Follow TV Tropes

Following

Music / Girls' Generation

Go To

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/snsdx.png
Sweet chocolate love, it's SNSD!note 
Girls' Generation, often abbreviated as SNSD (short for the romanization of their Korean name, So Nyeo Shi Dae) is a popular Korean Girl Group that started with nine members. The group was initially seen as something of a female answer to labelmates Super Junior, but has since gone on to become not only a unique and equally respected group in their own right but one of the biggest K-pop groups in the world.

Formed in 2007 by SM Entertainment, the group's current members are Taeyeon (the leader of the group during their rise to fame), Sunny, Yuri, Hyoyeon, Yoona (the current leader of the group), Sooyoung, Tiffany and Seohyun (the "maknae" or youngest member). It is important to note that while some group membersnote  have left SM Entertainment, they remain members of the group. Member Jessica Jung, who had been with the group since its inception, departed in September 2014.note 

Some of the group membersnote  have started solo music careersnote , and everyone except Hyoyeon has some form of an acting career, whether it be musicals, voice acting, films or TV dramas. Several subgroups within the main group have also been made — Girls' Generation-TTS (Taeyeon, Tiffany, and Seohyun), active from 2012 to 2017, and Girls' Generation-Oh!GG (Sunny, Taeyeon, Yoona, Yuri and Hyoyeon), which debuted in 2018 and resumed activity in 2021.

SNSD began to achieve widespread fame in 2009 after the release of their first EP (referred to as a "mini album") and its namesake leading single "Gee", which has since become a Signature Song for the group. "Gee" became the best-selling South Korean single of 2009, and held the distinction of being the longest-running #1 ranked song on Music Bank, one of Korea's most popular music chart shows, before it was eventually passed by Psy's record-shattering hit "Gangnam Style". Its music video also became the first by a girl group to reach 100 million views on YouTube. In more recent years, the song has been hailed as a K-pop classic, making (and often topping) numerous lists of the greatest songs ever made in the genre, being credited for shaping the sound that became associated with modern K-pop, and being christened as the "K-Pop Song of the Decade" by Melon (a Korean music website and award-giving body).

Following several more releases and an inaugural tour that sold out in three minutes, the group signed with a division of Universal Music Japan to venture into making releases in the Japanese language, where they found further success. They eventually expanded into American releases in 2011 with The Boys, but the group was really pushed into the international spotlight after the title track of their fourth Korean album I Got a Boy won Video of the Year at the inaugural YouTube Music Awards in 2013. Considering the group was up against nominees like Psy and Justin Bieber, and they were considered relatively lesser-known, their victory was something of an upset and made headlines in media outlets all over the world.

The girls are especially beloved among their fans (dubbed "Sones"note ) due to reasons including their dorky natures when not performing and the copious amounts of Fanservice that they dish out. They are also well-known for the Les Yay that they often indulge in; in turn, the fans do a little indulging of their own in the form of the sheer amount of Slash Fic that gets churned out featuring the girls.

On October 9, 2017, SM announced that members Sooyoung, Seohyun and Tiffany had chosen not to re-sign with the company — Tiffany because she would be going overseas to study and work on solo activities, while Sooyoung and Seohyun wanted to focus on their acting careers. The company stated, "Girls’ Generation is a group that is precious and meaningful to SM and their fans. The members also have no thoughts at all about disbanding. Simply, as there are members whose contracts have ended, a careful decision will be made after discussions with the members about Girls’ Generation’s direction for activities in the future." From this point onward, the group was considered to be on indefinite hiatus, with all members focusing primarily on their solo careers.

In May 2022, SM announced the group would be reuniting for their 15-year anniversary in August of that year, and that month saw the release of Forever 1, their seventh Korean album. It was also revealed that they had decided to change the leader role in the group, with it now being on a rotating monthly basis to take the stress off Taeyeon, who had served as the sole leader since the group's early days. The members reportedly agreed that as Yoona, Tiffany and Sooyoung did the best job, they would ask Yoona (who is also the leader of Oh!GG) to be the leader for Forever 1 promotions, with Tiffany and Sooyoung acting as second in command.

On August 8, 2023, Sunny also announced her departure from SM, saying that while she was "now trying to take courage to see [herself] in a new environment from a different perspective", she would remain "Girls' Generation's Sunny".


    open/close all folders 

     Members 
Under SM Entertainment:
  • Taeyeonnote : Leadernote , Main Vocalist
  • Hyoyeonnote : Main Dancer, Main Rapper, Vocalist
  • Yurinote : Lead Dancer, Lead Rapper, Vocalist
  • Yoonanote : Leadernote , Lead Dancer, Rapper, Vocalist, Visual, Center
Under Other Companies:
  • Tiffanynote : Lead Vocalist, Rapper
  • Sooyoungnote : Lead Dancer, Lead Rapper, Vocalist
  • Seohyunnote : Lead Vocalist, Maknae
  • Sunnynote : Lead Vocalist, Rapper
Former:
  • Jessicanote : Main Vocalist
     Sub-Units 
  • JeTiSeo: Debuted in 2008, comprised of Jessica, Tiffany and Seohyun. This sub-unit was called a "project group" by SM, and was intended to demonstrate the vocal capabilities of the trio through ballads. Released two soundtrack singles before being reabsorbed back into the group.
  • TaeTiSeo: Debuted in 2012, comprised of Taeyeon, Tiffany and Seohyun, and the most well-known sub-unit by far. Formed during the main group's hiatus, SM described them as a group that "[focused] on each member's vocal ability", and although the sub-unit was described as being "rotational", the members remained the same for the duration. Released three extended plays from 2012 to 2015, and had their own reality show "The TaeTiSeo" in 2014.
  • SHY: Unofficial sub-unit comprised of Sooyoung, Hyoyeon and Yurinote . This sub-unit was very popular with fans, who thought the members would excel in hip-hop/dance music. Although they never officially released any music, the members themselves jokingly acknowledged the sub-unit and performed two special cover stages during concerts (Aya Matsuura's "Yeah! Meccha Holiday" and Salt-N-Pepa's "Push It").
  • Oh!GG: Debuted in 2018, currently comprised of Taeyeon, Hyoyeon, Yuri and Yoona and formerly Sunnynote . This sub-unit is made up of the members who chose to re-sign with SM Entertainment, and is notable for having Yoona as their leader instead of Taeyeon. They have released two singles, one as part of a single album and the other as an appearance on SM's annual holiday album in 2021.
     Discography 
Korean discography:
  • Albums:
  • EPs:
    • Into the New World - 2007
    • Gee - 2009
    • Tell Me Your Wish (Genie) - 2009
    • Hoot! (009) - 2010
    • Mr. Mr - 2014

