Well, it seems that the influence of Girls’ Generation on the Singapore entertainment scene is still being strongly felt, despite the fact that they are no longer physically present here on the fair shores of this island nation. Call it what you will, but you have to admit that our favourite angelic 9 ladies have certainly caused quite a positive stir in the music entertainment scene worldwide. From topping the music sales charts in Japan, having sold-out concerts wherever they perform (Paris, New York, Japan, Taiwan, Australia and, most recently, Singapore), to being featured on news programmes and magazine articles around the world, the young ladies of SNSD have certainly come a long way from their debut in 2007 (and their initial dislike for their group name “Girls’ Generation”).
Being such a significant influence everywhere they go in the world, it is only natural that analytical articles will be written about their success formulae in the “cut-throat” environment that is the K-Pop music industry (where the average lifespan of a K-Pop music group is about 4 years ;)).
The fact that the ladies are into their 5th year, with the end of their career in this industry nowhere near in sight, speaks volumes about their success in the world today. To top it all off, the largest group of fans belong to the world population demographic that speaks little or no Korean :lol:.
So, what is the secret to the irresistible attraction that is SNSD (aside from the fact that they are all gorgeous earthly angels personified :D) ? Well, according to the author of the “Lifestyle” article, believe it or not, it is the “Power of 9” :). Yes, 9 dorky, adorable, beautiful, studious, sexy, talented, cute, health-conscious, lovable ladies that make up “Girls’ Generation”, and that appeal to all demographic of fans (SONEs and casual fans alike), everywhere in the world, regardless of race, language or religion (especially language :lol:).
“Less Isn’t More” is the title of the article and it speaks volumes about how 9 is somehow the perfect number that works to ensure success for our favourite ladies in their bid for worldwide recognition.
Together with the power of the Internet and digital music websites, the members of SNSD have managed to be at the forefront of the Hallyu wave that’s sweeping across the world at a phenomenal rate in recent times.
The author of the article theorizes that each of the 9 members of Girls’ Generation have been conditioned and taught to behave in a certain way to appeal to a particular fan demographic, in order that the group,as a whole, will be successful in the long run (something which the girl groups of the Western hemisphere have failed to grasp) as all “personality tastes” will be catered for.
Personally, I disagree on that point as I feel (as do most SONEs, I believe) that the reason we find the 9 ladies so attractive and irresistible, personality-wise, is because they are themselves, whether on- or off-camera (especially the latter :lol:). This makes them extremely likeable to all and sundry, and that, in turn, contributes tremendously to their popularity with everyone, casual fan or SONE alike. No amount of training or indoctrination can replicate what these 9 wonderful ladies display, day-in and day-out, without someone noticing that it is all just an act to please the fans. These 9 ladies are as real as it gets, and that is a fact.
So, do read-on for the verbatim article printed in this month’s (January) issue of NTUC’s “Lifestyle” magazine and be amazed by the “power of 9” :D. From the looks of things, the author of the article itself is now a SONE, after attending only 1 live concert performance (albeit a full one ;)) by our 9 talented and beautiful ladies. SNSD Jjang !
sources: NTUC Lifestyle magazine (January 2012 issue), Soshified.com (main header image)
SNSD Korean 
i’m also disagreeing with the article not in the part the the girl were told to behave but for fan to like one member that personality suits fan tastes. i was pulled into this fandom because i was amazed at them, them all… .
how can they be such group of girls that so unique like this.. they play well, eat well, and love each other so much that sometimes i, myself, think that some of the personalities were script, to be exact i think they were taught or brought up to think like that but not to the extent of brainwash though.
and that fan girl want to become like them and fanboy want to be like their ideal man. i think we all just want them happy and we follow fashion as we follow the group but not to become like the girl themself
that is my thought.
wow the girls even came out in an NTUC magazine… i dont fancy the author’s way of referring to the girls as products that are made just so they could cater to the world.. yes i dont deny they are products of SM entertainment but they are persons and they are who they are no matter how much they were taught or conditioned. I mean how much can you ‘conditioned’ someone.. who they are deep inside stays inside..
i agree with what kenneth says.. the reason why sones all over the world love them is mainly because they are themselves they are real. we fell in love with who they are and what they bring to the stage…
While there is some truth to what you said, the fact remains that you don’t really know how the girls act when they are off camera. The author is right in some sense that they are “products that are made just so they could cater to the world.” They act that way with a different personality so they attract fans like you. Hence they are a global product with their changed personalities, as SM requires them to do this. You don’t know how Taeyeon or Yuri acts like off camera. She could be mean, arrogant… who knows? ..and Jessica could be a happy, sweet person, who never gets mad. SM wants them to disclose the “snsd yuri” or the “snsd tiffany” personality, not the “yuri” or “tiffany” personality, if that makes sense. My point is that snsd are different off camera. You and the world fell in the love with the snsd personality of Taeyeon, Yuri, Tiffany, Sunny..etc. And you do make your point about “how much can you ‘conditioned’ someone”. There is a certain point, but we can’t say for sure that seohyun is a nice person.
“Instructed to behave in unique ways”?? This author certainly won’t be endearing himself to SONEs making statements like that.
SME may be shrewd, but I don’t think they’re so shrewd that they would be actually sitting down and chart out exactly how each girl should behave to attract a certain portion of fan base. I guess conspiracy theories are “in” these days, I get so sick of hearing them though.
