In celebration of Hyoyeon’s birthday on September 22nd, Girls’ Generation’s fan cafe CISTUS placed an advertisement in a newspaper. The advertisement contained a poem, which read:
“Our hearts beat to Every one of your delicate, slender body’s Little movements
The stars in the sky dance To your wonderful, beautiful, Blinding dance
We congratulate Girls’ Generation’s Hyoyeon’s 24th birthday ^0^
Your bright smile Makes us all shine”
In addition to the newspaper advertisement, CISTUS fan cafe visited the Taehwa Welfare Center for senior citizens for volunteer work and donated Happy Beans to a children’s foundation under Hyoyeon’s name. (Editor’s note: Happy Beans are a charity item within Naver. People who make lots of blog/cafe posts, comments, and email replies are given Happy Beans. They are worth a few hundred won, and can be donated to various charities and foundations.)
They also held a heartwarming event delivering daily necessities and money donated by Girls’ Generation fans to people in need.
Fans on Twitter also celebrated Hyoyeon’s birthday as “#24thHyoppyBirthday” and “Kim Hyoyeon” trended in first and seventh place worldwide.
Hyoyeon shined from the very beginning. When Girls’ Generation debuted in 2007, she was the only member with blonde hair, although the color changed daily during her time as a trainee, and not to mention being the only one with a belly button piercing. She was the powerful lead dancer with fifteen entire seconds of solo time in the middle of their “Into the New World” music video. Hyoyeon was someone who stumbled over her words but made up for it with her charming grin. One look at her and you knew that this girl was going to go places, and go places she did.
Our dancing queen.
Recognized by fans as well as prominent names in the industry as one of the best dancers in K-Pop, Hyoyeon reminds us again and again exactly why she’s the “Dancing Queen”, a title that she earned early on. In “Girls Go To School”, Hyoyeon’s dedication to the group as a lead dancer was already obvious when she told the other members she was going to the restroom during practice, but actually went to watch the music video and get ideas for their own performance instead. She can dance “Gangnam Style” with the best of them, a talent she happily showed to SONEs at the “LOOK” concert. We see proof of her skill every time we watch SMTOWN’s intense dance battles or her random, improvised choreography on a television broadcast. Whether she’s dancing for a concert or just for casual fun, the power in her moves can be felt through the screen. It’s obvious to anyone watching that this woman isn’t just dancing. She’s living.
She’s the reason we smile.
But her dancing skill isn’t the only reason she’s special. Hyoyeon’s personality shines in shows like “Hello Baby” or “Girls’ Generation and Dangerous Boys”. SONEs can affectionately recall her wild antics when the girls had a game day in “Hello Baby”. During the yogurt-drinking race, Hyoyeon threw aside her idol image and slurped up the contents of her bottle in a mad frenzy, much to the delighted shock of the other members. She continued her craziness through competitions of plastic bowling, tug-of-war with a piece of string, and basketball sitting down, among other fun activities in Kyungsan’s apartment. More recently, she and Yoona decided to show their “Dangerous Boy” mentee what it was like to be ignored by someone who was constantly texting. He was probably more distracted by the fact that two goddess-like girls were gracing him with their presence than what said goddesses were actually doing, but Hyoyeon and Yoona were quite entertained in either case. These are just two incidents in which Hyoyeon lived up to her elementary schoolkid nickname, “Kim Choding”. She’s a person who likes to have fun and also knows how to make it happen. She doesn’t mind putting herself out there and making a fool out of herself because she can always laugh it off later. Hyoyeon is having fun and taking everyone else along for the ride, SONE and Girls’ Generation member alike. As Tiffany once said, “She is the reason I laugh.”
“V” is for “Victory”!
Hyoyeon likes to win. Watch her challenge Seohyun to a rock-paper-scissors match in the background of the “Oh!” Japanese PV or playfully cheat her way to victory on “Hello Baby” (and then loudly complain that other members are doing the same) and it becomes clear that she’s a competitive person. But while some people are aggressive to a fault, bringing down others in order to bring themselves up, she manages to take all that ambition and direct it in a more positive direction: to better herself so she can help others in turn. That drive to succeed, to accomplish, to be the best that she can be, is what defines Hyoyeon and moves others to follow her example.