Japanese discography:
Sub-Unit Discography:
  • JeTiSeo:
    • Oppa Nappa - 2008
    • Mabinogi (It's Fantastic!) - 2008
  • TaeTiSeo:
    • Twinkle - 2012
    • Holler - 2014
    • Dear Santa - 2015
  • Oh!GG:
    • Lil' Touch - 2018
    • Melody - 2021note 

Solo Discography:
  • Taeyeon:
    • I - 2015
    • Why - 2016
    • My Voice - 2017
    • This Christmas: Winter is Coming - 2017
    • Something New - 2018
    • Voice - 2019note 
    • Purpose - 2019
    • (Purpose) - 2020note 
    • What Do I Call You - 2020
    • #GirlsSpkOut - 2020note 
    • Weekend - 2021
    • INVU - 2022
    • iScreaM Vol.15 : INVU (Remixes) - 2022
    • To. X - 2023
  • Tiffany:
    • I Just Wanna Dance - 2016
    • Heartbreak Hotel - 2016
    • Lips on Lips - 2019
  • Yuri:
    • Please! - 2008note 
    • Secret - 2016note 
    • The First Scene - 2018
    • Time of the Time - 2021note 
  • Yoona:
    • Innisfree Day - 2010
    • Deoksugung Stonewall Walkway - 2016
    • Blossom - 2016note 
    • When The Wind Blows - 2017
    • A Walk to Remember - 2019
  • Seohyun:
    • Secret - 2016note 
    • Don't Say No - 2017
  • Jessica:
    • With Love, J - 2016
    • Wonderland - 2016
    • My Decade - 2017
    • Call Me Before You Sleep - 2019note 
    • Beep Beep - 2023
  • Sunny
    • You Don't Know About Love - 2008note 
    • Finally Now - 2009note 
    • First Kiss - 2014
    • Heart Throbbing - 2015note 
    • U&I - 2017note 
    • Collar - 2021note 
    • Your Bright Smile Is on the Clouds in the Sky - 2021note 
  • Sooyoung
    • I Am - 2005note 
    • Please! - 2008note 
    • Wind Flower - 2014note 
    • Winter Breath - 2018
    • Be Yourself - 2020note 
    • To My Star - 2022note 
  • Hyoyeon
    • Born to Be Wild - 2016note 
    • Mystery - 2016
    • Wannabe - 2017
    • Sober - 2018note 
    • Punk Right Now - 2018note 
    • Punk Right Now (Remixes) - 2019note 
    • Dessert - 2020note 
    • Think About Me - 2020note 
    • Second - 2021note 
    • Deep - 2022note 
    • iScreaM Vol.17 : DEEP Remixesnote 
    • Picture - 2023note 
    Links 

Not to be confused with the ruling party of the Republika Srpska!note 


Tropes related to SNSD:

     A-B 
  • Abnormal Limb Rotation Range: Taeyeon.
  • Accidental Athlete: Jessica, who is known to hate walking (and a lot of other physical activities), does quite well in basketball, table tennis, vertical jumps and running. See her in action here.
  • Accidental Pervert: Yuri in Hello Baby, who took photos of Kyungsan while the other members gave him a bath.
    • Yoona lifting Tiffany's skirt onstage.
    • Seohyun bought pajamas for Yoona that were so revealing that Yoona was reluctant to wear them.
    • Taeyeon commenting on Tiffany's 'sexy butt'.
    • Taeyeon staring at her members' butts.
  • The Ace: Seohyun can sing, dance, play piano, act, speak multiple languages, and is very intelligent on top of all that.
  • Aerith and Bob: Taeyeon, Hyoyeon, Yuri, Sooyoung, Yoona, Seohyun... and Jessica, Sunny and Tiffany.
  • Always Someone Better: Yuri's talent is supposedly mimicking voices. When some of SNSD's members (Taeyeon, Yuri, Seohyun, Sunny and Sooyoung) were on the TV show Happy Together, Yuri jokingly said that Sooyoung "stole" her talent (voice impressions) so the hosts made Yuri and Sooyoung have a voice mimicking contest, and Sooyoung did all of the impressions better.
  • American Accents: Jessica and Tiffany were both born and raised in California and both have very clear Californian accents when speaking in English. Observe!
  • Animal Motif: A rabbit for Jessica when she was in Running Man's "Animal Kingdom" episode (#141).
    • Alligator Yoong, Jessi Cat, Sunny Bunny, Deer Yoona
    • Taeyeon's signature is a butterfly.
  • Animate Inanimate Object: The video for Gee! has them portray a display of clothing store mannequins that come to life after closing time to adore the store clerk from afar.
  • Annoying Younger Sibling: Maknaes Yoona and Seohyun, though for very different reasons:
    • Yoona loves to tease the members, especially if she gets to do it in by putting on the most grating baby voice possible, but she's so charming that nobody can stay mad at her for too long.
    • Seohyun is so morally upstanding that some of the things she says may come off as nagging, like to avoid eating hamburges to prevent an early death, but nobody holds it against her and all her unnies adore her.
  • Arc Words: "GG" shows up in multiple songs ("Gee", "I Got A Boy", "The Boys", etc).
  • Ascended Extra: Hyoyeon started out as a silhouette dancer for BoA.
    • Yoona, Sunny, and Yuri appeared in some of their fellow label mate's music videos before debut.
  • Audience Participation Song: Kissing You and Girls' Generation (see here).
    • Tiffany's "DJ, put it back on" line from "Genie", with "DJ" usually being swapped out for the city/country/venue they're performing in.
  • Bad Girl Song: Bad Girl, from the first Japanese album.
  • Badass Adorable: Despite being regarded as the member with the most aegyo (cuteness), Sunny has caught chickens and snakes, and fish with her bare hands. During a show in which Taeyeon was forcibly dragged to the backstage area by an obsessive fan who had somehow gotten onstage, Sunny was the first member to react and try to free Taeyeon from the fan's grasp. See her in action here.
  • Beach Episode: Their Party concept is centred around the beach and, well, partying.
  • Benevolent Genie: Why, the music video for the Japanese version of "Genie", of course; with a touch of Magical Girlfriend going on as well.
  • Bifauxnen: This photoshoot had some of them posing as men. Cue fangirl swooning.
    • After Sunny cut her hair into a pixie cut, some fans remarked she looked a bit too boyish sometimes.
    • Apparently some people thought Tiffany was a handsome boy when she had short hair.
      • Tiffany herself revealed to 1st Look Magazine that she received lots of love for her epicene charms during SNSD's early days.
  • Blatant Lies: Every time the girls use mistranslations of advanced Korean terms to trick Jessica and Tiffany who weren't very well-acquainted with Korean terms at the time. One memorable incident occurred when Tiffany asked the girls what "Sachultang" (a healthy albeit controversial soup made with dog meat) is, Sooyoung told her that it was a soup with four iron bars in it. note 
    Taeyeon: When [Sooyoung] was in elementary, she shaved off iron from a pole and ate it.
  • Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: With a few exceptions, whether through Dye Hard or wigs, all their looks for their performances have featured exactly one blonde girl with the remaining eight in varying shades of brunette or redhead. Became Jessica's trademark for a while.
  • Breakout Character: Yoona. She started off with a rather minor role but became prominent following her immense growth in popularity. She appeared in four dramas, and has won six awards (five from the same drama).
  • Break-Up Song: Type 5 for Run Devil Run, Type 4 for Mistake, Time Machine, and Lost in Love.
  • But Not Too Foreign: Jessica and Tiffany were born and raised in California.

