Sunday, July 31, 2011

Isak Wishes Tiffany A Happy Birthday on Twitter

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Mid-Day Break radio host Isak wished Girls' Generation's Tiffany a happy birthday earlier today on Twitter. The tweet read "Already texted her this morning but a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY lil' sis Steph~Love you with all my heart sis~May God bless your special day~"

Celebrities have posted birthday messages on Twitter for the members of Girls' Generation before, such as several months ago when T-ara's Hyomin tweeted a happy birthday message to Sunny.

You can leave your own birthday messages on the official Tiffany Birthday Thread, and be sure to check out our special birthday feature article on Tiffany.

Source: realISAK@twitter.com
Written by: BigSunnyOnes@soshified.com

The Aspiring Artist: A Portrait of Tiffany for Her 22nd (23rd) Birthday

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With all the events Girls' Generation has been doing, it was quite easy for all of us to overlook the dates and months that were passing by. As we enter the eighth month of the year, SONEs are delighted to celebrate one of the nine angels, Tiffany's 22nd (23rd) birthday. Many would look at Tiffany as the girl who has grown out of her bubbly self but we often forget the unique side of the girl that set her off in the first place: Tiffany's artistic side.

It's been four years since Stephanie Hwang started going by the name "Tiffany", and Tiffany has proved to the whole SONE population (and most importantly herself) that she is capable of growing into a memorable artist. Since she started her career at such a young age, she had to push away her normal teenage life in order to engulf herself in endless training sessions. During those times, she would always hold on to her dreams and keep pursuing them.

“It's as much passion as you have, just follow it, and you can be where you want to be. I mean, I am.”

When Tiffany first auditioned for SM Entertainment, she had no idea what she was getting into. There were several arguments between Tiffany and her father, but she managed to convince her parent to let her pursue music. Singing was one of the things she believed she was good at, and she wanted to improve on it. Her strong ambition was the main factor that brought her onto the stage in front of an ocean of pink.


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”Everything will be good as long as you do your best. Because if you do, there will be no regrets.”

Hard work has always been a distinctive characteristic of Tiffany, and a lot of people have looked up to her because of that. She would stay back at the dance studio and put extra work into practicing her routine, ensuring what she will perform would be the best she could do.

Tiffany is a girl who takes everything seriously, especially her music. Her fiery spirit would sometimes result her in neglecting her health, which concerned a lot of people. Thanks to her eight sisters, Tiffany has loosened up and became less tense in numerous situations.

”I want to continue singing. As I get older, I want to be a singer that has an endless passion for music and stage performances.”

Nobody failed to notice Tiffany's hard work. She was improving herself slowly, but surely, until she scored her first OST track in 2009 with "By Myself". Since then, Tiffany has been experimenting with her skills as a musician and has not escape from anyone's sight. 


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To the fans' delight, Tiffany earned the ad-libs for their latest Korean title track, "Hoot". It was also revealed that both Tiffany and Yuri wrote different lyrics for the song "Mistake". Although Yuri's lyrics were chosen, Tiffany vowed to continue writing. She has also showcased more of her skills, as evidenced during Girls' Generation's concerts last month.

“I definitely think that it’s not a far away dream as long as it has that much passion and the passion gives you responsibility.”

It was that passion that brought Tiffany on stage. Ever since she became the rapper for Yuri's solo "1, 2 Step" in the group's first solo concert, people have been dubbing her "Rapper Hwang". Fans all around the world were pleasantly surprised when Tiffany's rap was added to the concert version of "GENIE", during the girls' Japan Arena Tour. Taeyeon and Tiffany also performed their duet, "Lady Marmalade" in these concerts. Tiffany's distinct improvement in terms of her vocal skills were very evident, earning the duet a lot of positive reactions. Tiffany also took over the rapping parts, making fans swoon with her fresh stage presence.





One of Tiffany's best qualities is that she believes her success isn't solely based on her hard work but because of all the support she has received, and of course, God. Tiffany is an avid Christian, and that has helped Tiffany personally, especially during the first few years when she felt lonely because she was far away from her friends and family. "God bless!" is one of her signature phrases, and she never fails to share a Bible quote or two when visiting Soshified.