Hehe, I can see the SME execs executing their master plan for world domination……
“Ok, we need one girl that can catch chickens, one girls that hates cucumbers and doesn’t do housework, one girl that likes pink and is really loud,…. etc…, any questions?”
I’m sure somebody with some creativity, humor, and lots of free time could sketch up SME’s master plan flowchart for the girls, LOL…
I really agree with what the article said about the girl’s many personalities. Every SONE has at least one bias out the nine, and that very fact is one of the biggest reasons I think as to why SNSD is so immensely popular.
Prim and Proper? Sweet and Loveable? Sexy and Fiesty? SNSD has all of that! Nine different girls means nine different personalities. Nine different personalities allows a much wider appeal to a much wider audience.
I hate it when I read or hear someone screaming for just one member. Especially on youtube on the comments space. And then people upvotes it.
Like them all!!
Yeah they weren’t trained to act differently, if so then they are doing a horrible job at it. These girls do what they like no matter who sees and that’s what’s so epic about them. They are not like generic girl groups which gives titles like for example (sporty one) we gave them there titles based on their natural behavior. The fact that they are different allows you to have that special one (I know u got one) that is just a small part above in your eyes.
I completely agree with you!
You know, to the Chinese, the number 9 holds special significance for being the highest (whole) number possible before double figures. The number 9 is often associated with the Dragon, too. For example they have 117 (9×13) scales: 81 (9×9) Yang and 36 (9×4) Yin. I believe Korean culture views Dragons very similarly.
Let’s not forget that Dragons symbolise power and good fortune…
Maybe we should call the girls “The 9 Dragons” from now on? (As opposed to “9 angels”, which doesn’t quite sound cool enough)
(P.S. Is it coincidence that Taeyeon happens to be born on the 9th of March?)
This is really spooky…it also so happens that the first SNSD song I heard – Gee – came out in 2009(!) and if that wasn’t weird enough, was top of the KBS’s “Music Bank” for 9(!) consecutive weeks AND the song was released after a 9(!) month hiatus. O_O
IT’S A MESSAGE!!!
And me myself also born in 9th, so I assume everybody who have number 9 in their birthdate would be a Sone kekekeke….
I think every Sone likes them because they are humble, down to earth and not act as Divas
Remember when SNSD were have an interview in NYC Radio, they asked by TJ why they don’t act like Divas, they said because they have 9 girls to look at each other.
and we’re all born in the 1 ~9~ 00’s… holy crap.
Whatever to the article writer..
Our Girls are all totally different from one another.. And the fact that Girl’s are phenomenon world wide is because SM Entertainment knows how to show this differences.. Its not that they told the girls to be like this to be like that blah blah..
Kudos to SM Entertainment for a job well done..
Maybe SME did not expect so much at first when they found the girls….years after years when the girls become a one group and they influence each other, so the personality of the each girls become unique…..and SME could only maintained the most precious jewel they ever had so the girls or womans? would be long lasting become everyone favorite in the years ahead, not squeezed them only to get big profit in the short time
I hate to disagree to you sir kenneth but I believe though the girls do it naturally, there are times that they are also told to behave in some way. My example, Yuri.
For the better part of 2011 Yuri was too focused on exercise and hanging out with Amber and DongHae and that left little time for her to interact with Sica and Yoona. In the end you could see she was kind of cut off from the rest with Yoona ever going closer with the people with less hectic schedules (i.e. HyoYeon).
That made YulSic and YoonYul fans wonder what was happening… then just one day… boom… YulSic..like nothing happened. I didn’t put much thought on that until a few weeks later… YoonYul spotted acting like best friends again. It just keeps me wondering…….
Look we need come to consensus that snsd are not natural. They were created and trained by SM in order to become a global product by doing this they would have to require snsd members to have different personalities to “cater to world”. They were required to get plastic surgery and they were required to fix other types of problems with their bodies..etc, and it’s time snsd fans accept that. You may think that these members are all best friends but they’re probably not. They probably live in separate houses and have their own agents..etc. They’re not like a group of 9 sisters as you may think. Face the truth.
jajaja you do not know anything about them ,,first ,,yes they were trained to become idols— so in that time they became close friends ,,,try to imagine 7 years of trainee…. also right now they live in a dorm …they have been living together for 4 years … they are a real team! ….that’s why SONES LOVE THEM!!! …I THINK YOU NEED TO BE MORE MATURE IT’S CLEAR THAT YOU HAVE YOUR FAVORITE AND IT’S NOT SNSD BUT RESPECT THEM ….THEY DESERVE IT!….. WE DO NOT WANT MORE FANWARS …. THEY ARE SO STUPID! WE LOVE KPOP RIGHT?… ♥SNSD♥ —=)
WOW!!! ♥SNSD♥ OUR 9 ANGELS!!! MAKE OUR LIFES BRIGHTER!!! . THESE GIRLS ARE AWESOME!!! TALENTED AND LOVELY!!!…. I AM A SONE AND I AM PROUD TO BE PART OF THIS FANCLUB!!!! SNSD!! SARANGHE!!! ALWAYS FIGHTING!!! NO MATTER WHAT OTHERS SAY!!! =)