    C-D 
  • Call-Back: "Forever 1," released on their 15th anniversary, contains an interpolation of their first single "Into The New World" during the bridge.
  • Captain Obvious: Seohyun. During an episode of Hello Baby, the girls were eating and wondered what they should do when they were finished. Seohyun immediately replied, "We should clean up." (What the other girls were actually talking about were the activities they were planning later in the day.) Afterwards, Yuri related an anecdote about a lady asking Seohyun who made their meals in the dormitory; Seohyun answered, "The rice cooker."
    • Yoona had a good Captain Obvious moment in Hello Baby, when she and Jessica pranked the members by putting too much salt and vinegar on their food.
    Tiffany: Why is [the food] so salty?!
    Sooyoung: What did you put in it?!
    Yoona: Salt!
  • Catchphrase: "Heol! Daebak sagun!"note  The girls tended to say this a lot during I Got a Boy promotions, especially during the video shoot.
    • "Yah, Seohyun!"note  The girls' somewhat affectionate way to call their maknae whenever they need something.
    • Tiffany has several famous lines from songs.
      • "Genie" has "DJ, put it back on!", which is turned into a Mad Libs Catch Phrase when played live.
      • "Gee" has the English intro, which almost always had Jessica accompanying Tiffany when played live.
      • "I Got A Boy" has "Ayo, stop! Lemme put it down another way." If the girls are wearing hats, they'll also throw them.
  • Chekhov's Gun: A certain pic had been around the web for a while; it was rumored to be from a music video of a song that was supposed to be released instead of "Gee" in 2008. Fast-forward four years and it's revealed to be "Dancing Queen", a Translated Cover Version of Duffy's "Mercy" which was officially released by SM Entertainment as a digital single and is also included in their fourth album. It was revealed that it couldn't be released back then due to copyright issues.
  • Chronological Album Title: Their Japanese albums.
    2. Girls' Generation II: Girls & Peace
  • Cliffhanger: At the end of the "Oh!" music video, the girls return home to find that their apartment has been ransacked by their evil counterparts. The second part of the story is in the "Run Devil Run" music video.
  • The Coats Are Off: In the "Paparazzi" music video and in Tiffany's "Umbrella" solo stage during the "Into The New World" tour.
  • Color Motifs: The "Run Devil Run" video predominantly utilizes white and black.
  • Comeback Tomorrow: When Yuri is in an argument with a person, she goes to her room and writes a list of comebacks for later use on a piece of paper. When the person she's arguing with has an unexpected answer, she excuses herself, goes back to her room, and writes more comebacks.
  • Confession Cam: Implemented in Girls Go To School and Hello Baby, where it was frequented by Yoona and Yuri in the latter.
  • Contagious Laughter: Taeyeon. Her "ahjumma" laugh is the butt of jokes, and whenever she laughs, everybody else ends up laughing along with her.
  • Cool and Unusual Punishment: When Yuri first gets the "Worst Mom" title in Hello Baby, her punishment? A water-rafting ride.
  • Cool Big Sis: they're this to most of the junior groups from their company, as it's not uncommon to see them tending to the younger kids. Special mention goes to Jessica, whose real little sister, Krystal, is part of f(x).
  • Costume Porn: They've worn some incredible themed outfits in many of their videos. Mod/60's style in the video for "Hoot", or the Yellow and Black Taxi short skirts and vests in Mr Taxi, the bad girl outfits in "Run Devil Run", the intro for "The Boys", motorcycle gang clothing in "Bad Girl", the Naval and Army style uniforms in "Genie", etc.
  • Could Say It, But...:
    “Usually, Tiffany is the funniest member. If Tiffany were to act as she does with us, then her sense of humor would be funny on TV, but that’s not the case.” - Sooyoung
  • The Cutie: Sunny. Notable in that she's one of the elder members, and frequently gets called out on her overly cutesy behavior by the younger members. The other members are already immune to her "aegyo" (cuteness), sometimes referring to it as "aegyo that calls for a punch". For a long time she was known as the "fake maknae", since at a first glance people often mistake her as the youngest member of the group.
    • However, it was revealed that she isn't overly cutesy in real life. During their appearance on Happy Together, Yuri revealed that “Normally, Sunny lacks expression on her face and has no strength but whenever a guy appears, all of a sudden expressions start to come out”.
  • Dancing In The Street: In the "Love and Girls" music video.
  • A Day in the Limelight: Basically the point of their show MTV Lifestyle, in which each member got to be in the limelight for an episode (however, most of them brought along a companion/companions with them). Three of the members' (Sooyoung, Hyoyeon, Taeyeon) episodes featured the whole group, and Sooyoung and Taeyeon's were extended to 2 episodes.
  • Dark Is Evil: The Black SoShi, SNSD's evil parallel-universe counterparts that appear in the videos for "Oh!" and "Run Devil Run", who are decked out in black.
  • Delayed Reaction: Jessica was usually a few seconds behind the rest when reacting to jokes.
  • Design Student's Orgasm: The video for Visual Dreams.
  • Determinator: Surprisingly, Seohyun. Episode 64 of Running Man showed her competitive side, which was almost too extreme to the point where she would've eliminated her partner Yoo Jae-suk if given the opportunity.
    • Tiffany definitely counts. She moved to Korea at age 15 (despite her father's protests) to pursue a career in the music industry, despite not knowing a single person in Korea or even speaking the language well. Being raised primarily in the U.S, Tiffany wasn't accustomed to the Korean traditions and was often called 'rude' by their standards, especially with no one to teach her any better, she had to learn through being insulted and ridiculed.
    • Really, all SNSD members count. This video highlights how much they went through in order to get where they are now.
  • Distaff Counterpart: Originally Girls' Generation was going to called "Super Girls", based on the name of their label mates Super Junior.
  • Does Not Like Spam: Seohyun and burgers.
    "Unnie, if you eat that stuff you will DIE!"
    - Seohyun to Sunny, when she noticed the latter was eating a burger (Intimate Note)
  • Do Not Call Me "Paul"
    • Do Not Call Me Soonkyu, in Sunny's case. Let's just put it this way: She's not very fond of her real name.
    • Do Not Call Me Miyoung for Tiffany. (Except that one time.) Rumor has it that the other members refer to her as "Miyoung" when her face is makeup-free, and after she puts on makeup, other members would call her "Tiffany".
  • Double Entendre: The entirety of the song Reflection from their second Japanese album. If you thought the Gratuitous English lyrics weren't suggestive enough, search for the Japanese lyrics and you'll find out that the innuendos in there are anything but subtle.
  • Dress Rehearsal Video: Practically all of the videos to their album-leading singles feature cuts of the girls in full costume, performing the steps to their given song on a soundstage. On some singles, they digitally release videos composed solely of them performing the dance without any interruptions.
    • They even play instruments (er, some of them) in their self-titled song, and in the video for "My Oh My".