“God is not helping me just so that I can live well alone. I also want to be a good example to younger fans.”

With truckloads of good qualities inside the passionate girl, it isn't surprising that a lot of people look up to Tiffany Hwang. Happy 22nd (23rd) birthday, Tiffany! We hope you continue on to be the aspiring artist we all know you will be.


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Written by: spiceshoe@soshified.com
Contributor: residentbenchwarmer@soshified.com
Sources: aslotussmusic@youtube.com

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Why is Hyomin Thankful to Girls' Generation?

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T-ara’s Hyomin said she was thankful to Girls' Generation and KARA.

Hyomin and her fellow members Eunjung and Jiyeon were featured on the July 29 episode of YTN's “News and Issues, Issues and People.”

On this episode, Hyomin was asked, “Your Japanese activities are going to start in full gear soon, but are Girls' Generation and KARA burdensome?”, to which she responded, “They’re not burdensome, I think they cleaned the path (paved the way) for us. They actually took a lot of the burden off our shoulders.”

She also added, “Because they entered Japan first, there’s generally a higher interest in K-pop and we are getting more interest as well. I’m thankful.”

Source: Nate
Translated by: taengbear@soshified.com
Edited by: BigSunnyOnes@soshified.com

Reuters Publishes Article About Girls' Generation's Global Appeal

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Global news agency Reuters published an article earlier this week touting Girls' Generation's exploding popularity throughout the world. They cited the success of the recent SMTOWN Live in Paris concert, the girls' solo tour throughout Japan, as well as last week's concert in Seoul. The full article has been reposted below.

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(Reuters Life!) - South Korea's Girls Generation, already a hit group at home and throughout Asia, are set to broaden their appeal and go global, taking their brand of hit songs and tightly choreographed routines to Europe and beyond.

The nine-strong line-up of 20-something telegenic young women again wowed fans from Asia on Sunday at a concert in Seoul's Olympic Stadium, having played to 140,000 Japanese fans in a series of concerts between May and July this year.

Two recent concerts in the Tokyo Dome organized by Korean Broadcasting System saw 45,000 fans attend and have generated 7.2 billion won ($6.8 million) in revenues so far, according to the organizer Korean Broadcasting System (KBS).

"After seeing the sensational response from fans, we are planning to broaden our perspective of concert, such as in Europe and South America, within this year," KBS Kwon Oh-jun, the producer of the Japanese concerts, told Reuters.

Girls Generation is part of a cultural phenomenon called the "Korean Wave" or "Hallyu" comprising girl and boy bands as well as South Korean soaps.

Reflecting Girls Generation widening global appeal, half of the songs played in Seoul on Sunday were in either English or Japanese.

Industry experts say the Korean Wave has generated billions of dollars in revenues and some even say it will one day help re-unify North and South Korea.

Two recent concerts in Paris by a group of South Korean bands, including Girls Generation, sold out their nightly 14,000 allocation of tickets almost as soon and they went on sale.

"I remember one European fan from concert in Paris, who wrote down Yoon A (one of the band) so that covered up his arm. We were all impressed by the love of European fans." Tae-yeon, the lead singer of Girls' Generation told a press conference ahead of Sunday's Seoul concert.

K-Pop's growing global fan base has seen the shares of S.M. Entertainment Co, the company that represents Girls Generation and other bands such as Super Junior, surge since their debut on the Seoul bourse.

Fans in Germany have bombarded the Korean Cultural Center in Berlin and Korean Broadcasting System with requests that their favorite stars play in Berlin.

"We are dying for K-pop stars to come, so we sent those letters because we couldn't just wait and do nothing. Hope our action would bring about change in K-pop stars arrival in Germany." 30-year-old Esther Klung, president of the German K-pop community, told Reuters.

($1 = 1051.900 Korean Won)

(Editing by David Chance)

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Source: Reuters
Intro written by: BigSunnyOnes@soshified.com

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Intel's Special Gift to Girls' Generation

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Intel gave some unique jewelry to the popular singing group 'Girls’ Generation.'

