Wonder Girls
The Wonder Girls (Korean: 원더걸스) are a South Korean girl group. They are produced by singer-songwriter Park Jin-Young and are signed to his talent agency, JYP Entertainment. Each of the five original members were selected through auditions. Debuting in early 2007, they became popular in the fall of that year with the song "Tell Me."
They have scored three consecutive #1 hit singles: "Tell Me", "So Hot", and "Nobody". In 2008, they won two Daesangs ("Artist of the Year" Awards).
As a group, the Wonder Girls were introduced through the program called MTV Wonder Girls which was filmed and directed by MTV. The first four episodes outlined the characteristics and profiles of each member and showcased their schedules for the day. Not long after selecting Ye Eun as the fifth member, the Wonder Girls had their showcase in the MTV Studio. In the showcase, they performed a cover of "Don’t Cha" by the Pussycat Dolls and their own songs, such as "Irony" and "미안한 마음" ("A Sorry Heart"). Sun Ye did the solo by singing Destiny’s Child’s "Stand Up for Love" while Hyun-a showed off her dancing skills with a solo dance. The other three members — Ye Eun, Sun Mi and So Hee — performed a cover of Janet Jackson’s "Together Again".
The Wonder Girls officially debuted in early 2007 on MBC’s 쇼! 음악 중심 ("Show! Music Core"), singing "Irony", the hip-hop single from their debut mini-album, The Wonder Begins. The mini-album sold 11,454 copies in 2007. The Wonder Girls official fanclub was established, with the name of "Wonderful".
Throughout the rest of 2007, however, members of the Wonder Girls were beset by various injuries and health problems. On June 25, Sohee was sidelined for a month after tearing a knee ligament falling off a motorcycle during the filming of 뜨거운 것이 좋아 ("I Like It Hot"). The remaining four members continued performing until late July, when Hyuna was removed from the group by her parents due to their concern over her health—in particular, chronic gastroenteritis and fainting spells.
Rise to popularity
In the autumn of 2007, Good Entertainment, the talent agency sent their trainee Yubin to JYP Entertainment as a replacement for Hyuna. She made her debut three days later in the group’s live performance of "Tell Me" on Music Bank .
Their first full-length album, The Wonder Years, was released the following week with "Tell Me." Due to the last-minute addition of Yubin, the album version does not contain her part. However, the performance version of the song was reworked to include a bridge with rapping by Yubin. The single was a hit and reached number one on various Korean television and internet music charts, including KBS’s Music Bank.
The choreography for the song was simple and widely imitated: by October, many fan performances of the dance circulated on video sharing sites such as YouTube and Daum, including one by a group of policemen who were eventually profiled on SBS’s Star King. The dance became so popular it was known as the "Tell Me Virus" and earned them the title of ‘Korea’s Little Sisters’. Videos of the dance came from fans in France and the Philippines, and the song also went to Number 1 in Thailand.
The Wonder Girls had an extensive promotional schedule for their album and in late 2007 they began performing the second single from the album, "이 바보" ("You Fool"). They made numerous appearances on variety and game shows, sang live on radio, at music festivals, on music shows, and in special joint performances with other groups such as Big Bang. MTV has also aired three seasons of The Wonder Life, a reality TV series starring the girls.
International tour and American debut
The Wonder Girls tour started on February 28, 2009 in Bangkok, Thailand. The Wonder Girls, along with mentor JYP, then held concerts in the United States, visiting Los Angeles, La Mirada, and New York City. The group then returned to South Korea, holding concerts in late March. After the end of the tour, the Wonder Girls debuted a music video for "Now", a cover of Fin.K.L’s single from their third album. Created for a commercial for LG, a version featuring only the dance was released online on April 9, 2009.
Wonder Girls started their official MySpace Music account. The page confirmed that the group would launch in the United States with the official release of an English version of "Nobody" sometime this summer.
In June 2009, JYP Entertainment announced that the Wonder Girls would be joining the Jonas Brothers on the North American leg of the Jonas Brothers World Tour 2009. The company also announced that "Nobody" would be the first English single, followed by "Tell Me", and that an English album would be forthcoming. It was later revealed that in order to concentrate on their American debut, both So-hee and Sun-mi dropped out of high school as it was not possible to attend while in the United States.
The Wonder Girls released an English version of their single "Nobody" on June 26, 2009.
Members
- Yubin – Kim Yubin
- Ye Eun (Yenny) – Park Ye Eun
- Sun Ye (Sun) – Min Sunye
- Sun Mi (Mimi) – Sun Mi
- Sohee – Ahn Sohee
Other Information
- Origin : South Korea
- Genre(s) : K-pop, Dance-pop
- Years active : 2007 – Present
- Label(s) : JYP Entertainment
Discography
- The Wonder Begins (Debut mini-album) -2007
- The Wonder Years (1st full-length album) – 2007
- So Hot (The 3rd Project) – 2008
- The Wonder Years Trilogy (The 4th Project) – 2008
Awards
- Cyworld Digital Music Awards (February): Rookie of the Month – 2007
- Cyworld Digital Music Awards (October): Song of the Month ("Tell Me") – 2007
- 2007 Mnet KM Music Festival: Best New Female Group – 2007
- 2007 National Assembly of South Korea Pop Culture & Media Awards: Pop Music Award – 2007
- Korean Music Arts Festival: Female Photogenic Award – 2007
- 2007 Golden Disk Awards: Digital Music Bonsang – 2007
- 2007 Golden Disk Awards: Popularity Award – 2007
- 17th Seoul Music Awards: Rookie of the Year – 2008
- 2008 Nick Korea Kids Choice Awards: Best Female Singer – 2008
- 20th Korean Producers & Directors Awards: Best Singer Award – 2008
- 5th Korean Music Awards: Best Dance & Electronic Song Award – 2008
- Cyworld Digital Music Awards (June): Song of the Month ("So Hot") – 2008
- M.Net 20s Choice: Hot Schoolgirl (Sohee) – 2008
- M.Net 20s Choice: Hot Club Music ("So Hot") – 2008
- Cyworld Digital Music Awards (September): Song of the Month ("Nobody") – 2008
- Cyworld Digital Music Awards (October): Song of the Month ("Nobody") – 2008
- 2008 Mnet KM Music Festival: Best Female Group Award – 2008
- 2008 Mnet KM Music Festival: Best Music Video Award ("Nobody") – 2008
- 2008 Mnet KM Music Festival: Song of the Year ("Nobody") – 2008
- 9th Korea Visual Arts Festival: Most Photogenic Singer Award – 2008
- 25th Korea Best Dresser Awards: Best Dresser Award for Singer Category – 2008
- 23rd Golden Disk Awards: Digital Bonsang ("Nobody") – 2008
- 2008 Korea Fashion & Design Awards: Style Icon of the Year – 2008
- 2009 Asia Model Festival Awards: Asia Star Award – 2009
- 18th High1 Seoul Music Awards: Daesang Award ("Nobody") – 2009
- 18th High1 Seoul Music Awards: Bonsang Award ("Nobody") – 2009
- 18th High1 Seoul Music Awards: Digital Music Award ("Nobody") – 2009
- 6th Annual Korean Music Awards: Group of the Year – 2009
Links
- Wonder Girls Official Korean Site (Korean)
- Wonder Girls Official English Site (English)
- Official Wonder Girls MySpace. (English)
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