    E-F 
  • Embarrassing First Name: Korean names in their case - Sunny's Korean name is Lee Soon-Kyu and Tiffany's is Hwang Mi-Young. Neither of them like their Korean names very muchnote  something which is occasionally Played for Laughs by the other members.
  • The End... Or Is It?: Although the "Run Devil Run" music video (which is a continuation of the "Oh!" video) involves the Black SoShi being defeated (by Yuri unplugging the computer monitor that they came from), the video ends with the monitor being tapped, displaying the Black SoShi.
  • Epic Instrumental Opener: The music video for The Boys.
  • Eurodance: The genre of "Genie (Tell Me You Wish)" according to the girls.
  • Even the Girls Want Her: They have a sizable female fanbase, most of whom enjoy them for the same reasons the male fanbase does. The fandom on twitter and tumblr talk about "exploding ovaries" a lot. The girls themselves are well aware of it.
    • Yuri in particular has a lot of fangirls.
  • Evil Counterpart: The Black SoShi, their dark-clad selves in the "Oh!" video and the story version of the "Run Devil Run" video, are meant to be this. However it's mostly Felony Misdemeanor - for all the attention they drummed up, they do little more than trash the apartment belonging to the girls' cheerleader personas in "Oh!", and whatever damage they do is fixed in a Fast-Forward Gag. See here.
  • Expy: Hyoyeon, Jessica, Taeyeon, and Yoona were all referred to as "the next BoA" by netizens back when they were still trainees.
  • Family Business: Jessica's younger sister Krystal was a part of the group f(x), which was also under SM Entertainment. In addition, Sunny's uncle is the founder of SM Entertainment (although she got into the group on her own merit, and didn't mention her connections until she had passed her audition).
  • Fanservice: All the time:
    • The costumes Hyoyeon wore during her appearances on Dancing with the Stars.
    • Interestingly, their midriff-baring costumes are mostly associated with their more cutesy acts like Gee and Oh! rather than their Hotter and Sexier performances like in Run Devil Run.
  • Fan Disservice: The "Ugly Face-Off" on Horror Movie Factory. Comes with a side of Fanservice intermission numbers to help the viewers forget what they've just seen.
  • Flanderization: In fanfics. There's a whole list of them here.
    • Taeyeon: Is either a Memetic Molester that loves butts (especially Tiffany's) or depressed, angsty and emo that's forever mistaken for a middle schooler/kid.
    • Tiffany's voice is so husky she sounds like she has a sore throat all the time.
    • Jessica doesn't do anything but eat and sleep (except when cucumbers are around).
    • All Sooyoung does is eat and tease Taeyeon & Sunny for being short.
    • All Hyoyeon does is dance.
  • Felony Misdemeanor: Seohyun was blacklisted in an airport because of tomatoes.
  • Forgetful Jones: Tiffany, who was born in California, was asked by an emcee where she (Tiffany) was born. Tiffany replied with: "LA! (beat) Ah, San Francisco. (laughs) Sorry."
    • In an interview, she was asked what her Korean name was and she said "Pani".note 
  • Freudian Slip: Jessica while singing "Say Yes" in ''Kiss the Radio'':
    Jessica: Girl... BOY! I see you walking by everyday...
    • Taeyeon in Hello Baby.
      Taeyeon: Dad! Bring the nipple. I mean pacifier!
    • Hyoyeon on Shinhwa Broadcast.
      Hyoyeon: They don't go out often because SNSD members have hearts like small peppers (a Korean euphemism for "penis").
  • Friendly Tickle Torture: To Tiffany, in an episode of Star Golden Bell.
  • Funny Background Event: Judging from fan accounts, the girls do funny stuff when the cameras aren't focused on them during live events, such as concerts and the like.
  • Fun T-Shirt: Not a T-Shirt, but a hoodie. Sooyoung's "I Never Finish Anyth" hoodie.
  • Fun with Foreign Languages: Jessica and Tiffany randomly breaking out in English in concerts and in TV shows.
    • "I need my hairspray right now. N-O-W, now!" (Jessica)
    • Jessica and Tiffany with "Oh My God".