Intel revealed on the 28th that they gave Girls’ Generation a jewelry set made of Intel chips to commemorate the successful marketing of the 2nd Generation Intel® Core™ Processors and its subsequent results. As the CF models for Intel in Asia, Girls’ Generation greatly contributed to increasing the Intel’s 2nd Generation Core chips’ reputation and status through revealing 2D and 3D music videos and other various efforts. Intel and Girls’ Generation’s collaboration campaign music video ‘Visual Dream’ enjoyed great popularity, recording over 3.5 million views on Youtube within a month.

The jewelry set in question, comprising of necklaces and earrings, were made by the American jewelry boutique Shreve Co., and is a unique set made with Intel chips. On the back of each necklace are embedded the names of each member.
Intel representative Lee Heesung remarked, “the marketing activities with Girls’ Generation was a good opportunity to familiarize the Intel 2nd Generation Core Processors to not only Asian regions including Korea, but also to faraway places such as Europe,” and further revealed that they, “plan to continue novel marketing activities to closer approach consumers.”

Source: Sports Chosun
Translated by: Meehyun@soshified.com
Edited by: JeremyJay22@soshified.com

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Girls' Generation to Appear on Billboard in Los Angeles for 4th Anniversary

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To congratulate Girls' Generation's 4th anniversary, a huge event was put together.

Girls' Generation's representative international fan community, Soshified, revealed that a Girls' Generation billboard measured at 10.4m x 7.3m (roughly 34 feet x 24 feet) would be displayed in the middle of Los Angeles on the 5th of August, which is recognized as the group's official debut date.

This will mark the 4th year since Asia's representative girl group debuted with their single "Into the New World" back in 2007.

This grand event was created by international fans in order to congratulate Girls' Generation on their anniversary. According to Soshified, Girls' Generation's billboard is one of the biggest in size and will be displayed in downtown Los Angeles, which is expected to draw a lot of attention.

The billboard from Soshified will be displayed for 8 consecutive days starting from the 1st of August, on top of the Aroma Wilshire Center Building.

The advertisement that will be displayed on the video billboard can be viewed below.



Source: star.mt.co.kr
Translated by: ch0sshi@soshified.com
Written by: BigSunnyOnes@soshified.com

2PM's Taecyeon Mentions Jessica on 'Strong Heart'

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On the July 26th episode of SBS's Strong Heart, Jessica's name was mentioned when 2PM's Taecyeon appeared as a guest and talked about 2PM's promotional activities for their latest song "Hands Up".

Known as the show that often veers away from the original topic, Taecyeon initially talked about the 2PM members wanting to ask f(x)'s Krystal to feature in their song. After he mentioned that he asked for Krystal's number through her older sister, Girls' Generation's Jessica, host Kang Hodong asked about their relationship and if Taecyeon was close to Jessica.

After also being asked about why he had to go through Jessica and not f(x)'s Victoria who is Nickhun's partner in MBC "We Got Married", Kang Hodong proceeded to end the topic awkwardly by saying "We'll stop here to protect their privacy", bringing laughter to both the guests and the audience. 

2PM and Girls' Generation were involved in plenty of collaborations like the 2010 end-of-year special stages as well as endorsements like Elite. It would thus be of no surprise if the members of both groups were friends.

Source: Nate
Written by: shizzles9@soshified.com
Translator: ch0sshi@soshified.com

Yuri and Jessica Take Top 2 Spots as 'Ant Waist' Celebrities

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Nine-member girl group Girls' Generation's Yuri and Jessica's names stood at the top two positions as the best "ant waist" celebrities that would look good in bikinis.

Community portal site "DC Inside" recently conducted a poll with the question, "The Best 'Ant Waist' Celebrity That Would Look Good in A Bikini is?", and showed the results on July 27th.

A total of 9,822 votes were counted, and Girls' Generation's Yuri came out top, receiving 2,028 (20.6%) votes. Yuri is well-known for her thin waist in comparison to her curvy body, earning the envy of many for her ideal S-Line figure. 

