소녀시대 (Girls' Generation)

A nine-piece girl group from South Korea, Girls' Generation — also known as SNSD, or So Nyeo Shi Dae — was a SM Entertainment creation, to go along with that company's other dance-pop group, the all-boy Super Junior. Members Hyoyeon, Jessica, Seohyun, Sooyoung, Sunny, Taeyeon, Tiffany, Yoona, and Yuri had — for the most part — been a part of Korean pop media, appearing in commercials and ads before winning places in Girls' Generation and making their debut as such in the summer of 2007. Their first single, "Into the New World," was released in August of that year and was quickly followed with an album release, Girls' Generation, in November. The group finished out 2007 and saw in 2008 with a number of television appearances to promote the album and subsequent singles. With the release of the 2010 follow-up Oh!, Girls' Generation expanded their reach to Japan, and the group set its sights on the American market with 2011's The Boys.