    G-M 
  • Gamer Chick: Sunny is the most well-known example, the other members were once startled late at night by the noises of a game she was playing. Yoona and Taeyeonnote  count as well.
  • Game Show Appearance: Sunny, Yoona and Taeyeon in 1 vs. 100 (the Korean version). Also in their numerous guest appearances in the variety-slash-game show Star Golden Bell.
  • Genki Girl: Tiffany during her early days as an SM trainee.
  • Genre Roulette: They've recorded songs in various genres throughout the years, but Lion Heart alone has doo-wop, hip hop, bossa nova, quiet storm, and new jack swing among the standard pop fare.
  • Giant Poofy Sleeves: The video for "Kissing You" include a few relatively minor examples.
  • Girl Group: One of the most notable Korean examples, and easily the most popular throughout their heyday.
  • Girliness Upgrade: For a while certain members (specifically, Sooyoung and Yuri) were told to tone down their behaviour and act in a more "ladylike" fashion. Doesn't mean their dorky sides have gone away completely, though.
  • God in Human Form: Taeyeon and Hyoyeon's solo works have them as incarnations of Artemis and Arachne, respectively.
  • Gratuitous English: Most of their album-leading singles have at least a couple of English words peppered here and there; sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. Perhaps the worst offender would have to be Genie, with the line "I'm Genie for your wish/dream/world" being repeated in the chorus. This was unfortunately still not corrected in the Japanese Translated Cover Version.
    • Mostly averted with their single "The Boys". The Korean version has the typical English sprinkled in with the girls rapping. Then there's an English version. The English itself is quite impressive, when you look at the lines individually anyway. The song as whole doesn't actually make sense.
  • Gravity Master / Artistic License – Physics: Parodied. Sooyoung said that they didn't use a 360° camera for the 10-second jump shot freeze frame in the Genie music video; she stated that they actually jumped, floated, and stayed in the air for 10 seconds.
  • Harmony: Oh yes, their voices blend together beautifully. Though, if you ask any SONE, they will tell you that Taeyeon and Jessica's voices in particular are a match made in heaven.
  • Healing Factor: Doctors have told Sooyoung that her bones "heal at the speed of light".
  • Hood Ornament Hottie: There's a little of this going on in their album covers for Mr. Taxi/Run Devil Run.
  • Hotter and Sexier: Run Devil Run kicked off a change in style that saw the girls gradually become more and more like this in most of their succeeding releases, until it came to a head during...
    • Their 1st Japan Arena Tour. Honorable mentions go to Yoona's "pole dancing" and Sooyoung's "lap dance" intro for her performance of "Sway" (and the performance itself), but the cake has to go to Taeyeon and Tiffany's absolutely Stripperiffic outfits in their performance of Lady Marmalade.
    • Their concept photos for the Mr. Taxi repackage album.
    • Their Japanese single "Flower Power" contained their first overtly "sexual" line: "Do you wanna be my lover?" and has them wearing leather-esque outfits that have been described as "bondage-influenced".
    • Seohyun, who was usually a little more conservative than her fellow members even in sexier concepts, jumped headfirst into this territory with her teaser pics from their fourth album, I Got a Boy.
      • Then there's her infamous split during the music video for "You Think", which surprised everyone.
  • I Can Still Fight!: Tiffany fell and injured her leg during a concert, but instead of immediately seeking medical help, she went on to perform. During Gee promotions, she injured her ankle but still performed on music shows with a cast on.
    • Sunny was also seen with a knee brace while performing.
    • Yuri hurt her ankles and needed to have surgery but she decided to postpone it until after the end of promotions, leading to her being seen performing with ankle braces.
  • I Know Your True Name: The girls are shown to refer to each other by their real names on occasion.
    Sooyoung: Sunny! Sunny!
    Sunny: *Mumbling* Why me?
    Sooyoung: ...Lee Soon-Kyu!
    MCs: Ah! Her real name is Soon-Kyu!
    Hyoyeon: Sooyoung, Soon-Kyu's right here - stop staring at the sky!
    *Later*
    Yuri: *Pointing accusatory finger* Lee Soon-Kyu! The rotting chocolate milk you left in the fridge exploded!
    MC: *reading from fan questions* Sunny do you not like your given name? And could you show us your charms?
    Sunny: *looking away and laughing*
    MC: So I wonder what your real name is.
    Sunny: *ignoring the question* I'll show you my charms.
    MC: Why don't we ask the writer what her real name is?
    Sunny: No! No! No! No!
    Sooyoung: Hey, Soon-kyu!
    Sunny: [while hitting Sooyoung] What's wrong with you?!
  • Initiation Ceremony: When Yuri first came to SM Ent. as a trainee, Jessica, Hyoyeon and Sooyoung (who were in "cool unnie" poses) ordered Yuri to take her shoes off before entering the studio. When she entered the studio, everyone else were wearing shoes. It was just a prank, but Yuri was scared of them for a year because of that. She also used honorifics to talk to the three girls in honorifics even though they were the same age (and Sooyoung was actually younger, although they are considered the same age in Korean age).
  • Innocent Fanservice Girl: Sooyoung accidentally revealed in Come To Play that Jessica doesn't like wearing clothes immediately after showers.
  • Internal Homage: "Forever 1" references the opening of "Into the New World" during the bridge.
  • Image Macro: The "Ms. Bitch Please" reaction face used in memes is none other than... Tiffany.
