistic?
** Sooyoung. Was she deserving of more lines and attention, or did she add nothing to SNSD and only get into the group because her father is rich? And actress Sooyoung, who doesn't meet the beauty standards of Korean actresses[[note]]Korean actresses are highly regarded and are expected to have top visuals, which Sooyoung apparently doesn't have due to "having that ugly Southeast-Asian look (i.e. darker skin and non-traditional facial features)" -- although there is ''much'' to be said about this sort of [[ValuesDissonance colorism and racism]] among Koreans[[/note]] yet has been praised by veteran actors for her award-winning skill - is such "ugliness" from an actress unacceptable, or should netizens see past that for her acclaimed talent?
** Yoona. Did she go into a decline ever since Sooyoung "replaced" her as third best dancer and best actress of the group, or is she still at the same level she always was? Will her acting ever improve, or is being pretty (and that in itself is also a VERY divisive topic) the only thing she can be good at?
* BrokenBase: A very mild version, when Tiffany announced in mid 2013 that there would be more singles by [=TaeTiSeo=]. Some Sones were delighted, others were unhappy, feeling the trio were already overexposed especially since "Mr. Mr" already focused greatly on just those three, and some went as far as to call them "[=TaeTiSeo=] feat. Jessica and some other random girls". It doesn't help that it followed Yuri and Hyoyeon announcing that there would be new subunits (and Yuri teased that the next subunit would be [=YoonYulSic=] (Yoona, Yuri and Jessica), thus implying that the final subunit would be [=HyoSunSoo=] (Hyoyeon, Sunny and Sooyoung)). These subunits never materialized, although and while it was thought that subunits might be scuppered entirely following Jessica's departure, [=TaeTiSeo=] released more singles.
** The reaction to [=TaeTiSeo=] getting their own reality show "The [=TaeTiSeo=]", which debuted before their second mini album "Holler", was very split. Some Sones felt this was an extremely stupid move - especially after Taeyeon's dating scandal - and were generally tired of all the attention being focused on those three. Others didn't see a problem with it, saying it was good that Taeyeon isn't shying away from being in the spotlight.
** "I Got A Boy." The changes in tempo and even style made it a polarizing song among the fanbase.[[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff Western music reviewers have appreciated the effort of trying to sound different.]]
** Their discography since ''The Boys'' album is divisive to say the least. Before that, SNSD's songs were seen as consistently good. 'Gee' was their breakout song, but the pre-Gee era in retrospect is seen as a climb to the top, meaning always improving. Post-Gee albums were also well received, with 'Genie' being considered not only their best era, but the best K-Idol era ever. And then "The Boys" came. This is seen as the beginning of the fall.
** How much effort the group themselves used to put/are putting into their performances is an incredibly hot debate in the fandom.
** Since Jessica departed the group, the so-called Soshi Bond [[note]]FanNickname referring to a supposedly really close relationship between group members[[/note]] has taken a hit. A good portion of [=SONEs=] no longer believe in it, pointing out that there are definitely cliques among the group. The most obvious (and notorious) one is Tiffany and Taeyeon, causing [=TaeTiSeo=] to sometimes come across as a bit awkward, as Seohyun was not part of their clique and it showed, with their music videos tending to focus almost exclusively on [=TaeNy=], leaving Seohyun with barely any screentime and often [[http://a.disquscdn.com/uploads/mediaembed/images/2882/6752/original.jpg?w=600&h terrible styling]]. It's also very evident when the group gives public interviews.
*** Almost two years since her forced removal from the group, [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments Jessica revealed that she still keeps in contact with some of the members and that she hoped that Tiffany's solo goes well.]] The fandom FLIPPED; some with happy tears because it proved to some that there's very little bad blood between the girls and everyone involved had happily moved on and fun little speculations as to who she's still in touch with, and others wishing that Jessica would keep stop bringing SNSD up in interviews, thinking she was using them to promote her album.