Meanwhile, fellow Girls' Generation member Jessica came in next in second place with a total of 1,398 (14.2%) votes. Jessica is known for having a 21-inch waistline, and once talked about achieving those measurements on "Star King" with consistent and proper exercise. 

Idols like KARA's Hara, 4minute's Hyuna, f(x)'s Krystal and actress Kim Sarang were also voted in the survey.

Source: Star News
Translator: ch0sshi@soshified.com
Written by: shizzles9@soshified.com

Taeyeon Takes Selca Picture With a Cute Expression

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On July 27th, a picture of Girls' Generation's Taeyeon titled "Cute Taeyeon" was uploaded on the bulletin board of a portal site. The leader of the nine-member girl group took a self-camera picture of herself hugging a green cushion and posing with a cute expression. 

After the sexy appearance that she showed throughout their "2011 GIRLS' GENERATION TOUR" concert, Taeyeon went back to the "Kid Leader" image that she is famously known for among fans. Taeyeon uploaded the picture and used it as her new UFO image as she replied the fans' messages, thanking them for the endless support they have given to Girls' Generation.

Netizens left comments like, "Too cute Taeyeon is the best" and "Our minion is so cute". 

Girls' Generation ended their second solo concert which was held on July 23rd and 24th with great success, leaving fans yearning for more. 

Source: joinsmsn
Written by: shizzles9@soshified.com

Hyoyeon's Maturing Image Receives Attention

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Girls' Generation's Hyoyeon is currently receiving attention for her striking appearance at the press conference of the "2011 GIRLS' GENERATION TOUR". The event was held prior to the start of their concert on July 24th that was held at the Seoul Olympic Park Stadium.

Many fans were pleasantly surprised by Girls' Generation's Hyoyeon who appeared at the event in her white lace costume. She glowed with her natural make up and striking blonde hair which allowed her to stand out easily among the members. 

She also lightened up the overall atmosphere as she answered questions comfortably and smiled frequently for the cameras. Her maturity was also noticed by fans who praised her for her unchanging beauty. Hyoyeon earned loud cheers from the audience as she performed her individual stage at the concert. She danced and sang to Rihanna's "Please Don't Stop the Music", giving her own spin with energetic choreography and overflowing charisma.

Her appearance earned reactions like "I was surprised at how beautiful you looked", "She's Song Hyegyo's doppelganger." and "The goddess stood out". 

Meanwhile, Girls' Generation is expected to embark on an international tour and will be holding concerts in other countries in the near future.

Source: Newsen
Written by: shizzles9@soshified.com

Monday, July 25, 2011

Tiffany Makes a Short Appearance on History Channel's 'South Korea: A Nation to Watch'

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Girls' Generation's Tiffany was recently featured on one of History Channel's programs called the "South Korea: A Nation to Watch". Tiffany, who is known as one of the two members who is fluent in English, spoke comfortably about the rising popularity of K-Pop and why fans are so intrigued by it. She cited reasons like the internet who have made both the Korean culture and music industry so globalized in today's society. Girls' Generation's "Run Devil Run" music video was also shown for a few seconds.

Watch the clip below!


History Asia will also broadcast the rerun of the program several times, so if you're interested in the growth of South Korea in a myriad of aspects, you can check here for the timings.

Source: History Asia
Written by: shizzles9@soshified.com

The Weekly SoShi News Wrap

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Videos

1. Girls' Generation Ranked Top Hallyu Star in Japan


On the 20th of July, tvN E News revealed their selection of the top 5 most popular Hallyu stars in Japan. In 5th place, was actress Choi Jiwoo, and in 4th, was boy group, Super Junior, who earned an estimated revenue of about 7.69 billion won. 3rd place went to label mate, TVXQ, who earned an estimated amount of 12.01 billion won, and 2nd place was taken by Jang Geunseok who drew in a rough estimation of 25.83 billion won. However, even though these artists all earned a huge amount of money, the first place was taken by none other than Girls' Generation! The girls managed to earn a whopping 52.3 billion won just from their activities in Japan, and these included the contract which they signed with Liptop tea, as well as the revenue earned from their debut showcase in Japan back in 2010. 

It looks like the effect of Girls' Generation really is something!