  • Irony: Their self-titled song is actually a cover of another artist's song by the same name.
  • It's a Small World, After All: Jessica and Tiffany were born in the same hospital in San Francisco in 1989, and they would coincidentally end up attending and graduating from the same high school in Seoul, Korea Kent Foreign School, during their trainee days.
  • It Tastes Like Feet: Yuri's "ma" drink.note  The other members don't like it... at all. When Yuri became a part of a [bogus] SNSD leader election, she proclaimed that if she becomes the leader, she would make all the other members drink "ma" every morning. The other members refused with a look of disdain on their faces. (and yes, that includes Ms. Uptight Lifestyle Seohyun)
  • Jack of All Trades / Renaissance Woman: Sooyoung can speak fluent Japanese, and she plays the guitar, piano, drums, and viola.
    • Seohyun can speak fluent Chinese and English, and she plays the piano, guitar, and violin.
  • Japanese Pop Music: The group broke into the J-Pop market sometime in 2010, starting with the Japanese covers of Genie and Gee. This was followed by double A-Side Mr. Taxi/Run Devil Run and their 2011 Self-Titled Album.
  • Kaleidoscope Hair: Sunny. As stated before, she frequently changes her hair colors through dyeing her hair or wearing wigs.
  • Kids Rock: A part of the song "My Child" was sung by a children's choir. However, it was revealed that the members of said "children's choir" were SNSD themselves.
  • Language Barrier: During Horror Movie Factory.
    Sunny & Taeyeon: What?
    MC: Do you wanna play a game?
    Taeyeon: Do you wanna... fried chicken? Huh?
  • The Leader: Taeyeon, though she was so overwhelmed by the pressure of it and felt like she wasn't allowed to complain about it that she "stepped down" at some point in time and had to be talked into keeping the role. It helps that there never was a hierarchy in the group in the first place, and all the girls were more than happy to help her share the pressure.
    • Seohyun is the leader of TTS.
    • For their 15th anniversary, as they had to plan a full-group comeback while also fulfilling their individual schedules, they decided to incorporate a rotational leader system in order to lift the burden off the shoulder of a single member. Yoona, specifically, was the designated leader for the comeback period, with Taeyeon instead assuming the title of Queen Dowager.
  • Like Brother and Sister: SNSD is like this to label-mates Super Junior and SHINee.
  • Little Miss Badass: Tiffany explained on the now-defunct Korean TV Show Star Golden Bell how Yoona got the nickname "Power Yoona".
    Host: Anyone want to share a story proving just how powerful Yoona is, really?
    Tiffany: She said she had to carry a box when we were moving but she didn't just carry one. She carried all of the members' boxes. So we didn't even need to call the movers because Yoona did them all.
    Host: [to Yoona] Can you carry beds too?
    Yoona: Our room is shared among the 3 of us: Taeyeon, Sooyoung and myself. We didn't like how the beds were arranged before so we switched it around ourselves.
    Host: So you moved the beds?
    Sooyoung: Yoona did it all by herself.
    Yoona: NO!
    Host: Sooyoung just proved it.
    Yoona: In the studio [where] we practiced, we moved a couch from the 1st floor to the 3rd floor...
    • And here we have video footage of her breaking 6 pairs of chopsticks at once without breaking a sweat.
  • Look Ma, I Am on TV!: Yuri on Entertainment Tonight News.
    Soooyoung: I actually personally really like Girls' Generation.
    MC: Is there someone you like in particular?
    Sooyoung: Personally... They're all trying to show me their merits and charm, but... Yuri who is right in front of me.
    MC: Can someone be more tacky?
    Yuri: [waving to the camera] Mom, I'm on TV!
  • Lunch With The Manager: Sooyoung once had lunch with their manager because the other members won't go with her due to their busy schedules.
  • Lyrical Cold Open: I Got A Boy.
  • Lyrical Dissonance: I Got A Boy has a hip-hop/dance beat. The lyrics, however, was described by the fandom as a stereotypical ''oppa saranghae'' song. note 
  • Mascot: Taeyeon has two of them: her dukongsnote  and the Gingerbread Mannote . Both of these are commonly associated with Taeyeon, and both of these mascots have made cameos in Taeyeon's instagram.
  • Match Cut: Used very often in their music videos to interchange between two scenes of the group dancing while wearing different outfits.
  • Meadow Run: Spoofed by Yuri and Jessica (on a beach) in the SNSD in Phuket (Making Film A) DVD. They do it properly on the 2nd attempt, though.
  • Melismatic Vocals: These are common across their discography, no doubt helped by the fact that they have some of K-Pop's most revered powerhouse vocalists such as Taeyeon. But "Mr. Mr." is probably best-known for this among their singles, with Taeyeon, Jessica, and Tiffany forming a Vocal Tag Team that has been joked about endlessly by fans.
    Tiffany: MR WOOAAHH OOH
    Jessica: OHHHH WOOOOAAAHHHHH OHHH
    Taeyeon: WOOOOOOOOOOO WOOOAAAAAHHHH OOHHH
    top comment on the video
  • Merchandise-Driven: Their single, Chocolate Love, as seen being performed in the above photo, is a promotion for the LG Cyon Chocolate Phone. There's also their other CFs for water coolers, the LG Cookie and various other items.
  • Metal Scream: Taeyeon's Devil's Cry.
  • Multiple Demographic Appeal: Part of the group's success was how they were marketed to both men and women.
  • Music for Courage: "Into the New World" is commonly brought up as an inspiration for people who have been going through a rough time. It has also become a staple at political protests.

