K-pop group Girls Generation reuniting for 15th anniversary

Girls Generation, also known as the voices behind the viral 2009 song Gee, will be coming back together as a full group to release an album this August and commemorate 15 years since their debut in 2007. 

While the group’s members had teased their comeback for a while, their agency SM Entertainment finally confirmed on Tuesday (May 17) that all eight members were currently working together for the first time since their sixth studio album, Holiday Night. The 2017 album also holds the honour of being Girls Generation’s fastest-selling one. 

Besides celebrating the album with appearances on variety shows, SM Entertainment confirmed that the group will launch a new reality show while teasing further details to come at a later date, giving their fans, known as SONEs, more to look forward to. 

The group had not worked together on an album since members Sooyoung, Seohyun and Tiffany's contracts with SM Entertainment expired without renewal after Holiday Night. The remaining members – Hyoyeon, Sunny, Taeyeon, Yoona and Yuri – continued as a sub-unit called Oh!GG. All eight members have had remarkable solo careers outside of the group in television and music. Most recently, Hyoyeon released Deep, an extended play. 

The group originally debuted with nine members – Jessica Jung left the group in 2014 due to conflicts of interest – and subsequently earned the nickname “The Nation’s Girl Group” for being some of the world’s most well-known South Korean figures. Before the Korean Wave took the world by storm, they caught attention with chart-topping singles including (besides Gee) Run Devil Run and The Boys. They also made appearances on American talk shows such as The David Letterman Show, partly contributing to an increased global awareness of K-pop. 

While fans and casual listeners alike must wait to know more about the album, they can rest assured that it will bring the heat.