2. Soshified Field Trip to Korea on Korean News


Following Soshified's project to bring international SONEs to Korea, the Korean media has started to gain an interest in the group of 103 fans. Recently, Korean newspapers and news websites have been writing about Soshified's project to bring K-Pop fans, or more specifically, fans of Girls' Generation, to Korea to experience a whole new culture. This project was planned in light of Girls' Generation's 2nd tour titled "2011 GIRLS' GENERATION TOUR", and part of the itinerary was to attend the second night of the concert. 

Upon arrival at Incheon International Airport, the group of SONEs were met by the Korean media as they stepped through the arrival gates. Check out the video below to see the welcome they received for yourself!


Others

1. Girls' Generation Japan Arena Tour 3D Broadcast

Following the hugely successful Japan Arena Tour that Girls' Generation has completed, Japan's SkyPerfectv Channel will be airing their coverage of the Japan tour. On the 21st of August, SkyPerfectv will be broadcasting "GIRLS" GENERATION ARENA TOUR 2011 3D" from 4pm to 5.30pm JST. The hour and a half long footage will contain performances from the concerts held in major cities around Japan like Saitama. Not only will various clips from the tour be shown, viewers can also fully enjoy this experience as the program will be broadcast in 3D.

Be sure not to miss out on this wonderful opportunity to watch the girls perform live and in 3D!

2. Daum Releases Girls' Generation Themes.

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Daum recently released a new application which allows Android and iPhone users to set a member from Girls' Generation as their mobile phone theme. With this new service opened to the public, users are now able to have videos, slides and wallpapers of Girls' Generation on their phones. Android users are now also able to change their default browser themes to that of their desired theme. 

3. Girls' Generation Releases Official iPad Photobook Application

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SM Entertainment announced the release of Girls' Generation's First Tokyo Photobook on the iPad. Fans can now purchase the application from the iTunes Store. The application contains photos of the gorgeous girls from their Tokyo photobook, as well as new functions such as puzzles, viewing photos of the girls through special effects such as foggy windows, and creating your very own Girls' Generation themed schedule. 

The application costs 8.99 USD on iTunes, and it supports languages such as Korean, English, Japanese and Chinese. Be sure to support the girls by purchasing their new application here!

4. Girls' Generation Appears on Portuguese Teen Magazine

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Girls' Generation is definitely living up to their title of being a global phenomenon as they recently appeared on a K-Pop article which was featured in a Portuguese magazine. The article mentioned that, "Girls Generation have already been models and actresses... until they learned to sing and dance." In addition to that, the article went on to say, "Prior to their debut, they all did advertisements on TV, held small roles in shows and participated in fashion shows... until they started receiving training in singing and dancing. When they made their debut in 2007, they presented to the world their new single, 'Into The New World'. They are definitely girls with great power, and they can be found on YouTube by searching 'Girls' Generation Into The New World'".

The other scan from the magazine can be found here.

5. Girls' Generation and Soshified Featured on Italian News Site

Both the members of Girls' Generation and Soshified were featured on an Italian television news site called TGCOM. The website introduced Girls' Generation as the Korean phenomenon and proceeded to show pictures both of Girls' Generation performing on stage at at the second solo concert press conference, as well as the fans from international fansite, Soshified, dancing to some of Girls' Generation's hit songs.

You can view the site here. 


New Sets of Pictures

Vita 500: TaeyeonJessicaJessica 2SunnyTiffanyHyoyeon 1Hyoyeon 2Hyoyeon 3SooyoungSooyoung 2,Sooyoung 3Sooyoung 4YuriYuri 2Yuri 3Seohyun,SNSD

Daum Cloud Wallpapers- SunnyYuri

Sponsored Photos: SunnySunny 2HyoyeonSooyoungYoonaYoona 2Seohyun

Daum Photos: Yuri 1Yuri 2Yuri 3Yoona 1Yoona 2Yoona 3


Sources: Soshified Photos Sectionytmsyjsh@youtube.com, JustAKfan@soshified, sasa1aq@youtube.com
Written by: gayqueenful@soshified.com 
Graphic by: cioco@soshified.com