     N-P 
  • Naughty Nurse Outfit: In the music video of "Mr. Mr."
  • New Sound Album: Their 2011 Self-Titled Album (not to be confused with the 2007 release of the same name) turned out to be this. Aside from the songs being recorded in Japanese, the album strays from the bubblegum dance-pop style common in previous releases and instead, has a generally more pronounced electronic and Synth-Pop sound.
  • The Nicknamer: Sooyoung. Her nicknames for the girls:
    • Taeyeon: Taengie
    • Hyoyeon: Hyosukie
    • Yoona: Yoongie
    • Seohyun: Makdoongie (a cute way of saying maknae)
  • No Indoor Voice: Seohyun stated that Tiffany’s voice is very loud, and if she were to get into a fight on the 1st floor, the people on the 6th floor could probably hear her. The other members say that when Tiffany gets excited, her pitch becomes high like an ambulance siren. Also, fans who were on the first floor during her 2012 birthday party said that her voice could be heard even though she was on the 2nd floor.
    • A notable exception: during an episode of '"Horror Movie Factory"' in which Jessica and Tiffany filmed in a "haunted" school, Sooyoung told the sound director to lower the volume on Tiffany's mic. Tiffany, however, was not the one with the dolphin scream.
    • Sooyoung too—she and Tiffany are in a tie for first place as SNSD's loudest member. In a shouting contest held on the 21st episode of Hello Baby, Sooyoung's scream was measured at a whopping 108.3 decibels - that's almost as loud as a Turbo-fan aircraft at takeoff power at 200 ft.
  • Non-Appearing Title: 유리아이 (Yuri Ai / Glass Child)note 
  • Not Quite Dead: After Black SoShi is defeated when Yuri unplugs them, the girls start cleaning up their ransacked apartment, only for someone to tap on the computer, which brings up a screen showing Black SoShi.
  • Not So Stoic: Ice Princess Jessica.
  • Older Than They Look: Sunny, the 3rd eldest in the group.
  • One-Note Cook: With a little help, Jessica could cook Italian food very well, as seen in her MTV Lifestyle episode, and she showcases her cooking skills with her tuna fried rice. She is, however, also infamous for deep-frying ham, turning rice into porridge, and putting ketchup and sugar in kimchi fried rice (which, according to reports, actually tastes good).
  • One-Steve Limit: Jessica's Korean name, Sooyeon, sounds very similar to Sooyoung's name (and perhaps Seohyun's as well).
  • Out-of-Genre Experience: Their "Girls' Generation" cover is shifting more towards pop rock.
  • Otaku: Seohyun is also known as a big Keroro & Nodame fan... and she somehow managed to brainwash Taeyeon into liking Keroro as well.
    • The otaku bug seems to have bit Taeyeon pretty hard, since she did record a few Instagram videos of herself watching Attack on Titan.
  • Parrot Exposition: TaeTiSeo on former H.O.T. member Kangta's cooking show.
    Kangta: I know Seohyun's fallen in love lately.
    Taeyeon: Huh?!
    Seohyun: Eh?!
    Kangta: In fact, I know who he is.
    Taeyeon: Oh?
    Tiffany: Huh?
    Seohyun: EH???
    Tiffany: Really?
  • The Peeping Tom: Jessica, who has taken pictures of her groupmates while they were changing (and refused to delete them from her phone).
  • Pie in the Face: Jessica caked Sunny during a radio show. However, Jessica herself also got caked during her 2010 birthday celebration (which was held during a concert). It's bound to happen every single time they celebrate one of the member's birthday at a concert or on-air.
  • Piss-Take Rap: Opinions on Tiffany's rapping have varied since they started pushing her as a rapper after their Japan Tour (here's a sample from her and Taeyeon's performance of Lady Marmalade), and the effect sometimes ends up being pretty fly for a Korean-American girl. Strangely enough, among the girls, she may be the most suitable for a rapper role, considering she grew up in California.
    • Also applies to Sooyoung, whose rap in "You Think" doesn't quite possess the power needed, and her attempt at a tough sounding "What what what" sounds more like a cutesy "Wot wot wot". Subverted by Hyoyeon's immediately following rap verse, cementing her as the group's "main" rapper.
  • The Prankster: Yuri and occasionally Yoona.
    • Most of the time, the trope applies to Yuri, who places rats and fake bugs around the dorm. She once placed a Whoopee Cushion on maknae Seohyun's seat, too.
    • One of her most [in]famous feats of notoriety: tying the 8 other members' shoelaces together.
  • Product Placement: Early in the "I Got a Boy" video, for GiRL De Provence Perfume & Casio Baby G.
    • There's one for Mr. Pizza at the beginning of "Lion Heart."
  • Pistol Pose / Sean Connery Is About to Shoot You: There's a lot of these in the promotional material for Hoot!
  • Protest Song: Their song "Into the New World" became one, when students at Ewha Women's University sang this song during a protest, while surrounded by riot police. This song is popular at pride parades in Korea.
  • Pun: Sooyoung was once asked for a dare in a variety show to put on a swimming tube and do the Gee crab dance in a coffee shop. She was very shy at first but she managed to finish the task amazingly. The dare is taken as a prank in relation to her name.note 

