Hello and welcome to another edition of Back to Basics, where we take a look back at the accomplishments that Girls’ Generation has achieved and also at some minor details that I feel are important and fun to know as a SONE. This edition will cover the month of January 2012. If you have missed the previous editions for this month or would like to do a little bit of rereading, click here for the years 2008 to 2010 and here for the year 2011. There is never too much to read when it comes to our favorite girls!

K-Pop has become an international force around the world, and it’s no surprise that Girls’ Generation has a lot to do with the success of the ever-expanding Hallyu wave. Even though the girls could have stayed content with their status as South Korea’s national girl group and their rising popularity in Asia, they took a chance with an attempt at breaking into the American market. To critics, it was a ridiculous notion to fit in where Girls’ Generation didn’t belong. To some fans, it was a risk they should have never taken. But for Girls’ Generation, it was a step in a direction to be the best that they can be. It is no mere coincidence that they have arrived at a destination where no other girl group could have ever imagined to have reached. This is what sets them apart from the rest; they dared to be different. In the impervious world of K-Pop, where predictable standards are dictated by unchanging societal trends, artists have a tendency to take comfort in the familiar, simply because it is easy. Think about it; if Girls’ Generation had followed the crowd, the crowd would have never regarded them as examples to follow.

2012: There were always hard times, but I was able to overcome those hard times because of my members. I’m thankful to my members. -Tiffany

With the recent release of “The Boys”, Girls’ Generation began to inch their way into the United States. Who would have ever thought that American radios and television programs would feature Girls’ Generation and their music? I, for one, never did.

Girls’ Generation was able to release a U.S. special album, which contains remixes from their digital extended play (EP) and the songs from the original Korean album, “The Boys”. “The Boys” physical album placed second on Billboard’s “World Albums” chart and took the 22nd spot on the “Heatseekers Albums” chart. The highlight of their promotion in the United States, albeit a short promotion, was when Girls’ Generation arrived in New York City for a fansign event and to tape performances of “The Boys” on two popular American shows, “The Late Show with David Letterman” and “LIVE! with Kelly”. “The Late Show with David Letterman” aired on January 31st. Even though it may not have been the widespread success that they had hoped for, they were still moments that Girls’ Generation can be proud of.

Pieces and Fragments of January

2012

• The remix of “The Boys”, which featured hip hop legend Snoop Dogg, was played on the Boston radio station JAMN 94.5. The radio station is one of the biggest stations in the city.
• “The Boys” remix version was aired on a German radio on January 4th at 10 PM CET. It was played on one of the most popular radio stations in Hesse.
• The first episode of “Wild Romance” aired on January 4th. Jessica made her first appearance on the sixth episode, which aired on January 25th.

• A live event for the popular Korean drama, “Athena: Goddess of War”, took place on January 7th and 9th at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan. Along with a performance of “If”, Taeyeon performed the drama OST “I Love You”, which Taeyeon sang live for the first time.
• “Access Hollywood”, an American television show, mentioned Girls’ Generation performing at Madison Square Garden during “SMTOWN Live ’10 World Tour” in New York, as well as the release of the “The Boys” in the U.S. market.
• MTVK selected Girls’ Generation’s “The Boys” as one of the most memorable music videos of 2011.
• Yuri won the “Hottest Female Artist” award at the third “Philippine K-pop Awards”.
• “The Boys” English version was played through the stereo systems of Melbourne’s largest David Jones store, David Jones Bourke St.
• The animated movie “Koala Kid: Birth of a Great Hero”, in which Sunny dubbed for the character Miranda, was released on January 12th.
• The official music video for “Koala Kid: Birth of a Great Hero” featured Girls’ Generation’s “Himnae”.

• Girls’ Generation performed at Hong Kong as part of their “Girls’ Generation – The 2nd Asia Tour” on January 15th.
• In a review comparing the games “Battlefield 3” and “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3”, Ryan Clements, an IGN editor, mentioned Girls’ Generation as something he loves and is devoted to.
• Yoona was appointed an honorary ambassador for Joong-gu, Seoul on January 9th.
• Girls’ Generation’s first Japanese album, “Girls’ Generation”, which was released on June 1st of 2011, surpassed the one million copy shipments mark on January 11th, only half a year later.
• Girls’ Generation’s first Japanese album, “Girls’ Generation”, was certified Triple Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of Japan, or the RIAJ.
• According to Gaon charts, “The Boys” album was the best selling single album of 2011 with 385,348 sold. “The Boys” album sold more than their previous albums “Oh” and “Hoot” combined, which came in second and third in total sales in 2010.