A powerful force onstage, as always.
Lately, Hyoyeon has had the chance to stand out even more. Her voice was always distinctive in any Girls’ Generation song, but with the release of “The Boys”, her rap solo, accompanied by her ever-powerful dance, showed that Hyoyeon can master anything you throw at her. Over the years, she has become more confident as a performer, and not just as a dancer. She took her own advice about pretending that she was Beyonce going out to rock the stage and applied it to singing and rapping, as well as many other challenges she’s faced since debut. Consider the evolution of her individual performances: for Girls’ Generation’s first tour through Asia, she came onstage with an impressive dance solo, but during their second tour, she outdid herself and pulled off a dazzling cover of Rihanna’s “Don’t Stop the Music”. Hyoyeon decides to meet all of these challenges head-on because she knows she has what it takes to overcome them.
Another brilliant performance.
Then, she danced her way to the finals of “Dancing with the Stars II”, despite the fact that dance sport is very different from, and much more difficult than, what she’s been doing for the past years as an idol. She placed second, but that fact didn’t bother her. She knew she had done her best, advancing incredibly far in the show even with little previous exposure to such competitions, and had gained valuable experience on how to do even better in the future. Her variety skills, already above average because of her spontaneous personality, can only improve as she continues to be a main cast member on “Invincible Youth 2”, interacting comfortably with G5 as well as with guests on the show. And with more Girls’ Generation’s activities sure to come, she’ll have even more opportunities to showcase everything she is truly capable of.
So here’s a very happy birthday to you, Kim Hyoyeon. We know you’ll continue to dazzle us with your awesome moves and contagious smile. You were born to win, after all.
Korean Media Holdings, one of Korea’s largest media content providers, and Gangnam dance academy DM School are collaborating on a multi-act event called “K-POP Fantasy Concert”, and DM School has confirmed that Girls’ Generation will be performing in the concert.
The “K-POP Fantasy Concert” will be held on January 19th, 2013 in Manila, Philippines. While the artist list is still being finalized, INFINITE and U-Kiss have also been confirmed for the event.
“K-POP Fantasy Concert” is a push by KMH to expand its operations overseas in light of K-Pop’s growing popularity in Southeast Asia. KMH is hoping that this event could spearhead future concerts or tours in this region.
This concert also marks the first time Girls’ Generation will be making an appearance in the Philippines and comes at a time when SM Entertainment is continuing to promote in Southeast Asia with events like SMTOWN in Jakarta and Singapore.
Hello and welcome to the eleventh edition of “The Best of the Best”, a monthly countdown of the very best of anything to do with Girls’ Generation. As decided by your votes last month, I listened to as many of Girls’ Generation’s songs featuring just one member as I could, from Sunny’s “이제서야 (Finally Now)” to Hyoyeon’s “Please Don’t Stop The Music”, to come up with my five favorite solo songs by individual members of Girls’ Generation. As always, I’ve included my reasons why and a video of the song being played or performed to help you decide whether you agree or think I’m crazy (I was glad to see last month that many of you thought I was!). In addition, I also created a poll for you to determine what I will tear my hair out over for the next “The Best of the Best”, so please be sure to vote! Finally, let me know in the comments what would be on your list of the top five solo songs by members of Girls’ Generation. I’ll see you next month!
5. Sunny – “Fly, Fly Away”
Though her voice seems most perfectly suited for duets such as “사랑인걸요 (This Must Be Love)” with Taeyeon or “나야 (It’s Me)” with f(x)’s Luna, Sunny’s vocal talents also shine in her solo songs as well. Her very best came in early 2012 in her performance for the Korean version of the Broadway musical adaption for “Catch Me If You Can”. Sunny played Brenda Strong, a nurse who the main character, Frank Abagnale Jr., falls in love with. Brenda falls in love with him as well, but Frank is forced to flee and leave her behind in order to escape from Carl Hanratty, an FBI agent looking to arrest him. Brenda refuses to tell Hanratty where Frank is, and with tears in her eyes, sings “Fly, Fly Away” as a message to Frank. This amazing performance by Sunny was one of many highlights in her very first musical, and begins my list of the very best solo songs by Girls’ Generation.