    R-Z 
  • Retraux: The music video for Dancing Queen.
  • Running Gag: Sooyoung and Yoona's Ahn Youngmi impression.
    • Taeyeon's attempt at a Maria Sharapova impression. note 
    • Seohyun's Park Hui Jin impression.
    • Sooyoung and Seohyun's "Christina" impression.
    • Jessica's hatred of cucumbers.
    • An old one: Sooyoung's Home Shopping/Endorsement segments.
    • The girls in Music Core during I Got a Boy promotions.
    Sooyoung: If we win, I will yell out my lover's name!
    • Another example:
    Jessica: If SNSD gets first place, Hyoyeon will run around twice while I'm on her back!
    • And another one.
    Tiffany: If we win, we will all do push-ups!Spoiler
  • The Scream: Jessica's dolphin scream.
  • Screen Tap: Yoona does this in her 2009 "goobne chicken" short.
  • Self-Titled Album: Girls' Generation.
  • Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness / Antiquated Linguistics: Seohyun. Her default way of speaking is the formal way, and she finds it hard to speak informally, even refusing to drop the honorifics when talking to her 8 unnies.
    • SNSD's resident wordsmith, spokesperson, and megaphone Sooyoung fits this trope to a T when it comes to writing and interviews.
  • Sexy Santa Dress: Sooyoung in her "Santa Baby" solo stage.
  • Shipper on Deck: When Seohyun was fake-married to Jung Yonghwa of CN Blue for a television show, the other eight girls actively shipped them, referring to Yonghwa as "Seohyun's husband" every chance they got, even in other unrelated shows.
  • Shout-Out: During their Marchen Fantasy concert in December 2013, various members of the group paid tribute by performing various songs done by their Girl Group peers in the industry. Cue heaps of Fanservice from Sunny's performance of Ga-in's "Bloom" and Sooyoung's performance of Sunmi's "24 Hours".
  • Shy Finger-Twiddling: Yoona in the "Gee" music video.
  • Signature Move: Their "crab dance" from "Gee", "kick dance" from "Genie" and "arrow dance" from "Hoot".
    • Sooyoung, who likes to use her hands, although her most famous (or infamous) signature move are her hair flips, which have earned her positive attention from fans while also driving the other members absolutely nuts.
      • This signature move from her also deserves an honorable mention, and it's also done with a little help too.
    • Jessica and Taeyeon will often grab at their microphones when singing sustained notes.
    • Yuri's kkab dance.
    • Sunny and her... ah... chest.
  • Silly Love Songs: "Kissing You", "Gee", "Oh"... most of the songs from their early days count.
  • Sleepwalking: Taeyeon. On top of introducing herself and hosting radio when sleep talking, she once sleepwalked, went down the elevator, and went back up. She said she couldn’t remember a thing. (Her father said that he heard someone opening the door so he got up and found Taeyeon sleepwalking.)
    • She once lost her phone while sleeping, and it was found inside the refrigerator the next day.
  • Sleepy Head: Jessica. She once wished for "a medicine that would give me the effect of sleeping for ten hours from only sleeping for one hour". She was also once reported missing only to turns out that she was sleeping in a bathroom.
  • Spy Catsuit: Their costumes for Hoot! are themed after these.
  • Solo Side Project: All members except for Sooyoung and Sunny have released at least one solo album.
  • Stage Names: Tiffany for Stephanie Hwang (or Hwang Miyoung), Sunny for Lee Soonkyu (or Susan Lee), and Seohyun for Seo Juhyun could count as well.
  • Stop and Go: In several songs, the music stops abruptly before someone orders it to continue.
    • "Genie": "DJ, put it back on." (Sometimes during live performances, Tiffany swaps out "DJ" for whatever city or venue they are performing in.)
    • "I Got a Boy": There's two, in fact:
      • Tiffany says, "Ayo, stop - let me put it down another way" before the first beat drop.
    • Jessica says, "Stop - let's bring it back to 1:40" after the musical interlude.
  • Sugar-and-Ice Personality: Taeyeon is, by her own admission, quite aloof and moody, and tends to distance herself from the members. That being said, she whole-heartedly cares about them and SONEs, to the point of spending a lot of time just to talk to them via Instagram. She even crashed a Christmas party organized by fans and bought everyone gifts without her manager knowing.
  • Talking in Your Sleep: Taeyeon. She speaks so clearly when she sleeps, the other members thought that she was actually talking on the phone. The other members said that she (Taeyeon) introduces SNSD when she sleeps.
  • Talky Bookends: See: Oh!, Run Devil Run, Time Machine.
  • Teen Idol: All the members debuted as idols in their teens. However they want to shed their "idol" image and prefer to be called as "artists", something that is unlikely since they have little control in their music as opposed to a "true" artist.
  • Textless Album Cover: The single cover of "Run Devil Run".
  • The Show Must Go On: Watch episode 9 of Factory Girl, in which they helped a girl confess her love to a guy.note  They helped serenade the guy for the girl (with Seohyun playing the background music on the piano), and despite everything that arose during the event,note  Seohyun continued to play (and finish) her piano piece because she was told to do so.
  • Title Track: Gee, Genie, Oh!, Hoot, The Boys, Twinkle, I Got A Boy
  • Trademark Favorite Food: Seohyun's goguma (sweet potatoes).
  • Translated Cover Version: Their forays into the J-Pop market were initially composed of these, with their first two singles being covers of Genie and Gee. Partially averted in Mr. Taxi/Run Devil Run, with Mr. Taxi being an original song. Further averted in their 2011 Self-Titled Album; of the 8 tracks on the album which weren't released as singles, only the Japanese version of Hoot! is a cover.
    • Run Devil Run, in turn, was taken from a Kesha demo that didn't make the cut, leading to the tune and the rights to it being sold to SM Entertainment.
    • Dutch singer Nathalie Makoma's I Just Wanna Dance is an English cover of Genie.
    • Demi Lovato's record company also happened to buy the rights of the tune that became "Born To Be a Lady". Demi's version is called Mistake (which coincidentally is the same title of another SNSD song, written by Yuri).
    • Several covers were included in the I Got A Boy album: Dancing Queen, a "cover" of Duffy's "Mercy" recorded in 2008, and Baby Maybe, which was originally a demo by British singer/songwriter Pixie Lott named What You Do. Yuri, Sooyoung, and Seohyun collaborated on the Korean lyrics for the latter. Next is Talk Talk, which was originally recorded in Korean in 2008 but was released after the Japanese cover version, Boomerang, was released on the girls' second Japanese album in 2012. Then there is I Got A Boy itself - a demo by Katy Tiz that didn't make the cut, like Ke$ha's Run Devil Run, but it was called "Shiner On You" and it was basically the opposite of I Got A Boy's "Oppa Saranghae" filled lyrics.
  • Tuxedo and Martini: The look and feel they were going for in the music video for Hoot! though it was Siwon from Super Junior in the tux.
  • Unfinished Business: Jessica plays a ghost in labelmate SHINee's music video for "Sherlock", who can't pass on until the boys resolve the mystery behind her death. She can't talk, but can only leave behind clues to help them.
  • Updated Re-release: Their agency and label are the masters at this.
  • Valley Girl: Jessica and Tiffany sound like this when speaking English due to being born and raised in California.
  • Van in Black: About 90% of the vans that the girls or any other celebrity that appears ride in is a black van.
  • Ventriloquism: One of SNSD's talents is being able to talk without moving their mouths (once demonstrated in an episode of Happy Together). They do this when they instruct each other on what to do next. They're quite good at this. Well, except Yuri.
  • Vitriolic Best Buds: when it comes to teasing, it's a free-for-all between them.
  • Volleying Insults: Invoked in Intimate Note, which served as a Funny Moment to the members.
  • The Workaholic: Taeyeon had to get an IV drip while she was recording the songs for her first full album. Even then, her co-workers had to beg her to get some rest. She says she gets antsy when she has nothing to do.
  • Wig, Dress, Accent / Master of Disguise: The girls own "scream" masks which they sometimes use as disguises whenever they go out and have some fun. Four of the membersnote  once used the masks in an amusement park in Japan, and they disguised their voices by speaking in a manly voice and calling each other "John".
    • Sunny once shared a story about going to an amusement park with Hyoyeon, Jessica and Tiffany during one of their breaks. The girls went to an amusement park wearing scarfs. There were still some people who noticed them, so the 4 girls decided to buy raccoon masks sold by the amusement park. The girls were able to enjoy their rides with raccoon masks on, but before going home, they wanted to ride a roller coaster. They waited in line for an hour, and in order to get on the ride, they had to take off their disguises. They did, and their candids leaked on the 'net the next day.
  • Man of a Thousand Voices: Taeyeon during her tenure as a DJ on ChinChin Radio was "A Woman of 20,000 voices", due to the countless voice impressions she did.


지금은, 소녀시대! 앞으로도, 소녀시대! 영원히, 소녀시대!
Right now, it’s Girls Generation! Tomorrow, it’s Girls Generation! Forever, it’s Girls Generation!


Alternative Title(s): SNSD

Top