*** There are some who question the veracity of this interview though - there were allegations that it was fake and that Jessica would be taking legal action, but nothing has since come of it, and the articles have not been removed or edited. Also, Jessica has apparently [[https://www.kpopstarz.com/articles/286494/20170815/jessica-discusses-breaking-up-with-tyler-kwon-address-krystals-break-up.htm confirmed the relationship in other articles]], and Tyler confirmed it [[https://www.instagram.com/p/B_H9FldHyXR/ via his Instagram]].
*** Before that, albeit very cautiously worded, [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments Tiffany wished Jessica well on her solo debut stating that "some people have been working very hard".]] This also rocked the fandom as most people believed that Tiffany was one of the rumoured members who had bad blood with Jessica. Some saw this as a breath of fresh air and a possible stop to the fandom war and others saw this as Tiffany being shady and petty, refusing to even refer to Jessica by name while also forgetting that SM has put similar gag orders on TVXQ and Super Junior after their members left as well.
*** Jessica's brand was worn by members of {{Music/TWICE}}, the trendiest new girl group in Korea and Jessica became a spokeswoman for VOGUE (the main branch, not Vogue Korea). Mao Maos and most [=SONEs=] were pretty happy for her doing well, but some [=SONEs=] were not and SNSD haters started fighiting each other.
** Another mild one would be Tiffany's 'Pig-Fany' nickname given to her by the members. While most fans (and arguably the members themselves) see this as a harmless nickname that people overreact to, other fans note how Tiffany expresses discomfort and annoyance when it's brought up, not to mention the double standards it perpetuates among the fandom (the main perpetrators - Sooyoung and Yoona - not only eat a lot as well, but they're praised for it whereas Tiffany is mocked) along with the fact that antis have already picked up the nickname and regularly use it to bash and harass Tiffany.

* {{Squick}}: It was revealed that a middle aged American man had been pretending to be a video director for SM. This, uh, "job" of his led him to do things that were ''many'' leaps and bounds beyond the usual creep.
** He not only started a rumour about an English album that Taeyeon [[http://www.allkpop.com/article/2013/08/taeyeon-puts-rumors-about-taetiseos-english-album-to-rest herself]] had to shut down, he also made a fake casting call for young girls and women to come out and dance for an alleged music video in LA. He had several fake profiles of SNSD members set up (SM has ''repeatedly'' stated that '''no''' member has Facebook) and used them to make himself look more "real". As a result, he had young women fawning over him, calling him "oppa", "appa" and "papa angel" - allegedly some of them were fake profiles he created. Thus, he came across as borderline pedophilic, regularly interacting with vulnerable underage girls and pretending he knows their idols to manipulate them.
** He also posted badly edited photos of himself and "official" ID cards (with blatant spelling mistakes and artists listed on the cards whom didn't even belong to SM). It's unclear if he really did work for SM as people have mentioned that, while they did indeed see him at various K-Pop events, his behaviour was very odd (unlike the usual SM representative, he wasn't wearing identification, was wandering around and not doing anything etc). Even when someone from Globalone studios posted a message on his wall telling him not to associate himself with the studio, he promptly deleted it and blocked her.
** Even after he was finally brought to the attention of SM and was supposedly shut down, his profile has still been spotted. And not only does he still has several fake profiles, he is apparently dating/married to a woman who has changed her display name to "Seohyun". It's ''incredibly'' squicky.
* {{Unperson}}: Since her departure from Girls' Generation, Jessica has gotten this treatment from some [=SONEs=], sometimes being strategically blocked or cropped from group images that originally featured her, while her time in the group is sometimes downplayed

* PopCultureIsolation: Despite being massively popular in Korea and even having multiple American members, they only have a relatively small cult following in the West, with their only US shows being performances at KCON. By the time K-pop was starting to expand beyond its niche audience in the West, group activity was slowing down as multiple members were releasing [[SoloSideProject side projects]] until the group went on hiatus for five years (2017-22), leaving newer groups like {{Music/BTS}} to overshadow them. None of their full albums, not even their reunion album, made the Billboard 200.[[labelnote:note]] Their only full-group release that made the chart at all was the ''Mr.Mr.'' EP in 2014, which peaked at 110.[[/labelnote]]