• Girls’ Generation won the “Digital Daesang” award for “The Boys” at the “26th Golden Disk Awards” on January 12th. They became the first girl group to receive a total of three “Daesang” awards (“Digital Daesang” in 2009 and “Golden Disk Daesang” in 2010), the highest number of “Daesang” awards any idol group has ever received.
• On January 14th, Girls’ Generation broke the record for the fastest concert to sell out in Thailand, selling 11,000 concert tickets in 20 minutes, setting the record for a concert to be sold out the fastest in Thailand. Bangkok hosted the “Fanta Playtime Presents Girls’ Generation Tour” on February 12th in Impact Arena.
• Yoona and Seohyun participated in the SM Fashionistas’ photoshoot with fashion magazine “W” for the French fashion brand “CARVEN”. It was an open studio shoot, and it was filmed and broadcasted live on January 21st through SMTOWN and W Korea’s YouTube channels.

• On January 16th, LG Electronics chose Girls’ Generation as its new model for the Cinema 3D TV product line.
• Girls’ Generation was given their own artist page on MTV’s official website under the section, “Artists A-Z”.
• A copy of Yoona’s handprint sold for seven million won.
• Girls’ Generation was mentioned in popular news sites, Huffington Post and The Atlantic. The articles covered the excitement from the Republic of Korea Armed Forces over Girls’ Generation’s visit for their Christmas special on MBC.
• Yuri and Yoona’s names appeared on a college administration test in Japan, which tested for proficiency of the Korean language.
• Girls’ Generation’s first Japanese album, “Girls’ Generation”, became the first album by a Korean artist to place in the Top 10 for 17 weeks on Oricon’s “Weekly Album” chart. The girls also held the record among foreign artists for the most album sales in a week for a debut album with 232,000 copies sold.

• Jessica’s OST song for “Wild Romance”, ”Perhaps”, was released on January 19th.
• The members performed “The Boys” on SBS’s “2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics Concert” on January 22nd.
• The cast of “Invincible Youth 2″, which Sunny and Hyoyeon were a part of, were appointed honorary ambassadors for the city of Ansan-si on January 18th.
• According to YesAsia’s “YumCha!”, products from Girls’ Generation were the best sellers for K-Pop on YesAsia in the year 2011. “The Boys” was the best-selling K-Pop album, while the “Paradise in Phuket” and “1st Asia Tour” DVDs were the first and second best-selling K-Pop DVDs of the year. They were also listed as the best-selling female K-Pop artist. Finally, Girls’ Generation also had the best-selling J-Pop releases of 2011, with the best-selling album, “Girls’ Generation”, and the best-selling single, “MR. TAXI / Run Devil Run”.
• Multi-media entertainment website, Just Jared, featured “The Boys” remix version as their “Music Monday” choice on January 23rd.
• On January 25th, Girls’ Generation performed at Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Tokyo for the first ever collaborative fashion event between Korea and Japan, called “KISS” (“Korean International Style Show”). Jessica was not present due to her filming schedule for “Wild Romance”.

• Sunny made a surprise appearance in Brown Eyed Girls’ member Miryo’s first solo album video teaser on January 26th.
• In an episode of “Invincible Youth 2”, it was revealed that one of Girls’ Generation’s nicknames for Sunny is “60Sunny”, because she acts like someone who was born in the 60s.
• On January 28th, Sunny was cast for the role of Brenda in the musical, “Catch Me If You Can”.
• January 28th was Yuri’s last day as an MC for MBC’s “Show! Music Core”. Taeyeon and Seohyun replaced Yuri, joining Tiffany as MCs for the show.
• Tiffany completed her final performance for the musical, “Fame”, on January 29th.
• Seohyun appeared in a CF for THEFACESHOP with Kim Hyunjoong, who is well known for his previous role in “Boys Over Flowers”.

Shows of the Month:
[SoShi Subs][2012.01.09] Fuji TV Mezamashi TV Athena Dramatic Concert – Taeyeon Cut
[SoShi Subs][2012.01.12] Fuji TV Mezamashi TV 23rd International Jewellery Tokyo Awards – SNSD Cut

Awards Achieved:
• “International Jewels and Accessories Show” – “Best Jewellery Dresser” on January 12th
• “26th Golden Disk Award” – “Digital Bonsang” and “Digital Daesang” for “The Boys” on January 12th
• “21st High1 Seoul Music Awards” – “Bonsang Award” and “Popularity Award” on January 19th
• “Japan Gold Disc Award 2012” – “Best Album of Asia” on January 27th

Don’t forget to celebrate Soshified’s fifth year anniversary on February 1st! See everyone next month.

Written by: taengsoshi@soshified
Edited by: MoonSoshi9@soshified
Photos by: TangPa, yoonyul.com, Sports Daily, LG Electronics, Soshified Gallery

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