4. Tiffany – “반지 (Ring)”
While Tiffany’s uniquely rich and husky voice has been featured in many amazing solos, ranging from a cover of Rihanna’s “Umbrella” in Girls’ Generation’s 1st Asia Tour to “그대니까요 (Because It’s You)” for the soundtrack of “Love Rain”, none are as touching as her song, “반지 (Ring)”, for the OST of a short film, “Haru: An Unforgettable Day in Korea”. In “반지”, Tiffany begins by singing about the moment of a proposal and seeing a ring being slipped onto her finger. As the song continues, she compares both herself to a dark and lonely star that has been given light and a promise in her hand to a flower that will never wither. Later in the song, the lyrics are reversed, and Tiffany compares herself to a flower without a scent that has been given a fragrance and a promise in her hand to that of an unending light. This beautifully sung and written song takes the fourth spot on my list of Girls’ Generation’s best solo songs. Check out the lyrics for “반지” in Soshified’s Lyrics Center.
3. Jessica – “눈물이 넘쳐서 (Because Tears Are Overflowing)”
In May of 2011, Jessica released “눈물이 넘쳐서 (Because Tears Are Overflowing)” for the “Romance Town” soundtrack, her very first OST and one of her few solo songs that shows off her control and stable voice, rather than having a cute sound. “눈물이 넘쳐서” is an emotional ballad which describes a painful love. In it, Jessica sings of tears which overflow, becoming a river and eventually an ocean, and she wonders whether they will bring a person to notice her. Finally, the song ends with Jessica asking someone to be by her side and a promise to love only them, even though to do so hurts so much. This beautiful track matches perfectly with Jessica’s soft, higher-pitched voice and wins third place on my list. The lyrics for “눈물이 넘쳐서” are available in Soshified’s Lyrics Center.
Since I love this song so much, a bonus video!
What would you like to see next time on "The Best of the Best"?
On August 25th, Sunny, Hyoyeon, and Yoona appeared in a short segment on “We Got Married”, a variety show which pairs two celebrities together for a make-believe marriage. “We Got Married” is currently recruiting participants to appear on its fourth season and placed a banner at the Seoul Olympic Stadium during “SMTOWN LIVE WORLD TOUR III” in Seoul which listed the requirements needed to appear on the show.
In order to qualify, the producers of the show required that the participant be a current idol who is at least nineteen years old. In addition, the idol:
1. Cannot currently be in a relationship. 2. Must be able to show their face without makeup and their height without insoles. 3. Can stay faithful while married. 4. Must be willing to honestly show everything about themselves, without hiding anything.
During the brief but funny clip, Sunny, Hyoyeon, and Yoona discovered that all three did not meet the requirements to appear on “We Got Married”. Hyoyeon was disqualified due to the requirement concerning makeup, Sunny was disqualified due to the requirement concerning insoles, and Yoona jokingly said that she would not be able to remain faithful during her marriage.
Later in the show, Super Junior’s Sungmin also appeared to read the banner and the list of qualifications. SHINee’s Taemin asked him who he would choose to film “We Got Married” with, and Sungmin selected Sunny.
Check out Sunny, Hyoyeon, and Yoona’s appearance on “We Got Married”‘s casting segment below.
Jessica and her sister Krystal of f(x) recently attended the 2012 Paralympics Inaugural Ceremony where they were both appointed ambassadors for the London Paralympics. They answered a few questions in a short interview with the Korean Paralympic Committee.
Q. How does it feel becoming the ambassadors for the London Paralympics in Korea? It’s an honor becoming the ambassadors of our proud Paralympic athletes. We have respect for the athletes who overcame adversity, through sweat and efforts, to become members of the national team. We will be active to give strength to the athletes.
Q. What will you do as ambassadors? In order to promote the London Paralympics, we are planning on doing all that we can. When there is an important match, we will cheer them on and will also inform our group members for more support. ^^
Q. Is there a Paralympic sport you like the most? We watched wheelchair basketball on the internet and TV before. It was dynamic and fun. We heard that they are just as strong in archery and shooting as a regular athlete, so we hope there is word about them winning gold. We will look forward to seeing the Korean flag echoing through the London sky. ^^
Q. Please say a few words as ambassadors to Korean citizens. Everyone, the national Paralympic team is very great and proud. Jessica and Krystal will be cheering on the Korean national Paralympic teams’ fights! Korean citizens, please take part in it, too!!
Another anniversary which marks the amazing achievements that our girls have made throughout the short course of their existence has passed. Originally, I didn’t want to write a post, but since it was and is necessary to let you guys know of the progress of this charity project, I decided to give it a shot. So, hello there. On behalf of my administrators family, my name is Dookong. I am just like each and everyone of you. A SONE. A very proud SONE. I can be considered a newer fan as I’ve only been a fan for a short while. The girls have taught me a lot over almost two years. I learned to laugh a little more, to love a little more, to appreciate everything a little more, and even to accept that I won’t grow any taller (Thanks, Sooyoung) anymore, so I’d have to purchase insole lifts somewhere, somehow. I became bolder, gained more confidence, and yes, became dorkier. But most importantly, I learned to wear my heart on my sleeve. They completely turned my world upside down. They even gave me a family which has been with me through the ups and downs of this fandom. A family who would be there every step of the way throughout this amazing thing called fandom.
Need I say more?
We have been waiting for this day to arrive. 365 days of patiently waiting for this day. We’re always waiting and anticipating this joyous day to celebrate as a united fandom from across the globe. A date which has always been the most special and holds the most significance in the hearts of SONEs all around the world. The very date in which the girls came together and presented themselves as the group we all know and love: Girls’ Generation. August 5th, 2007 marked the very birth of our girls as a group and of course, the never ending number of fans.
Let there be a pink ocean forever.
I want you guys to experience the love that I and the rest of us who work behind the scenes feel as SONEs. Choosing a project was no easy task for us, but after contemplating a lot of suggestions for months, the idea of having a charity project spoke to us in a different volume than others. The girls are well-known for their charitable works, on screen and off screen. SONEs everywhere know how much the girls enjoy doing something to help others in need. That is why we decided on creating this charity project in the first place. To spread the love that we have received from the girls to every part of the world; to those who are not as fortunate, to those in need and to those…who have simply not yet been touched by an angel. We are trying to represent the girls as a community with the fundamental needs of this world: Love, Faith, Hope.
Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA)
With only twelve days, we had spread the message as far and as wide as possible. Each and everyone of us tried our best to reach places all across Malaysia. By 8 PM on August 4th, we officially ended the project. And yes, by the great power of calculators, and after countless times calculating and recalculating, we have finalized the total amount of the donations. YOUR donations, that is.
Total amount donated by Malaysian SONEs: RM 2000 (625 USD)
Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts for participating in this project. I literally had no idea that this project would receive this kind of love from you guys. It really touched each and every single one of us to see what we can accomplish together. No matter what the amount is, it’s the heart that counts, and we are really proud of Malaysian SONEs everywhere. I hope that with this charity event, everyone out there will get to see Malaysian SONEs in a new light: doing things for the benefits of others not only as a representative of Girls’ Generation but most importantly, as a part of one caring society. Because it doesn’t take much to make a difference in this world.
To: Taeyeon, Jessica, Sunny, Tiffany, Hyoyeon, Yuri, Sooyoung, Yoona and Seohyun.
This is our gift just for you.
Happy 5th Anniversary to Girls’ Generation and many more to come.
